Smoky Mountain News | April 22, 2020

Swain sheriff faces lawsuit over curfew enforcement Page 9

On the Cover:

The voices of public radio are playing a vital part in covering the COVID-19 crisis while also providing comfort for people isolated at home. While the demand for content has increased during the pandemic, public radio is struggling just like other businesses when it comes to generating enough revenue. (Page 6)

News

Sheltering the unsheltered is controversial, expensive ............................................4

On-air disruption: Pete Kaliner returns to broadcasting ..........................................7 Swain sheriff faces lawsuit over curfew enforcement ..............................................9

Defendants in Jackson jail death suit respond to charges ..................................10 Jackson approves $383K for shooting range ..........................................................11 T-shirt campaign supports Haywood businesses ..................................................13 COVID-19 restrictions challenge open meetings laws ........................................14 Play trivia with The Smoky Mountain News ..............................................................15 Crawford named 2020 Macon Matriarch ..................................................................17

Opinion

In a crisis, ordinary people turn heroic ......................................................................18

Chatham County Line channels creative bliss on new album ............................20

Outdoors

Use quarantine time to start gardening ....................................................................24

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The cost of COVID Sheltering

the unsheltered is controversial, expensive

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT

STAFF W RITER

Globally, more than 2.5 million people have contracted the coronavirus since its identification earlier this year. The hardest-hit country, the United States, has reported 802,159 cases as of April 21. Of those, 685,679 cases are still active.

Of those that are no longer active, there are only two classifications: recovered and dead. The U.S. now counts more than 43,000 dead, good for a 37 percent mortality rate among those who no longer have an active case of COVID-19.

As communities across the country and across the state of North Carolina await the disposition of the other 685,679 active cases, so-called “stay home” orders designed to stem the spread of the coronavirus offer some degree of protection, especially for vulnerable populations — the elderly, the immuno-compromised and those with underlying conditions.

The unsheltered — those without homes or reliable places to sleep — are among the most vulnerable populations but carry the additional complication of being a much greater danger not only to themselves, but also to the general population, because how do you “stay home” when you have no home in which to stay?

Awareness of the Coronavirus Pandemic among the unsheltered in Haywood County isn’t as low as one might think — they see the television, they read the news, they hear the radio, but without the basic sanitation and shelter that most others enjoy, they’re nervous.

“I know it’s a bad disease,” said Alice Marie Scott, who’s been on the street for more than a year. “It’s fixin’ to take everybody off the earth if we don’t stay clean.”

Standing near the pocket park in Frog Level on a recent sunny Saturday morning,

Scott and her companion Lonnie Shelton said they’ve been doing everything they can to avoid contracting the virus.

“You gotta keep your hands clean,” Shelton said. “Your hygiene is most important, more important than anything.”

With most businesses and government facilities shut down, it’s a challenge to keep hands clean; Scott said she uses feminine wipes or baby wipes when she can — neither kills the coronavirus — but Shelton revealed another method.

“In the creek,” he said. “I wash mine in the creek.”

The lack of bathrooms available to unsheltered individuals makes the sanitation problem worse. Although the CDC says COVID-19 has been detected in the feces of some patients, it’s still not known if it’s transmissible in that fashion. Regardless, the fecal-oral route is a well-known method of transmission for many devastating diseases.

“It’s terrible using the bathroom on the street and cleaning up after yourself after that,” Scott said. “Tell you the truth, I went in a bag, cleaned myself up, done it just like you would a puppy dog, put it in the trash. It’s like you’re a little dog, a puppy dog.”

The bathroom issue has been addressed, but it’s far from resolved. Last week — more than five weeks after Gov. Roy Cooper placed North Carolina under a state of emergency and more than three weeks after he issued a statewide “stay home” order — the Town of Waynesville decided to spring for two portajohns and a hand-washing station in Frog Level, to the tune of $170 a week.

What has yet to be addressed is why people like Scott and Shelton are still on the streets at all. Shelton said he sleeps “wherever I can lay my head,” and Scott was just as cryptic about where they bed down for the night.

“Here and there, secret spots that we can’t tell,” she said. “You can’t reveal them because everybody else will be trashing your place.

But, you know, you gotta do what you gotta do and try to stay away from everybody else but the ones that you’re close to.”

Government response to those who’ve been affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic has varied from swift and effective to lethargic and futile.

The effort to remove people like Scott and Shelton from the streets lies somewhere in the middle despite the fact that poor sanitation practices and the unrestricted movement of unsheltered individuals poses a greaterthan-average risk of virus transmission to those who are otherwise abiding by state and local stay home orders.

Guidance on how to deal with unsheltered individuals has been issued by the U.S. Integrated Council on Homelessness, an interagency assembly that includes input from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

That guidance, however, doesn’t call for the wholesale housing of all unsheltered individuals — only those suspected or proven to be infected.

A joint statement emailed by Haywood County Emergency Services PIO Allison Richmond April 20 explains how the county is following USICH guidance.

“As within the general population, there are individuals in the unsheltered population

who need to have a place to shelter for isolation (if suspected of being COVID-19 positive) and quarantine (if tested as positive).

Haywood County is committed to providing that place for isolation or quarantine.”

As suggested by the CDC, the county’s plan also addresses transportation, communication and nutrition needs of the unsheltered who’ve subsequently been isolated or quarantined per what’s known as the “Person Under Investigation” protocol.

But as it turns out, the county has also refused to pursue public monies that would provide temporary shelter for all unsheltered individuals.

“The county made two grant applications from foundations, but none for public monies,” reads the joint statement.

Those public funds include a 75 percent FEMA reimbursement and 25 percent state reimbursement for costs related to the noncongregate sheltering of vulnerable populations in hotels.

Eligible populations include vulnerable individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are suspected of exposure to COVID-19, individuals that should isolate as a precautionary measure due to underlying health conditions and, according to an April 8 press release by Cooper’s office, may also include “those whose living situation makes them unable to adhere to social distancing guidance.”

Haywood County’s joint state-

Caravan demands government reopen Haywood businesses

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER

After more than a month of COVIDrelated social distancing, self-isolation, business and school closures, travel bans and enforced quarantines for non-residents, some Western North Carolina residents are saying they’ve had enough.

“I think they should reopen,” said David Almquist, a Haywood County man who led a procession of more than 30 vehicles across the county’s streets in protest of the state and local “stay home” orders.

“There’s a lot of good people that have small businesses, in this county especially, that have been forced to close,” Almquist said from the cab of his truck in the parking lot of the Haywood County Health Department. “If they keep it closed any longer, well I’m just afraid that they won’t be able to come back.”

The “Car rally to reopen Haywood County” organized itself in the parking lot of Belk, in Hazelwood, around 2 p.m. April 19 before departing en masse in vehicles with slogans written on their windows and signs taped to their doors.

Some cars had tinsel and glitter attached, while others displayed American flags. Honking and waving, the group proceeded through the Walmart parking lot before heading up Waynesville’s South Main Street,

ment correctly points out that the FEMA/state funding is not a grant given ahead of time in anticipation of disaster-related expenses — “they are reimbursements for county expenditures for disaster relief” requiring immediate outlay by the county to vendors or service providers.

Those FEMA reimbursements have, historically, been slow in coming and there’s always a chance that they never materialize, but those red flags didn’t stop Haywood County from passing a $100,000 budget amendment on April 6 to pay for various coronavirus-related costs like new part-time workers, overtime, personal protection equipment and cell phone service.

In bringing the budget amendment to commissioners, County Finance Director Julie Davis said that some of the expenses “could possibly” be reimbursed by FEMA.

“But at this point, we’re just not sure,” she said. “So we’re just going to go ahead and move this and take it from contingency, and if we get reimbursed it probably will be in the next year anyway.”

In the county’s joint statement, an estimate of $120 per person per day was given as the approximate cost to shelter people like Alice Marie Scott and Lonnie Shelton; a February 2019 point-in-time count estimated the number of unsheltered individuals in Haywood County at 95 people. The math adds up to about $11,400 a day, or about $342,000 a month to shelter the county’s

then turning north on Russ Avenue to visit the Publix and Ingles grocery stores.

From there, the group drove through the parking lot at Lowe’s, and then to the headquarters of Haywood County’s Health and Human Services Department, on Paragon Parkway.

Cheryl Hillis, owner of Buffalo Creek Vacations in Clyde, was part of the procession and said the effect on her business — which includes several guest cabins and two retired train cabooses in a scenic, isolated party of Haywood County — had been “horrible.”

“We’ve been shut down since March 15, and we had to cancel all our reservations and everything, and we’d just like to get people coming back out to North Carolina,” said Hillis from her van as she idled through the DHHS lot several cars behind Almquist.

Hillis said she felt it would be an appropriate time for her business to reopen, despite the more than 630,000 active coronavirus cases in the United States.

“For us, we’re on a 65-acre ranch, where people want to just stay secluded in the mountains, but if they go out and use a mask and stuff like that — all the people at Walmart, they’re not social distancing, so I think all the smaller businesses should be open, too,” she said.

The group completed its route by driving through the adjacent parking lot of Food Lion but planned to re-trace the entire route several more times.

North Carolina’s stay home order is valid through April 30, while Haywood’s is valid through May 5. Both can be lengthened, shortened or abolished altogether at any time.

entire homeless population.

Both Scott and Shelton said they’d heard of the movement to get them sheltered, but neither were surprised it hadn’t come to pass.

“The people out here, in this county anyway, they look down on us homeless, the people that ain’t got nowhere to stay,” Shelton said. “They said the town or the government had turned down a place for the homeless to get in a motel. I don’t know what the outcome of that is. Most of us try to just lay our heads wherever we can, you know?”

According to two separate sources with specific knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Smoky Mountain News on condition of anonymity due to fears of professional retaliation, a number of small “mom-and-pop” lodging establishments are both willing and eager to participate in the effort to minimize COVID-19 transmission risk by sheltering the unsheltered, and are especially eager for the income it would provide them — Western North Carolina’s hospitality industry has been devastated by travel bans, and the vast majority of their beds are empty.

Shelton said he recognized that serving the unsheltered population isn’t a high priority even during the best of times, so he’s used to doing what he has to do to survive, even amidst a deadly global pandemic.

“Us homeless people out here, we’re just survivors,” he said. “We’ll try to survive and beat this, beat this virus by ourselves.”

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Ingles Nutrition Notes

written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath

#QUARANTINE KITCHEN DON’T THROW THOSE VEGETABLES OUT!

Fresh vegetables won’t last forever in your refrigerator, and if the ones you’ve purchased are looking a little sad and soft or limp, it’s time to use them.

SOME IDEAS

Here are 7 ideas of what you can do with those vegetables so you don’t waste money by throwing them out.

• Frittatas, omelets or quiche are great vehicles for a number of different vegetables when combined with egg and cheese and perhaps some chopped ham.

• Pizza - Top your frozen cheese or homemade pizza with vegetables.

• Stir Fry or Fried Rice - Combine vegetables with rice and tofu, chicken, shrimp, pork or steak

• Tacos or Quesadillas - Chop up vegetables and add to a taco or quesadilla along with fish, ground beef or chicken.

• Smoothies or Juices

• Roasted vegetables - This works well with root vegetables as well as broccoli and brussel sprouts.

• Soups or stews - Making a soup or stew at home? Add in more vegetables before you have to toss them.

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian @InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - Dietitian 800.334.4936

Making the connection during isolation

WNCW and BPR bridge gaps within listenership

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF W RITER

Walking down the empty hallways of the WNCW studios on the campus of Isothermal Community College in Spindale, Martin Anderson passes by silent offices on his way to broadcast in front of a microphone for all of Western North Carolina to hear.

“With the coronavirus, we’re monitoring the situation closely. Right now, we’re down to maybe a third of the staff that’s normally here,” said Anderson, the music director and a long-time popular host at WNCW. “We have longer shifts on-air, with some of us prerecording our programs at home. We wipe down all of our shared equipment, with finding enough bleach wipes becoming a real predicament.”

Though WNCW has a fiercely loyal audience, its programs have pushed even more into the forefront of our daily lives in recent weeks. Amid the current coronavirus pandemic and state-mandated shelter-in-place orders, most folks are finding themselves sitting and waiting until normalcy might return, usually with the radio turned on.

“There definitely is more active listening from our folks. We’re certainly noticing that from our listener feedback and from the significant increase in our web streams and

online traffic,” Anderson said. “Folks are telling us that not only do they have more time on their hands, but they’re lonely, too. They need companions, and it breaks my heart to think of so many people home alone and feeling the loneliness.”

Those sentiments are also held by Cass Herrington. A news reporter and host of “Morning Edition” for Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR) in downtown Asheville, Herrington can’t help but think of all of those faces listening from the other end of her broadcasts.

“It’s this urge to almost reach out and hold people’s hands through the microphone because there is so much anxiety, and on so many levels,” Herrington said. “It’s hard to be in a studio and not see the people who are listening — however the ability to convey that comfort [in our programming] is fundamental.”

Herrington points to other beloved National Public Radio (NPR) hosts as touchstones of familiarity and stability during times and moments of crisis.

“I think about Sept. 11 or the Boston Marathon bombing, where I was so close to my radio because there were [NPR] voices like Melissa Block or Robert Siegel — it was soothing,” Herrington said. “There’s something so personal about the human voice. And when you have these familiar [radio] voices, it’s comforting during scary times to know those voices are still there, still maintaining some sort of normalcy or routine.”

“There’s something so personal about the human voice. And when you have these familiar [radio] voices, it’s comforting during scary times to know those voices are still there, still maintaining some sort of normalcy or routine.”

— Cass Herrington, Blue Ridge Public Radio

For Anderson, it’s about being keenly aware of what song to play or mood to set the tone for someone’s day or night — those melodies at the heart of our closely held memories with loved ones, either near or far during this quarantine period.

“Some of our hosts are focusing on playing some feel-good music to allow for people to find a sense of normalcy,” Anderson said. “But, for me, I’m really trying to play songs that reflect what’s on people’s minds. And it’s been nice when we hear acknowledgement of that from our listeners, that the music is helping them.”

Anderson noted the recent death (due to complications from coronavirus) of iconic singer-songwriter John Prine as a prime example of the importance of WNCW and its programming.

“With John’s passing, normally people would gather and do a tribute concert or go to a bar, have a beer and talk about his music with their friends,” Anderson said. “But, with everyone not about to do that right now, the only real outlet folks have is WNCW to mourn the loss of one of their favorite musicians as we play his music all day in remembrance.”

And with the coronavirus pandemic, another issue has emerged — a lack of available information for the Hispanic population and communities within Western North Carolina.

To mitigate this, Herrington, who is fluent in Spanish and has an extensive background in reporting on race and immigration topics, launched “BPR En Español,” which provides online news and story content in Spanish for its audience.

“The loudest response I’ve gotten in these past few weeks has been from my sources in the immigrant and Latinx community,” Herrington said. “They’re concerned and alarmed that there is not enough information — whether that’s news or a public service — in Spanish. With this new platform at BPR, we’re hoping to expand it as we go along.”

Both WNCW and BPR have programming budgets that rely on

On-air disruption

Pete Kaliner returns to broadcasting

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF W RITER

It’s been a long, strange trip for radio host Pete Kaliner, who came into the industry just as it was beginning an era of dramatic change. In many ways, his 20-something year career in Western North Carolina broadcast journalism mirrors the ebbs and flows of the modern media waterline.

“I’ve always loved radio. I love the spoken word. I love the way it connects with people and that’s where I want to be. That’s what I want to do, even though it’s a turbulent time in the industry, although I will say the opportunities right now that radio hosts have I think are far superior than they had a long time ago,” he said. “Back then you had to rely on their platform in order to broadcast. Nowadays that whole model is being disrupted.”

“Ithink it was fourth grade, we used to have to cut current events articles out of the newspaper and write a little synopsis. After you did the assignment, you could keep doing them for little bits of extra credit,” Kaliner said. “The teacher I had, she was a big news junkie and so she wanted to inspire that in us and I guess it worked.”

His dad was also an avid public radio listener, so while he was growing up he consumed a steady diet of “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”

“I’ve just always been in it, you know,” he

live fundraisers. With listener support keeping the lights on, each station find itself at a financial crossroads where the future remains unknown.

“We get by on a pretty limited budget that has to be replenished every six months with our fund drives, and then on a regular basis with our local businesses that support us. But, with the economy the way it is right now, you just never know what’s going to happen,” Anderson said. “We’ve had to postpone our latest fund drive, which also involves a lot of volunteers. Even though we have more people relying on us, we still need to make sure we can stay in the black — we’re not sure who we can expect to support us during this crisis.”

“There’s been a lot of innovation going on not just in the BPR newsroom, but also in the business department. With the pandemic, we started immediately reaching out to businesses that support us and made sure that they were doing OK,” Herrington added. “But, it’s hard to ask for money in this time where everybody is freaking out about what the future will look like. And our fundraising

said. “I’ve always wanted to do it.” Kaliner started his career in journalism the way most do — at the bottom.

“I actually worked for an NPR station a long, long time ago. It was an internship. I mailed people coffee mugs, but I couldn’t get out of the membership department because I had no experience but I couldn’t get experience because I was in the membership department,” he laughed.

That was 1997, and once Kaliner graduated from Winthrop University, he took a job as a board operator for a tiny AM news talk station in Rock Hill, South Carolina, WRHI.

“Over the course of a couple of years, I worked my way into a fulltime position and became a reporter,” he said. “Then, my meteoric rise to news director was propelled by the fact that everybody else got other jobs.”

After moving to a larger station, WBT in Charlotte, in 2000, Kaliner began covering more of the nutsand-bolts local government stuff he admits he still loves — city council, county commission, school board, state politics, state government, breaking news, general assignment, cops and courts.

He did that for eight years and then transitioned into hosting, landing in the 9 p.m. to midnight slot.

“I think I was probably one of the last actual live local on-air hosts left in America at that hour,” Kaliner said. “It’s just all syndicated in that time slot.”

Part of the reason for that is when Kaliner was still shipping coffee mugs to NPR donors, a revolution in the communications industry was just getting underway — a revolution that would soon come to define the new media landscape and lead him to where he is today.

“We here at the radio station are really hammering home to our listeners that we have to watch out for these artists because their whole income has dried up.”

— Martin Anderson, WNCW

team has had to think about how we can raise money in a delicate way that’s not insulting to people.”

Another side effect of the downward national economy has been the livelihoods of professional musicians. With live concerts and festivals canceled until further notice, performers are now stuck at home without an income.

Though many musicians have turned to

“We’re all under the same pressures,” he said. “You’re being told to do more with less and you have all of these streams of information coming in and as a reporter you’re trying to find different stories to cover. There’s so much out there and you’ve got fewer people covering it.”

— Pete Kaliner

live online streaming on Facebook and Instagram (and donations via PayPal or Venmo), WNCW is also making a focused effort to showcase the talented artists and acts from around Western North Carolina and greater Southern Appalachia.

“We here at the radio station are really hammering home to our listeners that we have to watch out for these artists because their whole income has dried up,” Anderson said. “I applaud the musicians that have come out right away with the live streams and also teaching online workshops to make ends meet. But, it’s not enough I’m afraid, though I’m hoping it’ll be enough to help as many artists as possible from having to give up their careers.”

And yet, for Anderson and the rest of the WNCW staff, it’s been a surreal experience to be able to continue to provide its steadfast platform of music and news, something not lost on the hosts who radiate a sense of camaraderie and comfort during uncertain times.

“Radio is this medium that’s kind of designed for these types of societal situations,

“If you go back to the legislation, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, a lot of people in radio would tell you that the industry was completely changed after that passed,” he said.

The Federal Communications Commission describes the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as the first major overhaul of telecommunications law in almost 62 years.

Those 62 years saw not only rapid advances in the telephone and television industries, but also the birth of the internet. The Act’s major impact was in reducing and then dropping altogether restrictions on media companies owning multiple outlets in the same market.

“It then propelled this sort of buying frenzy, which was great for a lot of small regular station owners, mom-and-pop owners that sold their operations to larger companies,” said Kaliner. “The idea was, you buy up all of these stations, you buy the best properties in each city, and then you can replicate to scale by doing essentially syndicated programming. One guy in New York is spinning records and providing content to a 100-200 stations. You save the employee costs and you can sell advertising at a huge scale.”

There were a number of downsides, however, for these larger companies; they took on a lot of debt right as the downturn following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks began to impact the U.S. economy, and just as that began to turn around, the Great Recession hit. Meanwhile, digital production and distribution — through services like YouTube and iTunes — was becoming easier and cheaper.

“So I got laid off in 2011,” he said.

S EE DISRU PTION, PAGE 8

where we’re able to connect people and information during this pandemic isolation,” Anderson said. “It means a lot to be able to keep people company and keep them from going stir-crazy. And it’s been really gratifying to hear from our listeners who appreciate what we’re doing — this renewed awareness of the importance of radio in our lives.”

For Herrington, the responsibility and importance of radio during this health crisis has conjured memories of her time studying and taking radio production classes in Argentina.

“On the first day, the professor was talking about living in the Dirty War in the 1980s, and how radio was the lifeline for people who were quarantined and not allowed to go out on the streets,” Herrington said. “The radio connected people. Even during government censorship, people could catch radio signals and find out what was going on in their own country. So, this crisis right now hearkens back to the fact we’re all seeking connection and we all want to be on the same page — radio serves that purpose.”

While bouncing around doing fill-in work in 2012, Kaliner got a call from the programming director at one of those gigs — WWNC-AM, an Asheville station that began broadcasting in 1927 but had since become one of hundreds purchased by one of those large media companies, called Clear Channel.

“I left the job in Charlotte on I think a Friday and I showed up here on Monday morning,” he said. “I got a hotel room and was on the air the day after the South Carolina primary with The Pete Kaliner Show.”

know, writers, creative types and people like that.”

Kaliner considers himself a “lowercaseL libertarian,” or what’s called a “conservatarian.”

“I’m for limited government. The government that is more limited provides more freedom. My default position is less government,” he said. “Now, that’s not to say that I cannot be persuaded on some items, but that’s my default and I try to let people know that this is where I’m coming from. If you’re upfront with people and you tell them that, then they can judge your work accordingly.”

iHeartMedia — wanted to speak to him in person at the office.

And just like that, the institutional knowledge, the conservative perspective, the goats — they all were gone.

Corporate restructuring by iHeartMedia — currently emerging from a 2018 bankruptcy — was to blame for the end of Kaliner’s show, but he’s not bitter about it.

Green Therapy

Kaliner’s afternoon show caught on quick, and he became known as a trusted source of local, regional, state and national news with a focus on politics and government.

“I’ve always understood that you’ve got to be entertaining and informative. I mean, you can be one or the other, but I don’t think you’re as successful if you can’t be both,” he said. “I always want to be a little bit of both because if stuff’s important, like how do you talk about redistricting? People’s eyes glaze over, but it’s important stuff. So you’ve got to figure out ways to make it fun and understandable.”

Kaliner’s show also filled a critical role in Western North Carolina, where there are plenty of local media outlets but due to logistics, resources and even mission, those outlets operate at a city or county level and can’t often delve into state or national affairs.

“We’re all under the same pressures,” he said. “You’re being told to do more with less and you have all of these streams of information coming in and as a reporter you’re trying to find different stories to cover. There’s so much out there and you’ve got fewer people covering it.”

The role of “The Pete Kaliner Show” became even more important with the departure of reporter Mark Barrett from the Asheville Citizen-Times in January 2019, after 33 years of reporting on local and state politics.

“The longer you’re a journalist, the more valuable you become, because you were there for all of the precursor stories. You remember why these things happened 15 years ago,” said Kaliner. “When people get laid off, a lot of times it’s the people who’ve been there the longest because they’re more expensive. And then what? You’ve lost 20, 25 years of institutional knowledge, and now you’ve got to rebuild all of that, and the people that benefit the most from that are the Wanda Greens.”

Another critical role filled by the show was that of the rare right-of-center local news host in an industry mostly staffed by left-leaning people.

“It’s true, I mean, every poll I’ve ever seen and all the surveys from Pew say the same thing — the vast majority of people that work in newsrooms, they are left of center,” he said. “I can understand at certain levels why that occurs. Generally speaking, there’s a certain type of personality that gets drawn to telling stories, you

Healthy dialogues aren’t dominated by one voice, or one ideology; they require a spectrum of viewpoints that ultimately contribute to a larger truth that can be revealed by no one person, only by a community.

And if you’ve ever caught Kaliner on-air, well, he built quite a community of longtime listeners and tweeters and callers.

“I think the numbers are like 90-plus percent of people who listen would never think to call into a radio show so you’re dealing with a very small group of people, but the thing is that those folks represent others,” he said. “They are ambassadors for a particular position. And once articulated, then I would get emails and tweets and Facebook comments from people who would agree with them. They didn’t want to go on air, but they would agree. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to be a host and get out of being a reporter, was that I got to talk with the audience.”

After more than 2,000 shows, Kaliner said he has many memorable regular callers like “Tinfoil Tom,” who never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t like, and Dan from Horseshoe.

“Dan would call in a couple of times a week. He had goats on his farm and so you could hear them in the background. One of them he named ‘Little Rush’ after Rush Limbaugh. At one point, I apparently endeared myself to Dan and eventually he named another goat after me, ‘Little Pete,’” said Kaliner. “I took that as one of the highest honors I’ve ever gotten in radio.”

He’d also interact with his audience in real time, reading emails he’d gotten during the broadcast, or responding to posts on social media, both of which Kaliner equated to working without a net.

“I always looked at the host position as sort of the owner of the general store back in the Norman Rockwell idea of it,” he said. “Like, you’re there and there’s some guys sitting on the front porch in the rocking chairs with the spittoons and they’re just talking about all these different things going on in the town and the state and the world,” he said. “I’m just kinda there to move people through, guide the conversation and make sure it doesn’t get completely out of control.”

Despite the popularity of the show, on Monday, Jan. 13, after seven years of tinfoil and tweets and soliloquys and spittoons, Kaliner learned though a series of texts and emails that the brass at Clear Channel — which had since rebranded itself with the softer, fuzzier moniker

“I want people to know that there’s never any way that I’m going to be able to repay them for what they’ve given me to be able to do that job,” he said. “The job was never mine. The job was iHeart’s. They created it. It’s their job and every job has a shelf life. I feel like I still am amazed that people let me do this job because it doesn’t ever feel like a job for me.”

The job wasn’t his, but the experience and the audience he earned along the way can’t exactly be turned in like a key fob or a parking pass on one’s way out the door.

“Never mistake the brand for the platform,” he said. “You can be the brand, but the platform is how your brand gets distributed. Never mistake the two.”

In a strange plot twist perhaps worthy of a call from Tinfoil Tom, Kaliner saw the light in the strangest of places — he now buys studio time from iHeart each week and uses it to record “The Pete Kaliner Show,” one hour each weekday.

“Here’s the best part for me — I own the content. It’s mine, and I can distribute it however I want to. And how I want to distribute it is on a podcast platform. I’m working with a company called Podcave,” he said. “It’s a bunch of old radio guys that set up this platform, so they understand what it takes to do something like this on the backof-house services that a radio show requires.”

Kaliner also incorporates Patreon and advertisers as revenue streams, but seems to focus more on the scalability of the podcast version of the show, which debuted March 2.

“Down the road, the idea is that you syndicate the show. You go to these other radio stations around the state and you say, ‘Do you want it? If you want to take it, it’s free,’” he said. “I want the reach. If radio stations need local content that looks at state stuff, there you go.”

There’s potential, Kaliner said, for the show to expand into an hour exclusively devoted to Asheville and Western North Carolina, and then another hour devoted to the statewide issues.

“It’s just gonna depend on how much support we can get,” he said.

Initial response, according to Kaliner, has been encouraging. As of press time, there were nine episodes of “The Pete Kaliner Show” available on iTunes.

“You know, you sit in a room, you talk to a wall for three hours and you don’t really ever know if you’re making an impact,” he said. “You’ll read your emails and people will let you know that you stink, but it’s really been overwhelming and humbling and there’s just no way to say thank you enough to everybody who’s done it for me.”

Swain sheriff faces lawsuit over curfew enforcement

Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran now faces a lawsuit from a plaintiff claiming his constitutional rights were violated. Donated photo

BY J ESSI STONE

EWS E DITOR

ABryson City man has filed a lawsuit against Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran in U.S. District Court claiming his constitutional rights had been violated during a traffic stop last week.

Jesse Shows filed the complaint April 13, just three days after he was pulled over and cited by Deputy Wayne Dover for being out on the roads after the 10 p.m. countywide curfew.

On April 7, at the recommendation of Sheriff Cochran, the Swain County commissioners approved an amendment to its local COVID-19 State of Emergency declaration that added a 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. curfew for residents beginning April 8. Cochran told commissioners that the curfew was needed to keep residents in place and to protect his deputies from having to respond to unnecessary calls and putting their lives in danger. Violations of the declaration can result in a class 2 misdemeanor, carrying up to 60 days of jail time and a $1,000 fine.

According to Show’s complaint, Show was driving his personal vehicle in Bryson City around 10:05 p.m. after returning home from a grocery run to Sylva when he was pulled over by Deputy Dover and cited for “unlawfully and willfully” violating the county curfew. He was told to immediately return home or he would continue to be cited.

“The Ordinance prevents the Plaintiff from exercising liberties guaranteed under the United States Constitution. The curfew established serves no purpose in preventing the spread of COVID-19, as the spread is in no way effected (sic) by the time of day,” the complaint read.

Shows is asking that a temporary restraining order be issued against the defendant (Sheriff Cochran) preventing him from further enforcement of the curfew until the court can issue a judgment on the matter. He also wants the county’s curfew to be declared unconstitutional as it violates personal rights and wants the defendant to pay his court costs.

Swain County commissioners held a special meeting April 16 to discuss COVID-19 updates. During his update to commission-

ers, Cochran didn’t mention the lawsuit or any issues occurring with enforcing the curfew. He said there had been more complaints from people concerned about out of state license plates, but said that was normal given all the part-time residents who own property in Swain County.

“We’re working every day to protect the people of Swain County,” he said.

Commissioner Kenneth Parton asked the sheriff how many citations had been written for violating curfew, but Cochran refused to answer.

“There’s pending litigation so I’m not answering questions on the curfew,” he said, adding that the county attorney advised him not to speak about it.

Parton was the only commissioner who voted against implementing a curfew, stating that he didn’t think it would do any good to add another regulation on people right now.

He asked during the April 16 meeting if the board would be willing to reconsider the curfew, but no one else spoke up in favor.

“Last time it came up we said we’d keep it in place until May 4,” said Commission Chairman Ben Bushyhead.

“Well I disagree with that too — we’re having a special meeting to talk about what we’re doing and I have reasons to believe we should revisit it,” Parton said, adding that the board has received letters and phone calls from people complaining about it.

Commissioner Danny Burns asked Cochran if the curfew had helped lessen the problems the sheriff’s department was having before with unnecessary calls.

“I don’t think I’m at liberty to say,” Cochran said.

Bushyhead said the board would schedule a meeting with the county attorney soon to discuss the pending litigation.

The Smoky Mountain News requested the number of citations written by the Swain County Sheriff’s Department for breaking the county curfew but as of press time had not received a response from Cochran.

Bushyhead did not respond to a request for a statement on behalf of the county commissioners.

Defendants in jail death suit respond to charges

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

The defendants in a lawsuit filed in response to the death of Jackson County Detention Center inmate Melissa Rice have submitted their response to the complaint against them, denying several key facts contained in the original lawsuit and asking that the case be dismissed completely.

THE BACKGROUND

Rice, 49, died on Jan. 18, 2019, after she was found hanging by a phone cord Jan. 16 in the detention center. According to public documents previously reported on in The Smoky Mountain News, she had been arrested earlier that day for trespassing at her exhusband’s home in Cashiers and faced 10 charges, including breaking and entering, simple assault, larceny of a motor vehicle, burning personal property and assault on a government official, among others.

The State Bureau of Investigation investigated Rice’s death, and District Attorney Ashley Welch evaluated the resulting report. In July, Welch announced that her office would not press charges. The report showed no “culpable negligence or omissions” by law enforcement, or evidence proving that any officer “failed to perform a duty of his or her office,” Welch wrote in a press release.

Rice’s son Matthew Dillard, represented by Asheville attorney Thomas Ramer, filed a lawsuit Feb. 26 on behalf of Rice’s estate. He claimed that the defendants’ “negligent” acts and “malicious, willful and wanton disregard” for Rice’s rights led to her death.

Twelve parties are named as defendants in the suit. Sheriff Chip Hall is named in his official capacity, and Western Surety Company is named as surety for the sheriff. Captain Patrick McCoy is named in both his individual and official capacities. Also named in both individual and official capacities are Detention Officers Kaitlyn Bradley, Kayla Elliott, Aniyah McMullen, Justin Nicholson and Emily Couvillon; Detention Sergeant Shondra Collini; Bailiff Deputy Mark Junaluska; Deputy Ridge Parris; and

Patrol Lieutenant Stephen Watson.

Key to Dillard’s argument is the contention that Rice was intoxicated and suicidal, in which case detention officers would have been required to check in on her four

behavior, leading to a determination that Rice was fit for confinement, Dillard alleged.

However, the suit said, during Rice’s confinement multiple law enforcement personnel reported that Rice smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated or impaired, prompting them to consider her a risk to other inmates and to segregate her from them.

times per hour rather than the twice per hour rate state law requires for inmates not exhibiting such risk factors.

Dillard contended that when Parris responded to the call that resulted in Rice’s arrest, he smelled alcohol on Rice’s breath and that a witness said she appeared to be high on drugs. While sitting handcuffed in the back of Parris’ patrol vehicle, Rice used a cigarette lighter and one dollar bill Parris had left on her person to set her clothes and the seat of the patrol car on fire, which the lawsuit termed an apparent attempt to commit suicide.

The suit contended that Rice was then taken to Harris Regional Hospital to receive treatment for her hand injury and apparent alcohol use. While at the hospital, the suit said, Rice received a self-harm assessment but responded “no” to questions such as “Do you have thoughts to harm or kill yourself?”

Watson accompanied her to the hospital and knew about Rice’s previous actions but did not inform medical staff about her

Rice’s death marked the third suicide in five years to occur in the Jackson County Detention Center.

Charles “Chuckie” Moose died on

Nov. 21, 2014, and Steve Ross died on March 13, 2015, both by hanging. In Ross’s case, gaps between visual checks were as large as 106 minutes, a far cry from the twice-hourly checks required by law. The SBI investigated Ross’s death, though not Moose’s. Welch declined to file charges.

THE DEFENDANTS’ RESPONSE

In a response to the complaint filed March 24, the defendants — represented by Charlotte attorney Patrick Flanagan — admitted that Parris smelled alcohol on Rice when he responded to the call. However, they denied most of the other allegations used to build the case as to why Rice should have qualified for more rigorous monitoring.

The response to Dillard’s complaint denies that the witness said Rice appeared to be high on drugs, and it also denies detention center workers smelled alcohol on her, considered her a risk to other inmates and

segregated her from them as a result.

In addition, while the response admits that Rice went to Harris for treatment of injuries to her hand, it denies sections of the complaint that state her apparent alcohol use was also part of the reason for her visit and that Watson went with her, knew she had previously attempted to commit suicide and failed to accurately report this behavior to medical staff. Regarding the self-harm assessment, defendants could not respond due to “lack of information or belief.”

In the original suit, Dillard listed four causes of action — wrongful death, failure to adequately train and supervise employees, 14th amendment violations and violation of a state law that requires jailers who do wrong to prisoners to pay triple the damages to the injured person and be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The suit seeks trial by jury, a judgment greater than $1 million on three separate claims, an award of triple the damages to Rice and attorney’s fees.

In their response, defendants ask that the case be dismissed with prejudice and that the plaintiff pay the defendants’ attorney’s fees, listing nine different defenses to the claims. These included governmental, qualified and public officials immunity; denial that defendants denied the plaintiff any constitutional or legal rights and denial that injuries resulted from acts, omissions, policies, customs, practices or procedures of the defendants.

If the court were to determine that any of the defendants caused the injuries due to negligence — which, again, is denied — “then it is alleged that the Plaintiff’s decedent herself was negligent and grossly negligent and that such negligence or gross negligence was the proximate cause of Plaintiff’s injuries or damages, if any,” the defendants argued.

In a separate response filed by Western Surety Company on April 8, the company asks that the complaint against it be dismissed, that the plaintiffs recover nothing, that costs of the action be assessed to someone other than Western Surety and that Western Surety be awarded its attorney’s fees.

The project will include a new backstop, borrow area, higher berm and tree plantings at the firing range, as well as fencing and security equipment. Donated graphic

Jackson approves $383K for shooting range improvements

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

The cumulative cost of environmental rehabilitation and sound abatement at the Southwestern Community College shooting range will top $1 million after the Jackson County commissioners voted 4-1 April 7 to spend $383,000 on the final stage of the project.

The shooting range has been a regular topic of discussion in county chambers since 2014, when it came to commissioners’ attention that the estimated 60 tons of lead bullets that had lodged in the range’s berm over the years could be causing adverse environmental effects.

The total anticipated cost reached $500,000 in fiscal year 2017, when the board approved up to $254,000 for another round of soil excavation, treatment and removal on top of the roughly $250,000 it had already spent on testing and remediation. The appropriation also included funding to develop recommendations for sound mitigation on the site, as commissioners had been receiving complaints from area residents upset by noise resulting from the range’s frequent use.

Actual expenditures were $225,109 in fiscal year 2017, $37,690 in fiscal year 2018 and $233,201 in the current fiscal year 2019. The fiscal year ends on June 30, with $282,532 remaining in the year’s budget for use on the shooting range. The $100,645 not covered by the budget will come from the county’s fund balance.

The majority of the expenditure — $354,000 — will be used for improvements to the shooting range intended to decrease sound pollution and satisfy state requirements to prevent the need for future lead cleanups like the one the county just went through. The project will include a new backstop, borrow area, higher berm, and Leyland cypress trees for sound mitigation.

The county has been trying to get the work done since spring 2018. However, even after bidding the project repeatedly SCC found itself contending with low bid participation and bid amounts nearly double the estimated cost from those companies that did express interest. In fall 2019 the bid went out a fourth time, resulting in a low bid of $371,000 — $84,000 higher than the estimated cost. The final price of $354,000 for the main project reflects some electrical savings.

The appropriation also includes $15,359 for fencing and $13,819 for IT improvements to prevent unauthorized entry. Covered under the IT expense are two single cameras, one four-way camera, keyless gate and door controls, networking equipment and internet set-up. The ongoing annual cost of these tech improvements will be $3,588.

Commissioner Boyce Deitz voted against the expenditure, with Chairman Brian McMahan and Commissioners Gayle Woody, Ron Mau and Mickey Luker voting in favor.

Noland-Proben Team

T-Shirt campaign supports Haywood businesses

BY HANNAH MCLEOD C ONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mountain Awards and Apparel teamed up last week with local businesses to support the small business community in Haywood County through the #SUPPORTHAYWOOD T-shirt campaign.

For the last month or so, David Lutz has been organizing food trucks to come into his neighborhood in Clyde, in order to support those businesses by way of his neighbors. This effort led Lutz to contemplate how he could further his support of small businesses in Haywood County. After hearing about similar work his brother was doing in East Lansing, Michigan, Lutz teamed up with Anthony Cooper and Chelsea White of Mountain Awards and Apparel to launch the #SUPPORTHAYWOOD T-shirt campaign. Cooper and White agreed to produce and ship T-shirts as orders rolled in, and to donate half of proceeds to small businesses in Haywood County.

With the team cemented, Lutz began reaching out to small businesses around Haywood County — some of the food trucks he had invited to his neighborhood and others. The first 10 businesses that communicated a positive response are now featured on the back of the #SUPPORTHAYWOOD T-shirt.

“We didn’t want there to be conglomerate businesses, although they do support our

community, we really wanted to focus on small, locally owned businesses that have been affected by this [shutdown]” Lutz said.

The 10 locally owned businesses featured on the shirt are: Fuego Food Truck, Waynesville; Papertown Coffee, Canton; Musicworks! Studio of Performing Arts, Clyde; Ian and Jojo’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, Waynesville; Euphoria Tattoo and Piercing, Waynesville; Pig in a Basket BBQ, Canton; Forbidden Color Tattoos,

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Waynesville; 360 Cell Phone Repair, Canton; Wicked Fresh Seafood and Meat Market, Waynesville and The Strand at 38 Main, Waynesville.

Orders for the T-shirt are currently open until May 15 and Mountain Awards and Apparel will fill orders as they come in. At $22 per shirt, 50 percent of profits will be donated to the 10 businesses featured on the back of the shirt, while the other 50 percent will cover production and shipping costs.

“For this first run, we wanted to make sure that we kept the amount of businesses to 12 or under, to be the most impactful on the give back campaign,” Lutz said.

So far the team has gotten a big response to their campaign, with community members ordering shirts via Facebook one day before they were even open for orders. They plan on using this positive response to help small businesses in Haywood County for as long as the shutdown continues.

“We’re going to do this first run and see what the economy does. Obviously if everything is still shut down, as of the middle of May I think it would be beneficial for us to do another run and get different businesses for another go at it. It’s going to depend on what happens with the economy,” Cooper said.

For anyone in the community that wants to help this campaign succeed, buy a shirt and help spread the word.

“The biggest thing right now is just to purchase the shirts. That’s our goal is to get money, to be able to give back. And we will not have money to give back if people are not purchasing the shirts. People can also share it on their social media pages,” said White.

Shirts are available for purchase at mtnawards.com/supporthaywood/. Upload a photo rocking your T-shirt with the hashtag #SUPPORTHAYWOOD.

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COVID-19 restrictions challenge open meetings laws

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

As the COVID-19 crisis roared to life in North Carolina, local governments across the state joined countless other organizations and individuals in clearing previously planned meetings from their calendars.

A month has elapsed since that initial rush to slow the spread, and those same governments are realizing that they can’t stop meeting indefinitely. However, North Carolina’s public meetings laws weren’t written with a pandemic in mind, making the waters murky as elected boards seek to hold meetings that are both safe in the current climate and legal under state law.

“I think the biggest question has been, can a board meet virtually?” said Jackson County Attorney Heather Baker.

governing bodies conducting meetings remotely is not expressly prohibited by statute, I conclude that local governments can carry out necessary meetings electronically and remain in compliance with Open Meeting Laws,” Cassell wrote.

While the statute governing county boards of commissioners does not say anything about physical presence at the meetings, the statute dealing with town councils does include one mention of physical presence. That law specifies that if a member refuses to vote on a motion yet remains physically present in the chambers and is not excused from voting by the other members, the member will be counted as an affirmative vote.

For this reason, Cassell cautioned, it’s best for a quorum of the board to be present physically if at all possible, even when

record during the meeting. Presenters at the meeting attended via Zoom as well.

“It was a long agenda, just because we put everything on it that we could potentially think of that would need to have board action in April,” said Baker.

Doing so allowed the county to cancel all the other meetings it would normally have held in April. State statute requires county boards to meet at least once per month, and in addition to that legally required meeting, the county will need a work session in May as well. For now, the plan is to conduct those meetings in a similar manner to the April meeting.

Haywood County, meanwhile, continued to meet as normal through March and most of April, though it canceled its April 20 meeting. On April 6, the board approved a new rule allowing electronic meetings when

The law isn’t clear on this point. While it does include some more recent amendments, most sections of the statute governing public meetings were adopted in the 1990s, long before the era of widespread video conferencing. It does, however, note that the definition of “official meeting” includes simultaneous electronic communication between board members. The most common application of that stipulation is to show that a quorum of board members may not use tools such as group texts and email chains to discuss government business outside of advertised meetings.

“It’s possible to interpret the statute’s mention of a conference call or other electronic means of gathering as a delegation of authority for electronic participation for all public bodies, including local governments,” wrote Frayda Bluestein, David M. Lawrence Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government at UNC Chapel Hill, in a March 13 post to the respected UNC School of Government blog Coate’s Cannons. “This interpretation is not universally accepted, however. The statute applies to all types of public bodies, and it clearly implies that at least some types of public bodies that have inherent authority, such as state agencies, may lawfully conduct electronic meetings, and that they have to comply with the procedure for providing access. But it’s not clear that the intent of the law was to authorize the use of electronic meetings for other public bodies that don’t have such inherent authority.”

A March 26 advisory letter issued by the N.C. Department of Justice Special Counsel Shannon Cassell attempts to clarify that point in light of the current circumstances.

“Due to the unprecedented circumstance we are all faced with, and the fact that local

conducting other aspects of the meeting electronically. However, he added, if a physical quorum is not possible, “I believe it is reasonable for the governing body to meet electronically.”

“These are unprecedented times, and I feel confident a court will view efforts to remain transparent through a lens of reasonableness, which can be met through electronic meetings,” he wrote.

Jackson County was one of the first local government bodies to incorporate electronic meeting elements as a result of the crisis. During its last meeting, held Tuesday, April 7, the county limited physical attendance in the boardroom to 10 people, eight of whom were commissioners or county staff. A conference room capable of holding four people while meeting social distancing requirements was also open, connected to the meeting down the hall via Zoom. Members of the public were able to offer public comment via Zoom or to submit written comments ahead of time, which could then be read into the

a state of emergency has been declared by the federal, state or local government. County commissioners in Swain and Macon counties continue to meet in person but are live streaming their meetings on YouTube, asking the public to participate that way rather than through physical attendance. However, said Swain County Manager Kevin King, community members are still permitted in the building and can come before commissioners one at a time to give public comment at a safe distance.

Municipal governments are also grappling with the issue. Sylva plans to meet on April 23 for the first time since March 12, and it will conduct the meeting entirely using Zoom — no members of the board or of the public will be present at town hall. Webster and Dillsboro both held meetings outdoors this month to facilitate social distancing, but Webster will hold its May 6 meeting via Zoom, with Dillsboro still deciding how to facilitate its May meeting. The Village of

Play trivia with The Smoky Mountain News

Bar trivia is a cherished tradition for many in Western North Carolina, but such quiz nights are one of the many causalities of the COVID-19 closures that have swept our nation and the world at large.

The Smoky Mountain News hopes to fix that with a new virtual trivia night that will launch at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, and repeat weekly via Zoom as the crisis continues.

To play, create a Zoom account and then form a team. Each team should choose a leader to collect email addresses from all team members — be sure to sign up with the same email address you used to create your Zoom account — and then register the team at bit.ly/smntrivia. You will be able to edit the list of team members after you originally submit it, but the deadline to sign up is 6 p.m. Wednesday. Don’t wait till the last minute, though — trivia is capped at 100 people, with spots given on a first-come, first-served basis.

When you sign up, you’ll receive an invite with information for logging into the meeting. Staff writer Cory Vaillancourt will be your trivia host, greeting you promptly at 7 p.m.

Trivia will consist of five rounds of 10 questions each. As each round begins, the questions will be posted at www.trivia.smokymountainnews.com under the “Questions” tab, and you’ll be invited to a breakout room that includes only your team members. You’ll have 10 minutes to read that round’s questions, talk out your answers, and have your team leader enter them on the Google form for that round. Google forms for each round will also be located on the trivia website.

Cory will score the responses and then invite all the groups back together. He’ll read out each question with its correct answer, and then list the team rankings. After that, it’s on to the next round!

Trivia is our free gift to you, our Western North Carolina community, but we do take tips! Donate to The Smoky Mountain News at www.smokymountainnews.com, and help us continue to provide you with free, quality journalism (and trivia too!) through this crisis and beyond.

Rep. Queen to hold town hall

Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, will hold an online town hall meeting about education at 4 p.m. April 24 with special guest Jen Mangrum.

The town hall meeting is for everyone is Queen’s 119th district of Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties. To view the meeting online, call 312.626.6799 and enter the pin 928.323.059.66#. To submit questions or concerns for Queen to address, email joesam@joesamqueen.com or text 910.632.0707.

Forest Hills, meanwhile, is continuing to meet as normal, arranging seating so as to comply with social distancing but not imposing any other restrictions.

In Haywood County, Canton canceled its March 26 and April 9 meetings but will conduct its April 23 meeting in person, with social distancing and hygiene measures in place.

Waynesville conducted its March 24 meeting normally, held its April 14 meeting via Zoom, and canceled its April 28 meeting. Maggie Valley has also moved to electronic meetings, canceling its regular April 14 meeting and replacing it with a virtual meeting held April 21.

Franklin canceled both its April 6 and April 14 meetings, replacing them with a special called meeting April 13. The town did not allow any public attendance at the meeting but provided a livestream of the proceedings. People wishing to offer public comment were invited to send their questions and comments via email to be read during the meeting.

Bryson City held its first meeting since the COVID-19 crisis broke on April 16, but because its normal meeting room is too small to facilitate any kind of social distancing, the town board used the county government’s much larger meeting space, which is able to accommodate up to 20 members of the public while observing social distancing guidelines.

Staff writer Cory Vaillancourt and News Editor Jessi Stone contributed to this report.

HAYWOOD COUNTY CARES

ABOVE: Heidi Lowe works for the Haywood County Health and Human Services agency.

Heidi Lowe is a Medical Laboratory Technician who has worked at the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency for 18 years. She says she knew from an early age that she wanted to have a career in the medical profession and because of her mother recalling having lab work as a child, she realized her passion for laboratory testing. Her initial career plan was to work in a private laboratory but this all changed after her clinical rotation at the health department.

“I immediately knew public health was my calling and where I was meant to be. I truly enjoy helping and caring for others so being stuck inside a lab with no patient contact was not for me. I am so proud and honored to be able to serve the community I love and grew up in, especially during these uncertain times.”

Crawford named 2020 Macon Matriarch

BY J ESSI STONE

Dorothy Rose “Dot” Crawford was recently honored with the title of

“Macon Matriarch” by the Women’s History Trail, a project of the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County.

In celebration of Women’s History Month in March, this annual honor has been bestowed on women who have truly left their mark on Macon County. Since its creation in 2018, two very deserving women have previously been distinguished as Macon Matriarchs — Margaret Ramsey in 2018 and Sally Kesler in 2019.

There was a plan in place to hold a reception for Crawford with a few guests and family members in attendance, but with the need for social distancing, Mary Polanski, one of the chairs of the WHT project, devised an alternate approach.

“On March 24, Dot and her son Tom met me briefly and safely at her carport back door. She looked beautiful in a red sweater with lipstick to match, and her smile was warmer than spring sunshine. She accepted her award with grace and expressed much gratitude for the honor,” Polanski said. “She received a plaque, a chocolate cake with cream cheese icing (one of her favorites), a vase of Virginia Bluebells, a presale copy of the Suminski Family’s new book Special Delivery — which she is in — and an updated map/brochure of the Women’s History Trail. All of these items seemed to delight her.”

Born in 1918 in a small rural community in northwest Alabama, Crawford was the daughter of a mail carrier and a former school teacher. After two years of junior college in Nashville, she received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and psychology from Pepperdine University in California.

Wanting to return to the South as a social worker, she received a certificate in 1941 after one year at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she met her future husband, John Crawford, who was studying accounting.

After World War II, the couple moved to Franklin, John Crawford’s hometown, where he got a job as a postal carrier and Dot got a job as a social worker for the county. She was named director of the county Department of

Social Services in 1959 and retired June 30, 1984, six months after her husband retired. She has been instrumental in the creation of dozens of organizations and agencies that serve the most vulnerable citizens. From being a founding board member for the Southwestern Child Development Commission, a board on which she continues to serve today, to leading the charge for mental health reform in North Carolina, to serving as the Department of Social Services Director for Macon County DSS to serving on boards and committees for aging adults across North Carolina, if there was a group of people in need of help in North Carolina, Dot was the first one to step up and ignite change.

“For those of you who might not know Dot, she worked for the Department of Social Services starting in 1952 and was named director of that Department in 1959. Dot retired in 1984 but has continued to serve this community and our state through multiple committees and projects,” said Anne Hyder, chair of the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County. “Dot is considered a trailblazer in that she was a woman who publicly advocated for others in a society that, in her younger years, was overwhelmingly male-dominated. She dedicated herself to helping local residents improve their lives, particularly the most vulnerable individuals who needed the most assistance.”

Crawford’s real work didn’t begin until retirement. Formed in 1992, the Macon County Community Foundation has awarded a nearly $1 million in grants and scholarships to the local area. One of the foundation’s first funds was a scholarship endowment Crawford created at Franklin Church of Christ-McCollum Drive with funds from her father’s estate. She also created the Macon County Unit 108 American Legion Auxiliary Scholarship.

She has also served as Franklin’s representative to the Affordable Housing Group in Charlotte and as a delegate to the North Carolina Senior Tar Heel Legislature, which she previously served as speaker. Crawford was one of the founding members of the Smoky Mountain LME/MCO, now Vaya Health, which provides aid for mental health

patients, substance abuse services and intellectual/developmental disability services to the 23 western counties in the state.

Crawford pushed for better services for the aging. She helped establish the county’s first adult daycare center, in-home service program, nursing home and a senior aide program. One of her most innovative accomplishments was introducing a behavioral health component to Macon County’s Meals on Wheels program. Under her guidance, program volunteers were trained to look for signs of mental health or substance use issues among these older adults and to report any concerns.

The following words summarized on the Macon Matriarch plaque gives a glimpse into Crawford’s many outstanding attributes:

“In recognition for your lifelong dedication to the people of Macon County, Western North Carolina and across the entire state of North Carolina. We honor you for your skills in advocating for programs, policies and legislation that benefit some of the most vulnerable people in our society, including older adults, children and people who battle poverty and hunger. Your name is recognized and respected throughout North Carolina. Therefore Dot, thanks for your Keep on Keepin’ on attitude!”

For those who would like to help recognize Crawford for this honor or for her upcoming birthday — she will be 102 on April 24 — send a card to: Dot Crawford, P.O. Box 149, Franklin NC, 28744.

In a crisis, ordinary people turn heroic

At 5:30 this morning I was staring at the ceiling.

I doubt that I was alone. Many of us are awake worrying about the present, unprecedented situation.

During these extraordinary times we are seeing the fortitude and resilience of ordinary folks among us. I see it every day. Our emergency services folks, the men and women who are facing uncertain financial times but are holding up. The people who cut our hair and are now having to watch helplessly as we become shaggy. The women and men behind the cash registers at the check out lines in our grocery stores. Our restaurant people who are not going to see us go hungry so they bring our order out to our cars with curbside service.

The women who dust off sewing machines and make masks for their neighbors and our front-line medical forces. The people who call to check on the elderly. Those delivering meals via automobile or school bus.

The public works people who keep the lights on. The water flowing. The streets open. The plight of our children whose education has been interrupted. The folks who show up with a casserole to cheer us up when the chips are down. These are our neighbors.

Our ministers who lift up the Word via the internet, phone, or computer. Mental health and social workers who

Frontline heroes deserve our thanks

To the Editor:

The “front line” people who risk their lives and health (both mental and physical) to help safeguard us deserve our thanks and our praise, especially in light of the current pandemic. They are all heroes and I hope that they will be publicly rewarded whenever it becomes possible to do that.

Meanwhile I want to give a special shoutout for Dr. Mark Jaben, the medical director for the Haywood County Health Department. What a precious asset he has been! I don’t know where or how he developed such amazing communications skills, but I am in awe that he is able to address issues head-on in a way that should not alienate people who disagree with him. Haywood is indeed fortunate to have competent leaders and Dr. Jaben is an outstanding example.

Heartfelt thanks to all who are doing their best to keep us safe through this ordeal.

Joanne Strop Waynesville

Not enough lipstick to cover this pig

To the Editor:

Trump’s attack on the WHO (World Health Organization) is classic Trump. Make bad decisions and then blame someone else for the consequences.

The reality is that the WHO issued warnings about COVID-19 long before Trump took any action whatsoever to do anything about it. WHO issued its first warning on Jan. 9. On

will help us through this. Even that one friend with a weird sense of humor. Or the obnoxious character we tolerate in person or on Facebook. We are in this together.

These are the people who are the true heroes in all of this. You get the idea. It is the regular folks who live down the street from you who are the real stalwarts in the midst of this fog of pandemic.

This is a challenging time. A time when it will be well to dust off the great man theory. That is a 19th century idea according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great men/women, or heroes: how ordinary people rise up to face great events.

This is a time when we notice that the most important people during this mess are not the well paid, the narcissistic, or vain celebrities among us. The real heroes are the ones stepping up. The average Joe or Josephine. If this pandemic shows us one thing, it is the inequality of wealth has been laid bare. It is ugly. Money, not leadership, decides who now gets elected and have power over our everyday lives. The wrath of

LETTERS

Jan. 18, Health Secretary Alex Azar tried to brief Trump on the virus, but Trump ignored him. On Jan. 22, Trump said the U.S. had the pandemic “totally under control.” On Jan. 23, WHO updated warnings regarding human-tohuman transmission. On the previous day, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arizona) urged the White House to issue a China travel ban. Jan. 30, WHO declares COVID-19 a “public health emergency” but the same day Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary, says the virus in China will be good for the US economy. On Feb. 2, Trump finally restricts travel from China — almost a month after the first WHO warning.

Why is Trump attacking WHO when it is he who delayed? One reason is because Trump wants credit for everything good and the responsibility for nothing bad. The other reason might be that new WHO guidelines consisting of five prerequisites for opening up the economy are far from where the U.S. currently is. We fail even the first guideline, which is containing the spread. The second is widespread testing. Meeting these two alone will take at least a month — if ever, given that some Republican governors following Trump’s lead regarding an open economy are doing nothing.

On the topic of testing, Trump rejected the WHO offer for tests and insisted that tests had to be developed in the U.S. That first effort resulted in faulty tests that delayed any testing for weeks. It soon became clear that producing and distributing testing for COVID-19 was beyond the capability of the lackeys at the head of the Trump administration. So, Trump declared that testing had to be the responsibility of the states via the governors.

the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling had horrible unintended consequences that money can legally control politics.

“There are no extraordinary men … just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with,” Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr. (Bull) World War II. I would add women to his quote.

“These are times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” That is not what some politician said during this COVID-19 time. It was Thomas Paine in 1776. But it is so true today.

Yes, I am angry. I am angry at Washington. It’s past time our politicians stop acting as though they are in an adult Disney World and realize we are hurting. For Pete’s sake! Start listening to reason and not political expediency. So, what if you don’t get reelected? Office holding is service to your fellow man. It is not a profession. Read up on what greatness truly is. And by the way, check out humility and empathy. In between your fundraising.

(Bob Scott was formerly a journalist and is currently the mayor of Franklin.)

Trump is great at exercising magical thinking whereby whatever he says suddenly becomes real. Fortunately, Mother Nature cannot be gaslighted. COVID-19 does not follow daily rallies disguised as briefings. Trump and company can make all kinds of pronouncements and brag about what they are doing, but then reality rears its ugly head. People have died for lack of ventilators. People will die due to lack of testing. There are locals with a lack of medical equipment and tests. The fault for this is a failure of national leadership. Pence and others can butter up Trump about his great leadership, but there is not enough lipstick to put on this pig to make it anything else.

you want your life back the way it was before you saw your mounting debt and empty cupboard.

Norman Hoffmann Waynesville

Be careful what you wish for

To the Editor:

How strange is it that some of you are becoming the thing you hate the most? In 2019, you were afraid to walk by a person that lives on the street. You said you’d never be that person. In 2020, you are afraid you’ll be that person. Oh, the irony.

You protest the “stay home stay safe” orders. You blame your government for your fear of losing your house. You don’t care if elderly and immune-compromised people die,

In 2019 we wanted healthcare for all. Mental illness is a big factor in losing your home and being unable to work or be stable. We wanted easy and free access to doctors, prescriptions, and supportive programs that manage mental illness and addiction. We blamed the government and voters for this lack of a cure. After all, it is their fault so many go without.

Did you care back then when people needed help? Did you care back then about really finding a solution to people without shelter, and people suffering addiction? Did you just want them gone and out of sight?

Now that you are scared and wondering how you will survive during this shut down, should I pack your bags for you when they take your home?

Cocooning just isn’t easy for some

If you haven’t noticed, the boomers are having a hard time staying home during this pandemic. Doing nothing and performing tasks online doesn’t sit well with the natural disposition of this cohort.

I’m experiencing this up close and personal with my dad. His age, coupled with the fact that he’s a social butterfly, has made this all very draining. In fact, while he’s keeping social distancing in mind and has been good to carry around his hand sanitizer, I wouldn’t exactly say he’s doing an excellent job not going anywhere.

I told him to come over on a night when my boys were with their dad. Even though my boys are older and good to stay six feet from their grandfather, it feels safer when it’s just me. Before my dad arrived, I cleaned all the doorknobs, light switches and the downstairs bathroom with a Clorox mixture. He sat outside in my yard the entire time other than entering the house once to use the restroom.

It was a beautiful spring evening so while he relaxed, I looked through all the produce he’d purchased. In the box were fingerling potatoes, strawberry onions, ramps, cucumbers, tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries and pears. There were also jars of elderberry jam, pickled corns and beans and a third jar labeled “Smokey Mountain Death by Garlic Salsa.”

That night we ate barbeque chicken, sautéed ramps and potatoes and an oldfashioned Southern side salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and salt. He enjoyed a couple Coors Lights. Once dishes were in the sink, we made a campfire. He lit up a cigarette, an old habit he’s tried to kick my entire life.

My mom was the cook in the family, so with her not here to whip up homemade meals or have snacks on hand, my dad’s been out and about getting takeout, going through drive-thru windows or running into the Hot Spot for corn nuts. He sold his house about two weeks before COVID-19 hit the U.S. After the sale, his goal was to travel the country in his RV, beginning with a two-week stay at my sister’s house in D.C. With travel restrictions, the trip didn’t happen and the RV is not set up for long-term living, so he’s been staying at a motor lodge.

My dad’s a retired teacher and a current trainer with Young Transportation. He was a driver at Young’s for two decades before transitioning to a trainer. COVID-19 forced Young Transportation to close its doors temporarily. With no house, no traveling and no job, my dad’s been sitting around twiddling his thumbs.

By nature, he is not a thumb-twiddler. For instance, he made Easter baskets for all the other residents at the motor lodge and set them outside each door to surprise everyone on Easter morning. He also made surprise Easter eggs for my boys and my boyfriend’s three kids. In these eggs, were rare coins from all over the world. You should have seen the kids’ faces when they cracked open a plastic egg thinking they would find a Snickers bar but instead discovered a one-cent piece from Barbados. One of the eggs even had a 1959 $1 token from the old drive-in theater in Sylva.

Last week when I asked about his day, my dad said he went to the tag office. I told him I could have renewed his tag online, but he said he’s always gone to the tag office so he didn’t know there was another option. That same day he stopped at a roadside stand and purchased ramps and a bunch of other produce. He asked me if I could cook some ramps and potatoes for him because he hadn’t eaten ramps since he was a kid.

There he was, my 75-year-old dad in his flannel shirt, one leg slung over the other knee, smoking a cigarette, looking relaxed after eating a meal reminiscent of all those my mom cooked for him during their 52 years of marriage. His old F-150 truck rested in my driveway, hubcaps glowing from the light of the fire.

The order says “stay home, stay safe,” but my dad can’t sit within those four suffocating walls indefinitely. My sister and I have been reprimanding him for getting out too much, but he says he’s only running “essential errands.” And I guess for his generation, those errands are essential.

He pays all his bills in person, deposits money at an actual bank and checks the same post office box he and my mom acquired in the early 1960s when they moved to Weaverville. He’s learned all the names of the folks in his motor lodge. I still haven’t met some of my neighbors and I’ve lived in my house for almost three years. After two visits to the roadside stand, he knows the entire family that runs the operation.

Quarantine is hard for boomers because they’re authentically human. They are not attached to Netflix, Google or YouTube. They enjoy sitting down to meals, holding genuine conversations and keeping in touch with family and friends. They are hand-shakers and huggers. They pull grandchildren onto bouncing knees and into bear hugs.

My dad is at risk. He’s older and has early stages of COPD. He knows this, but we also know there must be a balance between his emotional health and physical health. I feel he’s doing the best he can while trying to maintain a sense of happiness and connection with others.

Watching those in his age bracket try to navigate this new normal makes my heart both heavy and proud. It may be easy for young people to hibernate and live in our virtual worlds, but it’s almost impossible for older folks. During all of this uncertainty, while we must remember boomers are our most vulnerable population, let’s also remember they’re also our most inspiring.

DON’T KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE

Chatham County Line channels creative bliss on new album

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF W RITER

In its 20 years together, Chatham County Line has organically grown and blossomed into one of the most distinct and progressive acts in the realms of modern traditional string and acoustic music.

And with its latest release, “Strange Fascination” (Yep Roc Records), the Raleighbased act once again shakes things up, taking an eraser to its chalkboard, eager to rewrite, edit and rewrite itself — this constantly evolving melodic entity that remains a source of endless creativity and inspiration for its band members and fans alike.

The Smoky Mountain News recently caught up with Chatham County Line lead singer and guitarist Dave Wilson, who spoke about the group’s evolution, the importance of making albums in the digital age of singles, and the beauty of chasing your artistic intents.

Smoky Mountain News: With the new album, it really shows how distinct of a sound you guys have. It rides the lines between Americana, bluegrass and folk music. Was that unique blend how you initially wanted the band or is that just how things evolved?

That’s really how it evolved. When we were starting out, we thought, “Let’s be the Del McCoury Band — they’re the coolest thing we’ve ever seen.” And then you kind of realize that’s one way to approach music, but you have to respect the individual that’s involved in it.

You know, you can’t make bread with corn meal. You have to adapt and change to your own ingredients. And so, we started to appreciate ourselves as musicians — the influences we had, the influences that were on the radio presently, and new albums being made.

It’s still growing. And I think all of that kind of comes out in our music. I’m really interested to see where we let the band go at this point — there’s no rules.

SMN: But, there’s got to be something with letting go that has a real intrinsic value to it…

DW: Yeah. I mean, it’s what we needed to do. All of my favorite bands, none of them made the same record over and over. You have to grow and change. We might have another transition in our future and hang a big stinker out there, but that’s how you discover who you are as an artist.

SMN: Nowadays, you see a lot of bands and labels just putting out singles. But, with “Strange Fascination,” it’s an album that’s a complete statement. It’s all seamless, the flow of it…

DW: I’m an album guy. I’ve got an extensive record collection. It’s kind of how I listen to

music. I don’t really love to listen to just single tracks. I want to know more about the musicians and the artists that are making it. And I feel like I get it out of a whole album versus just a single.

We’ve always tried to make albums over just tracks, and it’s especially hard in this day and age — who in the world is going to listen to an entire album? And it’s that knowledge that albums are in print, and with vinyl now where people are actually buying it again. Those headstrong music fans — that’s who I’m making music for.

SMN: That’s got to be such a great space that you’re in right now, because when you start out as a musician or in any kind of creative field, you’re influenced by your heroes. And then, you work from that point to find your voice. Then, you go further along and realize that anything can be anything…

DW: Yeah, it’s extremely liberating. And the funny thing about Chatham County Line were all the limitations we put on ourselves. We wanted to rock out and we wanted to play loud, but we didn’t. We took all that energy and focused it through these traditional instruments.

And now, with the governor off, you have to find new kind of limitations to put on certain things. If you like the music that you’re making, good. Don’t feel shy about it. Don’t feel bad — just do it and the people will follow. Be true to yourself and the rest will follow up to that point.

SMN: Chatham County Line just crossed over the 20-year mark. What do you think about that number when you look at the journey from that starting point to where y’all stand today?

DW: Man, it’s kind of amazing. During this shelter-in-place, I’ve been going through our archives and digitize some early bootlegs, just going back and listening to that young guy figuring it out. It’s really scary and cringe inducing, but it’s interesting.

I’ve just been trying to funnel the essence of performing a song to an audience, whether recorded or live. And it took a long time to figure it out. I feel like, even after 20 years of this band, we’re still are trying to figure out what it is exactly that all our individual pieces create. And there are those moments onstage where it is created, where it feels right and you know it for that instant.

SMN: Well, the fact that you’re still trying to figure it out, that tells me that you still care…

DW: Yeah. It keeps you interested and young. I’ve got an old car and I still go out and fix the same stuff that I’ve fixed before. You look at the way you fixed [the car] the last time, and it was a good repair that worked, but it wasn’t perfect.

And so, I’ll do it [better] now and I’m sure 10 years from now, I’ll go back [to the car] and look at it again and be like, “Well, you could have done this a little better.” It’s the same with the music — that young person wanting to be better is always there and alive [within you].

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Searchin’

through

the fragments of my dream-shattered sleep

Last Thursday evening, I sat in my recliner, in my one-bedroom apartment in downtown Waynesville, and gazed over at the overflowing pile of old clothes and junk slowly sliding out of the nearby closet like some Southern Appalachian landslide after a heavy rainfall.

For a minimalist like myself, and one who resides in a purposely humble abode, I was somewhat shocked by how much, well, shit I’ve accumulated over my eight years living and working in Western North Carolina. Normally, before all of this current shelter-in-place, I’m constantly on the road: on assignment during the weekdays, for pleasure during the weekends. So, I’m never sitting in the apartment and taking notice of what’s there, and how the space is changing while I’m off wandering and pondering.

But, with the recent coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders, I’ve found myself stuck in the space and taking a personal inventory of what I’m surrounding myself with, and if those things are actually worth holding onto.

I keep a simple wardrobe, with my only real possessions being several shelves of books and vinyl records beyond basic furni-

gallon bags and placing some on the curb for the trash pickup. For each pound of physical junk tossed, I felt about 20 pounds lighter emotionally. Wild how that works, eh?

Once the clothes got sorted out, I started opening boxes filled with old tax papers, college loan receipts and other documents that should just be ripped up and burned. Stacks and stacks of documents, most of which I would never need in any sort of future dealings.

Then, there were smaller boxes of trinkets, mementoes and old business cards (you meet a lot of people in the journalism industry) of names I vaguely remembering meeting in some dive bar in Denver or conference in New York City.

By the time I finally reached the back of the stairwell closet, I uncovered my old speakers and stereo system. I was elated when I plugged it in and attached my record player to it (pictured), the speakers soon cranking the golden vinyl sounds of Pure Prairie League, Gordon Lightfoot and Chicago.

Going through other boxes, I found myself sitting on the living room floor for extended periods of time, simply rummaging through each piece found and examined for emotional value.

It was photographs of old friends from high school, notes from former lovers who cross my mind from time-to-time, birthday and Christmas cards, concert tickets and media badges from wondrous events.

And it was also funeral cards from wakes and masses of friends and family members now six feet under, but dearly missed. Those smiling faces with a birth and death date below their names, human beings once filled with love, laughter and unforgettable moments.

ture and kitchen appliances. Thus, how did all this clutter wind up in the endless depths of my closet that goes underneath the second story stairwell in my apartment building?

Getting up from the recliner, I walked over and stood in front of the closet. Right off the bat, I knew this cleanup task wouldn’t take one night. Hell, it might take up an entire weekend. If I was going to rip apart this closet and all of its items, I had to take the opportunity and do the same to the rest of the apartment: living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

By Friday afternoon, I grabbed the industrial-sized office vacuum out of the storage closet across the hall from our newsroom. Then, after purchasing a box of 30-gallon trash bags, I headed back to the apartment, ready and willing to finally accept the fact that this wouldn’t be an easy endeavor for a person who never finds the time to thoroughly clean his home.

Starting with the closet, I pulled out all of the old clothes. It was several college hoodies and sweaters, dozens of T-shirts from road races and bands that don’t exist anymore, windbreakers and golf shirts, winter jackets and sport coats. Two new piles on my living room floor soon appeared, subconsciously labeled “keep” and “throw out.”

Halfway through tearing apart the closet, I realized I’d only shifted the massive chesthigh pile from one side of the room to another. It was time to start filling those 30-

All of those tokens mentioned above were placed in a few big boxes that would be put back in the closet for safe keeping, to perhaps reopen on a rainy day when I’m missing home back in Upstate New York and in search of items that make that distance from here to there seem that much closer, cosmically at least.

After three seemingly endless days, the great apartment cleansing of 2020 finally came to an end. The final tally was eight 30gallon bags of junk thrown away, with three 30-gallon bags of clothes to be donated once we’re able to drop things off again at the local nonprofits and Goodwill stores.

By Monday morning, I awoke in what felt like a brand-new apartment, even though I’ve lived in it since August 2012. Every inch of the place was cleaned out and wiped down. The indoor air smelled fresh and new, as did the appearance of the windows and kitchen counter. Furniture had been moved around, framed items shifted into new corners.

Sitting back down in the recliner, my vision slid back over to the closet, the pile long gone, now just an open door into an abyss with a few boxes and coats hanging up.

Glancing around the apartment, I smiled with a sense of contentment only found in the midst of personal transition, one triggered by tossing out your cluttered past in hopes of making room for the unknown future.

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

This pandemic may bring us closer

Weird, weird, weird.

Every morning until about two months ago, the online sites I visit daily offered accounts of someone — a celebrity, a politician, or an ordinary American — accused by another of racism, homophobia, misogyny, or some other social peccadillo demanding the cat o’ nine tails and a flogging post. We were a country divided by identity politics, a nation more at war with itself, or so we were told, than at any time since the Civil War. Our culture was coming apart at the seams; politics ruled supreme, and those who had made politics their god — and there are many who do so — often seemed bonkers, nuttier than Uncle Billy Bob that time he’d had a bit too much hooch, stripped himself naked, climbed the flagpole at the courthouse, and refused to come down unless Sophia Loren promised to marry him.

And now?

Hardly a peep.

I can now search five or six days online and not find a single complaint about racism, sexism, or any other “ism.” His detractors did accuse Donald Trump of racism for referring to the flu as “The Chinese Virus,” but otherwise the hurling of epithets, the finger pointing, and the dreary virtue signaling have ended. As in the case of our movie theaters, restaurants, and schools, COVID-19 has shut down identity politics.

Funny what a pandemic does.

Or should I say pandemics? Because America right now is undergoing two pandemics: The first deriving from COVID-19, the second from the fear and hysteria that have infected our society.

And now the book review for this week. Given our corona-craziness, I was drawn to read The Madness Of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity (Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019, 280 pages). Here Douglas Murray, author of the excellent The Strange Death Of Europe, begins his book with these words:

We are going through a great crowd derangement. In public and in private, both online and off, people are behaving in ways that are increasingly irrational, feverish, herdlike and simply unpleasant. The daily news cycle is filled with the consequences. Yet while we see the symptoms everywhere, we do not see the causes.’

We might apply those same observations to our current situation, but Murray is addressing the issue of identity politics, breaking his book into four main parts: Gay, Women, Race, and Trans. Murray, who is gay, looks at how we have gone off the rails in regard to these subjects, how what began as noble causes — rights for the LGBT crowd, racial minorities, and women — have become issues tearing apart our culture. Citing scores of examples from the headlines of the last 30 years and from his personal experience, Murray demonstrates how and why we have given way to a dangerous tribalism. One example: in March 2019, Professor Robin DiAngelo spoke at Boston University. DiAngelo specializes in “whiteness studies,” is the author of White Fragility, and is white herself. As summed up by Murray, DiAngelo at one point in her

speech told her audience that “white people who see people as individuals rather than by their skin color are in fact ‘dangerous.’”

In his 1963 speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King spoke of his hope that his children would “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” As Murray points out, DiAngelo has “inverted” King’s vision.

At the end of The Madness Of Crowds, Murray suggests ways to avoid falling into the pit and folly of identity politics. When, for example, some “attempt to sum up our societies today as monstrous, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic patriarchies,” Murray suggests asking the question, “Compared to what?”

For me, the most important among his suggestions was his advice to “depoliticize our lives.” To politicize everything, which Murray believes is the aim of identity politics, can bring only endless frustration, outrage, and ultimately, failure.

Instead, Murray advises “one of the ways to distance ourselves from the madnesses of our times is to retain an interest in politics but not to rely on it as a source of meaning.” As he points out, meaning for most of us can be found in “friends, family and loved ones, in culture, place and wonder.” These are the things that bring us joy.

The Madness of Crowds ends with this thought: “To assume that sex, sexuality and skin colour mean nothing would be ridiculous. But to assume that they mean everything will be fatal.”

The coronavirus has in a strange way brought Americans together. When this pandemic ends — and it will end — let us hope that the tribal politics practiced by some, with its constant emphasis on victimhood, with its irrational rage and its hatred, will be no more. (Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. minick0301@gmail.com)

When planting a garden, the best advice is to plant what you like to eat. This gardener chose (clockwise from left) peppers, lettuce and valour beans. Jim Janke photos

Grow your groceries

Use quarantine time to start gardening

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

Spring is in the air these days, but so is uncertainty as the COVID-19 crisis continues and millions of Americans are unemployed, working reduced hours or simply adjusting to life under a quarantine with no clear end in sight.

It’s a cocktail that even has folks who have always considered themselves to be brown thumbs thinking about starting a vegetable garden. A lot of people have a lot of extra time on their hands these days, and given that every trip to the grocery store now feels like a journey to the last frontier, the idea of being able to walk outside and pick as many tomatoes as you want is certainly attractive.

To be clear, there are currently no production issues related to COVID-19 on America’s farms, said Haywood County Agricultural Extension Agent Sam Marshall. Crops are getting planted and spring veggies are getting harvested. Americans who don’t plant a garden this spring aren’t likely to find themselves bereft of fresh fruits and veggies in the summer, but homegrown produce is about more than putting food on the table.

“Just the mental and physical health benefits of being able to get outside and having something to do — I would say that’s the number one thing above all else,” said Marshall.

That said, the future is uncertain in a number of ways, and agriculture is no exception. Impacts to the industry will depend largely on how long the crisis continues. Many crops such as strawberries and tomatoes must be harvested by hand, and issues with immigration and worker health in the midst of the pandemic could make labor — already a challenge for farmers in pre-coronavirus days — a limiting factor in getting produce from the fields to family dinner tables. Additionally, interruptions to trade could make it harder for produce grown elsewhere to make it into the local supermarket.

However, Marshall is hopeful.

“As far as projections for what it’s going to look like, it’s hard to tell,” he said. “But I think we’ll at least be a little more prepared. It may be slow, but I don’t think it’s going to stop altogether.”

As the saying goes, predicting the future is a fool’s errand — but growing a garden is not. While the region, nation and world wait to see what the coming months may bring, take some time out of quarantine to grow something delicious.

1. Build your bed. Check out the options and choose the best type of garden for your home. Beginner gardeners are often served well by a raised bed garden in the backyard, and those living in an apartment or otherwise constrained living situation may find they can grow a surprising amount of food using containers placed on a patio or balcony.

For raised beds, Marshall recommends starting out with a 4-by-8-foot size. Using the squarefoot gardening method, in which gardeners plan their beds in square-foot blocks rather than rows, a container that size can actually produce a lot of food.

“It works,” he said. “You don’t have to have a huge, massive garden to be successful and get enjoyment out of it.”

Earth Day turns 50

2. Mix your soil. Good soil is essential for growing good vegetables. The clay soil that covers much of the region is easily compacted and waterlogged, something that garden plants don’t like. Marshall recommends mixing one-third each of potting mix, compost and gardening soil to make garden plants happy. One caveat, though — if using animal manure for compost, don’t put it on fresh. Fresh manure has too many nitrates and can burn plants. Check the packaging to make sure it’s been aged first.

3. Decide what to plant. When planning your crops, said Marshall, the most important thing to consider is what would you like to eat.

“If you like cucumbers and peppers and tomatoes, then grow those

FThe 50th anniversary of Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22, and while starting a garden is the perfect way to celebrate, it’s not the only way.

For more about opportunities to celebrate Earth Day with education, advocacy and community events across Western North Carolina, visit www.wncfortheplanet.org.

Graham County wildfires reach full containment

Firefighters responded to two wildfires late April 14 near Fontana Lake in Graham County. Both fires burned on U.S. Forest Service land on the Nantahala National Forest Cheoah Ranger District but were 100 percent contained as of April 20.

The Flint Gap Fire, located in the Meeting House area along Fontana Lake, reached a final size of 387 acres. The fire was estimated at 50 acres April 15, with 13 firefighters on scene that day constructing fire lines and conducting burnout operations.

Dry, windy conditions combined with burnout operations led to an increase in fire size, as firefighters used back burns to remove unburned fuels between the active fire and containment lines. The cause of the Flint Gap Fire is under investigation.

The Left Loop Fire was located along Lake Fontana near the Tsali Mountain Bike trail complex and reached a final size of 20 acres. It was started by a lightning strike. Even with recent rain events, these fires

are a reminder that spring wildfire season can last into May. Locations where trees have not fully leafed out are most susceptible to high fire danger, where direct sunlight reaching the forest floor dries fuels quickly. It only takes a couple sunny, lowhumidity days to dry the leaves, sticks and logs that are fuel for wildfires.

While the N.C. Forest Service recently lifted its burn ban, fire restrictions remain in effect for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire is prohibited. Possessing, discharging or using any kind of firework or other pyrotechnic device is also prohibited. These restrictions are in effect until August 8, unless rescinded earlier due to changed conditions.

Review the National Forests in North Carolina website for updates and more information at www.fs.usda.gov/nfsnc, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nfsnc, and on Twitter at twitter.com/nfsncarolina.

Virtual Earth Day vigil planned

Creation Care Alliance of WNC will hold a virtual Earth Day Vigil 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26, via Zoom.

The vigil will focus on the idea of "Seeing with New Eyes” and will include readings, prayers, songs and information about creation care from speakers from throughout Western North Carolina. Register for the vigil at creationcarealliance.org/event/virtual-earth-day-vigil. Afterward, a “reception” will be held during which participants are invited to bring a dinner or favorite beverage while joining in for a discussion and reflection.

things,” he said. “If you don’t like to eat those things, it’s less likely you’re going to take care of the plants, and you’ll be discouraged by it.” If you’re not really a vegetable eater, he said, then fine — grow some flowers instead. “It doesn’t have to be a vegetable garden necessarily,” he said. “Just having something to keep you occupied, especially now, is very important. Grow what you like and you’re more likely to have success with it.”

4. Buy seeds or starts. By the end of April, it’s too late to start growing long-maturing plants like tomatoes and peppers from seed, so for those crops you’ll have to go buy some starts. However, there’s still plenty of time to grow faster-maturing crops like squash, zucchini and

season. Pull the trigger too soon, and your carefully cultivated starts could turn into mush with a single late freeze.

The ironclad safe date in the mountains is typically the weekend after Mother’s Day, and higher elevations especially should wait till then to get started, said Marshall.

“Lower elevations could probably get by going a little bit earlier, but I always recommend having something standing by to protect the plants if we have one of those really cold nights,” he said.

If a freeze is in the forecast, throw a tarp over those tomatoes.

5. Tend and harvest. Check on your plants regularly as the season unfolds. Pull weeds, and trellis or stake vines like tomatoes and beans as needed. Most importantly, keep everything watered.

“Just the mental and physical health benefits of being able to get outside and having something to do — I would say that’s the number one thing.”

— Sam Marshall

cucumbers from seed. When deciding whether to use seeds or starts, look at the package to see how many days the plant takes to mature — if it’s a smaller number, like 50 or 60 days, go ahead and stick that seed in the soil.

5. Plant the garden. Figuring out when to pop your precious plants in the ground can seem like a gamble. Wait too long, and you’ll be staring down a bush full of green tomatoes while your neighbors are heavy into salsa-making

Parkway steps up COVID-19 closures

The Blue Ridge Parkway has announced additional closures as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Current closures on the North Carolina section are:

• Miles 292-294.5: Road closed near Blowing Rock, including Moses Cone Parking Area and Highway 221 Bass Lake Parking Lot.

• Miles 294.5-296.4: Road closed, including Price Park Picnic Area.

• Miles 298.6-305: Road closed through Grandfather Mountain area, including Rough Ridge and Linn Cove Viaduct.

• Miles 305-308: Road closed.

• Mile 316.4: Linville Falls Spur Road closed, including parking at Linville Falls trailheads.

• Miles 334-342: Road closed, including Crabtree Falls Area near Little Switzerland.

• Miles 355-375.6: Road closed from Mt.

Mitchell to Ox Creek, including Craggy Gardens.

• Mile 377.4: Parking areas closed at Craven Gap for Mountains-to-Sea Trail access.

• Mile 384.7: Roadside parking closed at MST trailheads at U.S. 74A Parkway access ramps.

• Miles 393-469: Road closed from French Broad River Overlook to the Parkway’s southern terminus. Check nps.gov/blri for updates.

Closure at Joyce Kilmer

Downed trees have caused a temporary closure of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest Road at the junction of Maple Springs Road. The road will remain closed until tree removal operations can be completed. For updates, call the Cheoah Ranger District Office at 828.479.6431.

Greening Up the Mountains offers virtual 5K

The 23rd annual Greening Up the Mountains Festival in Sylva has been canceled, but the 5K that accompanies it each year will still take place — virtually.

Between 9 a.m. April 24 and 9 a.m. April 26, participants are invited to run a 5K course of their own making, track the route and time and submit those results to receive a race T-shirt. A time and location will be set up for locals to pick up T-shirts, with mailing available for out-of-area attendees.

Sign up at www.runsignup.com/race/nc/sylva/greeningupthemountains.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2020

“Most definitely, watering on a regular basis is a big deal,” Marshall said. For a raised bed, give everything between half an inch and an inch of water every couple of days, he said. In-ground gardens require less, because if heavy clay soils are good at anything, it’s moisture retention.

6. Keep learning. As with most hobbies, there’s always more to learn about gardening. Check out Marshall’s YouTube page at bit.ly/haywoodgardens this summer for more information about gardening in Western North Carolina. Resources are also available at haywood.ces.ncsu.edu/categories/lawn-garden.

The Catamount School, a school for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in Jackson County, is accepting 6th, 7th and 8th grade registrations for the 2020-21 school year. Operated by Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions in cooperation with Jackson County Public Schools, The Catamount School is designed to explore innovative teaching approaches and applied learning opportunities in order to help every student discover his or her full academic potential. The school is a public lab school operated on the campus of Smoky Mountain High School and is free to accepted students and their families.

APPLY TODAY FOR AUGUST ENROLLMENT!

TO LEARN MORE AND APPLY, GO TO CATAMOUNTSCHOOL.WCU.EDU

Experience the Smokies at home

It’s National Park Week, and a new website from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park featuring videos and activities for students of all ages will help families celebrate despite the park’s coronavirusinduced closure.

The website, www.smokieees.org, is home to SmokiEEEs @ Home and highlights the three “E’s” in SmokiEEEs — Explore, Entertain and Escape. “Explore” gets kids outside making discoveries in their own neighborhood, “Entertain” offers fun, creative ways for kids to open their eyes and ears to nature while celebrating the Smokies and the art it inspires; and “Escape” provides a virtual escape to the Smokies for a quiet, captivating moment.

Parent resources and original video content provide families an opportunity to take ranger-led “Parks as Classrooms” virtual field trips along with adventures led by Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and Discover Life in America staff that includes backyard citizen-science activities. Educators with each organization are working on new videos and grade-level activities to add to the website on a regular basis. The Great Smoky Mountains Association and Friends of the Smokies also contributed to the effort.

During National Park week, more online activities are available at www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/find-your-virtualpark.htm.

For a limited time, a park ranger emoji will appear with the use of the hashtags #NationalParkWeek and #FindYourPark on social media, in addition to #FindYourVirtualPark and #EncuentraTuParque on Twitter.

WNC group joins National Earth Day Live

WNC Climate Action Coalition, based in Haywood County, is bringing Earth Day Live 2020 home with an online broadcast at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day.

The local event is also sponsored by Climate Reality, founded in 2006 by former Vice President Al Gore. Watch the Haywood County program from the link on WNCClimateAction.com.

The national and global theme of Earth Day 2020 is healing nature and our relationship with Earth, with Native American teachings and actions having special recognition. For the WNC program a Native American Hoop Dance, performed as a ceremony of healing, will open and close the program. Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians (EBCI) leader Elvia Walkingstick shares her documentary on Cherokee activists’ experiences at Standing Rock, North Dakota, in 2019. It is key to her work, alongside other EBCI leaders, with the Indigenous Environmental Network.

Haywood County musicians Darren Nicholson of Balsam Range, guitarist-song-

writers Martin Vee and Scottish “Blaxcotsman” Mike Ogletree, and Bona Fide Band will inspire with songs about mountain heritage, nature and people’s relationship to them. A nine-minute video will teach Appalachian “square” dancing — really, it’s done in one big circle, a symbol of connectedness and community.

Presenters will show some of the positive steps taken and planned, such as continuing stream and groundwater cleanup led by Haywood Waterways Association; county native Christopher Lile on the current status of the critically endangered Red Wolf group in eastern North Carolina; and the work of thriving small farmers.

Haywood County native Steve Winchester and wife Judy Richter Winchester will show and tell why they raise pygmy goats. Smoky Mountain News and Public Radio reporter Cory Vaillancourt will tell about collecting ramps, a wild onion, as a Smokies tradition. Brannen Basham of Spriggley’s Beescaping will explain how protecting pollinators is protecting our own food supply and quality

Connect with nature from home

of life. A six-minute documentary on the Collective Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) farmers shows the beauty of small farms along with the incomparable quality of the food. Steve and Betsy Wall explain having solar panels installed by one of several WNC installers. Solar industries are bringing well-paying jobs to North Carolina.

To address key roles of government, Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, will give a status update on cleanup of industrial poisons and a ban on fracking. Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives Col. Moe Davis will explain why the U.S. Defense Department has been mitigating effects of climate change to ensure continuing national security.

Over one billion people are expected to participate worldwide. Dozens of climate scientists and activists including celebrities will speak and perform. See www.earthdaylive2020.org.

More information about the local streaming broadcast: wncclimateaction.com/about or wncclimateaction@gmail.com.

The Tremont Institute is working through quarantine to connect people and nature using its website and social media channels.

Teacher naturalists are sharing the historical and cultural roots of Southern Appalachian music through recorded songs, with other posts focusing on nature mysteries. A series of nature journal prompts on social media and Tremont’s website help people create a journal documenting nature they can observe in their own backyards and homes.

Tremont is also sharing educational resources from local partners in the Smokies and other environmental organizations across the country. Recently staff from Tremont Institute collaborated with staff members at the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio on a video exchange to help share the histories of each national park with a broader audience.

Visit Tremont at www.gsmit.org or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Help the N.C. Arboretum

The public has stepped up to contribute nearly $50,000 to the N.C. Arboretum’s Staff Support Fund, allowing staff to remain employed and create innovative programming while the arboretum campus remains closed to the public.

n The ecoEXPLORE youth education program is teaching K-8 students and their parents how to find plants and animals in their own backyards. www.ecoexplore.net.

n Free weekly adult education classes are being offered online through the month of April. www.ncarboretum.org/education-programs/adult-education-classes.

n The “Our Gardens, Your Home” campaign offers virtual tours and online tutorials for enjoying the gardens safely from home. www.ncarboretum.org/our-gardens-your-home.

n Design and production for fall and summer exhibits are ongoing, as is maintenance of gardens and buildings, so that the arboretum can reopen as soon as possible.

Donate at bit.ly/NCAdonate or call 828.665.2492.

These are only the answers.

WNC Calendar

• WNC Climate Action Coalition, based in Haywood County, is bringing Earth Day Live 2020 home with an online broadcast at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. Watch the Haywood County program from the link on WNCClimateAction.com. The event will feature live music and special presentations.

• Due to COVID-19, the N.C. Democratic Party county conventions have been moved to a digital platform. The Haywood County Democratic Party Convention will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 25. Party Chair Myrna Campbell will be contacting delegates via email to provide logistical information about the digital platform. In the meantime, questions/concerns should be directed to haywooddemocrats@gmail.com.

• Swain County Democrats will hold a virtual convention on Saturday, April 25. The agenda will include election of delegates to the District 11 and state conventions as well as conversations with candidates.

Democrats who cannot connect from home are welcome to use the front porch or lobby of the Historic Calhoun at 135 Everett Street where there is plenty of room to stay more than six feet apart. For further information about participating in the virtual convention, call Luke D. Hyde at 828.488.1234.

• North Shore Cemetery Association announced the cancellation of all North Shore Cemetery Decorations through June 15. At present, all group activities within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are suspended through June 15 and this may change in the future given the complexity and unknown factors concerning the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Bardo Arts Center has a new webpage dedicated to virtual opportunities at arts.wcu.edu/virtual. Highlights include a series of Thursday lunchtime webinar presentations, which will be streamed on Facebook and YouTube, as well as through the arts.wcu.edu/virtual website. The Thursday webinar series opens with a theatrical talkback, followed by three webinars related to WCU Fine Art Museum exhibitions.

• First United Methodist Church will continue online worship for the next several weeks. They invite people to join in the worship service on Sunday mornings beginning at 10 a.m. via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/sylvafumc. For more information, contact the church office at 828.586.2358.

• All Fontana Regional Library locations in Macon, Jackson, and Swain counties will remain closed until further notice.

• Moe Davis, the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 11th District, will be hosting a series of "Moe Talks" Facebook Live virtual town halls. There will be two events to be held at the same time each week: from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Mondays and from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursdays. Topics will change week to week. Viewers can submit questions in advance to the @MoeDavisforCongress Facebook Page.

• Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, will hold an online town hall meeting about education at 4 p.m. April 25 with special guest Jen Mangrum. The town hall meeting is for everyone is Queen’s 119th district of Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties. To view the meeting online, call 312.626.6799 and enter the pin 928.323.059.66#. To submit questions or concerns for Queen to address, email joesam@joesamqueen.com or text 910.632.0707.

B USINESS & E DUCATION

• Haywood Community College’s registration for summer classes is now open. Most summer semester classes will begin Monday, June 8. Visit haywood.edu or contact us at hcc-advising@haywood.edu or 828.627.2821 to start the registration process.

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com

• Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering several virtual trainings in April and May to give professionals the opportunity to still engage in training while practicing social distancing. For more information about these programs, visit pdp.wcu.edu.

• Southwestern Community College’s Career Services will host a virtual job fair from 9 a.m. to noon April 24. Contact m_despeaux@southwesterncc.edu for more information.

• Registration is underway for “Basics of Bookkeeping,” a seminar that will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, in Clyde. Info and Registration: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• Registration is underway for “Your Small Business Taxes,” a webinar that will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 9-11 a.m. on Thursday, April 21. Info and Registration: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• Small business owners can find materials and services to support business growth at Fontana Regional Library’s locations in Macon, Jackson and Swain Counties. Computer classes and one-on-one assistance available. 586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.

• Concealed Carry Academy, LLC, will hold a concealed carry class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 16. Call 828.356.5454 for details. Visit www.wecancarry.com.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS

• The historic Shelton House in Waynesville is currently in need of volunteers for an array of upcoming events. Alongside help for events and gatherings, the organization is also seeking a docent, gift shop attendee, data entry person, landscaper, handyperson, and other positions.

• Haywood Vocational Opportunities is seeking donations of goods, services, time and support for the second annual “HVO Stans Up to PTSD Veteran Community Resource, Education and Job Fair,” which will be held on June 27. 454.6857.

• Feline Urgent Rescue is seeking volunteers and sponsors. Info: 422.2704, www.furofwnc.org, www.facebook.com/furofwnc or 844.888.CATS (2287).

• Cat adoption hours are from noon-5 p.m. on Fridays and noon-4 p.m. on Saturdays at 453 Jones Cove Road in Clyde. Adoption fee: $10 for cats one-year and older. Check out available cats at www.petharbor.com. 452.1329 or 550.3662.

Senior Companion volunteers are being sought to serve with the Land of the Sky Senior Companion Program in Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania and Madison Counties. Serve older adults who want to remain living independently at home in those counties.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking volunteers to assist rangers with managing traffic and establishing safe wildlife viewing areas within the Cataloochee Valley area. To register for training or get more info: Kathleen_stuart@nps.gov or 497.1914.

• Haywood Regional Medical Center is seeking volunteers of all ages for ongoing support at the hospital, outpatient care center and the Homestead. For info and to apply: 452.8301, stop by the information desk in the lobby or volunteer@haymed.org. Anyone interested in becoming a hospice volunteer can call 452.5039.

• STAR Rescue Ranch is seeking volunteers to help with horse care, fundraising events, barn maintenance and more at the only equine rescue in Haywood County. 828.400.4940.

• Volunteer opportunities are available throughout the region, call John at the Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center and get started sharing your talents. 356.2833.

K IDS & FAMILIES

• The Kathryn Byer Memorial Poetry Contest celebrates our mountains and our connection to them in our everyday lives. It is open to all Jackson County students, K12. The poets are divided into three categories: K-4th grade, 5th-8th grade, and 9-12th. Three winners, in addition to Honorable Mentions, will be chosen in each category. Poems should be no longer than 40 lines, but can be much shorter, of course. Poems should be submitted to City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, either in person, mail or by email to more@citylightsnc.com by April 10. Please include “Poetry Contest” in the subject line. The winners in each category will receive gift certificates to City Lights Bookstore and will be invited to read at Greening up the Mountains at 3 p.m. April 25 at City Lights Bookstore. Winners will be announced by April 20. 586.9499.

• The Sylva Art + Design Committee is pleased to announce a unique pop-up gallery event that will feature the artistic creations of children ages 5-18 in the Western North Carolina region. “Nature Through A Child’s Eye” will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at Viva Arts Studio in downtown Sylva. If you have a child that you think may want to be a participant ages of 5-18 apply by emailing sylvaartdesign@gmail.com or vivaartsstudio@gmail.com. Facebook at www.facebook.com/sylvapublicart or on Instagram @sylvaarts. All submissions will be available for purchase and can be picked up after the completion of the exhibition. All money raised will be equally distributed between SADC and the Sylva Community Garden in order to further the betterment of the community through arts, education, and environmental awareness.

• Registration is underway for the Challenger International Soccer Camp, which will be offered to ages 3-14 from July 20-24 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Costs vary based on age group from $90-197. Separate goalkeeper and scorer program is $25 for ages 6-14 from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday. Register: challengersports.com. Info: 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Waynesville Art School offers the Young Artist Program in the afternoons for 5-6 year old, 7-8 year old, 9-12 year old. Intro to Printmaking and Evening studies in arts is offered for 13-19 year old. Waynesville Art School is located at 303 N. Haywood Street. Info: 246.9869, info@waynesvilleartschool.com or visit WaynesvilleArtSchool.com for schedule and to register.

• Mountain Wildlife offers wildlife education programs for schools and organizations in Western North Carolina, free of charge. If you are interested in having them visit your group contact them at blackbears66@gmail.com, 743.9648 or visit the website at www.mountainwildlifedays.com.

Ongoing

H EALTH MATTERS

• Free dental clinic for low-income patients, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by appointment at

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for:

n Complete listings of local music scene

n Regional festivals

n Art gallery events and openings

n Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers

n Civic and social club gatherings

Blue Ridge Mountains Health Project Dental Clinic on the upper level of Laurel Terrace in Cashiers. 743.3393.

• The Community Care Clinic of Highlands-Cashiers, 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, provides free care to uninsured patients who meet financial need requirements and live or work in Highlands and Cashiers. $10 donation suggested. The clinic is in the Macon County Recreation and Health Building off Buck Creek Road. 526.1991.

VOLUNTEERING

• The Haywood County Meals on Wheels program has route openings for volunteer drivers. Substitute drivers also needed.

• P.A.W.S. Adoption Days first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the front lawn at Charleston Station, Bryson City.

• The Community Kitchen in Canton is in need of volunteers. Opportunities range from planning a meal updating their webpage. 648.0014.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haywood County is now accepting applications for boys and girls within the Haywood County area between the ages of 6 and 14 who could benefit from an approved adult mentor/role model. No cost to the family. 356.2148.

• Gathering Table, 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, at The Community Center, Route 64, Cashiers. Provides fresh, nutritious dinners to all members of the community regardless of ability to pay. Volunteers always needed and donations gratefully accepted. 743.9880.

• The Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center has many new openings for volunteers throughout the region. Learn about a wide-range of volunteer opportunities with a variety of non-profit agencies, including respite work, domestic violence hotline volunteers, meal delivery drivers, court mediators, Habitat for Humanity house building, foster grandparenting, charity thrift shops, the Elk Bugle Corps for the Great Smokies National Park and many more. 356.2833.

• Community Care Clinic of Franklin needs volunteers for a variety of tasks including nursing/clinical, clerical and administrative and communications and marketing. 349.2085.

• Catman2 Shelter in Jackson County needs volunteers for morning feeding and general shelter chores. 293.0892 or hsims@catman2.org.

• The Volunteer Water Inventory Network (VWIN) is looking for people to work one to two hours a month taking water samples from local creeks and streams. Fill up empty bottles, collect water samples, and return full bottles. 926.1308 or www.haywoodwaterways.org.

• The Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society maintains a museum located in the historical courthouse in room 308. The HCHGS is seeking articles and objects of historical value to Haywood County that anyone would like to share. 456.3923.

• REACH of Haywood County is looking for volunteers who would like to assist in its newly expanded resale store. 456 Hazelwood Avenue. 456.7898.

MarketPlace information:

The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 copies across 500 locations in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, including the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. Visit www.wncmarketplace.com to place your ad!

Rates:

• $15 — Classified ads that are 25 words, 25¢ per word after.

• Free — Lost or found pet ads.

• $6 — Residential yard sale ads.*

• $1 — Yard Sale Rain Insurance Yard sale rained out? Call us by 10a.m. Monday for your ad to run again FREE

• Legal N otices — 25¢ per word

• $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. (Limit 25 words or less)

• Boost Online — Have your ad featured at top of category online $4

• Boost in Print

• Add Photo $6

• Bold ad $2

• Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4

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Note: Highlighted ads automatically generate a border so if you’re placing an ad online and select a highlight color, the “add border” feature will not be available on the screen.

Note: Yard sale ads require an address. This location will be displayed on a map on www.wncmarketplace.com

p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com www.wncmarketplace.com

PLACE WNC

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Hathaway HomeServices/Great Smokys Realty - www.4Smokys.com

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate- Heritage

• Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com

Beverly Hanks & Associates- beverly-hanks.com

• Ann Eavenson - anneavenson@beverly-hanks.com

• Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com

• Michelle McElroy- michellemcelroy@beverly-hanks.com

• Steve Mauldin - smauldin@beverly-hanks.com

• Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com

• Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com

• Brooke Parrott - bparrott@beverly-hanks.com

• Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com

• Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com

• Ellen Sither - ellensither@beverly-hanks.com

• Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com

• Karen Hollingsed- khollingsed@beverly-hanks.com

• Billy Case- billycase@beverly-hanks.com

• Laura Thomas - lthomas@beverly-hanks.com

• John Keith - jkeith@beverly-hanks.com

• Randall Rogers - rrogers@beverly-hanks.com

• Susan Hooper - shooper@beverly-hanks.com

• Hunter Wyman - hwyman@beverly-hanks.com

Christie’s Ivester Jackson Blackstream

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ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com

• Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com

• Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com

Jerry Lee Mountain Realty

Jerry Lee Hatley- jerryhatley@bellsouth.net

Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com

• The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

• Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@kw.com

Lakeshore Realty

• Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com

Mountain Home Properties mountaindream.com

• Cindy Dubose - cdubose@mountaindream.com

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management

• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

Nest Realty

• Madelyn Niemeyer - Madelyn.niemeyer@nestrealty.com

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

• Holly Fletcher - holly@hollyfletchernc.com

• The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com

• Ron Breese - ronbreese.com

• Landen Stevenson- landen@landenkstevenson.com

• Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

• Mary & Roger Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net

• David Rogers - davidr@remax-waynesvillenc.com

• Juli Rogers - julimeaserogers@gmail.com

Rob Roland Realty - robrolandrealty.com

• Rob Roland - rroland33@gmail.com

The Smoky Mountain Retreat at Eagles Nest

• Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com

• Sherell Johnson - sherellwj@aol.com

WNC Real Estate Store

• Melanie Hoffman - mhoffmanrealestate@gmail.com

• Thomas Hoffman - thoffman1@me.com

SUPER CROSSWORD

TAKING OUT THE MIDDLE ACROSS

1Musical pace

6- -you note

11Looker's leg

14LaBelle with a Grammy

19Oak seed

20Perfume queen Lauder

21Pal, to Gigi

22One of the Three Musketeers

23LOUIS

26Painter Dufy

27Co. heads

28Zero in (on)

29What a white flag signifies

30Speed

35LLOYD

37Make - out of (toughen up)

38Jogger's gait

39Pre- - (bump, so to speak)

40Candle blowers' secrets

41CAROL

44Caesar of old comedy

45Severe

46Hides from view

51Swan's kin

56Copy a bunny

57"Nuts" director Martin

61CHRISTIAN

63Pep rally cry

65Tarot card reader, e.g.

66Singer Donny

67Folk knowledge

70JESSICA

73In the matter of

74Assembly with all members present

76Language of Bangkok

77Pastor's talk

79WASHINGTON

82Wren's home

83"Mike & Molly" airer

86Adams of photography

87Small carpet

89"Ulysses" star Milo

91Cumulative pay abbr.

93JEAN

97Cuba's Fidel

101Some jeans, familiarly

105"No, mein Herr"

106Peruvian of long ago

107CONAN

109Tropical grassy plains

111Kettle output

112Brand of fat replacer

113University in North Carolina

1141836 siege setting

115CARLOS

122Justice Ruth - Ginsburg

123Highway with a no.

124Leek relative

125With 59-Down, crude oil, in slang

126Deep pit

127Sun - -sen

128"- Hope" (old ABC soap)

129Build, as a building

DOWN

1Paving gunk

2Prefix with car or warrior

3Unruly throng

4District police station

5How right turns are often allowed

6Mosaic tile

7DDE's forerunner

8Lunched, e.g.

9It's east of Calif.

10Painter Georgia O'-

11It's removed for a fill-up

12Total number

13Capital of Belarus

14Pheasants' cousins

151980s video game consoles

16Despite the fact that 17"Clever comeback!"

18Florida keys, e.g.

24The Lone Ranger's companion

25Par for the course

30Hindu prince

31Mobil rival

32Settle the tab

33Boozing sort

34Fr. ladies with haloes

36Early 20th-cen. conflict

42Architect Saarinen

43"Stop talking!"

44IRS ID

47More like a hoarse voice

48High on the draft list

49Online folks

50Grow dim

52Financial tipster Suze

53Bears, in Buenos Aires

54Faxed, say

55Prefix with spore

58Response to "Who's there?"

59See 125-Across 60Dentists scrape it off

62Houses for students

63Music style

64Skier Phil

67Women's links org.

68Steinhauer who wrote the

2009 bestseller "The Tourist"

69Antique cars

71"- Nagila"

72Sooner than

75Nasty bits of dirt

78Nebraska Sioux

80Ill-bred guy

81Barbecue spice mix

83Beijing's land

84Judge's seat

85Epic tales

88Cotton deseeders

90Less chubby

92Ontario's capital, on scoreboards

94Grassland

95Resident maids

96Wholly

97Melon type

98Place to sculpt in school, say

99Dependable

100English river

101"Blaze" actress Davidovich

102Tennis shoe hole

103Israel's flag carrier

10412th grader

108Bride's property

110Nick of "Cape Fear"

116- old way

117Actress Wasikowska

118Gained

119Firefighter's tool

120Freddie121Onetime jet-set jet

ANSWERS ON PAGE 26

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TH IN W . TOGETHER IS ALL ARE E

treng u s yo communit tant impor isolation, the During o t t an y w speciall e e . W ealth d h n h a t wish we , taint uncer o time this In . f y this of t ar a p be to roud e p ar We . enmore r be eve s n y ha communit - sel and distancing social o ys d se a f f a e fi h k t than ion.urreg n o s i eacher d t n orkers, e w ar h c ealt , h esponders t r rs