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

November 16-22, 2016 Vol. 18 Iss. 25

Tribal Council accused of illegally obtaining records Page 10 Voters go right, Dems wonder what went wrong Page 12

CONTENTS On the Cover: Western North Carolina is ablaze with 22 wildfires currently burning through more than 50 square miles in the seven most western counties. Smoke from the fires is posing health hazards while continued severe drought conditions are leaving many communities with a limited water supply. (Page 4)

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News Tribal Council accused of back-room meetings ......................................................10 Voters go right, Dems wonder what went wrong ..................................................12 50 fast facts from the Haywood County election results ....................................14 Haywood completes animal rescue operation ........................................................15 NPR to migrate Waynesville broadcast ....................................................................16 Community Almanac ........................................................................................................19

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Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Emily Moss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . emily@smokymountainnews.com Whitney Burton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . whitney@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Birenbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smliv.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Becky Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . becky@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@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).

Once again, Electoral College plays controversial role ........................................18

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November 16-22, 2016

An election results story in the Nov. 9 edition of The Smoky Mountain News inadvertently reversed the Haywood vote total in the District 119 House race. Queen received 5,835 votes to Clampitt’s 5,307. A photo of Macon County Commissioner candidate Karl Gillespie was misidentified. SMN regrets these errors.

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Holding the line Despite fire growth, wildfire containment improving; rain desperately needed

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER s of press time Nov. 15, Western North Carolina was ablaze with 22 wildfires burning through more than 50 square miles in the seven western counties, and while that’s significantly more than the 14 fires that were burning 17.5 square miles at press time last week, firefighters are feeling good about how the week has gone.

“Fire managers are very happy with the progress that’s been made on this particular fire and a lot of the smaller fires that are around,” said Greg Smith, a public information officer assigned to the Tellico Fire who joined the effort from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. “They’ve had real good opportunities to get in there and do a lot of good work. Many of the smaller fires are now in a patrol and monitor status.”

When Smith first arrived last week, air temperatures were higher, wind was brisker and humidity was lower than when he spoke to The Smoky Mountain News Nov. 14. The high-pressure system responsible for the change in conditions essentially put a cap on the fire, preventing the smoke from lifting and the fire from moving.

“With the higher humidities, it allows the firefighters to get in and do more work on the fire line,” Smith explained. “They don’t have to be chasing things around as much.”

Fire lines are expanses of cleared ground designed to rein the fire in, keep it from crossing to the other side. Building the lines is hard work, especially in remote areas where it’s not possible to use a bulldozer, and keeping them cleared of flammable leaves and branches is a constant battle.

But improved weather conditions allowed firefighters to make more progress on those lines than they had earlier in the effort, and containment percentages on many of the larger fires jumped as a result.

On Nov. 8, the Boteler Fire was 25 percent contained and the Maple Springs Fire was 10 percent contained. The Tellico and Ferebee Fires, which have merged into one fire, were 25 and 80 percent contained, respectively. By Nov. 15, containment on the Boteler Fire had risen to 43 percent, Maple Springs was at 15 percent and Tellico/Ferebee was at 68 percent.

In addition, an entire laundry list of smaller fires has been relegated to patroland-monitor status, meaning that crews are on scene to put out any reignitions near the fire line but the fires are not in need of aggressive firefighting.

The Buck Creek, Falls, Grape Cove, Moses 4

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

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A Nov. 7 image collected aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite shows the enormity of Western North Carolina’s wildfires. NASA image

Creek, Jones Gap, Jarrett Knob, Wine Spring, Mulberry, Moss Knob, May Branch, Boardtree, Charley Creek, Ridge Gap, Cliffside and Whitewater fires are all under patrol-and-monitor management.

Strong response from firefighting crews across the country has played an enormous role in holding the fires to their current parameters. As of Tuesday morning, Nov. 15, 1,222 firefighters were battling fires in the Nantahala National Forest, according to Liza Simmons of the U.S. Forest Service.

Another 440 people were fighting the Party Rock and Chestnut Knob fires further east. As of Monday, Nov. 14, 42 states were represented in the crews on scene,

Help the cause Firefighters need support as they continue to sustain long hours toward the effort to quell the wildfire blazes ravaging Western North Carolina. Here are two ways to help: • Donate to your local fire department to enable them to continue supporting the larger firefighting effort.

• Say thank you to the families sending their loved ones in harm’s way to fight fires. Write a thank you note and place it in a stamped envelope with a return address, but leave the “to” name and address blank. Drop the note in boxes available near the front doors of incident command posts in Franklin and Hayesville. Firefighters will receive the notes to mail to their families.

Smith said.

“Even little Rhode Island has someone here,” said Joe Mazzeo, a retired National Park Service employee from Massachusetts who traveled south to help the effort.

The response currently has 64 engines, six helicopters, one fixed wing aircraft, 16 dozers and four water tenders at its disposal, according to a fire update released Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 15.

And, despite the vast acreage affected by the fires — the smoke plumes are visible from space, as shown by NASA photography — there has been surprisingly little impact to life or property thus far.

Only four injuries have been recorded in conjunction with the firefighting effort, and those have been minor, said James Stone, a retired Forest Service employee joining the response from Idaho.

And, as of press time, no structures — including homes — have been damaged.

“That wasn’t by accident,” Stone said.

“There was a lot of aggressive fire suppression that went into that.”

Residents along 13 Swain County roads and two Macon County roads were evacuated last week to allow firefighters to build containment lines and protect their homes against advancing fires, but Nov. 14 the Forest Service announced that those evacuations

State of the fires FIRE AREA ACREAGE ACREAGE CHANGE NAME LOCATED NOV. 8 NOV. 15 Tellico/Ferebee .............................Macon/Swain..................4,549 ................13,679..............9,130 Boteler Peak .................................Hayesville.......................2,532 ................8,967................6,435 Maple Spring/Averys.....................Lake Santeelah ..............2,178 ................7,515................5,337 Dicks Creek...................................Sylva...............................726 ...................728...................2 Knob..............................................Franklin ..........................664 ...................1,130................466 Old Roughy ...................................Lake Santeelah ..............N/A....................657...................657 May Branch Sheep Mountain........Cullowhee.......................175 ...................175...................0 Jones Gap .....................................Highlands.......................115 ...................115...................0 Muskrat Valley .............................Macon County ................N/A....................103...................103 Cliffside ........................................Highlands.......................101 ...................101...................0 Wine Spring ..................................Franklin ..........................95 .....................95.....................0 Moses Creek..................................Cullowhee.......................30 .....................30.....................0 Grape Cove ...................................Franklin ..........................35 .....................35.....................0 Whitewater Falls ...........................Highlands.......................10 .....................23.....................13 Moss Knob ....................................Cullowhee.......................7 .......................7 .......................0 Bucks Creek..................................Highlands.......................8 .......................8 .......................0 Charley Creek................................Wolf Mountain ................N/A....................3 .......................3 Ridge Gap.....................................Highlands.......................N/A....................2 .......................2 Boardtree .....................................Franklin ..........................N/A....................0.5....................0.5 TOTAL ...................................................................................22,149 ..............33,374..............11,225

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN had been lifted and residents could return to their homes, all of which were still in existence. Fire lines were built alongside the Nantahala Outdoor Center, located near the Tellico/Ferebee Fire in the Nantahala Gorge, with firefighters lighting backburn fires within feet of the buildings in order to protect them from the oncoming wildfire.

“In general firefighters work 14 or 15 hours a day,” Stone said. “Some of the people are kind of in a holding mode waiting for initial attack starts or for problem areas to

be redeployed. Some of these guys end up working a lot longer days. They start probably the same time we do — about seven in the morning — and they work till three the next morning.”

About 280 Swain County residents crowded into a fire update meeting Nov. 13 at Southwestern Community College’s Swain Campus, and that gathering alone was enough to see that gratitude for the firefighters tirelessly working to preserve their communities was high, Smith said. Gratitude has been running both ways.

“It’s really neat hearing both sides talk about each other because it takes everyone’s

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Despite smoke thick enough to turn a sunny day into a gray one, veterans displayed their patriotic pride during Franklin’s Veterans Day Parade Nov. 11. Holly Kays photo

Smoke and fear hang over Franklin Veterans Day celebration

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Report arson More than 20 wildfires in the Nantahala National Forest are being investigated for suspected arson, and anyone with information as to the culprit is urged to call the National Forests of North Carolina.

So far, 33,374 acres have been impacted with more than 1,200 firefighters responding to the blazes, whose smoke is so voluminous it is visible from space.

Call 828.257.4200 with information about people setting fires or bragging about setting fires and call 911 is you see someone starting a fire.

S EE ARSON, PAGE 6

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“What really perturbs me is it’s really evident these fires were started, and what you have is an example of homegrown terrorism,” Smith said.

If terrorism can be defined simply as that which causes terror, then that would be a true statement. It’s frightening, said Franklin resident Jackie Bridgers, 34, to see ash sticking to the windows, to feel the hoarseness in her voice, to be afraid to let her 9-year-old daughter play outside.

“My husband’s a construction worker and he works outside, so he’s been subjected to this every day,” she said. “He’s definitely getting headaches. It’s been horrible. The scariest thing is it’s not done.”

Bridgers and her daughter had braved the smoke to hand out poppies with their homeschool group, Melting Pot, but by the end of the event she was wishing she hadn’t left their dust masks at home.

Sunshine Sammies ice cream sandwiches are available in our FROZEN FOOD section.

November 16-22, 2016

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hile marked by all the usual trappings of red-white-and-blue-infused color guards, antique cars and patriotic speeches, last week’s Veterans Day celebration in Franklin was a bit more sparse and a bit more somber than typical of the annual event.

A smoky haze born of the region’s tens of thousands of fire-wracked acres clogged air and lungs, blocking out the sun on what should have been a blue-skied day. And just beneath the surface, a different kind of fire raged — anger, burning bright and hot following the recent announcement that arson is the suspected cause of most of the 22 wildfires currently burning in the Nantahala National Forest.

“It’s wicked, evil, that they would destroy the forest,” said Victor Mora Loza, of Franklin, a Vietnam veteran whose brush with a grenade left him with artificial knees and shoulders, and substantial scarring.

He lost a brother in Vietnam, too — Mora Loza has sacrificed a lot to protect the country that he loves, and when asked what he’d have to say to anyone found guilty of purposely lighting the forest on fire, he had a simple answer: “I’d like to kick their ass.”

Gene Smith, 75, of Raleigh, holds an opinion not too far from Mora Loza’s. He and his wife Nancy often visit the Franklin area, where Nancy’s mother lives — they began this most recent stay before fire season ignited.

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FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN

ARSON, CONTINUED FROM 5

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

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George Kaye, 73, came with his dust mask firmly attached to his face. Kaye said he doesn’t have any respiratory diseases, but the smoke seemed too thick to take any risks. He and his wife, formerly Florida residents, had been spending their summers in Western North Carolina for six years, and this was to be their first winter of full-time mountain living. The wildfires presented an unforeseen, inhospitable welcome.

“We didn’t expect anything like this,” Kaye said. “This is an awful and tragic thing.”

Then, to find out that arson might be the cause? “I was absolutely shocked,” Kaye said.

Some of the fires, like the Boteler Fire, are likely the result of a lightning strike, said Cathy Dowd, public information officer for the U.S. Forest Service. Others might have been accidental starts, as from an escaped campfire.

“But for the most part,” she said, “they’re being investigated for arson.”

Law enforcement officers are on the case, looking for clues such as accelerants — indicating arson — as well as campfire rings or signs of lightning, hinting at an accidental origin. However, none of the investigations have been completed, and nobody has been charged.

North Carolina isn’t the only state dealing with wildfires this year. Last week police in Kentucky nabbed a 21-year-old man charged with arson, and elsewhere in the state a teenager was charged with setting fires in the Chattanooga area.

Arson itself isn’t as uncommon an occurrence as might be supposed. Over the past 10 years, arson has been the second most common cause of wildfires in North Carolina, right behind debris burning, according to a May press release from the N.C. Forest Service. Between 2005 and 2014, North Carolina logged 45,609 wildfires, of which 8,461 — 19 percent — were intentionally started.

The intensity of the fire season will likely prevent investigations from wrapping up until winter. For now, law enforcement is focusing its efforts on preventing any new fires from starting.

So far, the 22 wildfires underway west of Asheville have ravaged 33,374 acres — about 52 square miles — pulling in hundreds of firefighting crews from all over the country and costing taxpayers untold amounts of money. People have been evacuated from their homes, smoke is causing health impacts in communities, and firefighters are putting themselves in harm’s way to extinguish the blazes.

Knowing that all this hardship may have been inflicted intentionally is causing anger and sorrow throughout the region.

“I just can’t imagine doing this to somebody,” said Christy Birchfield, a Swain County resident who was evacuated from her home on Silver Mine Road. “I can’t imagine doing this to my 6 worst enemy.”

Smoke from the Tellico fire overwhelms the view from Wayah Bald. Eric Haggart photo

Fleeing fire Swain family faces evacuation as fire encroaches

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ome to the Hancock family for generations, the hills and hollows along Silvermine Road are an ingrained identity for siblings Teresa Hancock, Christy Birchfield and Garry Hancock. But this year is the first in their decades of living that smoke has obscured the sky, ash has rained from the air, and flickers of flame have threatened the home that’s served as setting for memories across the seasons of life.

“That whole end of the creek is family land, has been for years,” said Birchfield, 44. “This is kind of the family legacy, and just the thought of losing all of that just scares us to death.”

It’s a possibility that she never thought she’d have to face, but as the Tellico Fire ballooned and burned closer — it would eventually merge with the Ferebee Fire — she and her siblings started to get worried. The three live together in their childhood home.

“Monday night (Nov. 7) I just kind of had a bad feeling, so we packed some pictures and things like that in the car, just in case,” Birchfield said. “Tuesday morning we got up, walked outside. The smoke was really thick and there was a lot of ash falling.

About the time that we started seeing one of the Forest Service trucks went up with a bulldozer on the back — we knew that was not a good sign.”

The siblings went back inside, added clothes to the stash of pre-packed items crammed into the Mercury Grand Marquis.

They drove up the road to where the bulldozer was sitting — the dozer operator pointed to the mountainside right behind them. The fire was right there, he said.

“We freaked out a little bit and we decided that we would just kind of go for a drive, get away from the smoke for a little bit and see what the day held,” Birchfield said.

They drove around, got some lunch, tried

H

Evacuation status Evacuations have been lifted in Swain and Macon counties, though access to those areas affected by the evacuations is limited to residents only. Evacuations in Clay County have been lifted completely, with no areas under limited access.

Swain County: Only residents may travel Big Dog, Gassaway, Licklog, Long Branch, Luther Bingham, Mason, Morgan, Northern Partridge, Silver Mine, East Silver Ridge, Wesser Creek and Wilkes roads.

Macon County: Only residents may travel Deweese and Partridge Creek roads.

there were still a lot of special things that are there.”

There was no time to stay and save the rest.

The siblings headed for town, where Birchfield works the front desk of the Fryemont Inn. She can’t say enough nice things about her boss and her work family for helping however they could — they even gave her a place to stay. But it wasn’t the same was being home.

“This community is awesome when it comes to stuff like this,” Birchfield said.

“They just step in and step up. But it’s just — am I gonna have a home to go to, and when am I gonna get to go to that home?”

They drove by almost daily to check on the house, grateful each time to find that nothing had been damaged. And on Nov. 14, just shy of one week since the evacuation began, they got word that the power was back on and they could go home. Firefighters worked round the clock to ensure no houses were lost, and forN that the siblings are grateful.

But now the U.S. Forest Service has announced that it’s investigating the fires for suspected arson, and that news elicited a strong emotional reaction from Birchfield and Hancock — and from the community at large.

“There was a lot of anger. A lot of anger and a lot of frustration. How could somebody do that?” Birchfield said. “They’re putting so many lives at risk and so many homes at risk — and not just the homeowner but the firefighters. Those guys are worn out. You can tell just by looking at them.”

“There are lines in their faces where you can tell they’re so tired,” Hancock added, “but they’re still there and they’re still working.”

to think about something other than the fire.

But whatever illusion they had managed to construct disappeared when they arrived home to discover their home surrounded by firemen. The power was out, they You grab up your important were told, and crews were settling in to build fire lines right behind the house, papers and the pictures that hoping to save it from the fire’s impendmean so much ... you just have ing arrival. They suggested that the family find somewhere else to sleep. to make the choice and tear So the siblings made a final pass at packing before pulling out the driveyourself away from the rest.” way, wondering if they were seeing — Christy Birchfield their home for the last time. It was a lot to take in.

Throughout the evacuation period, “It’s hard to wrap your mind around never seeing your house again,” said Teresa Birchfield and her siblings struggled to do the same — to carry on with business as usual Hancock, 58.

“It’s not something you can prepare for,” however possible, despite the fact that they Birchfield added. “You just don’t know. You were living out of a hotel room and wondergrab up your important papers and the pic- ing all the time if they would still have a home tures that mean so much and a few little items when it was all over.

They’ve felt “like refugees,” Birchfield here and there, and you just have to make the said. The once-comforting sound of a fire choice and tear yourself away from the rest.”

They’d done most of their packing the crackling now brings fear rather than peace. night before, gathering up those items Garry Hancock, an avid camper, has quesdeemed irreplaceable enough to earn a place tioned whether he even wants to have a in the car. The rest would have to stay behind. campfire again, Birchfield said. And the “We packed things like pictures we fireplace in the hallway of the Fryemont Inn couldn’t replace — really old pictures like ignites Birchfield’s nerves every time the of our parents and grandparents and things fire crackles.

“When I finally got to go back to work, like that,” Birchfield said. “Dad’s memorial flag that was on his coffin, because we sure every time that fireplace popped I was jumpdidn’t want to lose that. Quilts that family ing and looking,” she said. “It just totally members who aren’t with us anymore had changes everything. I used to love to see a firemade. Things that were really special. But place burning.”

Local water supplies drying up

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR he severe drought plaguing Western North Carolina has taken its toll on the local water supply, and residents are being asked to conserve what they can.

Municipal water districts are calling on residents to reduce their water use, families’ private wells are drying up and Evergreen Packaging may have to shut down operations temporarily if drought conditions continue.

The paper mill in Canton relies on the Pigeon River for adequate water flow needed to produce paper products, but the low water level is making that process more difficult.

Evergreen notified the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on Nov. 14 that the mill may have to suspend operations if the drought persists — and all indicators say it will persist for another month at least.

“The severe drought the region is experiencing has caused the Pigeon River to drop to a level that may not provide adequate flow to allow the mill to operate,” said Tim Heim, an environmental engineer for DEQ’s Division on Water Resources.

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WATER RESTRICTIONS

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from many people and funding to keep them there.

And, with North Carolina and much of the Southeast experiencing historic dryness, it will take a lot of precipitation to get things wet enough to end the fire season.

No such weather is in either the shortrange or long-range forecast.

“There’s no rain in the forecast for the next 10 days. We’re not seeing any (substantial) rain in the forecast for even the next couple of months,” said Cathy Dowd, public information officer for the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests.

The future of the fires will dictate the future of smoke pollution in the mountains.

Once fires stop producing smoke, it should dissipate fairly quickly, Dowd said. However, it will take the existing fires a long time to

Burn bans still in effect With dry conditions reigning and wildfires raging, it’s currently both dangerous and illegal to start a fire nearly anywhere in Western North Carolina.

• Frontcountry and backcountry fires are banned in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue

burn out on their own — again, rain is needed — and new starts could set the timeline back even further.

“Some people say that there will still be people here in January, but that’s a wild guess,” Stone said. “I know that when they

Residents with private wells also have a reason to be concerned as the groundwater dries up. Sherry West of Waynesville said she could remember only one other time her family’s natural spring well has ever been so low in the 50 years they’ve lived on Piney Mountain Road.

“Were getting a little bit but it’s just been so low because it hasn’t rained — a lot of people are without water,” she said.

For right now, they’re making it work and relying more on bottled water to conserve what’s coming out of the spring.

Garron Bradish, environmental health supervisor for Haywood County, said his department offers a reduced permit fee for people who need to drill a new well because their current well dries up. While new well permits cost $375, the discounted permitting fee is $175.

“We’ve recently seen an increase in those applications,” Bradish said. “The number for the year isn’t abnormally high but out of those 107 applications, 13 were for dry wells and 10 of those 13 applications were submitted in October, so it’s a little alarming.”

Bradish thinks the residents having the most issues are those like West who are on spring water because spring bedrocks tend to fluctuate more than drilled wells.

“It takes a long time for rain water to hit and get below the bedrock to the wells so this could just be the beginning of the problem,” he said.

Ridge Parkway. Only gas camp stoves are allowed at designated campsites.

• A burn ban is in effect through the N.C. Forest Service covering all areas more than 100 feet from a building. Most WNC counties currently have bans in effect covering the 100 feet surrounding buildings.

• N.C. State Parks in WNC are currently closed due to fire danger.

Smoky Mountain News

cooperation to address this,” he said.

Smith’s feeling optimistic, at the moment, about the direction the fight is going, but in reality it all hinges on the battle plan of the most powerful combatant engaged in the conflict — the weather.

“It depends a lot on the weather,” Smith said. “We’re in an unusual stretch of drought and a lot of folks are hoping and praying for rain, so it’s going to take some rain to change the situation.”

There are two ways to put a fire out — the weather can bring rain or snow to end it, or firefighters can build containment lines around the whole thing and fight to hold those lines until the fire burns out. The latter option requires hard work

Canton and Clyde have implemented Stage 1 of their Voluntary Water Conservation procedures, meaning all water users are encouraged to reduce their consumption and improve water-use efficiency because conditions could lead to a water shortage.

While it’s not mandatory at this time, water customers are being asked to keep car washing and lawn and gardening watering to a minimum. Do not wash down outside areas, such as sidewalks, patios and parking lots, and do not leave faucets running while shaving, rinsing dishes, or brushing teeth.

Waynesville’s water supply is still holding its own for now. Mayor Gavin Brown said voluntary conservation wouldn’t be implemented until the reservoir gets down to 72 inches. At the current usage rate, it looks like Waynesville may hit that within the next week.

As downtown Franklin was filled with smoke from the raging wildfires last week, Franklin Mayor Bob Scott called on residents and visitors to practice voluntary water conservation.

Rob Hartsell, operator of the town’s water treatment plant, said Cartoogechaye Creek, which supplies the town’s water, is the lowest he has seen it in the 30 years he has worked for the town.

“Right now we are holding our own. But, in the event of a large fire we could easily begin depleting our water reserves,” Scott said. “If the drought and the fire situation

BOTTOM OF THE WELL continues, the next step could be mandatory water conservation.”

A mandatory situation would have a severe impact on residential and business users. Putting off car washing, not watering grass, and cutting back on other normal uses of town water is in the public’s interest at this time, Scott added.

“Please realize this is not a normal situation and think about the ways you can cut back. Shorter showers, washing only full loads in washers, putting off pressure washing and putting off any use of water that is not totally necessary,” Scott said.

Josh Ward, town manager of Bryson City, said the town hasn’t issued any conservation requirements as of yet, but he feels the town may issue a voluntary conservation request to its customers soon.

“No warnings yet but we’ve discussed it,” he said “Our levels are OK right now according to water plant operator.”

The Tuckaseigee Water & Sewer Authority, which provides water to residents in Jackson County, began to implement phase one of its water shortage response plan on Oct. 31 by asking for all residents — not just TWASA customers — for a voluntary reduction.

“This drought is affecting many property owners who obtain their water from springs, wells or from other small public water systems,” said TWASA Executive Director Dan Harbaugh. “It is important that no one

November 16-22, 2016

Maggie Valley Sanitary District sent a letter to customers saying that they must reduce their water usage by 10 percent compared to their last bill to combat the water shortage from Jonathan and Campbell creeks.

Residents are restricted from using drinking water outside for washing impervious surfaces, and water use for all testing and training purposes related to fire protection will be limited.

The sanitary district and local law enforcement will be enforcing the shortage response plan and violators can be reported to the sanitary district office. A warning will be issued to first-time violators while secondtime violators will be issued a $250 citation.

Lake Logan is well below normal levels as drought conditions persist throughout the region. Dustin Ammons photo

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Paper mill may have to suspend production

wastes water for the good of all.”

Jackson County is either currently classified as being under extreme drought or severe drought. The dry weather in the south of the county affects the three river basins that flow from that area, including the Tuckasegee, the Chattooga and the Horsepasture. “These cyclical droughts hit the high plateau area around Cashiers especially hard,” Harbaugh said, which is one reason TWASA is looking into the feasibility of developing a public water system in Cashiers.

TWASA implements the voluntary reduction when a 20 percent reduction in normal river water levels occurs or if any other kind of event reduces the system’s capacity by 20 percent. A mandatory reduction would only occur if the river reaches 40 percent below the normal levels.

made room reservations for us they scheduled them to the first of December. Usually we’re committed for two weeks, but that’s more than two weeks.”

“They could be dealing with it (smoke) for the foreseeable future,” Smith said.

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news November 16-22, 2016 Smoky Mountain News 8

Wildfires torment residents, tourism

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER Our backyard is on fire.

From Knoxville to Asheville, a large cloud of smoke is currently hovering over this corner of Southern Appalachia. In a seemingly “whack-a-mole” scenario, wildfires keep popping up or are combining at an alarming rate. And though officials are saying these blazes will soon be under control, one question lingers — when will they be extinguished?

Heading south out of Knoxville Monday morning, a smoky haze engulfed “The Marble City,” only to lose more visibility as one pushed closer to Gatlinburg. Passing through Pigeon Forge, the lifelike replica of Titanic alongside U.S. 441 eerie resembled the doomed vessel as the smoke swirled around the structure in the distance like a cold North Atlantic fog.

Entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park via Gatlinburg, multitudes of out-of-state tourists stopped at seemingly every overlook in hopes of at least one successful candidate for a Christmas card selfie.

But, alas, each background of the Smokies was awash with thick smoke, as if someone came and wiped the canvas clean of Mother Nature’s beauty.

“This is our first time in the Smokies — do these usually look, well, this ‘smoky’?” asked New Jersey resident Nick Vislocky, who stood at an overlook with his daughter.

“We knew about the fires coming down here, but I didn’t know they’d be this bad. And if they are arson, I can’t understand why someone would ever do this — what is the purpose, the motivation?”

Frustrations only mounted for tourists when pulling into the large parking lot at Newfound Gap (the Tennessee/North Carolina state line in the park). All up and down the vantage points, folks from across the country and around the globe found themselves without a view of these ancient mountains they were excited to see for themselves.

“It’s kind of sad to not be able to see the beautiful mountains and the colors of the leaves,” said Wisconsin resident Linda Woods. “But, we’ve been lucky to see many other beautiful things here in the park — it is what it is.”

Swinging into Bryson City, the smoky haze only intensified with nearby fires raging in the Nantahala Gorge. Watery eyes and coughing could be seen and heard in downtown.

“There are a lot of questions now about people close to these fires, and how they will be notified of possible evacuations,” said Joe Rowland, co-owner of Nantahala Brewing. “Are these fires contained? For what we’ve heard, it appears so. But, the question remains — when is it going to end?”

Rowland and hundreds of other local residents attended a community awareness meeting earlier this week. Amid the con-

cerns of the general public, officials also made sure everyone was on the same page with where these fires are, where they’re going, and what residents need to do in the meantime.

“Late last week, the fire jumped the Little Tennessee River — and that’s a scary thought,” Rowland said. “The wind caught the embers and blew them across, starting another fire. If these embers can jump the river, which we didn’t think would happen, then that means they can jump Highway 74.”

Nantahala Outdoor Center.

Photo courtesy of Sergeant Tracy Greene

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN But, Rowland will be the first to point out, that besides the geographical dangers, there are also deep economical problems emerging, especially when the tourism-based town is still within the midst of the fall season.

“We’ve absolutely taken a financial hit.

This past week, we did roughly half the business we did at this same time last year,” Rowland said. “A lot of the businesses in this town — this region — depend on tourism.

Folks are either not able to get up here, or won’t come here due to health concerns from the smoke. This lack of tourism is going to cost this area a lot.”

Jumping onto U.S. 19/74, two state trooper vehicles held court at the intersection with N.C. 28. The Nantahala Gorge was closed due to the wildfires along the road, and also landslides occurring on the main thoroughfare as a result (the route has reopened as of press time).

Being allowed access into the gorge, it was eerie being the only vehicle on this normally busy road. Parking at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, the enormously popular multi-million dollar paddling Mecca was silent, with not a soul in sight. Sitting in his squad car, North Carolina State Trooper Sergeant Tracy Greene was the only person within sight.

“This is day six for me here,” he said.

“Right now, we’re working with law enforcement from the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Park Service to identify people in the area and assist with evacuations.”

As the squad car sat in the middle of U.S. 19/74, one could notice and smell the smoldering brush on the nearby roadside.

The Ferebee Fire rolled down the road, ultimately coming within mere yards of the beloved NOC. The fire was contained and eliminated, but other parts of the Ferebee combined with the massive Tellico Fire (which stood at 14,000 acres on Monday morning).

“We’re all heading up the investigations, and right now, we’re looking into these fires being manmade,” Greene said. “Whether it’s copycat arson or not, residents want it to stop — it’s disturbing to say the least.”

Tellico Gap. Eric Haggart photo

Photo courtesy of Sergeant Tracy Greene

A helicopter dumps water on Big Pine Ridge near Hayesville. Brad Perkins photo

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exertion outdoors.

The very next day, the forecast again changed, but this time to Code Orange, bearing an increased risk of danger for “children, active people, older adults, and those with heart or lung disease (like asthma).”

It remained at Code Orange through Nov. 8 — a smoky, hazy Election Day — until peaking the next day with a Code Red designation — advising almost everyone to avoid prolonged exposure to outdoor air.

While the forecast did diminish through Code Orange and Code Yellow over the next two days, it then increased through yellow and orange again, peaking at Code Red on Nov. 13 as smoke returned to enshroud the region.

Through Nov. 16, many residents of Western North Carolina haven’t seen a Code Green air quality rating for a while now, wheezing and hacking their way through 12 days of moderate to unhealthy air quality.

BRACE FOR IMPACT Smoke is an ephemeral, almost indescribable phenomenon, but the science behind it conclusively attests to its danger.

Dense smoke warnings are posted at the entrance of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Brad Perkins photo

Good Moderate Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

Air quality forecasts Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey counties

Oct. 28 Oct. 29 Oct. 30 Oct. 31 Nov. 1

Nov. 2

Nov. 3

Nov. 4

Nov. 5

Nov. 6

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Nov. 8

Unhealthy Very Unhealthy

Smoky Mountain News

HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS

November 16-22, 2016

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER wo dozen or so forest fires in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Western North Carolina have forced mandatory evacuations in WNC, but the impact is being felt and smelt far beyond the remote coves where they smolder.

Smoke from the fires — depending on prevailing winds and frontal activity — is drifting miles from its source, and is easily visible on satellite imagery, blanketing the Southeast and at times stretching to the Atlantic Ocean.

On Nov. 5, Waynesville and its environs first began to experience a pervasive campfire smell that was not altogether unpleasant but for the lingering notion that people and property were at grave risk just 10 miles distant.

With that smell came diminished visibility and decreasing air quality.

Not coincidentally, on Nov. 5 the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Division of Air Quality changed its air quality forecast for the Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey counties from Code Green to Code Yellow.

Code Yellow warns those who are “unusually sensitive” to limit extended or excessive

using HEPA air filtration and abstaining from using gas or wood stoves and candles.

Medical care may become necessary — especially for the vulnerable — if a persistent or worsening cough develops, shortness of breath or chest pain/tightness increases, or weakness and fatigue become significant.

Treatment is usually accomplished with antibiotics, bronchodilators and/or steroids and can be successful if begun before symptoms become excessive or aggravate pre-existing conditions, although removing oneself from a smoky environment is often enough to clear up minor issues.

The Haywood County school system issued a press release to that effect on the afternoon of Nov. 14, stating, “We are advising our schools to limit outdoor physical education and monitor any students with health history of a respiratory condition.”

Bill Nolte, associate superintendent of Haywood County Schools, said that the school district doesn’t have a policy per se, just like it does not have a policy for blizzards or other rare occurrences. Incidents, said Nolte, are handled on a case-by-case basis.

“Parents are the ultimate authority,” Nolte said, adding that parents are best equipped to make health-related decisions for their children.

A similar attitude prevailed in Macon County, where Superintendent Dr. Chris Baldwin said that although no official policy exists, all county school principals have curtailed outdoor recess, physical education and extra-curricular sports.

Of further concern for student-athletes is that both Pisgah and Tuscola High Schools are scheduled to host home football games Friday night, which as of press time may be in jeopardy if the smoke doesn’t abate.

For more information on the DAQ’s daily air quality forecast — issued each day around 3 p.m. — visit https://xapps.ncdenr.org/ aq/ForecastCenter.

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Dangerous smoke hazard persists throughout WNC

Wildfires tend to release an inordinate amount of particulate matter, which can create breathing difficulty and exacerbate existing circulatory and respiratory conditions depending on length of exposure, vigorousness of inhalation and overall smoke concentration. The highest particle concentrations usually occur during the evening or early morning.

Everyone exposed is at risk; the most susceptible are the very young, the very old, people with existing health conditions and people who exercise or work outdoors.

Short-term symptoms of exposure include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat — tears, coughs and runny noses — but can progress to nausea, headaches and even loss of consciousness.

Long-term exposure over a period of days or weeks may result in chronic lung problems as well as heart issues.

“Your own observations will be the best guide for determining how the smoke is affecting air quality in your area,” said DAQ Deputy Director Mike Abraczinskas. “If you can see heavy haze and smell smoke, then air quality is not good and you should limit your outdoor activities. This is particularly important for sensitive groups — that is, children, older adults, people with heart and respiratory problems, and those who work and exercise outside for extended times.”

Despite the lack of an increase in emergency room patients seeking care for respiratory distress, at-risk populations should consider precautionary measures even in light or moderate conditions, according to a statement issued by North Carolina’s sixth-largest health system, Mission Health.

People who are generally healthy should consider such measures when conditions worsen or last for more than a day.

Those measures, according to the DAQ, include remaining indoors, setting climate control to recirculate air, limiting strenuous indoor activity, avoiding cigarette smoke,

Nov. 9 Nov. 10 Nov. 11 Nov. 12 Nov. 13 Nov. 14 Nov. 15 Nov. 16

Source: NC DENR Dep't. of Air Quality • https://xapps.ncdenr.org/aq/ForecastCenter 9

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Witch hunt in tribal government?

Investigations elicit charges of backroom meetings and illegally obtained records

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER empers flared in Cherokee Tribal Council this month as some councilmembers alleged that a subset of their colleagues had gone rogue, holding backroom meetings in which they decided to subpoena tribal departments for sensitive information as part of investigations launched without the knowledge of the full council.

“I’m still a Tribal Council member this morning, and when I looked in the mirror I’m still part of this body,” said Councilmember Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown, during the Nov. 3 meeting. “Some of us did not know that subpoenas went out … Why? Without council’s approval, why did you do that?”

She directed her questions to Council Chairman Bill Taylor, of Wolfetown, who was among those who had authorized the subpoenas.

Taylor replied that he had a document right in front of him showing that a vote had been taken to launch an investigation, to which Saunooke retorted that the July vote had pertained to the Human Resources Department only — not to the other departments, such as education and emergency services, that were apparently being subpoenaed as well.

The human resources investigation goes back to July, when Tribal Council decided in a divided vote to begin investigating the hiring and firing practices of Principal Chief Patrick Lambert, who last month marked his oneyear anniversary in office. The vote also included an order to freeze hiring and firing until the investigation could be completed.

Some councilmembers charged that Lambert had been wrongfully firing tribal workers for personal reasons and hiring new positions without permission. Lambert, meanwhile, said that he’d replaced only people holding politically appointed positions, who should have expected to lose their jobs with the change in administration. Firing among rank-and-file tribal employees, however, could have happened at the discretion of supervisors following Lambert’s direction to put an end to the poor work ethic that he said was pervasive during the previous administration.

Further, Lambert said, council did not have the right to interfere with his management of day-to-day government operations.

So, on Oct. 13 he issued an executive order lifting the hiring and firing freeze.

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

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SOME EXCLUDED FROM INVESTIGATION DECISIONS The investigations under discussion at Tribal Council this month did not pertain to 10 Human Resources. The conversation revealed

Tribal Council Attorney Carolyn West said only that the investigation is ongoing and they could not comment.

PROTEST OVER

EDUCATIONAL RECORDS

Aside from the question of whether procedure was broken when some councilmembers decided to begin additional investigations without notifying their colleagues, obtaining his son’s educational records is objectively illegal, Lambert said. His son’s records grant only one other person access to those records — his mother. And his son’s mother did not request any records, Lambert said.

“That’s a political attack in my book,” Lambert told council. “There’s no reason why my son’s educational file should be given out to this Tribal Council.”

Taylor, however, denied responsibility for obtaining the records, though admitting that the records were now on file as part of the investigation.

“This body never requested any informaCouncilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, expresses her anger over being excluded from tion,” Taylor replied to Lambert. “We never discussions to expand Tribal Council’s investigation of executive branch decision-making. told no employee to go get something and Cherokee Councilihouse image take it. That was not part of the subpoena.

We never asked anybody to take any informathat council had also begun investigating the ing the document requests “subpoenas” at all. tion, any file or anything.”

“Those are not subpoenas because there is education and emergency services depart“The employees came forward and said ments, apparently without the consent or a process that we have used historically as a they had information they wanted to give this council to issue subpoenas,” she said. knowledge of all councilmembers. body,” Taylor said later in the exchange. “I During the previous administration, didn’t bring it up.”

In addition, educational files belonging to Lambert’s son and to the daughter of McCoy said, she’d often found herself in a “Who’s got that information now?”

Councilmember Richard French, of Big Cove, position in which she desired to see certain Lambert responded. were apparently obtained in conjunction “Internal audit,” said Taylor, with the new investigations. Educational adding that the office has a confidenThe investigations under records are protected by federal law and cantiality policy they must adhere to. not be obtained without the permission of Lambert, who is an attorney, discussion at Tribal Council this either the individual or of that individual’s apparently was not comforted by parent or guardian, depending on whether month did not pertain to Human the confidentiality policy, vowing the person is a minor. to “explore my options” to see Resources. The conversation “That’s a violation of federal law, and I’m “who needs to be charged with exploring my options right now as to who’s violating the Federal Privacy Act.” revealed that council had also been involved with that to see who needs to “I think it’s a witch hunt. I still begun investigating the education hold to that,” he said. “I said to be charged with violating the Federal Privacy Act,” Lambert told Council. council if you have any questions and emergency services It’s unclear exactly how a group of counof me, ask those questions. I think cilmembers came to meet or why they decidthis is a witch hunt that you’re on. departments, apparently without ed to begin investigating additional departIt’s ridiculous, and you see what the consent or knowledge of all ments. It’s also unclear by what mechanism it’s doing.” the educational records were obtained.

French then chimed in to councilmembers.

Taylor said in council that he had a letter express anger that his daughter’s signed by eight of the 12 councilmembers file had been one of those educadocuments. But she was always told that, as tional records handed to council. He’s authorizing the additional investigations.

“That’s not the whole body,” Saunooke an individual councilmember not represent- advised his daughter to look at hiring a ing the wishes of the body as a whole, that she lawyer, he said. It’s unfair, he said, that she is pointed out.

“Well, it’s over a majority and over two- could not obtain them with the force of sub- trying to give back to her community by poena power. Why is this situation any differ- going back to school for a master’s degree and thirds,” Taylor said.

“I was never approached,” Saunooke ent from that, she asked? winds up being “jumped on and her file taken Taylor, meanwhile, maintained that away and people walk by and don’t even replied. “When did you decide to do that?”

Taylor never answered the question council has the right to issue subpoenas and speak to her.” directly, though he said that the vote took that, because the weighted votes of the “You talk about the hospital — ‘We don’t place “in here” — presumably, in the council members who did sign onto the additional got no doctors, we ain’t got no nurses.’ Well, chambers — and said that the additional investigations add up to more than two- they don’t want to come back if this is how investigations were a result of employees who thirds of council — meaning the vote would we’re going to treat them,” French said. be veto-proof — it’s not that relevant came forward.

Some aspect of the investigation into the “They came to us,” he said. “We didn’t go whether or not all councilmembers were executive branch has sparked conflict in included in the discussion. to them.”

Tribal Council nearly every month since it When asked how the additional investiga- was first launched in July, following a move Councilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, was among those who were not includ- tions were decided upon and whether all from the floor with no attached documentaed in the decision to investigate additional councilmembers were invited to the meetings tion. Maybe it’s finally time to call departments. She took issue with Taylor call- during which they were discussed, Taylor and the whole thing off, McCoy said.

F

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Smoky Mountain News

Affairs of the Heart

November 16-22, 2016

“What exactly are we investigating? No one knows,” she said. “But apparently we have some people here at the table who take issue with what’s going on in the executive office and it’s turmoil and I’m not included in that. That’s why I sit here so frustrated because I get to hear outside something that happened in here.”

She followed her comments with a move to “stop whatever nonsense is going on out there.”

That is, to end the investigation.

Taylor responded that council proper is not doing the investigation. Internal Audit is handling the investigation, he said — spurred by the letter signed by eight councilmembers.

“It was just asking for internal audit to do what’s required,” he said of the letter. “We’re doing everything legally, like we’re supposed to.”

French provided a second to McCoy’s move, but the two Big Cove representatives were the only two votes in favor of ending the investigation.

The discussion is the latest in a yearlong saga featuring a divided Tribal Council and a legislative branch consistently at loggerheads with the executive branch. Over the past year, they’ve sparred over everything from Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise board appointments to per capita loans to budgeting.

Some councilmembers have expressed frustration with the protracted bickering, desiring an improved working relationship that would allow for better progress on behalf of the tribe.

“You need to remember you’re already elected,” French told his fellow councilmembers during an Oct. 18 council meeting.

“We’ve already been in here one year — what can we go back and say we really accomplished in one year? We’ve got one more year to do something. Whether we get re-elected or not we still have a job to do in this next year, because that’s what we was elected to do.”

news

Life Challenge receives $9,000 grant

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Voters go right, Democrats wonder what went wrong

Your town is my town.

Local party leaders analyze 2016 election

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BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ven though both parties appeared confident about their candidates moving into Election Day, there were a lot of white knuckles and nail biting as results started to pour in across North Carolina last Tuesday night.

The vibes emanating from the Haywood County Republican Headquarters were palpable — a room full of passionate supporters and candidates rallying together as results trickled in. Cheers sounded as the NBC anchor called another state for Trump.

The Haywood County Democrat Headquarters was quite the opposite — just a handful of volunteers sitting around a big screen TV. It was quiet and calm since Democratic candidates decided to hold their own watching parties throughout the county.

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The enthusiasm at those Democratic watching parties quickly evaporated when they witnessed the Democratic candidates on the local, state and federal level being defeated one-by-one by Republicans.

Haywood County native Rhonda Schandevel was unable to unseat incumbent Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, for the District 118 House seat; Jane Hipps, DWaynesville, was once again unable to beat incumbent Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin; and probably most surprising to some, incumbent Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, was defeated by Republican challenger Mike Clampitt of Bryson City.

“I can’t say I was totally unprepared for the results, but I was surprised that some Democrats lost by such wide margins,” said Myrna Campbell, chairwoman of the Haywood County Democrats.

Frank Burrell, chairman of the Jackson County Democrats, said he still wasn’t over the election results a week later and didn’t know if he’d ever get over what he witnessed.

“It was not a typical election like we’ve always seen in the past and none of the strategies that we used in a regular election worked in this one,” Burrell said. “Mr. Trump said things that appealed to five or six different groups of people and when they all came together it was enough to carry him to victory.”

Burrell said state and local candidates then benefitted from riding Trump’s coattails all the way down the ballot.

Campbell said Queen’s loss came as a shock since he was up in the early voting numbers, but it was the Presnell-Schandevel race that gave her a real sense of personal loss.

“I worked with House Democratic Caucus leaders to develop the profile of a competitive candidate and Rhonda possessed all those traits — a hometown girl who had a compelling personal story to tell and had been actively involved in the community for over 20 years,” Campbell said.

Schandevel won the primary election in March with 75 percent of the vote, but lost Haywood to Presnell by more than 1,800 votes. Presnell also carried Yancey and Madison counties.

“I'm struggling to understand how is it that Rhonda only got 45 percent of the vote in Haywood County last week? Did something happen to change the minds of those Primary voters or did they just not show up for the Nov. 8 election?” Campbell wonders.

“I know many Democrats crossed over and voted for Trump, but I expected them to support down ticket Democrats and it does not appear that they did.”

Even on the local level, two Republicans — Kevin Ensley and Brandon Rogers — were the top vote-getters for Haywood County Board of Commissioners while the two Democrat candidates trailed significantly behind.

Swain County elected a Republican to the Board of Commissioners for the first time in years, two Republican challengers beat out Democratic incumbents in Jackson County and two Republicans were elected to the Macon County Board of Commissioners.

With a Republican majority on the Jackson County commission now, Burrell said he has some concern over the future direction of county policy. However, throughout the years he’s seen the board be able to work together productively whether the board was mixed, solid Democrat or solid Republican.

Despite the results, Campbell doesn’t think the Democratic Party did anything wrong per se. She felt the party had strong candidates, dedicated volunteers that have worked since March to get out voting and candidate information. They did a mass mailer targeting 9,000 Democrats in the county.

“Many have described the final outcome as a Trump tidal wave that left few Democrats standing, but despair is no answer for our party. Republicans did not outwork us in this election — we simply underestimated the level of public discontent and fiery rhetoric ‘trumped’ the strong ground game we put in place,” she said.

While Republicans have made gradual gains over the past few years, there are still about 5,000 more registered Democrats in Haywood County. Campbell said there are those within the party that didn’t support Hillary Clinton and either stayed home or voted for Trump.

“I view their alignment with Trump as short term and expect

Haywood County Republican Headquarters packed full of supporters and candidates on election night. Holly Kays photo

REPUBLICANS REJOICE Local Republican leaders say they weren’t surprised at all by the results from the top of the ticket to the bottom.

“I wasn’t surprised at all — all the candidates associated with Jackson County worked very hard,” said Ralph Slaughter, chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party.

He specifically pointed to the victory of Micky Luker and Ron Mau to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. The two challengers — who ran as a team — defeated Democratic incumbents Mark Jones and Vicki Greene.

“From day one they have been very active — they’ve attended every commissioner meeting for the last 16 to 18 months,” Slaughter said. “They’ve used Facebook and social media to tell the people what happened at the meetings and the history of Jackson commissioner spending.”

Slaughter said he didn’t want to downplay the importance Donald Trump played in getting Republicans elected in North Carolina.

“Jackson County was no different. He helped bring out the voters here who haven’t voted for the last eight to 16 years,” he said.

Kenneth Henson, chairman of the Haywood County Republicans, said Trump’s victory did more than get Republicans out to vote — he said it changed people’s perception of what it takes to run for office whether it’s the presidency or county commissioner.

“It’s been grilled into our brains that you’ve got to have experience to run for office, but what has experience got us?” he said. “I feel like we’ve gotten off track on what it takes to run this nation, state or county — to run this country, it has to come from the heart. You have to have a love and

appreciation for what this country stands for and a burning desire to want to stay free.”

Now with two Republicans on the Haywood County Commission — Rogers and Ensley — Henson hopes the board will become more conservative when it comes to spending money.

“I hope this time Kevin (Ensley) will be a lot more conservative with his spending — that’s the only problem we have with him and I hope Brandon (Rogers) can help him with that,” he said. “And that will give the Democrats a sign of what’s coming and maybe they will be more conservative with spending.”

As for the state Republican candidates, Slaughter said they were successful because they had plenty of opportunity to make their positions known at forums and debates held at Western Carolina University and Southwestern Community College.

“They clearly stated their purpose or what they want to continue to do,” he said.

He said Mike Clampitt, who ran against Rep. Joe Sam Queen for the third time this year, was able to defeat Queen this time around because of his persistence and presence in each county.

“Mike studied his issues and made excellent comments to voters,” Slaughter continued.

Henson agreed that Clampitt worked hard to get the word out in the district.

“People are tired of the same thing going on in Raleigh — they know Joe Sam is a liberal and they’re ready to go a different direction and take a chance on someone else,” he said.

Slaughter and Henson think this year’s election trends will continue into the future and perhaps change the Democratic hold on Haywood and Jackson counties.

Slaughter said the audiences at the WCU and SCC debates this year were more Republican than Democrat — something Slaughter hasn’t seen in the last 10 years he’s been chairman of the party.

“We’ll never be as large as the Democrats or unaffiliated but I think in 2018 we’ll be able to take the other two seats on the commission board,” Slaughter said.

Since the election, Henson said at least eight people have told him they’re changing their party affiliation to Republican. Now that Republicans in Haywood who haven’t voted in years are becoming involved, he hopes the trend toward the right continues into the next election as well. And the local party intends to hold its candidates more accountable to Republican values this time around.

“What’s happened before is we’ve gotten someone elected and didn’t keep up with it,” he said. “We’re keeping up with it this time and will hold them accountable and let them know certain things aren’t going to fly.”

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they will realign with the Democratic Party, especially after Roy Cooper becomes our governor,” she said.

Burrell said he didn’t think the Republican leaning trend would continue in Jackson County.

“The Clinton factor played into it this year — some people in these mountains still don’t want a woman in that position. I hate to say that but it’s true,” he said. “But if Democrats can get reorganized and restructure themselves and get leadership in certain places we can get our message across to the people we like to think we represent and look after.”

335 N. Haywood St. 828-400-1416 hhwalkerandcompany@aol.com

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The after-action report: 50 fast facts from the Haywood election results

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER nother layer of tint has been added to Haywood County’s changing political canvas.

Election Day results paint a picture of a red county growing redder. From Donald Trump to Brandon Rogers, Republicans were the big winners in Haywood County on Nov. 8, splashing broad strokes of red over what was once blue while also deepening rosy hues that have been so for decades.

That fact is but one of a trove of insights gleaned from the Haywood County precinctlevel election results published by the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Listed below are 49 more takeaways that also bring this ever-changing portrait into focus.

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U.S. PRESIDENT Around 3,000 more Republican voters than were to be expected materialized in Haywood County on Nov. 8; although Republican Donald Trump didn’t really need them to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton — he won by more than 8,000 votes — many down-ballot Republican candidates appear to have benefitted from the tidal wave of support.

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

1. Republican Presidential votes in Haywood County have increased 26 percent over three elections from 2008 to 2016, and have increased in every election.

2. Democratic Presidential votes in Haywood County have decreased 18 percent over the same period, and have declined in every election.

3. Haywood County’s population has grown about 6 percent over that same period, but registered voters have grown 11 percent in that time.

4. Trump won 28 of 29 voting precincts in Haywood County.

5. Trump’s top three precincts in terms of votes received were Ivy Hill, Jonathan Creek and Pigeon.

6. Between the three, Trump amassed a 2,200-vote lead over Clinton — accounting for a quarter of his margin of victory in the county.

7. The Ivy Hill precinct saw the most votes cast. Trump beat Clinton 1,524 to 791 there.

8. The Big Creek precinct saw the least votes cast. Trump beat Clinton 12 to 4 there.

9. Clinton’s top two precincts in terms of votes received were Ivy Hill and Jonathan Creek, just like Trump. Her third biggest precinct was South Waynesville 1.

10. She lost all three.

11. The only precinct Clinton won in Haywood County was Center Waynesville, 211 to 180, to Gary Johnson’s 27.

12. Libertarian Presidential votes in Haywood County have increased 282 percent from 2008 to 2016, swelling from 235 in 2008 (Bob Barr/Wayne Allen Root) to 898 in 2016 14

(Gary Johnson/Bill Weld). However, those votes still represent just 2.94 percent of presidential votes cast in the county.

13. Johnson’s highest percentages were found in Fines Creek 2 and Center Waynesville, where he topped out at 6.35 percent.

14. Voter turnout has been erratic since 2008 — Obama/McCain saw 71.9 percent of registered voters vote, Obama/Romney dipped to 65.8 percent, and Trump/Clinton rose to 69.6 percent.

15. In this contest, 30,574 Haywood County voters cast ballots; Trump garnered about 18,800 of them, Clinton about 10,400.

N.C. GOVERNOR Gov. Pat McCrory, R-Charlotte, also benefitted from the massive surge in Republican votes in Haywood County, but not as much as Trump did; he has, however, retained every bit of popularity in the county he enjoyed back in 2012. Interestingly, precinct results from this race make a strong case for the existence of the mythical “ticket-splitting” voter.

16. McCrory won Haywood County in 2012 by a margin of about 16,000 to 11,000.

17. In this contest, 30,308 people cast ballots; McCrory earned about 16,500 of them, and Attorney General Roy Cooper, D-Rocky Mount, about 12,800.

18. It’s likely that around 2,000 Haywood County residents who voted for Trump also voted for Cooper.

19. In Haywood County, Cooper won only three of 29 precincts — Lake Junaluska, South Waynesville 1 and South Waynesville 2.

20. Trump also won Lake Junaluska, South Waynesville 1 and South Waynesville 2.

21. Lon Cecil, L-High Point, earned 948 votes, slightly more than Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.

N.C. SENATE DISTRICT 50 Short of a scandal, Republican Jim Davis’ R-Franklin, has a solid western base and growing popularity in the east, making him look nearly invincible in N.C. Senate District 50. He easily defeated Democrat Jane Hipps, DWaynesville, for the second election in a row.

22. Davis has now won his last four N.C. Senate races, each time by increasing margins.

23. Davis’ district consists of seven counties; his strongest performances percentagewise were in the westernmost: Cherokee, Clay and Graham — where he earned between 70 and 75 percent of the vote.

24. Hipps’ strongest performances percentage-wise were in Jackson, Swain and Haywood counties, where she hovered between 40 and 45 percent of the vote.

25. Had Hipps taken 100 percent of the vote in Jackson County, she still wouldn’t have bested Davis.

Percentage of vote by Haywood County precinct, commissioner’s race 2016 26. Hipps won just two precincts in Haywood County — Lake Junaluska and South Waynesville 2, both Trump/Cooper precincts.

27. In 2012, Davis beat Democrat Jon Snow in Haywood County 15,589 to 11,392. In 2016, Davis beat Hipps in Haywood County 17,747 to 12,095.

N.C. HOUSE DISTRICT 118 Geographically, Haywood County makes up just a small portion of N.C. House District 118, which also includes all of Madison County and all of Rep. Michele Presnell’s, RBurnsville, home county, Yancey. Challenger Rhonda Cole Schandevel, D-Canton, hails from Haywood, but didn’t fare all that well there; the race’s formerly predictable results skewed dramatically to the right in this cycle, perhaps indicating an ideological shift.

29. Only 18 of Haywood’s 29 precincts (and half of Ivy Hill) are in District 118, but 47.7 percent of the race’s votes came from those precincts.

30. Presnell’s best margin and percentage point performance came in Schandevel’s home county of Haywood.

31. Presnell’s worst margin and percentage point performance came from her home county of Yancey.

32. Schandevel won just three Haywood County precincts – Crabtree, Beaverdam 2 and Beaverdam 5/6 — all of which provided her with only 123 more votes than Presnell.

33. Presnell won her first two terms districtwide with 51.3 percent of the vote both times. She defeated Schandevel this time with 55.4 percent of the vote.

34. Presnell’s previous Democratic opponents — Ray Rapp in 2012 and Dean Hicks in 2014 — both earned 48.7 percent of the vote districtwide.

35. Schandevel earned 44.6 percent of the vote districtwide.

N.C. HOUSE DISTRICT 119 The 10 Haywood County precincts (plus the other half of Ivy Hill) not in Rep. Presnell’s district are in the 119th

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Haywood completes animal rescue operation

District, as are Jackson and Swain counties.

Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, saw his opponent Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, pull a 1,400-vote swing from previous elections.

HAYWOOD COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

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they could use. Teague said the county kept some for the existing Hemlock Street

shelter, and gave other rescue organizations the rest.

We’re having fun — Come join us!

Republican Brandon Rogers’ decisive victory is the poster child for the reddening of Haywood County. He almost collected more votes than the two Democrats — Steve Brown and Robin Black — combined, he outpaced popular Republican incumbent Kevin Ensley by more than a thousand votes and he’ll be replacing retiring Democrat Mark Swanger, bringing the board from a 41 to a 3-2 Democratic majority.

42. Rogers’ top three precincts by number of votes received were Pigeon, Ivy Hill and Jonathan Creek — just like Trump.

43. Rogers took 42 percent of the vote in his largest precinct, Pigeon.

44. Ensley bested Rogers in the two larger precincts, Ivy Hill and Jonathan Creek.

45. Brown won only Center Waynesville.

46. Black didn’t win any precincts, but came in second to Brown in Center Waynesville — also the only precinct in which Rogers came in dead last.

47. During 2008, 2012 and 2016 — all presidential election years — there have always been two Democrats and two Republicans seeking just two seats on the board.

48. From 2008 to 2016, Democratic votes declined 29.7 percent.

49. Over that same period, Republican votes increased 46.5 percent.

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36. In Clampitt’s two previous outings against Queen — in 2012 and 2014 — he earned 48.3 percent and 47.4 percent of the districtwide vote, respectively. In 2016 he improved to 50.4 percent.

37. Queen recorded almost 300 more votes in Haywood County in 2016 than he did during the last presidential election year of 2012.

38. Clampitt recorded almost 600 more votes in Haywood County in 2016 than he did in during the last presidential election year of 2012.

38. Queen lost to Clampitt districtwide by 301 votes.

39. From U.S. President to U.S. Senate to U.S. House on down the ticket through N.C. Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Agriculture Commissioner, Insurance Commissioner, Labor Commissioner, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Treasurer, State Senate, State House and the Haywood Commissioners, the only Democrat to win Haywood County was Queen.

40. Queen and McCrory were the only legislative candidates on the ballot to win Haywood County but lose their races.

41. Queen and McCrory were the only incumbents on Haywood County ballots to lose their races.

Volunteers tend to dogs at a temporary shelter Nov. 5 in Hazelwood. Cory Vaillancourt photo

November 16-22, 2016

mange, but overall, the condition of the animals seemed generally good.

The owners voluntary surrendered the dogs, a fact Teague says may work in their favor.

“It did help, because we were able to help the dogs more quickly” without resistance from the owners. Their cooperation, Teague said, would be “factored in” to the county’s decision on what charges, if any, will be pursued against them.

Teague said he was very encouraged by the community’s response to the emergency, and plans a debriefing session next week to evaluate the county’s response and prepare for future emergencies.

He added that they’d kept the contact info of all the volunteers who dropped by the temporary shelter, in the event that similar occurrences transpire in the future; he estimated that all in all, more than 190 people lent a hand at some point.

Some, he said, spent many hours cleaning cages and feeding dogs, while others just dropped by to take dogs out for walks.

Community donations of cleaning supplies and food left the temporary shelter fully stocked during the operation, resulting in an unlikely windfall for the county shelter and rescue organizations.

The shelter ended up receiving “several hundred” bags of dog food weighing thousands of pounds, which was more than

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER fter serving as an ad-hoc temporary animal shelter, the old Lea Industries building on Lea Plant Road in Hazelwood is once again empty and silent.

Haywood County Animal Services moved everything out on Nov. 13 after utilizing the facility for just nine days to catalogue, inoculate and care for the animals, surrendered from a property in Canton Nov. 5.

County Director of Animal Services Doyle Teague said that of the 127 total dogs, 33 dogs were adopted out and 94 were transferred to other animal rescue organizations such as Sarge’s and Duke’s.

None, Teague said, needed to be euthanized.

The owners of the property where the animals were found — James and Angela Croft — may yet face charges related to the hoarding.

“We’re evaluating that right now, now that we’ve got the dog situation under control,” Teague said.

The Crofts voluntarily surrendered the animals after a complaint prompted county officials to visit the property where more than 50 dogs were living inside a singlewide mobile home and dozens of others were chained or caged on the property. Some showed signs of malnutrition, or had

RECREATION CENTER 550 Vance St. • Waynesville • 828.456.2030 www.waynesvillenc.gov

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news

Library offers stress relief workshop Michelle Sanderbeck, ND, will present an informative program on handling the stress of life from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Waynesville Library.

Participants will take a stress survey to access how stress impacts their lives, identify common holiday stressors and what to do about them, discover nine foods to eat to reduce stress and three foods to avoid and learn stress reduction techniques to begin practicing immediately.

This program is free and open to all.

WCU to hold open house event

Canton robbery suspect arrested A man the Clyde Police Department and Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office mentioned as “wanted” in connection to an armed robbery that happened at the Single Stop on Carolina Boulevard in Clyde on Oct. 15 has been arrested.

Scott Anthony Leisey, 18, of Canton, was arrested at Mile Marker 127 on I-75 during a traffic stop after an armed robbery at the Flash Foods in Unadilla, Georgia, in Dooly County.

Leisey is currently being held at the Dooly County Justice Center charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of firearm during commission of felony.

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

Western Carolina University will welcome prospective students and their families and friends to campus as the university holds Open House on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Admission, Open House gives visitors a chance to tour the campus, learn about the university’s wide array of award-winning academic pro-

grams, and find out the important details of topics such as financial aid.

For interested students who cannot attend the Nov. 19 event, weekday campus tours are available year-round by appointment for students and their families. Also spring semester Open House events are planned for two Saturdays in early 2017.

828.227.7317.

@SmokyMtnNews 16

NPR to migrate Waynesville broadcast WCU in design phase of broadcast station for newly acquired 95.3 FM

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER aywood County listeners accustomed to tuning into 95.3 FM for their National Public Radio fix will have to look elsewhere on the dial after Ashevillebased WCQS switches its Waynesville broadcast to 102.9 FM, beginning Friday, Nov. 18.

The switch is the culmination of a yearslong tug-of-war over the future of the frequency, which WCQS had been using as a radio translator. Translators, unlike transmitters, are lower in power and are not protected from encroachment by other stations.

A domino effect triggered by a station in Georgia that has likely never even heard of WCQS resulted in the 95.3 frequency coming available for licensing as a transmitter out of Jackson County — but WCQS was not eligible to apply for the frequency, as federal rules require that the station operating on the frequency be headquartered locally, in this case in Jackson County.

The 102.9 station was “by far the best frequency” available to replace 95.3, according to Barbara Sayer, program director for WCQS. Though the new owner of 95.3, Western Carolina University, had offered WCQS its old frequency of 90.5 as a replacement, that signal would not have carried the strength needed in the Waynesville area.

“We hope that it will be somewhat comparable, but we have never moved a transmitter or a translator where we didn’t lose some people,” Sayer said. “It’s just impossible to get a complete overlay with a different frequency.”

Coverage varies depending on the frequency and the location of the tower broadcasting it, so even the coverage that the previous owner of 102.9 realized would not be a reliable indicator of the station’s reach once it becomes WCQS. There’s really no way to predict what the coverage will be before the change goes into effect, though Sayer is hoping that the continuity of coverage that 95.3 had provided along U.S. 74 through Haywood County will be preserved.

“We are very interested to hear what we will hear from people,” Sayer said. “We want people to call us, and I can pretty much guarantee you that they will.”

Over in Jackson County, WCU’s radio station is busy getting its ducks in a row to start broadcasting on 95.3, which will provide

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much broader coverage than the university’s current home on 90.5. But the transition is far from complete.

Before work can start on the new tower — to be located on Brown Mountain about 5 miles south of Cullowhee — an analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act must be completed, and a notice of the project will be sent out to Native American tribes who have lived in the area at some point in their history. Those tribes will have a chance to review the site for any cultural or historical artifacts.

The university is already heavy into the design phase, which is a time-consuming part of the process.

“This is the stage of the design that involves all the little details, and this is the stage of the design that takes the most time,” said Don Connelly, head of the WCU Department of Communications.

WCU is currently working with the engi-

neering company, Raleigh-based Tower Engineering Professionals, on the civil engineering portion of the project. A road capable of bearing heavy loads must be built up to the tower site, and a fenced-in compound will be constructed around the tower. Then, of course, there’s the tower itself. The design work encompasses myriad variables that must be identified and decided upon before construction can begin.

“Our goal is that it will be happening before 2017 is over,” Connelly said of the station’s broadcast start date. “Then there’s this other factor called weather.”

Despite the fact that WCU will not be using its new frequency for some time, WCQS did not have the option of continuing to use 95.3 until the university needed it.

After applying for 102.9, the station had a limited window of time to begin broadcast at the new frequency.

Sayers is hopeful that 102.9 will serve WCQS’s Waynesville following well.

“We have made strategic moves (in the past) when we realized we could get a better signal somewhere else, but to have to abandon what we know has been a really strong signal was a tough pill to swallow,” she said.

“But it is what we have to do, and we are not interested in not serving that area.”

Community Almanac Nonprofit establishes SCC scholarship

Students to serve free pre-Thanksgiving meal

Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, a local nonprofit, has established a $15,000 endowed scholarship through the Southwestern Community College Foundation.

CSA gave an $11,000 gift for the scholarship in April and raised the remaining $4,000 at the group’s 10th annual fundraising dinner held on Sept. 27. When selecting recipients, priority will be given to SCC students studying arts and the environment.

828.339.4000 or www.southwesterncc.edu.

Members of the Western Carolina University Student Social Work Association are partnering with Cullowhee United Methodist Church to offer a free pre-Thanksgiving meal to local residents in need Friday, Nov. 18.

The hot meal will be served from noon until 8 p.m. at the church located at 416 Central Drive on the WCU campus.

828.227.1485 or jdulworth@wcu.edu.

HCC offers nonprofit seminar A seminar aiming to help nonprofit professionals “Performance Enhancement through Coaching and Counseling” will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in Room 1510 on the Haywood Community College campus.

The presenter John Curtis, Ph.D., has worked with hundreds of nonprofits nationwide.

Visit sbc.haywood.edu or call 828.627.4512 to register.

Diaper donations being taken The Haywood Healthcare Foundation is leading a new initiative to build up a diaper bank for families in need.

The Foundation Diaper Drive accepts new, clean, disposable diapers. Call 828.452.8343 or drop off Monday-Thursday in the old urgent care building behind Haywood Regional Medical Center, Second Floor.

Businesses and organizations can also help by hosting a diaper drive are easy to organize and can be held by an individual or a group.

Use flyers, social media and company newsletters for getting the word out about your drive.

Email susan.anderson@haymed.org with information about your diaper drive efforts.

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Waynesville receives money for Chestnut Park The Fund for Haywood County, an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, recently presented a check for $11,840 to the Town of Waynesville from the Mib and Phil Medford Endowment Fund to support improvements at Chestnut Park.

The Medford Grant will pay for plant materials and trees, benches and picnic tables, and signage. These efforts will contribute to redevelop this property as a usable park space for surrounding neighbors and the general public.

828.734.0570 or www.fundforhaywood county.org.

Chief Lambert appointed Grace Church awards to CDC committee grants to charities Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Patrick Lambert has been appointed area representative to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tribal Advisory Committee.

The CDC TAC meets in person twice a year to provide an opportunity for Tribal leaders to speak openly about the public health issues affecting their communities. Discussion topics included Native specimens, behavioral risk factors, funding opportunities, and disease-specific topics. Lambert is the Nashville Area regional representative speaking for more than 26 federally recognized Tribes.

Smoky Mountain News

Grace Episcopal Church in the Mountains awarded 20 grants to local Haywood County charities this month, totaling $18,000.

The money was raised from the church’s 2016 Annual Parish Fair held on the last Saturday in July. This year’s grant recipients are: The Arc of Haywood County, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Circles of Hope, Clothes to Kids, The Community Kitchen, Fine Creek Community Association, Good Samaritan Clinic of Haywood County, Haywood Christian Ministries, Haywood County Gleaners, Haywood Pathways Center, Mountain Mediation Services, Mountain Projects, Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center, REACH, Western Economic Development Organization, Duke’s Animal Haven, Edith Allen Wildlife Sanctuary, FUR, and Haywood Spay and Neuter.

College help available for foster children Baptist Children’s Homes has begun a ministry to support former foster and residential care college students as they tackle their higher education goals and everyday life.

HOMEBASE College Ministry operates on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee utilizing the former Baptist Student Union building. HOMEBASE specifically focuses on aiding students who have aged out of the foster care system or residential homes like BCH.

BANDITS WIN S.C. STATE TOURNAMENT The Carolina Bandits 12U AA travel baseball team, with players from across WNC and Northeast Georgia, were champions in the USSSA Winter State Tournament in North Myrtle Beach. The Bandits went 4-0 and defeated the Hawks from Charleston in a dogfight to win the tournament.

HOMEBASE is in the infancy stages. The program had a soft launch at the beginning of the current semester and is targeting the beginning of next year as the official opening of the center. Volunteers are needed to help with repair projects at the building and supplies are needed for the students.

828.293.4660.

Evergreen gives $74,500 to disability agencies The Evergreen Foundation is providing $74,500 in second quarter funding to seven nonprofit agencies providing programs and services for individuals with behavioral health, substance use and intellectual/developmental disabilities.

The following agencies received funding: The Arc of Haywood County — $1,000 to support their “Arc”toberfest fundraiser.

Life Challenge of WNC — $9,000 to upgrade their septic system and windows in their residential substance abuse treatment facility for young women.

Webster Enterprises — $9,500 to assist them in purchasing a vehicle to be used for their supported employment and other services.

Southwestern Child Development — $20,000 to continue providing case management needed for individuals with substance abuse and behavioral health needs in their winter homeless shelter program in Jackson County.

Community Services of Swain County — $12,500 for mental health services for children in their school-based mobile health unit.

Disability Partners — $2,500 to provide equipment for their sensory room serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Western North Carolina AIDS Project — $20,000 to expand services into Macon,

Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Swain, Jackson and Haywood Counties.

• A charity-dining event hosted by Paoletti’s Restaurant raised $85,000 to benefit Hospice House Foundation of WNC, an inpatient hospice facility that will serve the western North Carolina/northeast Georgia region. 828.524.6375.

ALSO:

• Sylva Linings, a nonprofit organization where all proceeds support Mountain Projects, Inc., is asking for donations of gently used furniture to resale. Drop off donations at 1264 W. Main St., in Sylva or call 828.586.9737 for pick-up.

• Zonta Club of Franklin and the Robert and Polly Dunn Foundation recently presented REACH of Macon County with a check for $30,600. The funding was raised during the annual Boots and Bling fundraising event.

• The Macon County Rural Development Panel hosted a Youth Conservation Field Day recently with over 300 seventh grade students from Macon Middle School and Nantahala School taking part in outdoor classes.

• Located in the heart of Hazelwood, at 112 Virginia Avenue, the Folkmoot Center is offering rental space. Rates range from $50 for an hour to $1,200 for a full day. For more information, call 828.452.2997 or email laura@folkmoot.org.

• A support group meeting for those with Parkinson’s Disease and their caregivers will be held at 2 p.m. the last Wednesday of November the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Once again, Electoral College plays controversial role

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Haywood needs a voice at the table To the Editor: On a personal level, I am quite unhappy with last Tuesday’s election results. As a “community leader,” what concerns me more is that Haywood County no longer has any representative in Raleigh. In the last legislative map drawing, Haywood County was a sacrificial lamb. I have no recriminations for those people that held that political brush.

However, as the canvas is now painted, I see nothing good for the county for generations to come. This isn’t about Democrats and Republicans. It is a serious political issue when the largest electorate in a governmental district has no voice. And that’s what Haywood is — the largest county by population in both the 118th and the 119th state House districts and in the 50th Senate District.

I challenge the citizens of Haywood County, the political parties, businesses and other affected entities to rectify this civic injustice. We don’t have the liberty to point fingers, but we have the obligation to rightfully take our seat at the table.

In politics, “pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered.” I for one, don’t relish my county on the political menu as an hors d’oeurve.

Mayor Gavin A. Brown Waynesville

fact it’s the Electoral College system that’s in the Constitution, not the directive to vote for the popular vote winner in the state the electors represent.

Look, many are once again raising a ruckus about our Electoral College system, the same system that sent George W. Bush to the White House in 2000 after Al Gore won the popular vote. This election will mark the fifth time this has happened in our country’s history, so twice in the last 16 years has got some saying the system needs to change.

Editor But there’s little chance that will happen. It would take a Constitutional Amendment to do away with the Electoral College system, and there’s almost zero chance the nation’s small states would go for it. However, there might be another way (more on that later).

Here’s the way the current system works, in a nutshell.

Each state is assigned a number of electors based on their representation in Congress. States with small populations like Wyoming get three electors because it has two senators and one representative, while California has 55 electors. In almost all cases, you win a state by one vote, you get all its electoral votes; you win a state by millions of votes, you get the same number of electoral votes as if you had won by one vote.

So, in this case, Clinton won by big margins and millions of votes in the typically liberal states like New York and California but lost by much smaller margins in swing states

Scott McLeod

e are a democratic republic, not a pure democracy. I was reminded of that in a most unusual way at a most unusual place.

My wife Lori and I were descending the 15,355-foot-high Condor Pass in the Peruvian Andes on Wednesday, Nov. 9, when I turned to Bram — an engineer from Belgium who was part of our group and also happened to have an international phone plan — and told him I couldn’t hold out any longer.

“Who won?” I asked.

He pulled out his phone and stared at it as he pushed icons on the screen and tapped in the question.

“No coverage yet, Scott.”

A few hours later we stopped for a break — closer to civilization than we had been for two days — and it was Bram who brought it up the second time.

“So who wants to know who won the U.S. election?”

Several in our group said no, they could wait. I couldn’t.

“Trump won,” Bram said, “but apparently he got fewer votes. How does that work?”

We voted for Clinton and got Trump. And so for the second time in 16 years, the winner of the popular vote won’t get a stint in the White House thanks to the Electoral College. As I write this — with millions of votes still to count around the nation — the tally stands at 60,910,473 votes for Donald Trump and 61,867,572 for Hillary Clinton. Most of those uncounted votes are in states that have already been put in Clinton’s column, so there’s no way the election result changes.

Unless the electors do what they’ve never done before — not vote according to their party’s wishes. Not likely, but in

like North Carolina and Ohio. So she gets more votes, but Trump wins the Electoral College tally and the presidency.

Here’s the rub on the system: each of the three electoral votes in Wyoming — with a population of 584,153 — accounts for 194,717 voters. California has 38,800,000 people, so each of its 55 electoral votes represents 705,454 voters. Do the math, and each electoral vote in Wyoming is worth 3.6 times more than each electoral vote in California.

The electors aren’t Constitutionally committed to vote for the candidate that wins the popular vote in their state, but since they are chosen by party leadership they almost always do, and never have enough broke rank to change the outcome of the election.

So smaller states get a huge boost in their political power under the Electoral College, and I don’t think there will ever be enough momentum to change the system via a Constitutional Amendment.

But there’s another way. Stanford professor and computer scientist John Koza is the founder of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). This interstate agreement does not require Congressional approval and has been passed by 10 state legislatures and Washington, D.C. In effect, the agreement promises a state’s electors to the winner of the national popular vote, not to the outcome of its state vote.

But I don’t think it will change. I like the idea of the popular vote winner actually winning, but I think we’re stuck with the Electoral College.

As I was reminded of on the slopes of the Andes, we are a republic, not a democracy.

(Reach Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com.)

The GOP has the ball, so let’s see what they do

Chris Cox

I

Americans, since Trump catered to and emboldened that particular, um, demographic at every turn during his campaign. It should come as no surprise that we have seen multiple reports of hateful and racist acts in the days after the election, prompting the President-elect to admonish some of his followers on 60 Minutes.

He is rather like Dr. Frankenstein trying to control the monster that he himself animated, if not created.

It is tempting to see this, as I did for several days, as a seismic shift not just in our politics, but in our country. But upon closer inspection, we see that Trump did no better with voters than John McCain or Mitt Romney. We see that for the second time in 16 years, a Republican was elected as president despite getting fewer votes than his opponent. It is worth noting that Trump himself despises the Electoral College system, but that is another column for another time.

The point is that the voters who elected Trump have been there for the past several election cycles, in more or less the same numbers. Progressives were able to ignore this formidable block of voters as a force because in the previous two elections, they had a bigger force, that charismatic agent of change and hope, Barack Obama.

There is no doubt that President Obama has accomplished some major goals that have benefited millions of American, including 22 million Americans who now have health insurance because of the Affordable Healthcare Act, or Obamacare. He also deserves credit for his role in rescuing the economy from the brink of total collapse brought about by the disastrous George W. Bush administration.

But here is the thing, and it is the thing

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because that was the party that fought for good pay, decent working conditions, and good benefits (including health insurance) for people like him. Where is that fight now?

Where was it during the campaign?

Both parties have abandoned the working class, which is why voters are fed up with the system. It should come as no surprise that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump generated the most excitement in this election, or that Hillary Clinton lost.

Sanders made the fatal mistake of branding himself as a Democratic Socialist without understanding that too many voters would only hear “socialist” and listen no further, while Clinton was the ultimate product of the system, in spite of or maybe because of all of the things she has accomplished.

Trump is the President-elect because he was able to run both as an outsider and as the Republican nominee. If either party fails to see that this election is a repudiation of the system and a cry in the wilderness for meaningful reform, we will be right back where we started four years from now.

The Democrats can and should continue to fight for justice and inclusion while reconnecting to their working class roots, and they had better. The Republicans had better see to it that Trump keeps his promises to the voters that elected him, because once the wall goes up, the tax breaks go out, and the rich just keep on getting richer as they always do when trickle-down economics fails to trickle as it always does, there will be no one left to blame.

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

November 16-22, 2016

needed nearly a full day after the election before I could formulate a response to the election of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States.

Just before 10 p.m. on election night, as Florida and North Carolina broke for Trump and it began to dawn on everyone that all the pollsters and pundits had had it all wrong, I must have read two dozen posts on Facebook ranging in tone from delirious celebration to abject misery to comColumnist plete disbelief, but I contributed nothing because I just could not believe what was unfolding.

On Wednesday morning, I awakened to an America that I could no longer recognize, and faced the task of telling my children that the foul-mouthed man they had been seeing on television over the past several months was going to be the next President. It was one of the most depressing experiences of my life.

Now that I have had nearly a week to reflect, I think Trump’s victory must be reckoned with as something more than the triumph of racism and xenophobia and sexism and incivility over what many Americans hold as a core value: equal treatment, inclusion, and justice for all. There can be no question that the election of Trump represents a crushing blow to the spirit for all of those who have engaged in that battle and have celebrated every hard fought step forward.

There is also no question that this battle just became much more difficult and the country a much less safe place for millions of

that the Democratic Party keeps missing.

Working class voters have been largely left out of the equation, unaided by the economic recovery, and, worst of all, categorized as racists or uneducated fools if they complain about it.

Obamacare is as good a place as any to start. The legislation itself was the result of a bitterly fought battle, a highly compromised bill that almost everybody agreed had “problems,” but proponents believed was at least a step in the right direction. For many people who had no health care and could get none due to pre-existing conditions, it was a godsend.

For many others, who did not get to keep their original insurance plan as they had been promised they would, it was onerous, sometimes much more expensive than their previous plans, sometimes prohibitively so. But when they complained about paying out as much as 30-40 percent of their monthly income for health insurance, they were largely ignored, or even scoffed at. They were told to be grateful that they had insurance and to quit being selfish.

This was one of several catastrophic mistakes made by the Democrats, but in some ways it sums up the larger problem. People suffer for all kinds of different reasons, and are disenfranchised in all kinds of ways. The Democrats have done an admirable job in fighting for inclusiveness and justice for those groups who have for much too long been on the outside looking in. But the party has paid less attention to the shrinking middle class, working class voters like my late father, who was a long haul truck driver and a Democrat

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BLOSSOM ON MAIN 128 N. Main Street, Waynesville.

828.454.5400. Open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Mild, medium, to hot and spicy, our food is cooked to your like-able temperature.

Forget the myth that all Thai food is spicy.

Traditional Thai food is known to be quite healthy, making use of natural and fresh ingredients, paired with lots of spices, herbs, and vegetables. Vegetarians and health conscious individuals will not be disappointed as fresh vegetables and tofu are available in most of our menu as well as wines and saki chosen to compliment the unique flavors of Thai cuisine.

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.

November 16-22, 2016

Sunday–Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m Friday & Saturday 11 a.m.–11 p.m.

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

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

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Chef owned and operated. Our salads are made in house using local seasonal vegetables. Fresh roasted ham, turkey and roast beef used in our hoagies. We hand make our own eggplant and chicken parmesan, pork meatballs and hamburgers. We use 1st quality fresh not pre-prepared products to make sure you get the best food for a reasonable price. We make vegetarian, gluten free and sugar free items. Call or go to Facebook (Breaking Bread Café NC) to find out what our specials are.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Family-style breakfast seven days a week, from 8 am to 9:30 am – with eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pancakes, and always all-you-can-eat. Lunch every day from 12:00 till 2 pm. Evening cookouts on the terrace on weekends and Wednesdays, featuring steaks, ribs, chicken, and pork chops, to name a few. Bountiful family-style dinners on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with entrees that include prime rib, baked ham and herb-baked chicken, complemented by seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts. We also offer a fine selection of wine and beer.

The evening social hour starts at 6 pm, and dinner is served starting at 7 pm. So join us for mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view. Please call for reservations.

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.

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.

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.

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde

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

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

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Smoky Mountain News

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Served with house salad or roasted butternut squash soup, green beans amandine, roasted garlic rosemary mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, homemade cranberry sauce, and choice of pumpkin pie, apple pie or ice cream.

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Reservations strongly suggested MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED ALL ABC PERMITS

Cataloochee Ranch 20

119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751 | CataloocheeRanch.com | (828)926-1401

Hwy. 19 • Maggie Valley 828-926-1817

Lunch: Sat. & Sun., Noon-4 p.m.

Dinner: Wed.-Sun., 4 p.m.

tasteTHEmountains J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817.

Open nightly for dinner at 4 p.m.; Friday through Sunday 12 to 4 p.m. for lunch.

Daily luncheon special at $6.99. Worldfamous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Winter hours: 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Joey’s is a family style restaurant that has been serving breakfast to the locals and visitors of Western North Carolina since 1966. 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.

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

828.586.3555. Open Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Handtossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch.

Beer and wine. Free movies with showtimes at 6:30 and 9 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Visit madbatterfoodandfilm.com for this week’s shows.

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday.

Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your table. Fine wine and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, dine indoors, outside on the patio or at the bar. Reservations appreciated.

SAGEBRUSH STEAKHOUSE 1941 Champion Drive. Canton 828.646.3750 Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Carry out available.

Sagebrush features hand carved steaks,

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville. Using only the freshest ingredients in home-made soups, salads and sandwiches. Come in and see for yourself why Smoky Mountain Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County. Locally owned and operated.

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.

THE HEALTHY WAY 284 A North Haywood Street, Waynesville.

828.246.9691. Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Monday through Friday. Welcome to the healthy way! Shake it to lose it!! Protein shakes, protein bars, teas and much more.

Our shakes and protein bars are meal replacements.

TRAILHEAD CAFE & BAKERY 18 N Main Street, Waynesville.

828.452.3881 Open 7 days a week Monday-Saturday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You will find a delicious selection of pastries & donuts, breakfast & lunch along with a fresh coffee & barista selection. Happy Trails!

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY 32 Felmet Street, Waynesville.

828.246.0927. Open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

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.

Mon.-Thurs.

11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Closed Tues.

Sun. 12-9 p.m.

Closed Thanksgiving Day 32 Felmet Street (828) 246-0927

Let us Cater Your Holiday Parties, Large or Small WaynesvilleCatering.com

828-452-7837 WAYNESVILLE’S BEST BURGERS

Open for Breakfast MON.-SAT. 8 A.M. 3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC

www.CityLightsCafe.com

MON.-SAT. 11 A.M.-8 P.M.

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 Mtwitter.com/ChurchStDepot C facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot Ask us about our 10% Discount for Waynesville Locals

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Thanksgiving Pies and Desserts Breakfast - Lunch - Coffee - Donuts & More Monday - Saturday 7-4 | Sunday 9-3 18 N Main St. in the heart of Waynesville

828-452-3881

MEDITERRANEAN

Come Try Thai Today

WINE • BEER • SAKE Open Daily 11:30-9:00 (828) 454-5400

BlossomOnMain.com

ITALIAN CUISINE

BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT in or near Waynesville.

Smoky Mountain News

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

SALTY DOG'S SEAFOOD & GRILL 3567 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.926.9105. Open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Full service bar and restaurant located in the center of Maggie Valley.

Featuring daily $6 lunch specials and daily dinner specials such as $1 Taco Tuesdays and 45¢ Wednesday Wings. Backyard Bar is open every weekend thru October. Join us for every NFL game.

November 16-22, 2016

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.

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

Great food, great service & you can never go wrong with “Deb’s Pick”!

1863 S. Main Street • Waynesville 828.454.5002 Hwy. 19/23 Exit 98 LUNCH & DINNER TUES. - SUN.

www.pasqualesnc.com

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

‘In the Soundless Awe’ Depicting the USS Indianapolis tragedy of World War II, the production of “In the Soundless Awe” will be staged Nov. 16-20 in the Hoey Auditorium at Western Carolina University. Mark Haskett photo

Play co-written by Western Carolina University professor he haunting final moments of the man at the helm of the worse naval disaster in U.S. history will be portrayed as Western Carolina University’s School of Stage and Screen presents “In the Soundless Awe,” a play co-written by Jayme McGhan, associate professor and director of the school.

The production, part of WCU’s Mainstage theater season, will be “We tried to imagine what Captain staged at Hoey Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 16 through Saturday, McVay’s experience might have been Nov. 19, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20. after suffering for so long from the On July 30, 1945, during the height of World War II, the USS Indianapolis erroneous guilt and horror over the was hit by two Japanese torpedoes, killing 300 sailors in the initial blast sinking of the Indy. It was a very and leaving 900 to drift helplessly in emotional piece to write.” the Pacific Ocean. Only 321 survivors were found in the ocean when rescuers — Jayme McGhan, associate professor, Western arrived five days later.

Carolina University School of Stage and Screen “Twenty-two years later, Charles Butler McVay III, the wrongly courtmartialed and disgraced captain of the USS Indianapolis, puts a gun to his head after many years of night terrors where specters, human

T

and otherwise, call to him from below,” McGhan said. “‘In the Soundless Awe’ is a horrific and heartbreaking imagining of McVay’s final nightmare.”

Before joining the WCU faculty in early 2015, McGhan was associate professor and artistic director of the theater program at Concordia University Chicago. A nationally recognized playwright, he wrote “In the Soundless Awe” with fellow playwright Andy Pederson, associate professor of English at Concordia.

The play gained a highly coveted “#1 Show to See” rating from the NY Theatre Guide after its run in New York City last fall, and it will have its Chicago premiere in June.

“We tried to imagine what Captain McVay’s experience might have been after suffering for so long from the erroneous guilt and horror over the sinking of the Indy. It was a very emotional piece to write,” McGhan said. “The faculty of stage and screen decided to produce the show after the successful run in New York City, especially given that WCU is a military-friendly institution, and the stories of servicemen and servicewomen are often missing from the American stage.”

All retired and active duty members of the military will receive free admission to the production in honor of their service. Those individuals should mention their service to the box office staff to receive a complimentary ticket.

“Please be advised that the play does include intense scenes of carnage and sounds and imagery that may trigger those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder,” McGhan said.

The play is an especially exciting one to produce from a technical standpoint because the action takes place in a basin of water built on stage.

“We constructed a shallow pool of water, roughly one to two inches deep, out of a thick rubber membrane,” McGhan said.

“There also is a safety pool built underneath the main pool to serve as a catch in case of failure. The pool spreads across the entirety of the stage and is meant to invoke a sense of the seemingly endless ocean for the audience.”

The production also utilizes cutting-edge video, projection and sound design created by guest artist Andy Evan Cohen, a New York City-based sound and projection designer.

Tickets for “In the Soundless Awe” are $11 for WCU faculty and staff, and seniors; $16 for adults; and $10 for students on the day of the show and $7 in advance. Tickets can be purchased from the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center by visiting bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or calling 828.227.2479.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Garret K. Woodward photo

An Ode to Election 2016

Smoky Mountain News

Hate didn’t get us to this Mountain Faith will perform “Sounds of point. It also didn’t win the Christmas” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, at election. the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing A stagnant Congress for the Arts in Franklin. last 16 years, the Democratic The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) National Committee screwing will host PMA (reggae/rock) at 9 p.m. Friday, over Sen. Bernie Sanders, longNov. 18. time internal fighting in the Republican party, the Storyteller Donald Davis will be performing Heartland of America being material from his latest book Cripple Joe: Stories ignored for decades, and the from my Daddy at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in mere fact Vice President Joe the Sam Queen Auditorium in the Folkmoot Biden should have run — that’s Friendship Center in Waynesville. what decided the 2016 presiNo Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host The dential election.

Punknecks and Russ T. Nutz (outlaw country) at Were there racist and sexist 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. elements at play? Yes, much more than previously known or The 15th annual “Stecoah Arts & Crafts Drive realized. But, those things didAbout Tour” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. n't win this election. The 25-26 in Bryson City, Stecoah and Robbinsville. majority of Trump people wanted change, and they got about (sexism, racism, homophobia, fear, pushed into his camp after years of no posievangelicalism, anger) have been key traits tive or progressive or profitable alternative of our country at numerous crossroads over in sight. I went and covered the Trump rally the last 240 years. The difference? Through in Asheville, and there was ugliness, viciousall that, we still have made enormous socieness and pure anger on both sides — most tal and economical change, and all for the of it misguided. better. No matter who wins, our country And if you really sit down and look at was founded on change and compromise. what both sides wanted, you’ll see there are We're on the precipice of that exact change more commonalities than differences. Folks we have the right to vote for, and ultimately want jobs, security, affordable health care elect into office. No matter who wins, the and education, and a place to do and be sky will not fall. The sun will rise tomorrow. whatever they want to be — Democrat, We have checks and balances, and also the Republican or Independent. will as a people to come together.

All these things people are freaking out

November 16-22, 2016

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arts & entertainment

This must be the place

Know your history. Know the basis of politics. Change and large shifts happen time and time again, for good or ill, for both parties. What remains is we as a people and a country have never given up in hopes of a better tomorrow for all Americans. Work together in your own communities. As they say — think globally, act locally.

OK, Republicans. You won. You won “bigly.” The ball is in your court, just like it has been in the Democrats’ court before. The tilt of power sways once again. Trump won.

The people spoke. The system wasn’t rigged.

Neither candidate was the best of what we as a country had to offer. But, the election is over, a winner declared. Now, let’s work together and not forget that each and every one of us is an American at the end of the day.

In my heart of hearts, I hold out hope for a better tomorrow, for I (and you, and all of us) have seen those better tomorrows, just like we’ve seen those dark days, too. As in anything in life, it’s a mixed bag when it comes to what you want, need and fight for, and what you ultimately get. But, what matters most is how you react to either outcome — the true test of character and integrity.

And so, as I awoke the Wednesday morning, I noticed the sunshine streaming into my bedroom window. A moment later, I remembered what transpired the previous night. It was a surreal feeling to think of this next, unknown chapter in American history.

But, I slowly got out of bed, noticed more grey hairs in the bathroom mirror, brushed my teeth, spit into the sink, washed my face, got dressed and headed out my front door.

The world right off my porch was still there. My old, rusty musty pickup truck still started up. I threw the vehicle into drive and merged into traffic on nearby Russ Avenue.

Seeing as it has been such a long and grueling Election Night, and with a welcoming blue sky above, I headed for my one place in downtown Waynesville of solitude and understanding — Waffle House.

I grabbed my usual seat at the counter of the establishment. The coffee tasted the same, and so did the meat and eggs, hash browns smothered. The conversations were the same, with the servers — like clockwork — showing others pictures of their kids and grandkids amid talk about the weather, college football and the recent wildfires in Western North Carolina. But, what was different was the tone in the air. It was much more quiet than normal. Everyone within earshot, everyone across the country (win or lose) is exhausted.

This election cycle brought out the worst in us as a nation. It also brought out the undying passion and determination to make real and tangible change, and all for the better. That change isn’t who will sit in the Oval Office. It’s the day-to-day actions and movements that aim to include all walks of life into this great big circle of humanity we’re all part of.

The internal fire for freedom and equality in this country didn't go out. On the contrary, it just got a whole lot brighter, regardless of your politics. We're Americans. We don't stop fighting for just causes. Keep on keepin' on, y'all. This is truth — politically, historically, and spiritually.

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

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On the beat arts & entertainment

Wineseller welcomes ‘Mean Mary’

An evening with Bret Michaels

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

Rock legend Bret Michaels and special guests Warrant and FireHouse will present “The Party Starts Now” evening of performances at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at Harrah’s Cherokee.

Michaels first rose to fame as the front man of Poison. As one of rock’s most iconic and enduring bands, Poison has charted 10 singles in the Top 40 on Billboard’s Hot 100, including “Talk Dirty To Me,” “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and “Something To Believe In.” Tickets can be found at www.harrahscherokee.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

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Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist “Mean Mary” James will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

Known internationally for lightning-fast fingers, haunting vocals, and intricate story songs, James explores the genres of folk-rock, bluegrass, and blues with banjo, fiddle, and guitar.

She plays 11 instruments and is known for her story songs, instrumental speed, and voice that can travel from deep emotion to sparkling trills.

Tickets are $15 per person.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com or www.meanmarry.com.

Foster at The Strand Acclaimed Texan singer-songwriter Radney Foster will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

Foster has written and produced songs for Randy Rogers, Jack Ingram, Kacey Musgraves, Wade Bowen, Josh Abbott, and many others.

His songs are regularly mined by superstar acts like Keith Urban (“Raining on Sunday,” “I’m In”), Sara Evans (“Real Fine Place,” “Revival”) and The Dixie Chicks (“Godspeed”).

Tickets are $35 per person. www.38main.com.

Mountain Faith ‘Sound of Christmas’ International Bluegrass Music Association “Emerging Artist of the Year” act Mountain Faith will perform their “Sounds of Christmas” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Join Mountain Faith as they celebrate the sounds of the season with a live DVD taping onstage. Sing along with traditional and sacred Christmas classics and experience a few new surprises in this live event/concert.

Tickets are $18. They can purchased at www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

On the beat arts & entertainment

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Mad Batter Food & Film (Sylva) will host Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (Americana/jam) at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25. Admission is a suggested donation of $5. www.madbatterfoodfilm.com.

• BearWaters Brewing Company (Waynesville) will host live music at 6 p.m. Nov. 17 and 24. www.bwbrewing.com.

• The Canton Public Library will host Honey Holler (Americana) at 3 p.m. Nov. 20. Free. www.haywoodarts.org.

ALSO:

• Derailed Bar & Lounge (Bryson City) will have music at 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

828.488.8898.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host a ‘70s DJ 8 p.m. Nov. 18, Fire For Effect with McKayla Reece & The Randy Mason Band 7 p.m. Nov. 19, 8 p.m. Milan Miller & Darren Nicholson (Americana/bluegrass) Nov. 25 and Helena Hunt (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m.

Nov. 26. All shows are free. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host a community music jam from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17. Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. Free. 828.488.3030.

• No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host The

• Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company (Sapphire) will host a jazz brunch with Tyler Kittle & Friends from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sundays. 828.743.0220.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic with Jimandi at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays, “Funky Friday” with Bud Davis at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Isaish Breedlove (Americana) at 7 p.m. on Saturdays. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• The Stompin’ Ground (Maggie Valley) is now open for live mountain music and clogging at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

828.926.1288.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host a weekly Appalachian music night from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays with Nitrograss.

828.526.8364 or www.theuglydogpub.com.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host PMA (reggae/rock) Nov. 18 and The Mixx (rock) Nov. 19. All shows begin at 9 p.m.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host Mountain Faith (bluegrass) will perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 16 in the University Center Grand Room. www.wcu.edu. The Julian Willis Senior Recital will be 1:30 p.m. Nov. 20, with the Jazz Combo 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21, both in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. The Kay Forbey Senior Recital will be 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 in the Niggli Theatre. www.wcu.edu.

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Smoky Mountain News

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night Nov. 16 and 23, a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo Nov. 17 and 24, The Breedlove Brothers Nov. 19 and Earlaine Nov. 26. All events begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Oconaluftee Visitors Center (Cherokee) will have an old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m.

Nov. 19. All skill levels welcomed.

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• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Sheila Gordon (piano/jazz) Nov. 18, Mean Mary (Americana) Nov. 19, Hope Griffin (singer-songwriter) Nov. 25 and Joe Cruz (piano/pop) Nov. 26. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

Punknecks and Russ T. Nutz (outlaw country) Nov. 18 and If Birds Could Fly (Americana) Nov. 19. All shows are free and begin at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.nonamesportspub.com.

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November 16-22, 2016

arts & entertainment

On the street ‘Christmas On the Green’ The Village Green will add some sparkle to your holidays with the fifth annual “Christmas On the Green” celebration starting at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, at the crossroads in Cashiers.

“After a day of feasting and early morning shopping, make your spirits merry and bright with a visit to The Village Green,” said Ann Self, executive director of The Village Green.

An afternoon and evening of fun with family and friends begins at the Gazebo of Come share your Christmas wishes with Santa from 2 to 5 p.m. The jolly fellow will visit with children of all ages. The event continues from 5 to 6 p.m. for the Cashiers Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. The evening features holiday music, warm drinks and s’more making around the fire pit.

The highlight of the day will be when the switch is turned on to illuminate the 65-foot spruce in the center of Cashiers. Chloe Crawford has been selected by The Village Green to serve as the honorary tree-lighter this year.

“The Village Green believes that Chloe has exemplified the spirit of community giving; cultivating opportunities to connect people and foster community is one of our organizational values,” Self said. “Her

lemonade stand has become emblematic for what can be accomplished together as well as the generosity of this community.”

Self adds that her efforts have led not only to raising significant funds for the Summit Charter School but also a nice sum for The Village Green this summer.

Cashiers’ Christmas tree recently underwent a refurbishment of the lights thanks to grants from Cedar Creek Racquet Club Donor Advised Fund, Cashiers Community Fund, Wade Hampton Donor Advised Fund and contributions by individual donors.

Celebrate the Renaissance The Village Green is a 12.5 acre privately conserved park for free public enjoyment.

It depends on the financial support of individuals to help fund all of the fun and interesting activities as well as maintain the park for everyone to enjoy.

Consider a generous year-end, taxdeductible gift to The Village Green.

Donations can be made online at www.villagegreencashiersnc.com or mailed to P.O. Box 2201, Cashiers, N.C. 28717.

For more information about The Village Green, call 828.743.3434.

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bles will sing and perform while serving the madrigal feast, including pork roast, roasted vegetables, pumpkin soup, Wassail punch, and bread pudding with apples and dried cranberries. The show will include including accompaniment by the Laurel Strings ensemble.

Voices in the Laurel is a youth chorus with three choral ensembles, ranging from first through 12th grade. It is based in Haywood County, with members from Buncombe, Jackson and Swain counties as well.

With a limited amount of tickets, the show is anticipated to sell out. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children, which include the dinner. www.voicesinthelaurel.org or call 828.734.9163.

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The Voices in the Laurel “Madrigal Dinner” evoking the elaborate and festive flare of the Renaissance will be held at 6 p.m.

Nov. 18-19 at the First Baptist Church in Waynesville.

The show will feature heraldry, pageantry, comedy, minstrels and song. A madrigal dinner show is a re-enactment of a Renaissance feast, where the audience is actively engaged as part of the show.

“From the moment you enter the banquet hall, the whole evening is like a production. Town criers greet you, food is brought out with ceremony and circumstance, the choristers are in period costume,” said Suzy Bernardi, the operations manager of Voices in the Laurel.

Voices in the Laurel three chorals ensem-

828.926.8484

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On the street

5 to 7 p.m. This brand new program is designed with the whole family in mind. Held at the cabin in the museum, the event offers a fun, educational lecture on the Christmas meal, the felling and decorating of the tree, traditional toys and gifts, and more. Kids get to decorate the cabin tree with traditional Appalachian decorations, as well as making their own popcorn, cranberry, or paper string to take home for their tree. Cookies and cocoa provided in the visitor center lobby.

800.867.9246.

• The Franklin Christmas Parade will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, in downtown.

Parade applications are available at the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. Entry fee is $25. You can also get an application by emailing cindy@franklinchamber.com.

Commercial floats are available for $525, contact facc@franklin-chamber.com or 828.524.3161.

ing the Mother & Son Game Night from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. The activities are appropriate for children ages 5 to 12. Some of the activities include life sized Jenga, Hungry Hippos, Flick Football, Cupcake Walk and more. Refreshments will be served throughout the evening. The cost is $20 per couple and $5 for each additional child. To register and for more information, call the church office at 828.586.2358.

ALSO:

• The annual Franklin tree lighting “Winter Wonderland” ceremony and candlelight service will start at 5 p.m. Nov. 26 on the town square, with free cider, cookies, wagon rides and live music.

• Anastasia’s Ales (Waynesville) will host a wine tasting from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17.

• The First United Methodist Church of Sylva will host an evening of fun and games dur-

• A free wine tasting will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 19 and 26 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host a wine tasting on Wednesdays and a craft beer tasting on Thursdays. Both events run from 4 to 8 p.m. There will also be tapas from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. www.classicwineseller.com.

• 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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• The booster club at Tuscola High School is hosting the first annual Big T Bash at 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 19, at Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. The event is casual dress with food, music, a silent auction and a cash bar. Tickets are $75 per person or $750 for a corporate table. All proceeds will support Tuscola Athletics’ fall, winter and spring sports’ teams. Contact any Big T club member, THS coach or the www.bigtbash.org website to purchase tickets.

• A wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m.

Nov. 19 and 26 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. $5 per person. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.586.6300.

November 16-22, 2016

Santa Claus and other Christmas activities will be held through Dec. 17 at the Swain County Heritage Museum in Bryson City.

• Letters to Santa — 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Drop a line to Santa. All materials provided.

• Santa at the Museum — 1 to 4 p.m.

Enjoy a free photo opportunity with jolly St. Nick on the porch of the cabin located in the museum. Cookies and cocoa served in the lobby. Santa will be there from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 26 and at the Christmas Parade on Dec. 3.

• Christmas Past — Mountain Traditions:

arts & entertainment

Christmas in Bryson City

V isit HarrahsCherokeeJobs.com Visit or call 828.497.8778 for a complete listing of jobs.

If you have already submitted your application, it will be considered active for 6 months from the date of application. To qualify, applicants must be 21 years or older (18-21 years eligible for non-gaming positions), must successfully pass an RIAH hair/drug test and undergo an investigation by Tribal Gaming Commission. Preference for Tribal members. This property is owned by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, managed by Caesars Entertainment. The Ta alent Acquisition Department accepts applications Mon. - Thur. from 8am - 4:30pm. Call 828.497.8778, or send resume to the Ta alent Acquisition Department, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee, NC 28719 or fax resume to 828.497.8540.

27

arts & entertainment

On the wall

Stecoah ‘Drive About Tour’

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

Artist Elizabeth Ellison will be part of the Stecoah Arts & Crafts Drive About tour.

The 15th annual “Stecoah Arts & Crafts Drive About Tour” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 25-26 in Bryson City, Stecoah and Robbinsville.

The self-guided driving tour highlights artisans who have built a livelihood with their creative talents. Media include pottery, bee’s wax lanterns and pillar candles, original paintings and drawings, fiber, quilts, photography, artisan cheeses and more.

The tour includes the Charles Heath Gallery, Elizabeth Ellison Watercolors, Pincu Pottery, Wild Fern Studios & Gallery, Bee Global Studio Gallery, Stecoah Artisans Gallery, Yellow Branch Pottery & Cheese, and more.

The Schoolhouse Café at Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center will be open during both days of the Artisans Drive About. www.stecoahvalleycenter.com.

Share your artwork work

along with information and photographs about you or your site. All work will be displayed in locked cases. Artists and venues are encouraged to submit brochures and business cards that Welcome Center staff will distribute to interested visitors. There is no fee to participate.

The inaugural exhibit will open in January 2017 and remain on view until July. This first “Artists Count” exhibition is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council through the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. For an application, contact: artistscount@gmail.com.

Deadline for submitting materials is Dec. 1. Participation is limited to professional visual artists over 18 years old. Students are not eligible. All artists in Jackson and Swain counties are welcome to apply.

The Western North Carolina “Artists Count” project will be hosting a series of exhibitions to highlight the rich visual contributions made by area artists. Craftsmen, artists, galleries, and studios are encouraged to submit their work.

The first of these exhibits will be on display during winter and spring 2017 at the Interstate 26 Welcome Center north of Asheville. More than a quarter-million visitors come through this facility each year. This first exhibition will highlight the work of artists in Jackson and Swain Counties.

Each artist, craftsmen, studio, or gallery may exhibit one work that will be displayed

FIND US AT

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facebook.com/smnews

On the wall

Learn to work with metal Master smith William Rogers will be teaching blacksmithing and hammered copper at his Cullowhee studio.

Six different three-hour classes are scheduled during the holiday season. Evening classes begin at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov 16; Monday, Nov 21; and Friday, Dec 1. Afternoon classes held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov 22; Monday, Nov 28; and Saturday, Dec 2.

Each class will cover an introduction to forging and forming with students taking home a finished piece. Small-sized, affordable classes are suitable for families, groups of friends, and couples. Children ages 12 to 18 must be accompanied by a parent.

Rogers has been the recipient of multiple education grants from the North Carolina Arts Council and was honored as a “master” craftsman by both Virginia and Tennessee.

Pre-registration is required. Class fee of $75 per person includes materials. To learn more or to pre-register, contact: rogersmetals@gmail.com.

The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will present its annual Handmade Holiday Sale from noon until 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, in Cullowhee.

Handmade items created by WCU students, staff and alumni such as artwork, ceramics, sculpture and wearable items will be sold in the lobby and Star Atrium of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center.

The event also will feature live music and free snacks. Admission is free, and payment by cash or check is requested for purchased items. A portion of the proceeds will be used to support programming at the Fine Art Museum.

For more information, contact Jill Jacobs, marketing manager at the museum, at 828.227.2505 or jilljacobs@wcu.edu.

‘Hard Candy Christmas’ returns to WCU The 29th annual “Hard Candy Christmas” Art & Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 25-26 in the Ramsey Center at Western Carolina University.

The event features authentic crafts from the hands of 100 regional and local artists

arts & entertainment

Fine Art Museum Handmade Holiday Sale

and craftsmen. The idea for the show originates from the depression days in the mountains, when Christmas was still celebrated, no matter how lean the year had been. Santa always left stockings stuffed with apples, oranges and hard candy. The best gifts were handmade with love.

There will be selections of clay art, woodcrafts, master jewelers, folk art, glass art, and specialty sweets and breads. Collectors of Old World Santa’s, heirloom ornaments and miniatures always find something new.

The mountain beekeeper will bring honey, bees wax candles and wax ornaments.

Purchase a fresh mountain greenery wreath or scented dried fruit rope for your house.

Order a Christmas quilt and meet the artisan who made it.

Admission is $4.50 for adults, children under 12 free. www.mountainartisans.net.

November 16-22, 2016

Opening the show Friday night, one of the most respected names in bluegrass music;

Lonesome River Band!

Then an exciting collaboration with Balsam Range, The Atlanta Pops Mini-Orchestra, and a "dream team" of studio musicians, Jeff Collins, Tony Creasman and David Johnson.

M

&3 BER 2

DECE

2016

Saturday night: get ready for White Water Bluegrass Company, followed by a Balsam Range performance.

Closing out the festival is five-time Grammy award winner, Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives Workshops and jamming will take place on site throughout the day on Saturday!

Tickets start at just

$25 Smoky Mountain News

www.balsamrangeartofmusicfestival.com

HOSTED BY

Conference & Retreat Center

Inclusive packages available:1-800-222-4930

29

arts & entertainment

On the wall COLORING TIME The Adult Coloring Group will meet at 2 p.m. on Fridays in the Living Room of the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

An afternoon of creativity and camaraderie. Supplies are provided, or bring your own.

Beginners are welcome as well as those who already enjoy this new trend. kmoe@fontanalib.org or 828.524.3600.

• The Haywood County Arts Council’s (HCAC) latest exhibit, “It’s a Small, Small Work,” will run through Dec. 24 at their Gallery & Gifts showcase room in downtown Waynesville. The 2016 exhibit features 60 artists and almost 200 individual works of art for sale, which provides a unique opportunity for budding artists to exhibit their work alongside seasoned professionals. The small work show was launched in 2008 in response to a declining economy and to demonstrate that original artwork can be affordable. Most businesses, homes and apartments can

Smoky Mountain News

November 16-22, 2016

ALSO:

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accommodate smaller works of art — and the show promotes buying local and regional work to help support artists in Western North Carolina. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Laurey-Faye Dean will be the featured artist with a live demonstration and discussion at “The Potter’s Wheel” series from noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 26 at The Wild Fern in Bryson City.

• The Creating Community Workshop will continue with a broom-making course at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Explore this Appalachian craft and the basics of broom

making while making your very own cobweb broom. It’s made to access hard to reach areas, including those pesky cobwebs in corners. Moderate hand and arm strength are needed to make the broom. It may be helpful to wear long pants. It is also recommended to bring an old towel or apron to wear. The class is limited to 10 people. For further information and to sign up for the class, call the library at 828.586.2016. This program is free of charge. www.fontanalib.org.

• The High Country Quilt Guild will hold their regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at the First Methodist Church in Waynesville. Sandy Fogerty will present a program on “What’s New at the Quilt Market,” covering trends and new items. The group meets the third Thursday of each month. Newcomers welcome. highcountryquilters.wordpress.com.

• A showcase on the life and times of Horace Kephart will be on display through March 31 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. In 1904, a 42-year-old librarian named Horace Kephart came to Western North Carolina looking for a fresh start in the southern Appalachian wilderness. Over the next 27 years, his numerous articles and books captured a disappearing culture, provided practical advice for generations of outdoor enthusiasts, and spearheaded the movement to establish the Great

Smoky Mountains National Park. The Mountain Heritage Center’s Kephart Collection is composed of 127 objects, including Kephart’s tent, sleeping bag, backpack and the writing desk. The exhibit will display many of these objects in a campsite setting. 828.227.7129.

• Paint Nite Waynesville will be held at 7 p.m. on Fridays at the Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop & Beer Garden. Grab a pint of craft beer and get creative. $20 per person. Group rates available. Sign up at Mad Anthony’s or call host Robin Smathers at 828.400.9560. paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• The “Photography of Bayard Wootten” exhibit will be on display through Nov. 23 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Wootten was a female pioneer in the field of photography from the early 1900s to 1950s, when men dominated the field. All 35 photographs in this exhibition are of North Carolina subjects, which are on loan through from North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives at UNC-Chapel Hill.

• “Stitch,” the community gathering of those interested in crochet, knit and needlepoint, meet at 2:30 p.m. every first Sunday of the month at the Canton Public Library. All ages and skill levels welcome. www.haywoodlibrary.org.

On the stage

JOIN US AS WE WELCOME

Selena Einwechter She is the owner/proprietor of Bed & Breakfast On Tiffany Hill as well as an author & motivational speaker

arts & entertainment

Davis to spin yarns

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‘Frankenstein’ hits big screen

• The production of the Nora Ephron play “Love Loss and What I Wore” will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18-19 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. Ephron was best known for her films “When Harry Met Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “You’ve Got Mail.” “Love Loss and What I Wore” was created by Ephron and her daughter, Delia Ephron, in 2008. The play went on to open off Broadway to rave reviews in 2010. Nora passed away in 2012 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for students. 828.456.6322 or www.harttheater.org.

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LAUREL RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB

Thursday, November 17 • 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. $25/Chamber Members

$35/Non-Members

Smoky Mountain News

The Highlands Performing Arts Center continues the “Live via Satellite Series” with the National Theatre of London’s encore performance of “Frankenstein” at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.

Directed by Academy Award®-winner Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “Slumdog Millionaire”), “Frankenstein” features Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating roles as Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the Creature.

The 1 p.m. screening features Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature with Miller playing the role of Dr. Frankenstein; and at the 7 p.m. screening Cumberbatch and Miller reverse roles, Johnny Lee Miller will be playing the role of the Creature.

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Dr. Frankenstein’s bewildered Creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the friendless Creature, increasingly desperate and vengeful, deter-

mines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. Urgent concerns of scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil are embedded within this thrilling and deeply disturbing classic gothic tale.

Tickets are available online at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 828.526.9047.

HOST SPONSOR: L A U R E L R I D G E CO U N T R Y C LU B.

November 16-22, 2016

Renowned storyteller Donald Davis will be performing new material from his latest book Cripple Joe: Stories from my Daddy at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in the Sam Queen Auditorium in the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

Growing up in Waynesville, Davis has fond memories of spending time with his relatives and running around the hills of Western North Carolina. It was a rich fabric of oral tradition, one that soaked into his soul. That tradition of storytelling ultimately led to his calling as a minister, a platform where his speaking talents emerged and flourished.

The performance at the Folkmoot Friendship Center will host tours of the building at 5 p.m. and a Thanksgiving style dinner at 6 p.m., with tickets at $35 per person for evening. www.blueridgebooksnc.com or www.folkmoot.org.

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

@SmokyMtnNews 31

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

This is historical fiction well worth a read early 20 years ago, while browsing the shelves of the Haywood Country Public Library, I came across a collection of videos about Richard Sharpe, a British soldier fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. My sons and I were already fans of Sean Bean, who plays the lead in this remarkable BBC television series of 16 films, each of them 100 minutes long. I knew the films Writer were based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, and occasionally glanced at one of the books but never read Cornwell.

Until now.

My aversion to Cornwell came mostly from snobbery. His books were best-sellers, and he seemed to pump them out even faster than Stephen King. Besides, I rarely read historical fiction, preferring straightup history and biography. (I have since discovered that Bernard Cornwell shares that preference).

Sometimes being wrong brings great pleasure.

And I was wrong about Bernard Cornwell.

I have just finished my first Bernard Cornwell novel, Rebel: A Novel of the Civil War (HarperCollins Publishers, 1993, 309 pages, 14.99). Cornwell writes “series” books, stories set in a particular historical era and centered on a few main characters, and Rebel introduces us to Nate Starbuck, a young Massachusetts man and dropout from Yale who finds himself, through a series of misadventures, in Richmond, Virginia, in the first days of the Civil War. After being beaten and nearly tarred and feathered, Starbuck is rescued by his former roommate’s father, Washington Faulconer, and decides to join the Legion Faulconer is organizing to fight for the Confederacy.

Colonel Faulconer badly wants to enroll in his Legion the dangerous Thomas Truslow, a hard, rough man from the hills who is one of the few in the county with any military experience. Dispatched to enlist the violet Truslow, Starbuck succeeds in his mission and wins the Colonel’s gratitude and admiration. While convincing Truslow to join the Legion, Starbuck also falls in love with Sally, Truslow’s daughter, a teenager who is pregnant with another man’s child and who uses her body and cunning to try and pull herself

Besides his ability to tell a good story, Cornwell brings other gifts to Rebel and, I presume, to the dozens of other novels he has published. His writing is polished and elegant, appealing to modern readers yet somehow with a nineteenth century ring to it. To demonstrate this talent, here is part of the paragraph where Starbuck first meets Sally: “’I’ll be a good girl,’ Sally whined, and she looked straight at Starbuck for the first time, and Starbuck’s breath checked in his throat as he stared back. Once, when Starbuck had been a small child, his Uncle Matthew had taken him to Faneuil Hall to see a demonstration of electrical force, and Starbuck had held hands in a ring of onlookers as the lecturer fed a current through their linked bodies. He felt then something of what he experienced now, a tingling thrill that momentarily made the rest of the world seem unimportant. Then, as soon as he recognized the excitement, he felt a kind of desperation.

This feeling was sin. It was the devil’s work. Surely he must be soul sick?”

Jeff Minick

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out of the poverty in which she was raised.

As Rebel progresses, we see the men of the Legion training, becoming soldiers through drill and marches. When the Legion ends up at Manassas Junction on June 21, 1861, we also see how battle

Rebel: A Novel of the Civil War by Bernard Cornwell. HarperCollins 1993. 309 pages. shapes and affects different men.

Thaddeus Bird, for example, a schoolteacher who hated his job and has always felt himself under Faulconer’s thumb, and whose snarky wit livens up every page on which we find him, becomes an outstanding soldier. In the absence of Faulconer, who has gone in search of orders from his commander, General Beauregard, Bird and Truslow throw the Legion into battle and effectively slow the Union attackers until additional help arrives.

Starbuck’s father is a prominent abolitionist and Christian who raised his son to abhor all sin: tobacco, hard drink, cursing, and loose women. As Starbuck becomes more involved with Faulconer, his family, and the men of he Legion, he finds himself rebelling not only against his home state, but also against the rigid strictures of his father. This secondary rebellion adds humor and drama to a story already filled with both.

Entertaining as well are various adages embedded in the story, many of which are offered up by schoolmaster turned professional soldier Thaddeus Bird. (If Cornwell is as adept at concocting these maxims in his other books, someone should collect and publish them). Here are just three of these comments, all made by Thaddeus Bird: “History is not marshaled by reason, Ethan, but by the idiocies of lethal fools.”

“Wars are not won by gallantry, but by assiduously applied butchery.”

“Fools usually need repetition to understand even the simplest of ideas.”

The quality of Cornwell’s writing is particularly impressive when we consider the number of novels he has written. If you visit Cornwell’s website at bernardcornwell.com, you will find, in addition to the Sharpe series and the Starbuck books, other series like the Grail Quest and the Arthur Books as well as thrillers and short stories. For many years Cornwell wrote two novels a year, which, again given the quality of his prose, makes many writers look like shameful slackers.

Highly recommended.

Ellison releases natural history essays Beloved longtime natural history writer George Ellison has released his latest book, Literary Excursions in the Southern Highlands.

The essay collections focuses on the abundant wonders of the Southern Highlands in a series of humorous, scientific and literary pieces, with illustrations by artist Elizabeth Ellison. George lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina, in the shadow of the Great Smokies. Atop being a longtime contributor to The Smoky Mountain News and the Asheville Citizen-Times, he also conducts annual natural and human history workshops around the region.

George will be presenting his collection at 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 17 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University, 10 a.m. Nov. 19 at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City, and 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. www.arcadiapublishing.com.

• Fontana Regional Library will be hosting its third annual “Read Local Book Fair,” an event that gives residents the chance to meet and support local authors. The last event will be held at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.

Authors will have copies of their works available for purchase, just in time for the holiday season. For more information about Fontana Regional Library or the Read Local Book Fair, visit www.fontanalib.org.

ALSO:

Folk school poetry showcase The John Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers Network West are sponsoring The Literary Hour, an hour of poetry and prose reading at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at Keith House on the JCFS campus in Brasstown.

Poets Glenda Council Beall and Staci Bell will be the featured readers, both of which are well-established poets in the mountain area.

Beall’s poems, essays and short stories have been published in numerous literary journals and magazines including, Reunions Magazine, Main Street Rag Poetry Journal, Appalachian Heritage, Journal of Kentucky Studies and online, Your Daily Poem, Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, and Wild Goose Poetry Review.

Bell, a Chicago native, attended University of Wisconsin, Madison majoring in communications. She relocated to South Florida, gaining popularity as a 25year radio and television personality and passionate animal advocate. In 1988, her environmental essay won statewide acclaim in Florida. After retiring from broadcasting, Bell worked for many years training working dogs and rehabilitating rescues.

Her poetry and prose have been published in Old Mountain Press, fall edition of Kakalak 2016, the National Wolfwatcher Coalition Charity Anthology, Wild Goose Poetry Review, 234 Journal and her short story “Cheyenne” took second place, while her poem, “Time” took third place in the 2016 NC Cherokee/Clay Senior Games Sliver Arts. Bell is a member of the North Carolina Writer’s Network and Ridgeline Literary Alliance.

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Island of green Exhibit commemorates 50 years of community-driven landscape at HCC Ogden’s ‘island of green’ spreads through the central portion of HCC’s campus. Benjamin Porter photo

The making of a legacy 1963: Community college system established in North Carolina.

1966: A.L. Freedlander issues challenge to the Haywood County community to match his donation for construction of a new campus for the college.

1967: Trustees hire architects Foy and Lee to develop a master plan for campus. The Forest Management curriculum is established as one of the first programs at Haywood Technical Institute, which would later be renamed Haywood Community College.

1968: Forestry instructors begin using the new campus land for forestry instruction labs.

1971: The Board of Trustees approves Doan Ogden’s site plan for campus, and the first horticulture students plant a vegetable garden on campus.

1972: HTI moves to the new campus.

1973: Nora Lee Park is built, the Shady Park and Grassy Glen are established, grading begins for the entrance drive, a landscaping contract is awarded for main campus, and David Carson becomes the first director of horticulture.

1974: The first horticulture class graduates.

One of the graduates, Doyle Justice, is hired as the school’s first horticulture technician.

1976: An initial inventory of campus trees is completed by Ron Lance.

1978: The rose and herb gardens are established.

1981: Billy Medford, an award-winning dahlia grower and former Lake Junaluska postmaster, is recruited to design the dahlia garden.

Trustees approve Doan Ogden’s plan for the rhododendron garden.

1982: Freedlander Drive is planted with 27 willow oaks.

1983: The rhododendron garden, designed by Ogden, is built by sawmill instructors, horticulture technicians and students. A ribbon cutting was performed in 1984.

1988: The arboretum inventory is updated.

1987: The gristmill is dedicated.

1995: The campus walking trail is dedicated.

1997: The dahlia garden is moved to its present location.

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t’s a sunny day at Haywood Community College, light sparkling from the campus’s landmark mill pond and shining through the leaves still clinging to the archway of willow oaks lining the school’s entrance drive.

The campus lawn is covered with leaves fallen from the towering white oaks dominating it, academic buildings nestled naturally into the folds of the landscape.

In many ways, it looks more like a park than a campus, and that’s by design — the design of Doan Ogden, that is. Ogden, a nationally known landscape architect, designed gardens and landscapes throughout Western North Carolina after moving to teach at Warren Wilson College, and the grounds of HCC are among his accomplishments.

“Ogden’s core idea was to preserve this stand of mature oak forest at the center of campus as the central island of green, and so what he did was conserve that and place buildings around that island of green,” explained Tamara Graham, a landscape designer and HCC instructor.

I

It was an innovative idea, and unconventional for its time — to leave the mature trees, avoid grading the soil and plant the understory with grass to create an undulating, shaded space.

From her first arrival on campus, Graham felt herself drawn to Ogden and the space he’d created. So, when she assigned her students to choose a landscape designer to research, she was surprised to find that none of them knew who Ogden was.

So, Graham decided to do some research of her own. Her request for maps and plans from the college’s early days led to a sit-down meeting with John Palmer, who had recently retired from 30 years as the campus’s arboretum director.

“John came to campus and met with me, and he spent about four or five hours sharing just a little bit of what he knew,” Graham said.

“I realized, gosh, there was so much more that really could be shared with the community.”

That’s the conviction that led her to embark on a $56,000 project to develop “Forest, Farm + Garden,” an exhibit and accompanying book detailing the history of creativity and collabora-

Dahlia garden designer Billy Medford receives a certificate of appreciation from 1982 Board Chairman W. Curtis Russ. Donated photo

tion that resulted in the arboretum of today — complete with historic photography and documents, as well as new images from nationally known Asheville-based photographer Benjamin Porter. Graham authored the book together with historic preservationist Sybil Hedy Argintar, of Asheville.

The project was funded through a $3,000 grant from the England-based International Dendrology Society, which led to individual donations of $25,000 each from IDS members Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Williams, of Massachusetts, and Vicomte Philippe de Spoelberch, of Belgium. IDS member Viscount Terence Devonport, of England, contributed $3,000. A laundry list of in-kind services, such as extensive staff time from HCC and the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, also contributed.

CENTERPIECE OF COMMUNITY As it turns out, the story of HCC is not just a story of landscape design. It’s a story of collaboration, resourcefulness and community buy-in.

Those themes stretch all the way back to the beginning of the story — to 1966, when Dayco Corporation chairman A.L. Freedlander issued a challenge to Haywood County to match his donation of $250,000 to build a new campus for what was then the expanding Haywood Industrial Education Center. In addition to the bare necessities of an educational center, Freedlander asked that the campus be “transformed into the most beautifully landscaped area in Haywood County,” and include “a good collection of dahlias” — his favorite flower.

Ogden, like Freedlander, was a transplanted Western North Carolinian with a keen sense of the value of place. In fact, his home garden in Asheville measured about 9 acres and was considered one of the most expansive plant collections in WNC, Graham said. It predated the other arboretums in this area, and the creators of those arboretums would come to Ogden for seeds and plant cuttings to populate their landscapes.

It wasn’t hard for the board to see that Ogden was uniquely suit-

See it while it’s here

By digging up, displaying and commemorating the history of community support for the campus grounds, Graham hopes to invigorate its strength. With the exhibit complete and the book written, Graham and others at HCC are looking to see how they can catapult the college’s legacy into the future.

“We’re currently trying to increase the inventory,” John Sherman, program manager for HCC’s Natural Resources Department, said of HCC’s plant collections. “Not every plant on campus has been inventoried by any means.”

The last arboretum inventory on campus was completed in 1988 by Ron Lance, an HCC grad who would go on to travel the world as a botanist and do the first plant inventory for the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. A lot of plants have come and gone since then.

Sherman is currently overseeing an $9,600 grant from the N.C. Urban and Community Forestry Grant which, together with $13,000 or matching funds calculated mainly from volunteer labor, will support inventory efforts.

“From that grant, we’re putting together a tree advisory committee and basically coming up with a long-range tree care plan,” Sherman said.

Other ideas are on the horizon, too. For example, with GPS locations for each tree

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November 16-22, 2016 Smoky Mountain News

ed to carry out the charge Freedlander had laid before them. He got to work sketching out a site plan that mapped out an orchard, collections of native trees and shrubs, meadows, a stand of conifers, and preservation of the central stand of oaks.

But bringing that vision to its fulfillment would require years of contributions from students and community members, as well as from paid workers.

“There’s so many different layers to this landscape,” Graham said.

The school’s signature dahlia garden, for example, was designed and managed by retired Lake Junaluska postmaster Billy Medford. Medford, an award-winning dahlia grower, had first learned about the flower during a 1950s visit to Freedlander’s home in Haywood County — Medford purchased his first tubers there.

Ron Lance, who completed the first inventory of HCC’s The campus was designed to be more than an expanse of showy arboretum, is pictured with plant and animal specimens gardens, however. It paid heavy collected for the college’s Biological Sciences homage to the region’s agricultural Department. Donated photo heritage, providing students with a variety of hands-on learning opportunities. The campus would eventualthe college could develop a smartphone app ly include an orchard, a working vegetable to dispense information regarding tree garden, a millhouse and a working gristmill species, locations and other information. and sawmill, though the sawmill has since The college is also applying for recogniburned down. tion as a Tree Campus USA from the Arbor Students played a key role in bringing Day Foundation and for a grant from the Ogden’s vision to reality. The college’s rhoBlue Ridge National Heritage Area to have dodendron garden, for example, was plantHCC recognized as a heritage area and to ed with understory specimens that horticulinstall permanent interpretive signage ture students brought from their family along its walking trail. Buy Haywood will farms. Students built the sawmill and the feature the HCC arboretum on the cover of millhouse as part of their technical educaits 2017 agritourism guide. tion — many of the gardens too. Forestry “This is a real jewel in Western North and wildlife students roamed the grounds, Carolina, and it could be a real resource in using campus as a living laboratory before a the community, similar to the way the N.C. single building was constructed.

Arboretum is in Asheville,” Graham said.

“There was so much resourcefulness and And that, she said, is what this two-year ingenuity here on campus,” Graham said. effort was really all about.

“There was amazing community support “There are a lot of ties, a lot of history and patronage.” here,” she said. “It’s a real treasure.”

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outdoors

The “Forest, Farm + Garden” exhibit will remain on display through Saturday, Nov. 19, in Haywood Community College’s Creative Arts Building.

The exhibit tells the story of collaboration and community behind HCC’s breathtaking grounds through video, photography and interpretive signage.

When the exhibit’s time at the Creative Arts Building is over, it will head to the Western Office of the State Archives in Asheville. However, project coordinator Tamara Graham hopes to see the exhibit travel to other venues around the region. To inquire about hosting the exhibit, contact Graham at tg.tamaragraham@gmail.com.

A book complete with photographs from nationally published photographer Benjamin Porter has been published to accompany the exhibit and is available at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville and at HCC’s campus bookstore.

JEWEL OF THE WEST

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outdoors

Anglers up for Hall of Fame recognition Several local anglers are among those up for inclusion in Southern Trout Magazine’s next class of Legends of the Fly Hall of Fame inductees, and the winners will be decided through an online vote.

Candidates’ names and mini biographies are available on the website.

Anyone who likes is encouraged to vote for up to six anglers, with balloting running through December. Future nominations are accepted May through August. www.southerntrout.com/hall-offame.

November 16-22, 2016

Fly-fishing museum gets statewide recognition The Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians is just over a year old, but it’s already being recognized as a standout.

This month, the N.C. Society of Historians presented the museum with the Evelina Davis Miller Museum Award and bestowed the Ethel W. Twiford History Book Award upon museum board member Alen Baker.

The museum award honors excellence in preserving history, and the book award recognizes excellence in documenting it, as demonstrated in Baker’s book Our Fly Fishing Heritage.

Formed in 1941, the N.C. Society of Historians works to collect and preserve North Carolina history, traditions, artifacts, genealogies and folklore on a statewide and local basis.

The museum is located at 210 Main Street in Bryson City after moving from its original location in Cherokee this summer. It is free and open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. www.flyfishingmuseum.org.

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New region-wide map focuses on recreation A new map is available detailing more than 2 million acres of public forests, parks and scenic byways throughout Western North Carolina and East Tennessee.

The free map replaces an outdated map once used by the Cherokee National Forest.

Doug Byerly, forest recreation program manager for the forest, asked the forest’s nonprofit partners to publish a “big picture” map that included other public lands in the region.

The result is a map that includes recre-

ational opportunities and major highways from Blowing Rock to Cleveland, Tennessee.

A total of 12 government and nonprofit agencies teamed up for the project including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association, the Great Smoky Mountains Association, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.

So far, 50,000 maps have been printed and are available at state welcome centers and visitor information centers. It is also available for free download or in the mail for a $2.50 shipping charge. www.recreationlinks.org.

WCU nabs green school listing For the sixth year running, Western North Carolina has been recognized as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in North America by The Princeton Review.

The 2016 edition of “The Princeton Review Guide to 361 Green Colleges,” which chooses schools based on a survey of hundreds of four-year colleges, includes WCU on the unranked list of environmentally exceptional schools.

The guide’s profile of WCU mentions numerous green initiatives, including the 2013 creation of the Office of Sustainability and Energy Management, conversion to LED lighting to save energy and the Sustainable Energy Initiative, which supports green projects through a student-approved fee of $5 per semester.

“It is exciting to see that our efforts continue to be recognized,” said Lauren Bishop, WCU’s chief sustainability officer. “It wouldn’t be possible without the support and energy from our students. This year, we have experienced our highest level of student engagement and leadership by far.”

To learn more about WCU’s sustainability initiatives, contact Bishop at lbishop@wcu.edu 828.227.3562.

Jump into the life of Horace Kephart Horace Kephart in his Hazel Creek cabin, circa 1906. NPS photo

in 1904 and wrote numerous books and articles, including classics such as Our Southern Highlanders and Camping and Woodcraft.

He was instrumental in creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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Enviable deals on new and used snow sports equipment will be offered in support of a good cause 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 3-4, at Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley.

The 2016 Annual Cataloochee Ski & Snowboard Swap Shop allows snow sports enthusiasts to sell items they no longer use or to buy new stuff at affordable prices.

The Swap Shop benefits the Cataloochee Ski Patrol, whose members volunteer their time to conduct the event in exchange for a 25 percent commission on sale proceeds. Unclaimed items are donated to a local charity to further benefit the community.

Registration and equipment drop-off is open 3-7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and 7-9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. www.cataloochee.com/swap.

Naturalist and historian George Ellison will read from his newly published collection of essays, Literary Excursions in the Southern Highlands, at a variety of locations in Western North Carolina over the next month.

■ 7 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Mountain Heritage George Ellison.

Center at Western Carolina University.

■ 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

■ Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

The book is a collection of 50 essays that have appeared throughout the years in publications including The Smoky Mountain News, Chinquapin: The Newsletter of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society and the Asheville Citizen-Times. Ellison’s words are accompanied by full-color illustrations by his wife Elizabeth.

This book is Ellison’s fourth to be published by History Press. He has also written introductions for reissues of titles such as Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s Myths of the Cherokees, among others. As a naturalist, he often conducts workshops and field trips through the wild places of the Southern Appalachians.

outdoors

Famed outdoors writer and proponent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Horace Kephart will be celebrated with a documentary premiere and exhibit showcase Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 19-20, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

The film, “Horace Kephart, His Life and Legacy,” will be screened at 2:30 and 5 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 20, in the H.F. Robinson Administration Building Auditorium with a reception scheduled between showings from 4 to 5 p.m. Each 90-minute screening will include an introduction and post-film discussion by producer Libby Kephart Hargrave, who is also Kephart’s great-granddaughter.

The same weekend, the Mountain Heritage Center’s exhibit “Horace Kephart: Revealing an Enigma,” will be open 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 19 and 1:30 to 5 p.m. Nov. 20 in the Hunter Library exhibit gallery. On Nov. 19, Hargrave will meet with visitors in the exhibit gallery from 2:30 to 4 p.m. The exhibit showcases many of Kephart’s personal items in a campsite setting, including his tent, sleeping bag, backpack and writing desk. The Mountain Heritage Center gallery is regularly open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday with extended hours on Thursdays until 7 p.m.

Kepart, an Ivy League scholar and former librarian, moved to Western North Carolina

Take a literary excursion of the southern highlands

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A gray-cheeked salamander is one of the many species contained in the ecologically valuable Box Creek Wilderness. Donated photo

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331 Walnut Street Waynesville

Conservation easement finalized near Marion One of the largest conservation easements to ever be donated by an individual in North Carolina history has been finalized in Rutherford and McDowell counties.

Nestled in the foothills south of Marion, the land permanently protects the 7,000acre Box Creek Wilderness through a conservation easement that Cary resident Tim Sweeney donated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The property is home to more than 130 rare and watch-list plant and animal species, including several that are new to science. In addition, three new-to-science natural communities were documented, as well as four never documented east of Murphy or Brevard.

The area ranks in the top 1 percent of

Create with beeswax An afternoon of beeswax crafting will be offered 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Macon County Extension Office in Franklin.

Participants will receive one free sheet of wax, wicking and decoration material with additional materials available for purchase. Instructions will be given throughout the afternoon, so there is no need to arrive exactly at 1 p.m. Small scissors, exacto knives, blow dryers and cookie cutters will be welcome materials for participants to bring with them.

Sponsored by the Macon County Beekeepers Association. 828.524.3691.

Annual soil and water poster contest open

828.246.9135 HaywoodHabitat.org

natural heritage areas in North Carolina, the highest possible rank for a property.

In addition to conserving habitat found on the site, protecting Box Creek Wilderness forms a natural connecter between conserved lands in the South Mountains and the Pisgah National Forest, providing migration avenues for wildlife.

For years, a proposal to install power lines through several miles of the Box Creek area had threatened to fragment the property, but a lawsuit was settled that resulted in the power line being built along an existing road corridor. The road toward conservation was a long one that involved help from U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, Unique Places LLC CEO Jeff Fisher, and an army of local supporters.

Jackson County students in third through ninth grade will get a chance to share their messages on the importance of soil and water with this year’s annual contest through the Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation District.

The theme for this year’s contest is “Soil and Water — Yours for Life.� Students in third through sixth grades may enter a

poster illustrating their take on the topic.

Students in seventh and eighth grades can enter a speech, and students in ninth grade can enter a computer-designed poster.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place entry in each grade level, with the teacher of the winning student also getting a prize. Winners go on to compete in a regional contest. Students in public, private and home schools are welcome to enter.

Jane Fitzgerald. 828.586.5465 or janefitzgerald@jacksonnc.org.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Haywood County Public Library Foundation will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the downstairs auditorium of the Waynesville Library. 356.2504.

• The Hazelwood School Reunion is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Historic Hazelwood School Building. For alumni, faculty and staff. Storyteller Donald Davis will perform in the auditorium at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $35 and available at Folkmoot.org or 452.2997.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • The Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting & Celebration is from 5:30-8 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Orchard Restaurant’s Barn in Cashiers. Tickets are $25 each and include appetizers, one wine/beer, cash bar and live entertainment from singer/songwriter Andalyn Lewis. info@cashiersareachamber.com or 743.5191.

• The Haywood Community College Small Business Center will hold a seminar entitled “Performance Enhancement through Coaching and Counseling” from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in Room 1510 at HCC’s Campus in Clyde. Part of the seminar series: “Building a High-Performance Nonprofit.” Register or get more info: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A Women in Business Luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. Guest speaker is Selena Einwechter, owner and proprietor of Bed & Breakfast on Tiffany Hill. Presented by Haywood Chamber of Commerce. $25 for chamber members; $30 for nonmembers. Info and reservations: http://HaywoodChamber.com or 456.3021.

• A Medication Aide class will be offered from 8 a.m.4:30 p.m. from Nov. 18-20 through Haywood Community College’s Workforce Continuing Education Department. $80. Prerequisite are a high school diploma or GED and current listing on the N.C. Nurse Aide registry. 565.4145 or sfischer@haywood.edu.

• Western Carolina University will welcome prospective students and their families and friends to an Open House from 8:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, in Cullowhee. Preregistration available at openhouse.wcu.edu or 227.7317.

• Registration deadline for an upcoming N.C. Safe Plates class is Monday, Nov. 21. Class, which is for food service managers seeking the “Certified Food Safety Manager” certification, is Dec. 8-9 at the Macon County Environmental Resource Center. For info or to enroll: 349.2046 or Julie_sawyer@ncsu.edu.

• Haywood County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Bethea Welcome Center at Lake Junaluska.

• Registration is underway for a “Presenting with Impact” workshop, which is from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, at Western Carolina University’s instructional site at Biltmore Park Town Square in Asheville.

Explore a concrete approach for connecting with an audience and delivering a message integrated with body and voice. $125. Visit Pdp.wcu.edu and click on “Business and Management” or call 227.3070.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • KARE will hold its Festival of Trees at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. $75 per person or $550 for a table of eight.

• The booster club at Tuscola High School will host the inaugural Big T Bash at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. Food, music, silent auction and cash bar. Tickets are $75 each or $750 for a corporate table. Proceeds benefit Tuscola’s athletic teams. Contact Big T club members, Tuscola coaches or visit www.bigTbash.org to purchase tickets.

421.9209.

• Burger King Fundraiser night, Monday, Dec. 5, the night of the Waynesville Parade. Come out and support Clyde Elementary PTA on your way to or from the parade.

• Donations are being accepted for the auction portion of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society’s holiday party, which is Dec. 1. Items may be dropped off from 8 a.m.-noon on Monday through Friday at the SCGHS Library at 200 Main Street in Bryson City.

488.2932.

• Tickets are on sale for the Sylva Garden Club’s Christmas Tea & Bazaar, which is from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the First United Methodist Church of Sylva. $12 per ticket. Tickets available from SGC members and at the door; funds go toward SGC’s beautification projects and scholarships. www.facebook.com/SylvaGardenClub.

HOLIDAY GIVING • Western Carolina University’s Student Social Work Association will partner with Cullowhee United Methodist Church to provide a free hot meal to people in need from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18. Donations of perishable items being sought. jdulworth@wcu.edu or 273.1485.

• Several Jackson County churches are joining together to host a Community Service of Thanksgiving at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, at First Presbyterian Church of Sylva. Blake Daniel is host pastor. Childcare available for ages 4-under.

• The ninth annual Community Food Drive is being conducted by the Town of Waynesville through Dec. 9. Nonperishable items accepted at the following town offices during regular business hours: Police Department/Development Services Office, Municipal Building, Hazelwood Office, Fire Station 1, the Waynesville Recreation Center, and the Old Armory.

456.4838.

VOLUNTEERS • Haywood Regional Medical Center is currently seeking volunteers of all ages for ongoing support at the hospital, outpatient care center and The Homestead. For info or to apply: 452.8301 or stop by the information desk in the hospital lobby. If specifically interested in becoming a hospice volunteer: 452.5039.

Smoky Mountain News

• A program entitled “Handling the Stress of Life: Holiday Edition!” will be offered from 1-2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Waynesville Library. Presented

by Michelle Sanderbeck, NC. • The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout – a day set aside for smokers to start living tobacco free – is Nov. 17. www.quitlinenc.com or 800.QUITNOW. • An essential tremor support group meets from 2-3 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Mission Community Church in Sylva.

RSVP or more info: 631.5543 or tkubit@frontier.com.

• The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 1-5:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 at North Canton Elementary in Canton. www.redcrossblood.org or 800.733.2767.

• The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 1-5:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 at North Canton Elementary in Canton. www.redcrossblood.org or 800.733.2767.

• A webinar presented by NC Harm prevention is scheduled for 1-2:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 at Waynesville Police Department. Discussion on what other groups in the state are doing and how they are doing it.

• The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Nov. 23 at Cherokee Indian Hospital in Cherokee. www.redcrossblood.org or 800.733.2767.

• The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. www.redcrossblood.org or 800.RED.CROSS. • The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Nov. 29 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. www.redcrossblood.org or 800.RED.CROSS. • A support group meeting for those with Parkinsons Disease and their caregivers will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 30 at the Waynesville Senior Resource Center.

Group will continue to meet monthly on the last day Wednesday of the month.

• The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Haywood Regional Medical Center Health & Fitness Center in Clyde. www.redcrossblood.org or 800.RED.CROSS.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • Indoor soccer is available during Futsal Open Gym nights, 6:30-9 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 18 at the Recreation Center in Cullowhee. www.smokiesinformation.org/info/branch-outprograms-fall.

• The High Mountain Squares will host their “Beatles Night Dance” from 6:15-8:45 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin.

Western-style square dancing, mainstream and levels.

342.1560, 332.0001 or www.highmountainsquares.com.

POLITICAL HEALTH MATTERS • Assistance with Marketplace Open Enrollment is available through Mountain Projects. Enrollment through the Affordable Care Act is currently open and lasts until Jan. 31. 452.1447 or 800.627.1548.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health’s monthly Cashiers Clinic has been moved to 9 a.m.noon and 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16. WIC, laboratory, immunizations and wellness screenings.

587.8289.

• The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from noon – 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Western Carolina University’s Health and Human Science Building in Cullowhee. www.redcrossblood.org or 800.733.2767.

• The Swain County Democratic Party Whittier-Cherokee Precinct meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Birdtown Gym. 497.9498.

• The Haywood County NAACP will elect officers at its meeting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at Jones Temple A.M.E. Zion in Waynesville.

• Jackson County Democratic Party will hold its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, at party headquarters on Mill Street in Sylva. http://jacksondems.com.

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • The John Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers

39

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 Network West will sponsor “Literary Hour,” featuring poetry and prose reading by Glenda Council Beall and Stacy Lynn Bell at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the JCFS campus in Brasstown.

• George Ellison will present “Literary Excursions in the Southern Highlands” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center in Cullowhee.

• George Ellison will present “Literary Excursions in the Southern Highlands” at 10 a.m. on Nov. 19 at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

• Renowned storyteller Donald Davis will be performing new material from his latest book Cripple Joe: Stories from my Daddy at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in the Sam Queen Auditorium in the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

• Fontana Regional Library will be hosting their 3rd annual “Read Local Book Fair,” an event that gives residents the chance to meet and support local authors.

The last event will be held at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Authors will have copies of their works available for purchase, just in time for the holiday season.

For more information about Fontana Regional Library or the Read Local Book Fair, please visit www.fontanalib.org.

• George Ellison will present “Literary Excursions in the Southern Highlands” on Dec. 7 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Senior Life Solutions at Swain Community Hospital will offer a free community seminar titled ‘Surviving and Thriving During the Holiday Season’ that will cover topics that span from seasonal depression to holiday stressors and how to avoid them. The session will begin at noon Thursday, November 17th at the Senior Life Solutions office located on the campus of Swain Community Hospital, 45 Plateau St. Light refreshments will be served.

KIDS & FAMILIES • A Mother-and-Son Game Night is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the First United Methodist Church in Sylva. Life-sized Jenga, Hungry Hippos, Flick Football, Cupcake Walk and more. Refreshments. $20 per couple and $5 per additional child. 586.2358.

• Registration is underway for the Haywood County Youth Recreation Basketball League. Age groups range from 5-6 to 11-12. Age cut-off is Aug. 31. Games start Dec. 17. Register anytime at the HCRP office in Waynesville. 452.6789 or drtaylor@haywoodnc.net.

• A Tuesday Library Club for ages 5-12 meets at 4 p.m. each Tuesday (except for the fifth Tuesday on months that occurs) at the Canton Library. Hands-on activities like exercise, cooking, LEGOs, science experiments and crafts. 648.2924 or kpunch@haywoodnc.net.

• “Art Beats for Kids” will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on

wnc calendar

Thursdays at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City.

A new project every week. $20 per child, with includes lesson, materials and snack. To register, call 828.538.2054.

• Stories, songs and a craft are offered for ages zerosix (and caregivers) at 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday at the Canton Library. 648.2924.

• A program called “Imagine”, an art program for children 8-12 meets at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Jackson County Public Library. Program contains art, writing, and drama. 586.2016.

• Rompin’ Stompin’, an hourlong storytime with music, movement and books, is held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays and at 11 a.m. on Fridays at Canton Library. For ages zero to six. 648.2924.

• Crafternoons are at 2:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• Library Olympics will be held at 2 p.m. on Fridays at Jackson County Public Library. Children age 5 and up get active through relay races, bingo, mini golf.

586.2016.

• Get Moving, a program for children ages 5-12 to encourage children to live a healthy life through exercise and healthy eating, will be held on the first Tuesday of the month at 4 p.m. at the Canton Public Library. 648.2924

• A Lego Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 3:30-5 p.m. at Waynesville Library.

452.5169.

• A Lego Club meets the fourth Thursday of the month at 4:30 p.m. at Jackson County Public Library. 5862016.

All materials provided. Santa at the Museum: 1 to 4 p.m. Enjoy a free photo opportunity with jolly St. Nick on the porch of the cabin located in the museum.

Cookies and cocoa served in the lobby. Santa will be there from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 26 and at the Christmas Parade on Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. 800.867.9246.

• A Lego Club meets at 4 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Legos and Duplos provided for ages three and up.

488.3030.

• Registration is underway for a wreath-making workshop, which is scheduled for 1:30-4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1, at First Presbyterian Church in Sylva. $10 fee includes wreath ring and greenery. 586.4009.

• Teen time 3:30-4:30 p.m. Thursdays at Waynesville Library. A program for teens and tweens held each week. Each week is different, snacks provided. 3562511

• Canton Christmas Parade, “Silver Bells” will be held Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. cantonnc.com.

• Homework Help, 3 to 5 p.m. Mondays for students in grades 2 through 6, Canton Branch Library. Former schoolteacher turned Youth Services Librarian Katy Punch offers homework help on a first-come, firstserved basis. Katy, 648.2924.

• Adventure Club on Tuesdays 3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. for grades K-2 at the Macon County Public Library. 524.3600.

• Children’s craft time, fourth Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. at Cashiers Community Library. 743.0215

November 16-22, 2016

• Rompin’ Stompin’ Story Time is held on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and Fridays 11 a.m. at the Canton Public Library. Ages 0-6. An hour long story time full of music and movement. 648.2924.

• Storytimes are held at 10 and 10:40 a.m. every Thursday at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• After-School Art Adventure will be on from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. on Tuesdays at The Bascom in Highlands.

For ages 5 to 10, Art Adventure is a class that explores the creative process of drawing, painting, printmaking, clay, sculpture, fiber art, and crafts by utilizing a variety of media. The students will investigate some of the most popular techniques and theories in art history and will be exposed to contemporary as well as folk art traditions. Tuition is $40 for a fourclass package. www.thebascom.org.

ONGOING KIDS ACTIVITIES AND CLUBS

Smoky Mountain News

• Fun Friday, everything science, is held at 4 p.m. on Fridays at Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016.

• Teen Coffeehouse is at 4:30 p.m. on the first, third, and fourth Tuesday at Jackson County Public Library.

Spend time with other teens talking and sharing. 12 and up. 586.2016.

• Rock and Read is at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays at Jackson County Public Library. 586-2016.

• “Plug in and Read,” a digital story time designed to help preschoolers (ages 3-6) learn early literacy skills, is held at 10:30 a.m. on the second Friday or fourth Monday of each month at Haywood County Public Library. Visit www.haywoodlibrary.org or call 452.5169 or 648.2924.

• A Lego club will meet at 4 p.m. every fourth Thursday of the month, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Library provides Legos and Duplos for ages 3 and up. Free. 488.3030.

• Science Club is held at 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month for grades K-6 at 40 the Macon County Public Library. 524.3600.

• Cherokee Lights and Legends Christmas will be celebrated starting Friday Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Event will take place on Friday and Saturdays in December except for the 23rd and 24th. Enjoy interactive displays of Cherokee legends, ice skating, a 40 ft. Christmas tree and more at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds. 800.438.1601.

Admission free with fees for activities.

• Highlands Christmas Parade will be Dec. 3 at 11 a.m.

• Sylva Christmas Parade, “A Cinema Christmas” is Dec. 3 at 3 pm on Main St. in Sylva. Rain date is Dec. 4.

• Full STEAM Ahead, a program for children ages 5-12 to allow them to explore science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics through fun hands-on activities. Program open to the first 15 participants, at 4 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month at Canton Public Library. 648.2924.

• Family Story Time is held on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. at the Canton Public Library. Ages 0-6. Stories, songs, dance and crafting. 648.2924.

• Dillsboro Lights and Luminaries runs on the Friday and Saturdays of Dec. 2-3 and Dec. 9-10 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A&E FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS • The 15th annual “Stecoah Arts & Crafts Drive About Tour” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 25-26 in Bryson City, Stecoah and Robbinsville.

HOLIDAYS

• Waynesville Christmas Parade, “Christmas Past, Christmas Present” will be Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. on Main St. • A Night Before Christmas will be on Saturday, Dec. 10 in downtown Waynesville. Live music, caroling, Bethlehem Market Place, wagon rides, Santa and more. 6 to 9 p.m.

• Cashiers Christmas Parade, “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly” will be Dec. 10 at 12 p.m. 743.5191.

• Cherokee Christmas Parade will be Dec. 10 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Parade route is from the Cherokee Bear Zoo to The Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

800.438.1601.

• The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will present its annual Handmade Holiday Sale from noon-7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in Cullowhee.

Handmade items created by WCU students, staff and alumni will be sold. Artwork, ceramics, sculpture, wearable items. A portion of proceeds wills support programming at the Fine Art Museum. 227.2505 or jilljacobs@wcu.edu.

• Christmas in the Park will be held on Friday, Dec. 16 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Recreation Park in Cullowhee. Visit Santa, roast marshmallows and enjoy other activities. 293.3053 or http://www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• David Pruitt of Franklin will be the featured artist at the 29th annual Hard Candy Christmas Arts & Crafts Show, which is Nov. 25-26 insides the Ramsey Center on Western Carolina University’s campus in Cullowhee.

Corn brooms, rag rugs, hand weaving, goat milk soap, bee’s wax candles and ornaments. $4.50 for adults; children under 12 admitted free. www.MountainArtisans.net or 524.3405.

• Anastasia’s Ales (Waynesville) will host a wine tasting from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17.

• Christmas on the Green is scheduled from 2-6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25, at the Village Green in Cashiers.

Christmas wishes with Santa from 2-5 p.m.; Christmas tree lighting ceremony from 5-6 p.m. www.villagegreencashiersnc.com or 743.3434.

• The Franklin Christmas Parade will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, in downtown. Parade applications are available at the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. Entry fee is $25. You can also get an application by emailing cindy@franklin-chamber.com.

Commercial floats are available for $525, contact facc@franklin-chamber.com or 828.524.3161.

• The annual tree lighting “Winter Wonderland” ceremony and candlelight service will start at 5 p.m. Nov. 26 on the Franklin town square, with free cider, cookies, wagon rides and live music.

• Santa Claus and other Christmas activities will be held from now till Dec. 17 at the Swain County Heritage Museum in Bryson City. 800.867.9246.

Letters to Santa: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Drop a line to Santa.

FOOD & DRINK • “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 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. $5 per person. www.papouswineshop.com or 586.6300.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Saturdays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 452.0120.

• 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.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host Mountain Faith (bluegrass) will perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 16 in the University Center Grand Room. www.wcu.edu. The Julian Willis Senior Recital will be 1:30 p.m. Nov. 20, with the Jazz Combo 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21, both in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building.

The Kay Forbey Senior Recital will be 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 in the Niggli Theatre. www.wcu.edu.

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host a community music jam from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. Free. 828.488.3030.

• Voices in the Laurel Madrigal Dinner Concert is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1819, at First Baptist Church in Waynesville. Theme is “Welcome to the Renaissance.” Tickets: $30 for adults; $15 for children under 12. Tickets available at voicesinthelaurel.org or 734.9163.

• The production of the Nora Ephron play “Love Loss and What I Wore” will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1819 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for students. 828.456.6322 or www.harttheater.org.

• Radney Foster (Country) of Texas will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 at The Strand in Waynesville. $35 general admission. 38main.com. Tickets: $35.

38main.com or stop by The Strand during normal business hours.

• Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist “Mean Mary” James will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at The Classic Wine Seller in Waynesville. Tickets are $15 per person. 452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com or www.meanmarry.com.

• The National Theatre of London’s performance of “Frankenstein” will be shown live via satellite at 1 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center in Highlands. Tickets available at highlandspac.org or by calling 526.9047.

• Bret Michaels performing at Harrah’s on Nov. 19 at 7:20 pm in Cherokee. Tickets available for $35 for standing room only. www.harrahscherokee.com.

• The Oconaluftee Visitor Center (Cherokee) will host a back porch old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 19. Future jams are on the third Saturday of the month through April. All are welcome to come play or simply sit and listen to sounds of Southern Appalachia.

• Honey Holler will perform old-time music at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. www.HaywoodArts.org.

• International Bluegrass Music Association “Emerging Artist of the Year” act Mountain Faith will perform their “Sounds of Christmas” at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $18. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

• Celtic Women: home for Christmas, The Symphony Tour will be held at Harrah’s in Cherokee on Dec. 9 at 9 pm. Tickets are $42 and up. www.harrahcherokee.com.

• HART’s holiday production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” will be held Dec. 10-11 and 17-18. www.harttheatre.org.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • Master smith William Rogers will teach blacksmithing and hammered copper starting Nov. 16 at his studio in Cullowhee. Evening classes meet at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 16, 21 and Dec. 1. Afternoon classes

meet at 3 p.m. on Nov. 22, 28 and Dec. 2. Ages 12-18 must be accompanied by parent. Class fee: $75, includes materials. Info or pre-register: RogersMetals@gmail.com.

• The Gem and Mineral Society of Franklin will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building on US 441 South. Arlon Eldridge will discuss the culture of Brazil.

• Don Marks, president of the WNC Woodturners Club, will demonstrate his arts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Rickman Store – seven miles north of Franklin.

• A “Creating Community Workshop: Broom Making” program will be offered at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, in the atrium of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Program will be led by Mickey Sizemore. 586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.

• Laurey-Faye Dean will be the featured artist with a live demonstration and discussion at “The Potter’s Wheel” series from noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 26 at The Wild Fern in Bryson City.

• Registration is underway for a welt-felting, handson workshop, which will be offered at 6 p.m. on, Thursday, Dec. 1, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Create a hat or slippers for winter.

Preregistration required: tcbowers1@catamount.wcu.edu (for WCU students); or hensley@wcu.edu (all others).

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • A three-month ceramics exhibit at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum is currently in Cullowhee. Fineartmuseum.wcu.edu or 227.3591.

• “Contemporary Clay,” curated by Heather Mae Erickson, is an exhibition that examines the evolving, expanded field of clay and ceramics. It will run through Dec. 16 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• Artist Melba Cooper will be exhibiting her stunning series of paintings, “POLLINATION,” at Cullowhee Mountain Arts’ (CMA) Studio in downtown Sylva. www.cullowheemountainarts.org/up-in-the-studioevents or 342.6913.

• A showcase on the life and times of Horace Kephart will be on display through March 31 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. The Mountain Heritage Center’s Kephart Collection is composed of 127 objects, including Kephart’s tent, sleeping bag, backpack and the writing desk. The exhibit will display many of these objects in a campsite setting. 227.7129.

• The Haywood County Arts Council’s exhibit entitled “It’s a Small, Small Work” is on display through Dec. 24 at 86 N. Main Street in Waynesville. Sixty artists and nearly 200 individual works of art for sale. www.HaywoodArts.org.

• New artist and medium will be featured every month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• As part of the Arts Council’s Integrated Arts initiative, a sampling of works by renowned Macon County sculptor Nelson Nichols (www.nicholssculpture.com) will be displayed at this event. Executed in stone, bronze, and wood, Nichols’ sculptural body of work reflects his unique style, Spiritual Expressionism, encompassing anatomical/figurative pieces in classical realism, a series of abstract interpretations, a series illustrating universal/spiritual concepts, and an environmentally inspired series including sculptures of endangered/threatened species. Admission is by donation; $7 is suggested. arts4all@dnet.net or 524.ARTS (2787).

FILM & SCREEN • The premiere of a documentary on early 20th-century outdoors writer and Great Smoky Mountains National Park proponent Horace Kephart is scheduled to be shown at 2:30 and 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, in the H.F. Robinson Administration Building Auditorium.

“Horace Kephart, His Life and Legacy” is 90 minutes long. Reception is from 4-5 p.m. 227.7129.

MUSIC JAMS AND GROUPS • Golden Aires singing group practices at 9:15 a.m. every fourth Wednesday of the month at Jackson County Department on Aging/Senior Center in Sylva.

Secular and religious music. Performances given at area nursing homes. Musical instruments also welcome. 586.5494.

• Old-time music jam from 1-3 p.m. the first and third Saturday of the month at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on U.S. 441 outside Cherokee. November through April is just the third Saturday. 497.1904.

60

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• A community music jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of each month at the Marianna Black Library in Downtown Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer – anything unplugged – is invited to join.

Singers and listeners are also welcome.

• Cruso Circle Play & Jam, 7 p.m. every Tuesday, Cruso Community Center and Friendship Club in Cruso. www.facebook.com/crusocircleplayjam.

Savings based on regular $159 Biltmore Annual Pass. Some restrictions may apply.

• Signature Brew Coffee Company holds Sylva Open Jam nights on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Shop provides the instruments, you provide the talent. Chris Coopers’ Fusion band hosts.

• An open jam session is held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. each Thursday at Heinzelmannchen Brewery in Sylva.

All skill levels and instruments welcome. 631.4466 or www.yourgnometownbrewery.com • Karaoke is held at 7 p.m. every other Friday at the American Legion Post 47 in Waynesville. Open to all members and their guests. 456.8691.

• Men Macon Music, canella singing, meets at 5:30 p.m. every Monday in the Chapel of First Presbyterian Church, 26 Church St., Franklin. Visitors welcome.

524.9692.

• Mountain Dulcimer Players Club meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of each month at

WNC's Largest Selection of Granite & Quartz.

Smoky Mountain News

• The exhibit “Emissaries of Peace: 1762 Cherokee & British Delegations” features Cherokee clothing, feather capes, beads, and other artifacts. It is currently on display at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and also available for travel. www.cherokeemuseum.org or bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org.

Exceptional Savings on Year-Round Splendor!

November 16-22, 2016

• Submissions are now being accepted for the 2017 edition of Milestone, the biennial art and literary review published by Southwestern Community College.

First- and second-place cash prizes will be awarded in three categories: Poetry, Prose (short story or nonfiction works) and Visual Arts, including photography.

In addition, one cash prize will be awarded for Cover Art. Open to residents of Jackson, Macon, Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary – as well as SCC students and alumni. Info and submissions (by Dec. 5): tknott@southwesterncc.edu or bkeeling@southwesterncc.edu. Info: 339.4314 or 339.4325.

• An exhibition entitled “This is a Photograph: Exploring Contemporary Applications of Photographic Chemistry” is on display at Penland School of Crafts near Spruce Pine. 765.6211 or penland.org/gallery.

wnc calendar

• High Country Quilt Guild will hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. Sandy Fogerty will present a program on “What’s New at the Quilt Market.” Group meets the third Thursday of each month. HighCountryQuilters.wordpress.com.

• The “Photography of Bayard Wootten” exhibit is on display through Nov. 23 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Solid Surface Specialists

62 Communications Dr., Waynesville • Appointments Suggested

(828) 452-4747 WWW.SSS-TOPS.COM

41

wnc calendar

the Bryson City United Methodist Church. Knowledge of music not required, tablature method used. 488.6697.

• Pick and Play Dulcimer Group of Sylva meets at 1:30 p.m. on the first, third and fifth Saturday of every month in the fellowship hall of St. John’s Episcopal Church. 293.0074.

• The Franklin Early Music Group meets every Monday at 9 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. 369.5192.

• The Nikwasi Dulcimer Players meet every Thursday afternoon from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Franklin. All are welcome.

524.1040 or 524.2294.

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 • An Evening Campfire is at 7:30 p.m. each Saturday at Mount Pisgah Campground. Led by National Park Service rangers. www.nps.gov/blri or 298.5330, ext.

304.

Outdoors • Hartwell Carson, “Riverkeeper” of the French Broad River for 11 years, will be featured presenter at the Trout Unlimited Cataloochee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 at Rendezvous Restaurant in Maggie Valley.

• An “Under the Stars” stargazing event will be offered by the Macon County Public Library, Western Carolina University and the Asheville Astronomy Club at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

• A “Leader Building” program will of offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Learn while leaders make fly fishing more effective. Registration required: www.ncwildlife.org/pisgah. 877.4423.

November 16-22, 2016

• An “Outdoor Cooking” program will be offered for ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Registration required: www.ncwildlife.org/pisgah.

877.4423.

• A Fly Rod Building class will be presented by Tommy Thomas, former president of the National Chapter of Trout Unlimited, from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from through Dec. 15 at Haywood Community College. Register: 565.4240.

• Registration is underway for ski/snowboard lessons at the Cataloochee Ski Resort. For ages 8-up. Sundays for five weeks: Jan. 8, 22, 29, Feb. 5 and 12. Lesson is from 1:30-3 p.m.; lift ticket valid from 12:30-4:30 p.m.

Lift only: $109; lift and lesson: $135. 293.2053 or www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• The Tuckaseigee River Chapter No. 373 of Trout Unlimited meets at 6:30 p.m. on first Tuesday of each month from September through May at United Community Bank in Sylva. Dinner is $5.

Smoky Mountain News

• The Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians has moved to Bryson City and is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Monday through Saturday.

FlyFishingMuseum.org.

• A mini-event will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. most Saturdays. National Park Service rangers will talk about special adaptations animals and plants have made in order to survive. www.nps.gov/blri or 298.5330, ext. 304.

• The N.C. Arboretum, which has been named the nation’s seventh “Bee Campus USA,” will focus its seasonal landscape exhibits program on plants and nesting sites for pollinator species. More info: www.ncarboretum.org/pollinator.

• A cycling road ride starts at 11 a.m. on Sundays at the Franklin Fitness Center. Organized by Smoky Mountain Bicycles. 369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com.

• 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. Rotes vary.

Road bikes only. A no-drop ride. Organized by Smoky Mountain Bicycles or info@smokymtnbikes.com.

• An easy ride aiming to help people ease into a healthier lifestyle through cycling leaves at 9:30 a.m.

Thursdays from the Canton Recreation Park, covering 8-10 miles. Road bikes are preferred. Nobody will be left behind. A partnership of Bicycle Haywood N.C., the Blue Ridge Bike Club and MountainWise. Michele Trantham, mttrantham@hotmail.com.

• A 25-mile 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 flat stretches, lots of climbing and a descent on the return of the outand-back ride, which includes 1,600 feet of elevation gain. Organized by Motion Makers, 586.6925.

• Beginning bikers can always find help from the folks at Bicycle Haywood N.C., which has members willing to arrange one-on-one instruction. Bob Clark, bobclarklaw@gmail.com.

• A beginner-friendly social ride will begin at 6:15 p.m.

Custom Custom Ch Christmas r istmas Card Card & C Calendar alendar SSpecial pecial 5 1/2“ x 4 1/4” folded • Color both sides Comes with blank envelopes (Bring in 1 or 2 of your ffavorite avorite photos or artwork)

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• An evening event is scheduled for 7 p.m. every Thursday at locations close to Asheville. Led by National Park Service rangers. www.nps.gov/blri or 298.5330, ext. 304.

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50 ccards ards $79.95 $ 7 9.9 5 100 100 ccards ards $99.95 $99.95 Calendar Special $14.95 ea

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Mondays from the Bent Creek Ledford Parking Lot in Asheville, covering 5 to 8 miles of mountain bike trails.

Organized By Motion Makers Bicycle Shop. 633.2227.

• A training ride for women who know how to handle a mountain bike but want to go faster will start at 6:15 p.m. Wednesdays from the Ledford parking lot at Bent Creek in Asheville. The rides will cover 8 to 12 miles and use more technical trails than the beginner’s ride.

Organized by Motion Makers Bicycle Shop. 633.2227.

• Nantahala Area Southern Off Road Bicycling Association is still finalizing its schedule of spring offroad rides. Up-to-date information will be posted at www.facebook.com/NantahalaAreaSORBA/?fref=ts.

FARM AND GARDEN • Macon County Beekeepers Association will give instructions from 1-4 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Macon County Extension Office in Franklin. One sheet of wax, wicking and share decoration material per participant. $2 per each additional sheet. Bring little scissors or exacto knife. 524.3691.

• Registration is underway for a “Master Gardener Wreath-Making Event,” which is from 10 a.m.-noon and from 1-3 p.m. on Dec. 3 at the Cooperative Extension Office in Waynesville. Materials provided; learn from master gardeners. $20. Reservations: 456.3575 or mgarticles@charter.net.

• Local farmers can stop by the Cooperative Extension Office on Acquoni Road from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every fourth Friday to learn about USDA Farm Service Agency programs in the 2014 Farm Bill. Info: 488.2684, ext. 2 (Wednesday through Friday) or 524.3175, ext. 2 (Monday through Wednesday).

• The Macon County Poultry Club of Franklin meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Cooperative Extension Office on Thomas Heights Rd, Open to the public. 369.3916.

FARMERS MARKET • A community tailgate market for local growers is open from 3-7 p.m. every Wednesday at The Village Green Commons in Cashiers. 734.3434, info@villagegreencashiersnc.com or www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

• Haywood Historic Farmers Market is held from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturdays in November in the parking lot of HART Theatre in Waynesville. 280.1381 or haywoodfarmersmarket@gmail.com or waynesvillefarmersmarket.com • The Original Waynesville Tailgate Market is from 8 a.m.-noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 171 Legion Drive in Waynesville (behind Bogart’s). 456.1830 or vrogers12@att.net.

• The Jackson County Farmers Market will be held 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays at the Community Table building on Central Street in Sylva until outdoor hours resume at Bridge Park in March. The market will be held weekly through Dec. 17 and then be held one

weekend each in January and February. Info: 393.5236. jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org.

• The ‘Whee Farmer’s Market is open from 4 p.m. to dusk every Tuesday at the corner of the N. Country Club Drive and Stadium View Drive in Cullowhee, behind the entrance to the Village of Forest Hills off Highway 107 across from Western Carolina University. 476.0334.

• Franklin Tailgate Market is from 8 a.m.-noon every Saturday at 203 E. Palmer Street in Franklin. Info: collins230@frontier.com.

• The Cashiers Tailgate market is open from 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. on Wednesdays at the United Community Bank on N.C. 107 South. 226.9988 or blueridgefarmers@gmail.com.

• The Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market is from 8 a.m.noon on Saturdays on East Palmer Street across from Drake Software in Franklin. 349.2049 or alan_durden@ncsu.edu.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • The Cherokee 5K Turkey Strut is Nov. 19. Starts from Kituwah Mound near Bryson City. $15 registration; $5 for kids. Supports athletes of Cherokee Central Schools.

• The fourth annual Cold Turkey 5K and Little Turkeys FUN! Run/Walk will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24 — Thanksgiving Day — at Franklin’s Tassee Shelter Greenway Park. The out-and-back 5K begins at 9:30 a.m., with the Little Turkeys FUN! Run/Walk for those 10 and under starting at 9 a.m. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Proceeds will benefit a local nonprofit to be announced soon. $25, with prices increasing to $30 Nov. 9. www.active.com.

• Advance registration is underway for the Turkey Trot 5K, which is Nov. 24 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. $30 online registration; $35 on event day.

Supports a variety of nonprofits locally and around the world. www.imathlete.com.

• Advance registration is underway for the Tacky Christmas Sweater 5K, which is Saturday, Nov. 26, at Oak Forest United Methodist Church in Hayesville.

Proceeds benefit youth and children’s programs at the church. Must wear a tacky Christmas sweater. $25. www.active.com.

• Registration is underway for the Run 2017 5K Run & Walk, which is Jan. 1 at the Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee. 293.2053 or ww.rec.jacksonnc.org

HIKING CLUBS • Carolina Mountain Club will hold a seven-mile hike with a 1,200-foot ascent on Nov. 16 at Panthertown Valley Loop East. For info or to sign up, contact leader Steve Pierce at 724.4999 or stevepierce50@gmail.com.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have an 11.7-mile hike with a 3,000-mile ascent on Nov. 27 on the Round Top Ridge Trail. For info and reservations, contact leader Tish Desjardins at 380.1452 or desraylet@aol.com.

Puzzles can be found on page 46.

These are only the answers.

PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

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November 16-22, 2016

WNC MarketPlace

EMPLOYMENT

PEER SUPPORT SPECIALISTS Meridian is seeking Peer Support Specialists to work within a number of recovery oriented programs within our agency. Being a Peer Support Specialist provides an opportunity for individuals to transform their own personal lived experience with mental health and/or addiction challenges into a tool for inspiring hope for recovery in others. Applicants must demonstrate maturity in their own recovery process, have a HS Diploma or GED, valid driver’s license, reliable transportation and have moderate computer skills. If you are seeking some basic information about the role of Peer Support Specialists within the public behavioral health system, please go to NC Peer Support Specialist Certification Site: http://pss.unc.edu/ You do not have to be a certified peer support specialist prior to employment. For further information about these positions, visit the employment section of our website at: www.meridianbhs.org If interested, apply by completing the mini application and submitting your resume.

EMPLOYMENT PERSONAL ASSISTANT Computer Savvy: Email, Microsoft Word & Excel, Social Media; Secretarial Skills; Good Phone Presence; Enjoys Cooking; Light Housework. Call 828.586.0251 for an appointment.

AIRLINE MECHANIC TRAINING – Get FAA Technician certification.

Approved for military benefits.

Financial Aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866.724.5403.

POSITION AVAILABLE Independent Living Specialist for fast paced nonprofit organization. Must have ability to multitask, have good listening skills with outgoing personality to assist people with disabilities in setting and reaching independent living goals. Must have the ability to interact with local, state and federal agencies. Ability to work independently, one on one or in a group setting. Degree in Human Services or work experience will be considered. A disability is required. Submit application along with resume to: Barbara Davis, DisAbility Partners, at 525 Mineral Springs Drive, Sylva NC 28779 or call 828.631.1167 for more information.

FROG POND ESTATE SALES HELPING IN HARD TIMES

DOWNSIZING ESTATE SALES CLEAN OUT SERVICE • COMPANY TRANSFER • DIVORCE • LOST LOVED ONE

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WE ARE KNOWN FOR HONESTY & INTEGRITY

44

828-734-3874 18 COMMERCE STREET WAYNESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA 28786 WWW.FROGLEVELDOWNSIZING.COM

EMPLOYMENT BECOME A REGISTERED NURSE-RN No Waiting List! Attend accredited Nursing School, Classes online in our blended program. Weekend clinical schedules. Financial Aid Available for those who qualify.

Call Admissions 813.932.1710. www.medicalprepinstitute.org DISPATCHER WITH HAYWOOD PUBLIC TRANSIT: Looking for Applicant with Excellent Phone Voice, Multi-Tasking Abilities, Familiarity with Haywood County, Good Communication Skills Necessary. FullTime with Benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects Inc., 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786 or: www.mountainprojects.org EOE/AA FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Coordinator for Military Business Center. 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 HEAD START/NC PRE-K TEACHER-HAYWOOD COUNTY Must have a Birth-K or BS related field with course work, and teaching license. This position also requires computer skills, the ability to work with diverse population/community partners, good judgment/problem solving skills, lead role in classroom and time management skills.

Candidate will be responsible for classroom/paperwork. 2 yrs. experience in Pre-K classroom preferred. Full-time with benefits. EOE/AA. Please apply at Mountain Projects, Inc 2251 Old Balsam Rd, Waynesville, NC 28786 or www.mountainprojects.org

EMPLOYMENT DRIVE WITH UBER. No experience is required, but you'll need a Smartphone. It's fun and easy. For more information, call: 1.800.927.8560 DRIVER TRAINEES Paid CDL Training Stevens Transport will cover all costs! No Experience Needed! Earn $800 per week!

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Get Trained - Get Certified - Get Hired! Bulldozers, Backhoes & Excavators. Immediate Lifetime Job Placement. VA Benefits.

1.866.362.6497 B.H. GRANING LANDSCAPES, INC Now hiring for the position of crew member - the grass is growing and so is our business come join our team. Full-time year round work, competitive wages, good work environment.

Please call 828.586.8303 for more info or email resume to: roger.murajda@bhlandscapes. com HIRING SKILLED UPHOLSTERER And Canvas Fabricator with experience in sewing, patterning and upholstering for boat/ yacht industry.

Email resume to marvinroberts@live.com or call 252.726.1660.

U.S. NAVY IS HIRING Elite tech training withgreat pay, benefits, vacation, $ for school. HS grads ages 17-34. Call Mon.-Fri. 800.662.7419 MEDICAL BILLING & CODING Training! Become a Medical Office Specialist now! No Experience Needed! Online Training can get you job ready! 1.888.512.7122 HS Diploma/GED & computer needed. careertechnical.edu/nc

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT OUR HUNTERS WILL PAY Top $$$ To hunt your land. Call for a Free Base Camp Leasing info packet & Quote. 1.866.309.1507 www.BaseCampLeasing.com

CAVALIER ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 Section 8 Accepted - Rental Assistance When Available -

SPORTSMAN LOG CABINS 8 MODELS 828-361-3232

Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday 12:30pm - 4:00pm & Friday. 8:00am- 4:00pm 50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville

Phone # 1-828-456-6776 TDD # 1-800-725-2962 Equal Housing Opportunity

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT 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 NEAR TRYON, NC EQUESTRIAN Center, 7.84 acres of pasture, creek frontage, partially fenced $59,900. Also Mtn View acreage w/paved access starting at $24,900. 828.286.1666

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

MOBILE HOMES FOR SALE REPOSSESSED MOBILE HOMES. Move in ready. No rent option, but buying could be cheaper than rent!

Owner financing on select homes with approved credit.

336.790.0162

VACATION RENTALS FLAGLER BEACH FLORIDA Oceanfront Vacation Rental, Tripadvisor Award, Furnished Studio, 1-2-3 BR’s, Full Kitchens, WiFi, TV, Pool. Seasonal Specials.

1.386.517.6700 or visit: www.fbvr.net

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.

YOUR AD COULD REACH 1.6 MILLION HOMES ACROSS NC! Your classified ad could be reaching over 1.6 Million Homes across North Carolina! Place your ad with The Smoky Mountain News on the NC Statewide Classified Ad Network- 118 NC newspapers for a low cost of $375 for 25-word ad to appear in each paper! Additional words are $10 each. The whole state at your fingertips! It's a smart advertising buy! Call Scott Collier at 828.452.4251 or for more information visit the N.C. Press Association's website at: ncpress.com

HOMES FOR SALE

828.734.6500, 828.734.6700

BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

LOWEST HOME MORTGAGE Rates & Fast Approvals by Phone!!!! Programs available for Good & Bad Credit. Call 910.401.3153 Today for a Free Consultation.

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE FOR YOU 1 Month Free with 12 Month Rental. Maggie Valley, Hwy. 19, 1106 Soco Rd. For more information call Torry

maggievalleyselfstorage.com GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Monday & Wednesday 8:00am - 4:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

Phone# 1.828.273.3639 TDD# 1.800.735.2962 This is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer

LAWN & GARDEN

HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicator’s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com

FURNITURE COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.

HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

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Haywood County Real Estate Agents

WNC MarketPlace

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Beverly Hanks & Associates

MOUNTAIN REALTY

Mieko

Thomson ROKER/R /R BBROKER

EALTOR®® EALTOR

Cell (828) 226-2298 Cell

mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com www.ncsmokies.com www.ncsmokies.com

2177 Russ Avenue Waynesville NC 28786

• • • • •

beverly-hanks.com Ann Eavenson - AnnEavenson@beverly-hanks.com Randy Flanigan - RandyFlanigan@beverly-hanks.com Michelle McElroy - MichelleMcElroy@beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig - MarilynnObrig@beverly-hanks.com Brooke Parrott - BrookeParrott@beverly-hanks.com

• • • •

Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither - EllenSither@beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey - MikeStamey@beverly-hanks.com Pamela Williams - PamelaWilliams@beverly-hanks.com

Emerson Group • George Escaravage - george@emersongroupus.com

——————————————

GEORGE

ESCARAVAGE BROKER/REALTOR

——————————————

ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com • Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com • Rick Boarder - sunburstrealty.com EXP Realty • Rob Roland - rroland33@gmail.com

Haywood Properties - haywoodproperties.com • Steve Cox - info@haywoodproperties.com

828.400.0901

Keller Williams Realty

ASHEVILLE, NC 28804

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BEVERLY-HANKS.COM

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Al Rasi 828.421.5472 - Franklin, NC.

Mountain Home Properties mountaindream.com • Sammie Powell - smokiesproperty.com

November 16-22, 2016

7 BEAVERDAM ROAD - SUITE 207

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

Realty World Heritage Realty

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RE/MAX — Mountain Realty SFR, ECO, GREEN

remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com • Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com • Mieko Thomson - ncsmokies.com

147 Walnut Street • WayneSville

828.506.7137

aspivey@sunburstrealty.com

www.amyspivey.com

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

• The Morris Team - maggievalleyproperty.com

smokymountainnews.com

realtyworldheritage.com • Carolyn Lauter realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7766 • Martha Sawyer realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7769

• The Real Team - the-real-team.com • Ron Breese - ronbreese.com • Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 45

www.smokymountainnews.com

November 16-22, 2016

WNC MarketPlace

Super

46

CROSSWORD

STARTING SOUND-ALIKES Georges 70 Live for right now ACROSS 76 Less trustful 1 Modify, as a bill 79 Place 6 With 68-Across, deli 80 Chocolate stand-in container 81 Petty of Hollywood 12 “Bewitched” witch 83 “I never — purple 20 Stinky stream system cow ...”

21 Confession 84 — Taylor (clothing 22 Acquired retailer) 23 They have bases of 85 Matthews of romaine “Hardball” 25 Common way to sell 86 They’re hit at parties goods 89 NSFW part 26 Boxing double-wham- 90 Bungle my 92 Vista points 27 Prefix with hazardous 95 Was in command of 28 What cleats improve 97 Royals manager Ned 29 Article of Cologne 98 Qatari chiefs 30 Young ‘un 99 It began with the 31 Leading Tertiary Period 33 Try to find a safe 104 Plus place 105 Tar’s spar 36 Irishmen, e.g.

109 Line crossing the 38 Jokester Jay origin 39 Skit show since ‘75 110 One with a B.A., say 40 Onetime popular pair 111 Jazz band’s engagein Vegas ment 46 Spring in a dry 112 Appease stretch 114 Guy hawking 50 Doctrine suffix 116 Alternate title for 51 Nunnery this puzzle 52 Lawn stuff 119 Geico alternative 54 Ending for duct 120 Grosset & — (book 55 Shampoo additive publisher) 57 Embellish richly 121 Denoted 58 Book by a bed 122 Social climbers’ 59 The Bruins of the concerns NCAA 123 Smiles derisively 60 Hardly harsh 124 Old politico Kefauver 63 Halt, legally 66 Pale violet DOWN 68 See 6-Across 1 Foppish tie 69 Socialist philosopher 2 Spiteful type

3 Tech mag 4 Retirement savings 5 No-win situation 6 Ballet step 7 Goran of tennis 8 Two-dot mark 9 Michelle of figure skating 10 Young ‘un 11 Letters before ems 12 Flash 13 MGM motto ender 14 Changes gradually 15 One, in Yahtzee 16 Sweet bread spread 17 Property 18 German poet Heinrich 19 Actress Stella 24 “Night of the Living Dead” director 28 Atlanta locale 32 Ding- — 33 Email folder heading 34 Last part 35 905-year-old in Genesis 37 N.Y. Jets’ gp.

38 Get hired 40 Chang and Eng’s land 41 Capri or Ely 42 Skin softener 43 Proof mark 44 City in Algeria 45 Prison parts 47 Pastoral folk dance of Italy 48 Troubles 49 See 104-Down 53 “The Exorcist” actor Max von — 56 Doolittle of “Pygmalion” 58 Run-down

59 Exploitative sorts 61 Shout to a matador 62 Timepiece 64 Cooke with soul 65 MLB stat 67 Burns partly 70 Car from Sweden 71 Rubik of Rubik’s Cube 72 Funny Idle 73 Sauntered 74 It’s prohibited 75 Trip-taking equipment 77 “Star Wars” furball 78 “Shoot!”

82 Bullet points 85 At the home of, to Henri 86 Galileo’s birthplace 87 Songlike 88 35mm camera choice 91 Least far-off 93 —’wester 94 Diffuses gradually 96 Sets of doctrines 99 Houses, in Havana 100 Praise highly 101 — Wafers 102 Plenty angry 103 Alternatives to walkers 104 With 49-Down, option for an air passenger 106 Really irked 107 1953 Alan Ladd film 108 Lab activities 111 Heredity unit 113 “My treat” 115 Role in “The Hangover” 116 NFL coups 117 Savage sort 118 Corp. execs

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WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Answers on Page 42

Come winter, trees reveal their blemishes

L

George Ellison

ike an old man’s face, mature hardwood tree trunks are covered with blemishes that signal age: cankers, seams, burls, butt scars, sterile conks, and protrusions in the form of bracket fungi.

Winter is the time to take a closer look at this somber side of the natural world.

Cankers are diseases in which lesions caused by a wide range of fungi and bacteria appear on the trunk and branches. When the infected tissue dies, the lesions then crack and split open, exposing underlying tissue to further infection.

Some cankers grow on a perennial basis, forming concentric rings in trunk Columnist bark with each cycle of growth. Because these patterns resemble targets the canker is sometimes referred to as target canket.

Other cankers — like the one now killing off the butternut tree here in Western North Carolina—- eat through the truck bark exposing darkened elliptical patches of the outer cambium.

Seams are long vertical or spiral cracks on tree trunks. They vary in size from a few feet to the entire length of the trunk. These are usually caused by wind, lightening, or frost

BACK THEN and occur in all species; however, they are observed most frequently in beech because of the smooth, thin bark. Sometimes a seam will infold, forming a smooth turning pattern like a carefully tucked blanket.

Burls or galls are round to semi-round or elongate swellings of the trunk. They range in size from a few inches to several feet in length. Some are of unknown origin, but most are caused by insects, fungi, or an injury. Fantastically shaped burls on birch trees in the higher elevations of the mountains lend an eerie touch to that often fogshrouded landscape.

Butt scars are triangular-shaped openings at the base of trees commonly caused by fire and logging injuries. Sycamores are often inflicted with butt scars, resulting in large openings that livestock and even humans have been reputed to take refuge in during hard times. There are stories, perhaps true, that pioneer families sometimes lived in the openings formed by butt scars in huge virgin forest sycamores while building their cabins. The largest butt scar opening I have seen is one at the base of a tree on Bryson City Island Park, which is situated in the middle of the Tuckaseigee River within the Bryson City town limits. Two people can sit inside with relative ease.

Sterile conks are specialized, non-fertile

fungous growths. They are rough, black to brown, often brittle masses of fungous tissue occuring around dead branch stubs, wounds, or cankers of living trees. The sterile conks that appear on beech trees look like small black patches of lava that have oozed out of the trunk and congealed in midair.

The most interesting, for me, of the special growth forms under discussion here are the various bracket fungi that grown on tree trunks year around but become especially apparent during the winter months.

Some are shaped like a horse’s hoof, others like a turkey’s tail. Some are as large as dinner platters, others as small as your finger nail. Also known as pore fungi, bracket fungi belong to a family (Polyporaceae) whose members grow attached to decomposing logs and tree trunks.

Usually brackets are quite woody and hardened as compared with soft-bodied mushrooms. Because of this woody nature they tend to last much longer than other mushrooms, providing the opportunity to observe them from year to year.

My favorites among the bracket fungi are the birch brackets (Polyporus betulinus) and the artist’s conk (Ganoderma applanatum).

As their name indicates, birch brackets grow only on birch, forming smooth-surfaced, downward-hanging fruiting bodies that one writer describes as “looking like a thick puffed-up pancake on top.” Visit the Joyce

Kilmer Wilderness Area in winter and you’ll have little trouble spotting bouquets of birch brackets.

The bracket known as artist’s conk can grow to be more than two feet in diameter.

They are found solitary or in groups and grow on hardwood stumps and logs as well as from wounds in living trees. They are not species-specific as are birch brackets and may appear on almost every hardwood or conifer species found here in WNC. These cracked, furrowed, knobby growths are really so hard. That you have to utilize some kind of tool to prize then off a tree trunk.

Larger specimens have been made into stools.

In Mushrooms Demystified (1986), author David Arora calculates that a large artist’s conk (he found one monster weighing in at 26 pounds) “liberates 30-billion spores a day, 6 months a year – or over 5,000,000,000,000 (5trillion!) spores annually.”

Since the white pore surface on the underside of the bracket bruises easily and stains permanently brown when scratched, they have been used to leave messages in the woods or as a means for making sketches, hence the common name artist’s conk.

Messages scrawled on artist’s conk brackets are sometimes left along the Appalachian Trail to advise stragglers of their hiking partner’s whereabouts or well-being.

(George Ellison is a naturalist and writer.

He can be reached at info@georgeellison.com.)

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November 16-22, 2016

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Smoky Mountain News November 16-22, 2016