Smoky Mountain News | July 13, 2022

in Haywood Page 4

County voter fraud case moves forward Page 12

On the Cover:

Wheels Through Time museum features some of the rarest motorcycles on the planet and has gained a worldwide following over its two decades of existence. After the passing of its founder Dale Walksler in 2021, his son Matt has ushered in a new era. (Page 20) Hannah Pace photo

News

‘Strong right arm’ of the Republican Party flexes its muscles................................4 Clampitt calls for unification of Swain emergency services....................................6 After SCOTUS decisions, midterm elections carry heavy consequences........7 Legislation provides some assistance to school nutrition departments............10 Voter fraud allegations move forward in Lake Santeetlah....................................12 The Open Door’s Second Season..............................................................................14 Decision reached to name permanent Macon Middle School Principal..........15 New Waynesville planning board taking shape........................................................17

Opinion

‘You’re OK,’ and more notes from the road................................................................18 Religion doesn’t belong in schools..............................................................................19

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NC House Freedom Caucus rally on July 6.

Grasping for a supermajority

The ‘strong right arm’ of the Republican Party flexes its muscles in Maggie Valley

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT

P OLITICS E DITOR

Energized by recent Supreme Court rulings and eager to remake North Carolina in their own image, members of the N.C. House Freedom Caucus held a “rally in the Valley” last week, issuing local endorsements and looking to gain support for their forthcoming legislative agenda.

“The thing I hear from everybody is they want us to stand up,” Rep. Mark Pless (RHaywood) told The Smoky Mountain News on July 6. “They are looking for representatives that are not out to make a name for themselves, they want somebody that’s willing to stand when it’s not popular, to stand behind the Constitution and stand behind the people and what they want to see done.”

Pless, along with fellow Haywood Rep.

Mike Clampitt, hosted six other members of the Freedom Caucus, including Appropriations Chair George Cleveland (ROnslow), Veterans Affairs Chair Ed Goodwin (R-Chowan), Local Government Chair Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck), Wildlife Resources Cochair Karl Gillespie (R-Macon), Local Government Vice Chair Ben Moss (RRichmond) and Banking Chair Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort).

Kidwell also serves as chair of the HFC. He explained that the group got its start several years back, but fizzled out for a time until he took over two years ago. Since then, the group has grown from five members to nearly 30.

“Our mission is to review legislation with a concentration on how each bill impacts the rights, freedoms and liberties of the people

of North Carolina. This will include the appropriate use of taxpayer money, [and] to be sure all legislation is in accordance with the North Carolina and U.S. Constitution,” Kidwell told an audience of about 50 people in the Maggie Valley pavilion. “Our objectives — to assist leadership in how legislation may infringe upon the rights and liberties of our citizens, and to offer suggestions and alternatives for improvement.”

The group shares more than just a name with the better-known U.S. House Freedom Caucus, formerly chaired by former NC-11 Republican Congressman Mark Meadows.

In 2017, members of the congressional caucus blocked a bill from Republican leadership to repeal Obamacare because it didn’t meet their standards. Acting as a bloc, they exerted outsized power by withholding their

votes, killing the bill on the floor of the Republican-controlled House. It was one of many instances where the outsized impact of the caucus made a difference.

Kidwell offered a similar example of his caucus’ capacity for asymmetrical warfare.

“They wanted to put cameras all up and down the highway, license plate readers, so that they could track where you move, so the Freedom Caucus called an impromptu meeting, literally in the chamber where we vote,” Kidwell said. “We all said with that one [camera] section in there, the bill dies on the floor.”

Hanig, who serves as vice chair of the Freedom Caucus, accompanied Kidwell to the speaker’s office and threatened to kill the commerce bill if the camera provision remained in it.

“They sat there and talked about it and couple minutes later, that piece of the bill came out and we passed good legislation,” he said. “So will we sacrifice good legislation for that piece that infringes on your liberties? Yes, because it’s the right thing to do.”

According to Kidwell, the Freedom Caucus isn’t just hoping to influence legislation, it’s also hoping to influence upcoming elections. State Board of Elections records show the House Freedom Caucus PAC was registered last August and raised $200 by the end of the year.

Through the end of the second quarter of 2022, HFCPAC had raised more than $5,400, including $1,200 contributions from Kidwell, Hanig and Cabarrus Republican Rep. Larry Pittman. As of June 30, the PAC reported $2,954 in cash on hand.

They’ll likely need every cent, and more, if their “3-2-1” plan for the November General Elections is to succeed. Right now, Republicans hold comfortable majorities in both the N.C. House and Senate, but they don’t quite have enough votes to command a supermajority.

A supermajority would allow each chamber enough votes to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has just two years left until he’s termed out. The 3-2-1 plan represents Republican efforts to secure three more seats in the House, two in the Senate and one on the state Supreme Court. If successful, Republicans would totally control a state that then-President Donald Trump won by just 1.34% in 2020 and therefore could advance legislation — as well as new congressional maps F

— without any barriers.

A two-term House representative, Hanig will give up his seat this November to run for Senate in a newly-drawn district. If he gets there, he said he’d start a Freedom Caucus in the Senate as well.

“I’m kind of surprised they don’t have one already,” Hanig told SMN. Of course, Hanig will count on the support of the HFC in his race against Democrat Valerie Jordan, who knocked off incumbent Sen. Ernestine Bazemore (D-Bertie) in the May primary.

But House Freedom Caucus members don’t have to wait on Hanig’s outcome to point to a victory.

After the legislative redraw, freshman Rep. Ben Moss found himself doublebunked with fellow Republican Rep. Jamie Boles.

“So when we looked at Rep. Moss, he was the most conservative candidate. He was also a current member of the North Carolina House Freedom Caucus, so clearly we’re going to support our members before anybody else in a race,” Kidwell said. “We know who they are. We know their track record, so that was really an easy call.”

Boles, who’d served seven terms and was the senior chair of Appropriations, lost to Moss in the May 17 Republican Primary Election by almost 7 points.

“I was a severe underdog,” Moss said. “I mean, everybody had wrote me off, said there was no way I could win. The district really favored my opponent.”

Moss acknowledged the impact HFC members had on his victory. Kidwell said that “according to [Moss’] campaign manager, it put him across the line.”

Swain County Republican Rep. Mike Clampitt will also look forward to assistance from the HFC. Currently, Clampitt represents a portion of Haywood County, but after the redraw will run in a district that includes the whole of Swain and Jackson counties as well as some brand-new turf, Transylvania County.

Clampitt had traded the 119th District seat back and forth with Waynesville Democrat Joe Sam Queen for a decade until Queen opted not to run against Clampitt for the sixth time this year.

Clampitt will face Transylvania County Democrat Al Platt in November.

“My competition in Brevard is a pea in a pod with Joe Queen,” Clampitt said. “It’s the same rhetoric, the same talk. I don’t think it’ll be any different than when I’ve run with Joe Queen in the past. I’m very hopeful that people will recognize my accomplishments in Swain and Jackson. I know the voters in Haywood will not be participating in my election, but hopefully the reputation will carry into Transylvania County. I’ll be working Transylvania County very hard this year.”

During the rally Kidwell commended Maggie Valley aldermen Phillip and Tammy Wight as demonstrative of HFC principles locally, before issuing a slate of endorsements on the federal, state and county level. Judicial candidates Trey Allen and Richard Dietz (state Supreme Court) as well as Michael Stadig (N.C. Court of Appeals) earned nods from Kidwell, as did Rep. Ted

Budd (U.S. Senate) and Sen. Chuck Edwards (NC-11).

Kidwell asked the audience not only to donate to the HFC and to the individual campaigns, but also to work for their election.

“[In 2020], we lost the governor’s mansion,” he said. “I say this with all due respect, but if all you did was vote, that’s why we lost. If you didn’t pick up the phone and call a friend and say ‘go vote for Dan Forest’ … if you didn’t write ‘em a check for $10 or $15 or $20 or more, if you didn’t put a sign in your yard, if you didn’t put a sticker on your car — that’s part of the problem. We must push these candidates across the line.”

Haywood County voters will soon go to the polls to choose from among a slate of three Republicans and two Democrats to fill three seats on the Board of Commissioners. Currently, Republicans enjoy a 4-to-1 majority on the commission.

Longtime Democratic Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick seeks to retain his seat while fellow Democrat, Haywood County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Haynes, hopes to join him.

On the Republican side, incumbent Commissioner Jennifer Best led the five-way Primary Election ticket with 29% of the vote, followed closely by fellow Republican incumbent Tommy Long with 26%. Retired wrecker operator Terry Ramey, who’s run unsuccessfully for commission several times, finished a distant third but with just enough votes to advance to November.

Kidwell announced that the HFC would endorse Best and Ramey.

“If y’all feel like it’s gonna help you,” Kidwell said, “you can now say that you’re endorsed by the North Carolina House Freedom Caucus.”

Ramey thinks it will help him gain one of the three seats on commission.

“They check you out really good before they endorse you,” Ramey said. “And you heard what they said — they follow up, to hold your feet to the fire.”

Best told SMN July 8 that she was pleased and excited to receive the endorsement.

“My perception of what they believe is they want to safeguard constitutional rights, so it’s nice to be recognized for the work that we do as elected officials,” Best said. “Not all endorsements are good endorsements, but I think their agenda is similar to mine, for sure.”

Not mentioned by Kidwell was Tommy Long.

Pless, who served on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners for two years with Long before winning election to the House in 2020, said it wasn’t about anything Long had or hadn’t done, but rather that he hadn’t been able to speak with him.

“Nothing’s wrong with Tommy,” Pless said. “I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him. These folks [Best and Ramey] had told me that they were okay with being endorsed. There’s no way I would throw Tommy out there until I had a chance to talk to him.”

Long was at a church function during the event.

“I don’t take it personally,” he said. “I don’t know those folks and they don’t know me.”

Ingles Nutrition Notes

written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath

SPOTTING FAD DIETS

Frequently I get asked what I think about diet books and fad diets. Since there are so many fad diets, here are tools and questions so you can decide for yourself whether this is a sustainable way of eating.

1. Who created the diet or wrote the diet book? What education and credentials in human nutrition or metabolism do they have?

There are educated and trained nutrition professionals like registered dietitians and individuals with a PhD in nutrition that are qualified to give nutrition advice. Most physicians have little/no training in nutrition.

2. What does the diet recommend? Is it highly restrictive and does it exclude entire food groups? Different food groups have different important nutrients and micronutrients. If one food group is eliminated where will those nutrients come from? If food groups are eliminated how sustainable is the diet in the long run?

3. What makes this way of eating different or special? What sort of claims are being made and how are they supported?

Is the diet or way of eating backed by scientific research or is it based on anecdotes and testimonials?

4. Are they selling a specific brand of supplements? Recommending unproven tests (not reimbursable by insurance) that can only be done by a specific lab? These are both red flags of a diet that is not about making you healthy but about making money for someone else.

Bottom Line: Be a smart consumer and be skeptical about fad diets that aren’t sustainable. You may lose weight in the short term but the only thing you may lose long-term is time and money!

Clampitt calls for unification of Bryson City, Swain County emergency services

BY KYLE P ERROTTI

N EWS E DITOR

As towns and counties across Western North Carolina grow and attract more visitors, the services provided by those places must grow, as well.

Such is the impetus behind a push by Rep. Mike Clampitt, (R-Swain), to unify that county’s emergency services with Bryson City’s. In a May email from Clampitt to top county officials, including Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran, Bryson City Fire Chief Charles Bryson, Bryson City Town Manager Regina Mathis, County Manager Kevin King and County Commission Chairman Ben Bushyhead, Clampitt argued it is “imperative” that the best public safety can be provided at the “most affordable cost.”

In the email, Clampitt outlines some of the features that would be warranted in a new joint emergency response facility — basically a large new state-of-the art fire station — that could be used by both Bryson City and Swain County emergency response personnel, as well as anyone else that may be called in to deal with any given emergency, such as the forest service or the county rescue squad. Some features would include a decontamination area, offices, classrooms, emergency operations center, accommodations and a commercial kitchen capable of feeding not only firefighters but also incident command personnel. In the email, Clampitt estimated the cost to be between $3-5 million.

The cost, of course, will be the tricky part.

“This may sound extravagant, but in reality it is an investment in the future of our area,” Clampitt wrote.

In an interview with The Smoky Mountain News, Clampitt offered some specifics as to what he’d want to see. First, he spoke about a problem that exists statewide that has led to the decline of some emergency services agencies. There is simply less emphasis on their importance at the community

level, he said, highlighting not only a 20% decrease in donations to departments but also a reduction in the number of people who are willing and able to volunteer.

“We have less volunteerss available as a resource these days,” he said. “They don’t have the free time they used to have.”

Clampitt said it’s important to keep in mind that while the departments would have a unified approach and there would be one large emergency services facility, each fire department in Swain County would still keep their jurisdictions.

Clampitt was himself a career firefighter who retired as a captain with the Charlotte Fire Department and led a host of programs geared toward emergency services personnel at Piedmont Community College.

“I lived and breathed public safety,” he said.

Along with believing he has the right experience and credentials to make this argument, Clampitt mentioned several recent disasters in the region that have highlighted the importance of emergency services, from the 2016 wildfires to last summer’s catastrophic flooding in Haywood County. He even talked about a recent tornado that touched down in Swain County and caused some property damage.

“I never thought I’d see a tornado in Deep Creek, but that’s something we need to be ready for,” Clampitt said.

“With more people coming to the area, there’s also an increase in swift water rescues, and there are more cars and buses on the road,” he added. “There are 40,000 people here during the summer.”

If a large joint fire station were to be built like Clampitt hopes, the obvious question is, where will the money come from?

“As bad as I hate the word,” Clampitt said, “you can call it a fire tax. [Swain County’s] tax base isn’t high enough to fund that adequately on its own.”

Maggie codifies park rules

HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER

Disparate parks and recreation regulations in Maggie Valley will be codified under one ordinance if the board of aldermen accepts staff recommendation at its July 12 meeting.

“The whole goal of the new park rules is to provide a safer and more enjoyable park experience for our visitors,” said Town Manager Nathan Clark.

While the town does not have a parks and recreation department, it does have several parks throughout its jurisdiction. Previously, these parks were governed by a confederation of internal and external poli-

According to a post on Coates’ Canons from Kara Millonzi, a professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina School of Government, such a tax would apply to all real and personal property that is subject to the county’s general property taxes.

“Revenue generated from the services district tax is specifically earmarked to finance the fire services provided in this district,” the post reads.

To make that possible, county commissioners must call a referendum on approval of a property tax levy, which will put the proposal in front of voters. Clampitt estimated that would probably come during the 2024 General Election.

“Having a fire tax gives departments a baseline so they would not have to depend on the county,” Clampitt said.

“I can tell you I’ve researched this myself,” he added. “From Haywood County west,

Swain and Graham are the only counties that don’t have a fire or public safety tax for the departments.”

Clampitt is hosting a meeting on July 23 that he has invited local media, Swain County elected officials and people in local government and emergency services to. The meeting will be held at the Swain County Administration Building in Bryson City, and the public is also invited to attend. Those interested can RSVP by contacting DeAnne Mangum via email at DeAnne.Mangum@ncleg.gov by July 15.

Clampitt said he’s looking forward to hearing what folks think of the proposal.

“I’m holding the meeting so I can hear all the complaints and gripes,” he said with a chuckle. “But I’d like for everbody to approach this with an open mind and be receptive to future growth of Swain County and Bryson City and how emergency services can and does affect everyone’s personal lives.”

cies with different signage displayed at different parks. In order to make those regulations clearer, the town decided to codify the rules under one ordinance.

“On review of that, we thought that was probably not the best idea to continue to try to enforce rules and regulations in our parks,” said Clark. “We decided to codify those through an ordinance.”

Though there wasn’t a single instance that facilitated the move toward codifying parks and recreation regulations, increased park activity was a factor in the decision. With more people enjoying Maggie’s parks, the town has run into several instances of people breaking park rules. More people are

hanging around outside the permitted dawn-to-dusk hours, consuming alcohol on park property and leaving excessive trash. The town had to look at what resources it had available for enforcement of these rules.

“Formalizing those rules of operation is just one of the things on the town’s list that we’re trying to get a better handle on,” said Clark.

Codifying park regulations will also help Maggie’s police as they try to enforce permitted park uses by having one, official ordinance to cite when someone breaks the rules.

“They have a better idea of what they’re supposed to be doing as well as the public,” said Clark.

One park issue brought up during the July agenda setting meeting had to do with

people disposing of household trash at the town’s parks. Mayor Mike Eveland said he believed this was the doing of short-term rental guests in the valley who were supposed to go to the dump to dispose of their trash but instead disposed of it at the public parks. He said he experienced the same issue when running a hotel in the valley.

While the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds is technically a park, it will not be in the codification because things like camping, drinking and driving on the grounds are often permitted during special events.

The decision to codify Maggie Valley parks and recreation regulations was made with input from Police Chief Russ Gilliland and other staff. No board members expressed opposition to the proposal.

After landmark SCOTUS decisions, midterm elections carry heavy consequences

BY KYLE P ERROTTI

N EWS E DITOR

The United States Supreme Court shocked the world during its last term, issuing several rulings that had most conservatives cheering and liberals mournful over what they claim is a politicized judiciary.

But now that those rulings have been issued — with most returning more power to state legislatures to decide how they want to regulate things like abortion — the question in North Carolina becomes, what’s next?

The answer entirely depends on what happens in November’s midterm elections.

There’s little doubt that Republicans will maintain their majority in North Carolina’s General Assembly, but with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper possessing his ever-crucial veto power, the real prize for conservatives would be to secure a veto-proof supermajority.

According to a story from The Carolina Journal, to achieve that, Republicans would have to win eight of 13 Democrat-leaning House districts and two out of five Democratleaning Senate districts.

In addition, since any legislation based on the recent SCOTUS rulings is likely to be met with lawsuits, the makeup of the state Supreme Court is almost equally important. While Democrats currently hold a 4-3 advan-

tage on the court, the two seats up for election this year are currently held by Democrats. Many think it’s likely that at least one of those will go to a Republican, thus flipping the makeup of the court and making it more favorable to upholding laws passed by a conservative General Assembly.

Taken altogether, it seems that the 2022 midterm elections may end up being some of the most critical in quite some time for North Carolina.

A FORMER JUSTICE’S TAKE

Speaking to The Smoky Mountain News, Retired North Carolina Associate Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr shared his concerns with the recent SCOTUS rulings. He began by talking about Dobbs v. Jackson, the case SCOTUS used to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion.

“It was an extraordinarily activist decision in the way it was written … setting aside whether Roe and [Planned Parenthood v. Casey] were well reasoned decisions, setting aside personal policy decisions on reproductive rights, the decision literally said there is no protection under the federal Constitution against legislation that impacts

the personal healthcare decisions of citizens,” he said.

Orr discussed Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurrence on the Dobbs ruling, which he said included Thomas’ own “expansive perspective.” Orr called out the fact that Thomas made it clear he could use that ruling to

“I think it was unnecessary to reverse Roe, and not only reversing it but also completely gutting any federal protections under the line of cases that Roe was built on.”

— Bob Orr

potentially strip other rights, such as gay marriage.

In Chief Justice John Roberts’ concurrence, he attempted to get the conservative bloc on the court to take what Orr called a “more judicious approach” to the case that would have essentially ended with the same outcome without overturning Roe v. Wade itself.

“Both the Court’s opinion and the dissent display a relentless freedom from doubt on the legal issue that I cannot share,” he wrote, adding, “I am not sure, for example, that a ban on terminating a pregnancy from the moment of conception must be treated the same under the Constitution as a ban after fifteen weeks.”

“I would take a more measured course,” he also wrote. “If it is not necessary to decide more to dispose of a case, then it is necessary not to decide more.”

“[The other justices] didn’t do it,” Orr said. “They took an extremely expansive position which I think has to be truly alarming across the country. I think it was unnecessary to reverse Roe, and not only reversing it but also completely gutting any federal protections under the line of cases that Roe was built on.”

Orr said that the ruling points back to something he kept in mind the whole time he was on the North Carolina Supreme Court — basically, if rulings are too expansive, it’s hard to predict how they might be used down the road by justices who may have an agenda they’re working toward.

“I would tell my clerks we have to be

S EE SCOTUS, PAGE 8

extremely careful what we say, because 10 years from now, someone will pull this case, and if we didn’t mean what we said we were creating problems,” he said.

Orr lamented how the confirmation process for United States Supreme Court Justices has changed, noting that as it’s become more political, so too have the justices. In addition, at the state level, as races for the appellate and supreme courts have been more influenced by fundraising tied to political parties, the candidates have drifted farther and farther into that world.

“It potentially compromises integrity of the court,” Orr said. “You’re supposed to leave your politics at the courthouse door.”

Ultimately, Orr thinks the culmination of the court becoming more politicized has led the United States to a dangerous place. He used the recent Dobbs ruling as an example of how decisions are more “results oriented” instead of based on the application of the law as it’s interpreted.

“I think Thomas is at the point where he’s got the most conservative group of colleagues that he’s had in his 30-plus years on the court, and he is hellbent in whatever time he has left to completely undermine positions that he disagrees with,” Orr said.

Orr added that he believed the perfect example is the Dobbs case, as Thomas and the other four justices who agreed with him were simply looking for a case they could use to overturn Roe and eliminate a person’s constitutionally guaranteed right to an abortion.

“I think other than Roberts, the other five in the majority on Dobbs, they were going to reverse Roe come hell or high water,” Orr said.

‘THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE’

In a story from WRAL it is reported that Gov. Roy Cooper was on a call with several other Democratic governors and President Joe Biden, during which reproductive rights were the main topic of conversation.

“That Constitutional right that women have relied on for [nearly] five decades has been ripped away,” Cooper said. “For now, at least, where you live will determine your rights.”

Cooper said the state has already seen an influx of patients for care, adding that Planned Parenthood, the nonprofit reproductive health care group, told him that about one-third of women who visited the organization in recent days in North Carolina have been from other states.

“Right now, governors are the last line of defense, and they’re also the first chance at progress,” Cooper said.

Following that meeting, on July 6, Cooper signed an executive order that takes steps to protect people who come to North Carolina from a more restrictive state to seek a safe abortion.

“The Supreme Court ripped away the constitutional right to reproductive freedom that women have relied on for five decades,”

Governor Cooper said in a press release. “For now, it’s up to the states to determine whether women get reproductive health care, and in North Carolina they still can, thanks to

my veto and enough legislative votes to sustain it. I am determined to keep it that way and people need to know that their votes in state legislative races this November will determine the fate of womens’ health and freedom in our state.”

WHAT LEGISLATORS SAY

Should Republicans be able to gain enough seats to exact their will and override vetoes, the question is what will their main focus be?

Chris Cooper, who heads up Western Carolina University’s political science program, said he sees a few issues that are most likely to draw the legislature’s attention. Cooper said that restricting abortion rights and stripping certain regulatory agencies of their power (based on the SCOTUS ruling in West Virginia v. EPA) may be near the top of the list. Most importantly, Cooper highlighted the importance of SCOTUS using the recent slew of cases to reaffirm the power of the states.

“It was sort of the opposite of what you’d think,” he said. “It’s the federal courts weighing and saying it’s states that matter.”

And that’s something Republicans in the state have rejoiced in, and it’s also brought into even sharper focus their desire to pick up more seats.

While Reps. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain) and Gillespie (R-Macon) wouldn’t comment on what legislation they’d possibly want to see,

“If we don’t get elected, we can’t do the good of the people. It’s a fine line to draw since some districts are going to be competitive.”

— Rep. Bobby Hanig

Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) told SMN he believes his constituents would most want to see their Second Amendment protections strengthened (based on the SCOTUS ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen).

“That’s something that’s been attacked over and over,” Pless said, adding that he also understands many want to see a state law that would restrict abortion access in the state.

However, Pless was also quick to point out that crafting quality legislation that holds up in court isn’t something to be taken lightly. And beyond that, it has to be something that doesn’t end the way HB-2 did with North Carolina suffering hefty economic consequences as businesses and events that would normally bring in a lot of money boycotted the state.

“That was a nightmare,” Pless said. “There were some good things in that, but that’s something that was advanced before it was ready.”

“I know we’re expected to make decisions on the important things that are important to people,” he added. “I don’t want anyone to

think it’s rushed, and I don’t want anyone to think we’re just throwing things out there with or without the supermajority.”

Even if there are Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate, it shouldn’t be assumed that the representatives are always on the same page just because they’re in the same party. At an event last week in Maggie Valley, N.C. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort) made a point of saying that group isn’t afraid to stand up to Republican House leadership to do what they think is right. Kidwell and Vice Chairman Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck), who also attended that rally, were more candid about their desire to see certain issues addressed on the heels of the SCOTUS rulings.

“We do know the Freedom Caucus is gonna be pushing very hard for pro-life legislation, second amendment legislation, election reform, education reform, the things that we’ve been wanting to do that we could not do because we did not have the supermajority,” Kidwell said. “Because we’re going to get that in November.”

While Kidwell and Hanig talked about their goals in a broader sense, they wouldn’t go as far as talking about specifics of potential legislation. Although Kidwell said the drafting process for some bills has already begun and HFC members will be split into “working groups” to analyze certain issues and potential legislation, they don’t want to tip their hand in a way that may give Democrats seeking to hold off a supermajority the upper hand in critical races.

“If we don’t get elected, we can’t do the good of the people,” Hanig said. “It’s a fine line to draw since some districts are going to be competitive.”

Hanig also said that people likely won’t see several large, impactful bills drop all at once come early next year when the legislature reconvenes for a full session.

“You can’t do it all at once, because then you don’t have anything to show at the end,” Hanig said. “We’re gonna space it out over a

year. Whatever the top three or five biggest issues of the day are, that’s where we’re gonna start.”

No matter how the 2022 elections pan out and no matter what legislation may be on the horizon, Kidwell said he was happy to see the Supreme Court acting so boldly.

“I think above Roe v. Wade, above the Second Amendment ruling, above the EPA ruling, is the fact that what those all said to me is the Supreme Court is back in the 10th Amendment business,” he said. “They’re throwing back to the states and letting the states run themselves.”

When asked what legislation Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) would like to see passed based on the SCOTUS decisions, he talked about the potential for a voter ID law, which passed a state constitutional amendment vote 2016.

“The decision they made in regard to voter ID is extremely important,” Corbin said. “We put it on the ballot, and close to 70% of public voted for voter ID. We crafted some legislation which was extremely welcoming to all kinds of IDs — student ID, military ID, driver’s license — and the bill funded the machines that go into driver’s license offices that can allow someone to get a nondriver’s-license photo ID free of charge.”

That legislation was passed, but the North Carolina Supreme Court determined it was unconstitutional before SCOTUS, on an 8-1 decision, overturned that ruling.

Like his Republican allies, Corbin was confident in getting a supermajority in the House and Senate.

“I think it’s definitely looks favorable for a supermajority,” he said. “From what we’re hearing out there and with polling, it’s indicating folks will vote that way.”

Folks on the other side of the aisle have expressed concern with the rulings. Rep. Brian Turner (D-Buncombe), who announced last November this will be his last term in the house, didn’t mince words when saying he thought abortion rights would be

the first item in Republican crosshairs.

“I think they’re going to be emboldened by the Dobbs decision,” Turner said. “But they obviously know that women making their own health choices is extremely popular, so they won’t want to do anything until after the election,” he said. “We’ve had a number of heartbeat bills filed over the years. That’s what they’ve shown they want to do.”

However, Turner is skeptical that limiting gun control in North Carolina is as likely given the current climate.

“We seem to be in a pattern where a shooting happens pretty regularly, so I don’t know if further loosening of gun regulations is something that’d get traction,” he said.

Turner agreed with the Republicans interviewed for this story that in such a competitive election cycle they shouldn’t talk too much about specific legislation that could either deter their own voters or drive Democratic turnout.

“They don’t want some of their more competitive seats to get dragged into that,” he said.

While Republicans were confident in saying they think they’ll get supermajorities in both the House and Senate, Turner was optimistic that wouldn’t happen.

“If candidates do the work they need to do and people get out and vote then there will not be a supermajority, at least in the House, and Gov. Cooper’s vetoes will be upheld,” he said.

THE FUTURE OF ELECTIONS

While SCOTUS’ recent wave of monumental decisions created a lot of energy across the political spectrum, one of the most important announcements was that the court will hear Moore v. Harper.

As described by SCOTUSblog, Moore v. Harper centers on “Whether a state’s judicial branch may nullify the regulations governing the ‘Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives ... prescribed ... by the Legislature thereof,’ and replace them with regulations of the state courts’ own devising, based on vague state constitutional provisions purportedly vesting the state judiciary with power to prescribe whatever rules it deems appropriate to ensure a ‘fair’ or ‘free’ election.”

Essentially, it could give power over things such as federal redistricting to the legislature while stripping the state Supreme Court of the ability to weigh in, as it did last year when it appointed three special masters to draw new maps that were later approved by a three-judge panel.

“It’s saying that the fact that the original maps were challenged is violating the North Carolina Constitution, and it goes to supreme Court of North Carolina, which said, ‘yes it violated Constitution,” said Orr, who was one of the three special masters. “Now the U.S. Supreme Court is going to hear it.”

If the court decides with Moore, thus overturning the state supreme court ruling, it could open the door for any number of election reform bills from the General Assembly, and little to no oversight would be available from the courts.

“On the one hand, it’s a pretty narrow

issue in the North Carolina case, but how you write it and what you say is potentially maybe the single most important decision to come out of the court,” Orr said. “If you take the full-blown scope … that anything to do with elections or redistricting, the legislature is supreme and the state courts have no authority to hold them accountable, even if they feel what they did violates the Constitution, that would be a staggering change to American democracy.”

Rep. Allison Dahle (D-Wake) is the Vice Chair of the House Committee on Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform. Predictably, Dahle had concerns over SCOTUS’ decision to hear Moore v. Harper.

Dahle said the General Assembly could

“Who is elected this fall is going to make a big difference moving forward. It’s very important you go out and vote.”

— Sen. Kevin Corbin

attempt to pass laws that would further gerrymander the state’s congressional districts. While she admitted that when Democrats were in power, they engaged in gerrymandering, the situation has become more dire as new technology has emerged that makes it easy to finely tune districts to the point that it disenfranchises more voters than ever before — people who simply believe their votes won’t matter.

That’s why she doesn’t want a partisan legislature to have total control over that process.

“The more power the legislature gets, the more it’s in the hands of the party in control,” she said. “That’s what’s terrifying and why the courts have to be involved, because we have to have someone who is sworn to be nonpartisan. Until we put voting back in the hands of the people, we’ve got to rely on something.”

While Dahle also expressed concerns about the increasingly partisan nature of the courts, there is one system she seems to still have full faith in. Dahle said that with everything she’s seen, she still believes the state’s election system is intact, functional and fair.

“The people who work for election boards are another breed of responsible,” she said.

“They want people to vote, and they want people to feel as though their vote is counted. I do not feel that we should fear when we place our vote that the vote isn’t being counted. There are thieves and people who are dishonest all over this entire world. Do I think what happened in Bladen County could possibly happen somewhere else? Sure. Do I think we’re looking for that kind of thing? Yeah, those things could still happen, but I don’t think they’re the norm.”

GET OUT AND VOTE

Dahle proudly stated that she’s always been an advocate for everyone to vote, no matter their party or belief system.

“I understand how to advocate for voting because I feel so strongly that everyone should have that right to vote and that everyone should utilize that right,” she said. “In every speech I ever give, when someone asks what they should do, I say, ‘vote, and get your friends to vote.’”

The other legislators interviewed for this story shared a similar sentiment. Corbin said it’s important to look up and down the ballot and consider which candidates stand for which values.

“There’s going to be a lot of things on the ballot this fall that aren’t actually printed on the ballot,” Corbin said. “Who is elected this fall is going to make a big difference moving forward. It’s very important you go out and vote.”

“I can tell you conservatives are energized for this fall,” he added.

While Dahle acknowledged that many people may feel like their vote won’t matter in bigger races, she wanted to highlight how important it is to get out and participate in deciding who will represent them more locally.

“City and county, those places impact us probably more than the state elections impacts us,” she said. “If we don’t go and vote for those things, if we feel disenfranchised because our state legislator is not who we want, we can still impact change further down.”

Along those same lines, Chris Cooper noted that while midterms tend to have a less impressive turnout than presidential election cycles, in a sense, that means each vote may

have a bigger impact.

“If your pool is smaller, your rock makes a bigger splash,” he said.

And that principle doesn’t just apply to voting — it also applies to fundraising. Donations go much further in those smaller races.

“Let’s say you want to give money to a candidate,” Cooper said. “If you give money to Ted Budd or Cheri Beasley, it’s barely recognizable in the long run. If you give money to Mike Clampitt or Al Platt (Clampitt’s Democratic opponent this November), your $100 might mean something more from a smart investment perspective.”

For his part, Orr talked about the importance of the state Supreme Court races.

“If some of these laws are enacted, somebody will take them to court, and it may make it to the state Supreme Court,” Orr said. “The judiciary was created to make the independent tough decisions on how laws are interpreted and applied a whether they conform to the constitutional limitations that are imposed. If you undermine the judiciary, you undermine the very fundamentals of democracy.”

If one of the two Republicans running for Supreme Court seats wins it would shift the balance of the court to favor that party.

“If you’re concerned about your rights in this state under the North Carolina Constitution, your ultimate protection of those rights is the Supreme Court,” Orr said. “So, who sits on the Supreme Court and how they interpret unenumerated rights and their application is critically important.”

Legislation provides some assistance to school nutrition departments

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER

After passing in Congress, President Biden signed the Keep the Kids Fed Act on June 23, partially extending school meal flexibilities just days before they were set to expire.

Along with waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture, these flexibilities helped school nutrition programs provide meals throughout the pandemic and will now ease some of the difficulties associated with inflation and supply chain struggles.

“The Keep Kids Fed Act provides critical aid to school nutrition professionals confronting a continued onslaught of challenges in their effort to ensure students are nourished and ready to learn,” said School Nutrition Association President Beth Wallace. “Supply chain breakdowns, skyrocketing costs and severe labor shortages, expected to persist well into next school year, have prevented school meal programs from returning to normal operations.”

Three abnormal school years due to the Coronavirus Pandemic meant that school nutrition programs could offer free breakfast and lunch for all public-school students. During these years the USDA also provided a higher reimbursement to school nutrition programs for every meal served and flexibility for normal meal requirements. All those assistance measures were set to expire at the end of June.

In a letter to North Carolina senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, State Superintendent Catherina Truitt said “the loss of these waivers will devastate school meal programs and threaten their sustainability. School meals will be jeopardized for thousands of North Carolina students who depend upon them as their primary source of food during the week.”

With the passage of the Keep the Kids Fed Act, congress approved an extension of the summer meal program and supply chain flexibility allowances, as well as increase the USDA reimbursement for each school meal served. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (RHenderson) voted against the bill.

The legislation that would have extended free breakfasts and lunches for all students did not make it out of the Senate, so schools will return to the model in which, depending on income, families pay for school meals, or are granted free or reduced-price lunch.

“It’s important that parents understand that they need to fill out those applications,”

said Macon County Schools Superintendent Chris Baldwin during a May Board of Education meeting.

The new legislation extends meal waivers throughout the summer allowing school nutrition programs to offer free grab and go meals to all families. Prior to the pandemic, summer meal service could only be offered in areas where 50% of students were qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

The bill also increases the reimbursement amount USDA pays to school nutrition programs for each meal served, intended to help offset school nutrition program costs.

Reimbursement rates during pre-pandemic school years were much lower than the amount funded during the pandemic. While the increase in reimbursement does not reach levels of the pandemic years, the USDA can now offer $.40 more for lunch and $.15 more for breakfast than the last pre-pandemic school year.

“This is helpful but still not enough to cover our costs,” said Allison Francis, school nutrition director for Haywood County Schools.

Because reimbursements, in addition to the money families pay for school lunches, do not cover the costs it takes to produce school meals, nutrition departments usually make up some of the difference by selling snacks and other supplemental items.

Grants available for nonprofits in Western North Carolina

Community grant opportunities are available to nonprofit organizations serving Western North Carolina from affiliates of the North Carolina Community Foundation.  Grants are available from the:

• Eastern Band of Cherokees Community Foundation,

months where it was very difficult to source paper products, lunch trays, to-go boxes, cups, et cetera,” said Francis. “We made do and found other avenues for products but at a much higher price.”

Western North Carolina schools were not alone in this predicament. According to the School Nutrition Association, 98% of schools reported shortages in menu items, supplies and packaging and items being discontinued.

“Most of the paper products have doubled in price while we have seen about a 30% increase in food prices,” said Francis.

An additional strain on school nutrition departments in North Carolina is the rise in labor costs. State mandated increases to $15 an hour must be paid for by each school system’s nutrition department.

“Our employees are getting a very welldeserved raise to $15 an hour this year,” said Francis. “And while we are considered state employees, the state does not give my program funds to pay for that. So the money that we receive from school lunch and USDA reimbursements has to cover the costs of the food, the labor, any equipment purchased, everything that we do.”

The bill also makes allowances for school systems that may have a hard time obtaining certain food items due to supply chain disruptions. Prior to the pandemic, school nutrition departments had to meet strict guidelines for what they could serve students. Meals must be made up of certain food groups. While these guidelines are still in place, they have become more malleable as the supply chain issues made it difficult to obtain certain foods.

“If we are not able to get a certain product that is required to be served as part of a meal due to the supply chain, we would not be fined for not meeting the meal pattern, as long as we have documentation that it is a supply chain issue,” said Francis. “For example, if we were not able to get milk and had to substitute juice or water in its place. This has not been a big issue for us. While we may not be able to get the exact item that we’ve menued, our distributor substituted a similar item in its place.”

Part of the flexibility also allows schools to serve meals outside of the previously required congregate settings, like a cafeteria or a park. During the pandemic, when students were learning from home, this was a vital aspect of keeping kids fed — allowing families to pick meals up and take them to go. Here, schools ran into another issue.

“We went through a stretch of about six

for nonprofits serving tribal members in Swain, Jackson, Cherokee, Graham and Haywood counties.

• Haywood County Community Foundation, for nonprofits serving Haywood County.

• Jackson County Community Foundation, for nonprofits serving Jackson County, with special consideration being given to organizations that address family food insecurity, youth behavior and safety, and substance abuse issues.

School nutrition departments generally see a net loss every year, but according to Francis that loss has grown exponentially over the last several years. Based on last year’s figures, the school nutrition department loses between $.45 and $.65 per meal, and Francis expects that number to increase again this year.

At its July 11 meeting, Haywood County School Board members discussed funding sources to make up the loss incurred by its school nutrition program. Bobby Rogers suggested county funding. Ronnie Clark, chairman of the finance committee, asked Francis to come to the next board meeting with an amount the school system would need to pay in order to offset the rise in school meal prices for the coming school year. Schools throughout the Smoky Mountain News coverage area are increasing school meal prices in the coming school year.

“I would suggest, seek out the free and reduced lunch application process, and work through that, and if you qualify then that’s great, and if not, I’m sorry,” said Haywood School Board Chairman Chuck Francis.

The application for free and reduced lunch for the coming year opened July 1, families can apply at lunchapplication.com.

In a bid to help students in the return to the paid model of school meal service, the North Carolina legislature provided funds to pay students’ co-pay for the reduced-price meals at school. This means families who qualify for reduced-price meals will not have to pay the $.30 for breakfast and $.40 for lunch like they normally would in the coming school year.

• Macon County Community Foundation, for nonprofits serving Macon County.

• Madison County Community Foundation, for nonprofits serving Madison County. Applications will be accepted until noon on Aug. 9. Funds are awarded by the board of advisors of each affiliate. Visit nccommunityfoundation.org for information about applying.

NORTH CAROLINA’S International Festival

July 28 Kickoff Fundraising Gala and “SummerFeast” Dinner

July 29 Folkmoot Friendship Center Live Ticketed Events ~ 2pm & 7pm

July 30 Folkmoot Summerfest International Day Street Festival Downtown Waynesville ~ 10am-5pm

July 30 Maggie Valley Festival Grounds Live Ticketed Event ~ 7pm

July 31 Maggie Valley Festival Grounds Live Ticketed Event ~ 2pm

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The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians United States

Voter fraud allegations move forward in Lake Santeetlah

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT

P OLITICS E DITOR

In a preliminary hearing, the Graham County Board of Elections has found that there is probable cause to believe that eight people who registered to vote in the tiny municipality of Lake Santeetlah, including sitting councilmember Tina Emerson, do not actually reside at addresses they provided to elections officials.

“This was the first step in the process, the preliminary hearing where the board looked at the evidence that my client presented to determine whether there was probable cause that the voters that are being challenged don’t reside within the county,” said John Noor, an Asheville attorney representing Lake Santeetlah Councilmember Diana Simon.

“Today, the board decided that that probable cause was present, and we’ll soon be scheduling a hearing to determine whether they’re actually residents of Graham County or not.”

The challenges came as the result of a most unusual municipal election on Nov. 2, 2021.

Whereas previous elections saw fewer than 80 votes cast, the most recent election saw 130 and resulted in the ouster of three councilmembers, all of whom pushed for and ultimately completed updates to the lakeside resort town’s outdated zoning policies.

Then-Mayor Jim Hager and incumbent Councilmember Simon retained council seats, but became a minority as Tina Emerson, Constance Gross and Ralph Mitchell all earned 14 votes — good enough for a majority of seats on the five-person council. Gross was nominated to serve as mayor, despite finishing far behind Simon’s 22 votes.

On Feb. 15, at the behest of Emerson, the town reduced the room occupancy tax rate to zero — in essence defunding the Tourism Development Authority chaired by Simon.

Emerson operates a short-term vacation rental at the lake.

Since their election, the Emerson-GrossMitchell faction of the council has also cut lake water testing, slashed kudzu removal, defunded the zoning administrator and proposed abolishment of the town’s zoning code.

During a May 26 public meeting, residents overwhelmingly opposed the proposal.

A community survey issued by the planning board in late 2019 as part of the comprehensive planning process asked residents to choose the town’s three greatest weaknesses. The survey received input from more than 50% of town residents. The greatest weakness, according to respondents, was Jack Gross — now-Mayor Constance Gross’ husband. Constance Gross and Tina Emerson also received votes, while no other person was mentioned by name.

Simon filed election challenges at the time, but they were dismissed without consideration of the merits due to alleged paperwork and deadline errors.

On June 1, Simon filed new challenges against eight voters, which resulted in the July 7 preliminary hearing in Robbinsville. Filing fraudulent voter challenges is a felony.

At the outset of the preliminary hearing, which lasted more than three hours, Graham County BOE attorney Bill Cannon laid out the ground rules.

“If the evidence presented by the challenger is sufficient for a reasonable and prudent person to believe that the challenged voter is ineligible, it doesn’t mean your belief is necessarily correct, or [that] it’s more likely true than false — at this stage of a preliminary hearing, a probability of ineligibility is sufficient,” Cannon said. “And if you find probable cause to believe that the voter is ineligible, then you would schedule a full evidentiary hearing to hear all evidence that would be presented by the challenger and the voters.”

Noor took the board through the eight separate challenges, one by one. The first six were lodged against Buncombe County veterinarian Dean Hutsell, his wife Linda and their four college-age daughters, Amelia, Kaylee, Olivia and Savannah.

All six Hutsells registered to vote at Lake Santeetlah on Sept. 28, 2021, shortly before the Nov. 2 election, at a three-bedroom house owned by Dean and Linda.

That house burned down in 2019, still hasn’t been rebuilt and still hasn’t received a certificate of occupancy from the county.

Social media and Linkedin evidence presented by Noor in written complaints he filed June 1 and presented during the July 7 hearing shows all four daughters claiming residency elsewhere — Indianapolis, Raleigh and at a home owned by Dean and Linda in Buncombe County.

Additional evidence included voter records of the family, all of whom voted exclusively in Buncombe County prior to changing their registrations. Dean Hutsell’s veterinary license is linked to a Buncombe County address, as is his vehicle registration and the tax bill for their Lake Santeetlah property.

Graham BOE members Lowell Crisp, Billy Dittmore, Teresa Eller, and Keith “Beefy” Rogers, led by board chair Juanita Colvard, unanimously found that the challenges were properly filed and that there was probable cause to suspect improper registration.

At one time or another during the hearing, each member of the BOE save board Chair Colvard either made a motion or seconded a motion to that effect.

Graham BOE Chair

Colvard said at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing that she didn’t know when the next round of hearings would be scheduled, but that they would likely take place in the next 3 months.

The second set of challenges focused on the Emersons, Jack and Tina, who list a Mecklenburg County address on multiple documents including tax bills.

Simon took the extra step of photographing the Emersons’ Lake Santeetlah property on Thunderbird Trail on 76 separate occasions. Only once, Simon testified, did she see anyone at the property.

Hager, a current councilmember and former mayor, was also called to testify to the photographs, some of which he took.

Board members had some minor questions about the photographs, but an additional measure taken by Simon strongly suggested that just like the Hutsells, the Emersons may not be properly registered voters.

Under NCGS 163-85(e), “The presentation of a letter mailed by returnable first-class mail to the voter at the address listed on the voter registration card and returned because the person does not live at the address shall constitute prima facie evidence that the person no longer resides in the precinct.”

Simon mailed identical registered letters to the Emersons’ Lake Santeetlah address, as well as their Mecklenburg County address. The Lake Santeetlah letter was returned as undeliverable. The Mecklenburg one wasn’t.

Further testimony provided by Simon suggests that Tina Emerson switched her registration from Mecklenburg County to

Graham County because she was allegedly running a “stealth” write-in campaign. Under oath, Hager concurred.

Board of Elections members Crisp and Dittmore made the motion to find probable cause of improper registration by John Emerson. Crisp and Eller made the same motion for Tina Emerson. Both votes were unanimous.

Now, the proceedings will move to a different stage. During the probable cause hearing, the challenged voters didn’t get to present their own evidence or cross-examine other witnesses, but in the next hearing, they’ll have that opportunity.

“The board will talk with the different parties that are involved, trying to find a date that works for everyone and then set a hearing date. My guess is that they will be back-toback, multiple days, unlike the very truncated version of the hearings that were today,”

Noor told The Smoky Mountain News after the preliminary hearing’s conclusion. “These will be opportunities for additional evidence to be presented, cross-examination and evidence to be presented by the people who were challenged. Those could take a day, they could take multiple days. It kind of depends on how much evidence relates to each challenged voter.”

If that hearing goes the way Simon and Noor want it to, the Hutsells and the Emersons will be purged from the Graham County voter rolls and could be referred to the district attorney for felony voter registration fraud charges. They could also be held responsible for a separate set of felony charges related to voting.

“If someone was improperly registered under North Carolina law, meaning they’re not a resident of the county, and they voted in an election in the county, that could trigger an investigation from the State Board of Elections or another law enforcement agency as to whether someone’s committed voter fraud,” Noor said. “But that’s not what was before the board today. This was just whether people were properly registered or not.”

State records show all six Hutsells voted in the disputed Nov. 2 Lake Santeetlah municipal election. Tina and Jack Emerson also voted in the disputed Nov. 2 Lake Santeetlah municipal election. On the day of the preliminary hearing, Tina Emerson also voted in the ongoing Graham County runoff election.

Graham BOE Chair Colvard said at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing that she didn’t know when the next round of hearings would be scheduled, but that they would likely take place in the next 3 months.

The result of the preliminary hearing may or may not presage the results of the forthcoming evidentiary hearing.

If Tina Emerson is ultimately found to have been improperly registered, she’d be removed from council. However, for now, the board will continue to be seated as elected in the Nov. 2, 2021 municipal election, with the issue of the zoning code still unresolved.

The next meeting of the Lake Santeetlah town council is scheduled for July 14.

Tina Emerson and Dean Hutsell did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

The Open Door’s Second Season

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT

P OLITICS E DITOR

When the Open Door closed in Frog Level earlier this year, Long’s Chapel Pastor Chris Westmoreland promised a rebirth, looking forward to the food ministry’s next 25 years.

into the process of assisting the people in this county,” said Lantz Reppert, a Long’s Chapel volunteer who’s been working on that rebirth. “There’s a lot of people that need help.”

Concerns about vagrancy and litter levelled by residents made the Open Door’s closing not entirely unwelcome to some business owners.

cities continue to develop.”

Built in 1960, the Boundary Street structure contains 6,200 square feet accessible by five garage doors. To the north and west, it’s bounded by Haywood Builders Supply.

On Monday, volunteers moved the last of the kitchen equipment into a new space on Boundary Street that will give the Open Door its second season.

“We’re anxious to get going and get back

The Open Door itself needed that help — after more than 25 years in Frog Level, it was the largest distributor for MANNA FoodBank west of Asheville and served an average of 1,200 hot meals a month, for free, from its location on Commerce Street. More than 8 tons of groceries moved through the building last December.

In January, Westmoreland announced that the Open Door, along with its adjoining social enterprise, Second Blessing Thrift Store, would soon close.

“The reason we lost our lease was because of some of the issues that popped up from our clients, you know, that merchants and people in the area didn’t like,” Reppert said.

With food insecurity still a major problem in Haywood County, the ministry looked for the perfect space to set up shop — and found one.

“It was all part of a combined solution,” said Mark Hubble, CEO of Kituwah LLC. “We had purchased some of the buildings across the street and leased them back to Southern Concrete so we were familiar with the area. We knew this parcel was coming available but we didn’t want to buy it without a solution in place.”

The parcel, more than half an acre, was purchased by Kituwah LLC in May of this year for $450,000.

Kituwah LLC is the native-owned economic development arm of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

“Waynesville is one of a couple markets that we are looking at, obviously Sevierville and Ashville as well,” Hubble said. “What they have in common is they’re all growing areas. Some of the specific areas we looked at have long-term growth potential as these

Called “Second Season,” the new facility will enable the ministry to execute its core mission — taking care of some of Haywood County’s most vulnerable residents — without disturbing Frog Level merchants and visitors.

“We put caveats into our lease to try to alleviate those concerns,” Hubble said, noting that hot meal service can’t be conducted at the Second Season.

“We will have what we’re going to call a ‘walkthrough food pantry,’” said Reppert. “People in need can come park their car, come into the store and we will have items on display and refrigerators and freezers with food. A lot of it comes from MANNA and people will be able to select the things that they want.”

The thrift store, which had contributed revenue to the operation of the Open Door, will also resume operations at the new location.

“The old Second Blessing was a money maker,” Reppert said. “That money went towards supporting our kitchen and since we don’t have a kitchen at least at this point, it will go towards supporting the food that we have in our store and getting the things we need.”

Reppert said he didn’t have a timeline for the facility’s opening, citing the need for minor building modifications.

It’s time to throw in a towel…

Decision reached to name permanent Macon Middle School Principal

Mark Sutton will continue in his role as principal of Macon County Middle School after taking the position late last school year when previous principal, Dr. Kevin Bailey, resigned from the post.

Bailey was suspended with pay from his role as principal at Macon County Middle School in April. The school system has not released any information regarding the reason for the principal’s suspension. An email to staff at Macon County Middle School did confirm that Sutton, previously principal at Macon Early College, began serving the students and staff as interim Macon Middle principal on Monday, April 18.

Bailey was hired at Macon Middle in July of 2021. He’d previously worked in Jackson County Schools as executive director of human resources. Prior to that he spent sev-

Five convicted in Haywood drug trafficking case

State assistant district attorneys in Haywood County Superior Court last week successfully prosecuted five residents for trafficking illegal drugs. Collectively, the defendants will spend a total minimum of 350 months in prison.

“I believe putting these five drug dealers behind bars serves as a make-no-mistakeabout-it warning to traffickers that we are committed to ensuring the safety of our communities,” District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.

“In addition to rooting out drug traffickers, we also know there is an equally pressing need for resources and support for those battling substance-abuse issues.”

The five defendants prosecuted last week were:

• Jason Keith Ashe, 34, of Waynesville, pleaded guilty to trafficking in methamphetamine. He received a minimum prison sentence of 70 months up to a maximum sentence of 93 months.

• Crystalyn Newberry Jackson, 43, of Waynesville, pleaded guilty to trafficking in opiates/heroin. She received a minimum prison sentence of 70 months up to a maximum sentence of 93 months.

• Julie Ledford, 40, of Canton, pleaded guilty to trafficking in methamphetamine. She received a minimum prison sentence of 70 months up to a maximum sentence of 93 months.

• Brian Keith Leming, 39, of Waynesville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to trafficking in methamphetamine. He received a minimum prison sentence of 70 months up to a maximum sentence of 93 months.

• Timothy Alfred Sweat, 34, of Canton, pleaded guilty to trafficking in opiates. He received a minimum prison sentence of 70 months up to a maximum sentence of 93 months.

eral years as a classroom teacher and an assistant principal.

Bailey’s letter of resignation is dated April 29 and indicated his resignation would become official June 30.

“Please be advised that this letter serves as my official notification of my resignation effective June 30, 2022. I have enjoyed working for Macon County Schools and I appreciate the opportunity. Best wishes in the future,” said Bailey in his letter of resignation.

Sutton’s appointment was made official at the June 30 Macon County Schools Board of Education meeting. Sutton previously worked as assistant principal at Macon Middle School, principal at Mountain View Intermediate School and principal at Macon Early College.

— Hannah McLeod, Staff Writer

Assistant district attorneys Jeff Jones and Kate Robinette prosecuted the cases. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Bradley B. Letts presided in court. Haywood County Sheriff’s Office made the arrests and handled the investigations.

Applicants sought for Maggie Valley Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustments

The Haywood County Board of County Commissioners continues to seek applicants for the Maggie Valley Planning Board and the Maggie Valley zoning board of adjustments. The Maggie Valley planning board has two vacancies, and the Maggie Valley zoning board of adjustments has one vacancy. All three vacancies are for representatives from the extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of the Town of Maggie Valley.

For more information about these two boards, visit

haywoodcountync.gov/266/Maggie-ValleyPlanning-Board and www.haywoodcountync.gov/289/Maggie-Valley-Zoning-Board.

Application forms may be downloaded from the “How Do I…Submit Volunteer Board or Committee Application” section of the county website haywoodcountync.gov/9/How-Do-I or picked up from the County Manager’s office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Haywood County Courthouse, third floor, 215 North Main St., Waynesville.

Completed applications may be returned to the county manager’s office or attached to an email to Amy Stevens, deputy clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, at amy.stevens@haywoodcountync.gov.

The positions are open until filled. For more information, contact the county manager’s office at 828.452.6625.

New Waynesville planning board taking shape

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT P OLITICS E DITOR

Increasingly, the Town of Waynesville’s planning board has found itself at the crossroads of preservation and development as housing market pressures weigh upon the pastoral setting that drew many residents to move to Haywood County in the first place.

Waynesville’s aldermen are now taking extra steps to ensure that four open seats on the planning board are filled with residents who will be able to keep meetings from becoming chaotic and make decisions in the best interest of the community as a whole.

“There’s lots of changes that are coming through and lots of decisions that have been made, and I want to make sure that we continue on a progressive path for the planning board,” said Alderman Anthony Sutton, who was a planning board member for four years before becoming an alderman in 2019. “They’ll be making lots of decisions about changes to land use and development that are coming to the board [of aldermen].”

About a year ago, aldermen decided to conduct interviews for all applicants to statutorily mandated boards — the alcoholic beverage commission, planning board, Waynesville housing authority and the board of adjustment.

On June 30, the terms of three members of the planning board expired — Michael Blackburn, Marty Prevost and Don McGowan. Adding in Gregory Wheeler’s recent resignation, that leaves four open slots.

Blackburn and McGowan have reapplied, Prevost has not; however, seven others interested in serving have all submitted applications to aldermen, who will end up recommending four people for appointment.

Blackburn has worked at the First United Methodist Church in Waynesville since 2005 and is a 1990 graduate of Tuscola High School. He says he’s hired many people in town over the years, and understands the housing situation.

Like Blackburn, McGowan helped steer the town though development of its most recent comprehensive plan. Per his application, McGowan says he understands that “the

The Haywood partisan elections bill is dead, for now

A bill advanced by Rep. Mark Pless (RHaywood) to make school board and municipal elections in Haywood County partisan has fallen short, but could eventually be revived.

“We were going to make some changes to it and then at the last minute, they didn’t give us the changes until 9 p.m. the night before it went into committee, so we had to pull it back out of committee,” Pless told

tension in the community from those that want no growth and NIMBYism needs to be balanced with a sensitivity to desperately needed market rate and affordable housing, while at the same time growing our tax base.”

Travis Smith says in his application that he doesn’t like “the direction this town is headed,” but didn’t elaborate further. A Haywood native, Smith holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University and says he’s a very successful small business owner. He’s also applied to serve on the zoning board. He also serves on the Waynesville housing authority and is a founder/past chair of the Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership.

“There’s lots of changes that are coming through and lots of decisions that have been made, and I want to make sure that we continue on a progressive path for the planning board.”

— Alderman Anthony Sutton

Joshua F. Morgan wants to provide “leadership to the town in managing growth and resources.” Morgan has served on the Haywood Schools Foundation and says he has expertise in personnel. He’s also applied for the BOA as well as the recreation and parks advisory committee.

Ronald Call has experience in small business, community service and public relations.

A 1993 Tuscola High School grad, Call said he wants “to be part of the future of this community.” He’s also an award-winning singer/songwriter.

Jan Grossman wants to ensure that “Waynesville grows responsibly with the interest of residents in mind.” A polymer scientist for four decades, Grossman lives on South Main Street, has been active in the hiking and bicycling communities, and has

The Smoky Mountain News on July 6.

Those changes, according to Pless, were largely technical and wouldn’t have affected his desire that mayors and aldermen from Canton, Clyde, Maggie Valley and Waynesville run with party affiliations attached to their names. The measure would have made the same change to Haywood’s nonpartisan school board elections.

Pless thinks it’s a good idea, based on what he said were hot-button issues in the national headlines like Critical Race Theory, which is not taught in North Carolina public schools.

When the bill was filed, it prompted an

served on the Haywood Greenway Commission.

Peggy Hannah, who is retired, says she wants to “be part of my community and learn how to be part of the solution.” She served as the vice president of Mountaineer Little League and Softball for seven years.

John Baus is a former judge, prosecutor and civil trial attorney who says he wants “what is best for the residents and businesses of Waynesville.” He also says he has experience in real estate and commercial development, and is a current member of the zoning board.

Kara Sither has a degree in elementary education from Appalachian State University and is the director of communications at the First United Methodist Church. Sither thinks that as a single female and renter in Waynesville, she brings unique insight and wants to ensure “equitable and affordable access” to housing not only for current and but also future members of the community.

Matthew Johnson worked in the plumbing supply business and is a graduate of the

immediate, bi-partisan backlash from Haywood municipalities, who by and large said they hadn’t been consulted about the change.

Waynesville’s governing board, including lone Republican Julia Freeman, condemned the bill.

Alderman Chuck Dickson said at the time that there’s “not a Republican or Democratic way to fill a pothole,” alluding to the differences in responsibility between small municipalities and more politicized state and federal governing bodies.

Canton’s board did the same. A majority of Clyde’s board and Maggie Valley’s board — including two unaffiliated elected

College of Charleston, but currently works in real estate. Johnson said he and his wife moved to Waynesville to raise their children, and he wants to “help it grow in smart and constructive ways.”

All nine of the applicants will be interviewed by aldermen who are tag-teaming the process; Alderman Chuck Dickson has developed a questionnaire.

“The fairest way to do this is to ask all the applicants the same questions,” Dickson said. “The questions have to do with their experience, why they want to be on the board and their vision for the future of Waynesville.”

Dickson has been paired with Alderman Jon Feichter to interview half the candidates, while Sutton and Alderman Julia Freeman will interview the other half. Sutton said Mayor Gary Caldwell would fill in on either team as needed.

Sutton said his team has five interviews scheduled this week. Team Dickson is still working to reach candidates but is hopeful the interviews will take place soon.

officials — followed suit.

The Haywood School Board was a bit more mixed in opinion, including Chairman Chuck Francis, who vehemently opposed a similar resolution put forth by Pless’ predecessor Michele Presnell in 2017 and passed a resolution to that effect.

Pless said that if the bill isn’t voted up before Dec. 31, it would have to be reintroduced in the General Assembly next year. However, there is a remote possibility that some action could be taken if and when legislators are called back to Raleigh in the interim.

— Cory Vaillancourt, Politics Editor

‘You’re OK,’ and more notes from the road

She was 70, or so she said, but looked 15 years younger. She was alone and sipping wine and eating “chips” in the pub at the Ceilidh Inn in Ullapool, Scotland. She was a child of the 60s who spoke of how crazy London had been at that time. Eventually, she had sold her house in the city and relocated to wilds of Scotland. For decades she has been scratching out a living as a painter.

We’re in the far north, my wife Lori and I, road tripping around Scotland’s coast, traveling from the west coast and the Highlands, north to the Orkney Islands, and back down the east coast to Edinburgh. We’re about halfway through as I write this.

Lori and I love road tripping, making plans for where we’ll stay nights and planning a few highlights, but then taking the experience as it comes to us, changing plans on the fly and going out of our way to see things after talking to other travelers.

Our new friend in the village of Ullapool, Joanne, has obviously had a few glasses of wine. As Lori excuses herself to hit the loo, Joanne leans in and looks me in the eye: “You did good, Scott. You’re wife is gorgeous, I mean, you’re OK, but she’s really something.”

Traveling is awesome. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the one-liners and the characters you run into. Sipping a beer on the waterside quay, also in Ullapool, we get into a conversation with two couples who are talking about the joys of post-COVID traveling and joking about how their home values — according to those emails from Zillow — are rising by preposterous amounts. A few minutes of back and forth about our travels and then the inevitable “where’s home” question pops up. Turns out they are from Highlands, less 30

Let’s strive to become great

To the Editor:

Been thinkin’ lately ‘bout M.A.G.A. What an acronym! It sounds strong. Unfortunately, there is a built-in weakness. It is this: great is an opinion only. It cannot be measured or agreed upon. When was it great? How was it great? Was there widespread greatness or only pockets here and there? Is there a chance that America has never been great?

Yet, Donald Trump has exploited many Americans and deceived them into believing he could restore America to greatness when for many that simply hasn’t been so. His red cap became a symbol of something that may only be imaginary — a by-gone era that will never return because it never was here in the first place. Much like “Gone with the Wind” as written by Margaret Mitchell. Back when Blacks and women couldn’t vote. When only property owners could. When some people were enslaved. Who wants to go back to those times?

Now, don’t tell me I’m being less than patriotic. I served four years in the Navy. Members of my family have used copyright as well as patent laws to improve our lot in life. I have read/studied most of the Constitution. I have read the Bible extensively. I have voted for Republicans and Democrats. I am a native

miles as the crow flies from where we live in Waynesville. Crazy, right? This big old world sometimes is so small. Those four were off to the Outer Hebrides to do a walking tour.

The unexpected is par for the course on a trip like this. As

by three feet, on the side of the road — “John Lennon Memorial.” What? Once again, an unplanned detour. But I’m a huge John Lennon fan, so I’m not about to pass this up.

As it turns out, Lennon’s family vacationed here while he was growing up. A cousin who spent time with Lennon as a youth lived in Durness for a decade and ended up erecting a small garden with several standing stones — like the ancient ruins found around northern Scotland — with excerpts from the song “In My Life” from the “Rubber Soul” album:

There are places I remember All my life though some have changed Some forever, not for better Some have gone and some remain

we looked over our shoulder while driving out of Durness — in northwest corner of Scotland — we spot the most pristine white sand beach we’ve seen since getting to Scotland. We do a U-turn — no small feat on these tiny, narrow roads — and get out and splash around for a half hour and have a picnic. The water was frigid, but there was one surfer and several people in the water.

As we return to the car and get back on the road, a hundred yards down the road we spot a tiny sign, maybe one foot

LETTERS

of Jackson County, N.C. And, I happen to believe Johnny Cash knew some people had been held back when he sang “Man in Black.” Listen for yourself. In addition to that his musical friend, Waylon Jennings, sang: “… I can’t say I’m proud of all of the things that I’ve done. But, I can say I’ve never intentionally hurt anyone.” How many can honestly say that? Can that be said about America?

I admire those two musical legends. I also admire Jesus Christ. We have to get better at caring for others. If we don’t, we can never reach the level of greatness. We are told that by every major religion as well as most philosophies.

Let’s strive to become great, though. Jesus, Waylon and Johnny will guide us.

Dave Waldrop Webster

Religion doesn’t belong in schools

To the Editor: As Sylva prepares for its school board runoff election July 26, many signs sporting crosses by one of the candidates have popped up around the local landscape. The candidate whose signs bear this symbol previously campaigned as a “conservative mom.” While the

The cousin claims the song was partly inspired by Lennon’s time spent in Durness. A Northern Lights Music Festival was held in the tiny town in 2007. The little garden in this remote Scottish town of about 350 claims to be the only Lennon memorial outside of England.

As we continue on our travels, the Lennon-McCartney tune is keeping us company. With that song in the background, we laugh as we rollick down the road and remember Joanne’s comment. I’m just “OK,” and I’m good with that. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)

U.S. certainly allows for anyone to have their own political and religious views, this candidate’s rhetoric presents serious issues for a school board position, since school boards are supposed to be nonpartisan entities and there is a separation between church and religious belief from public schools.

If one wants religious oversight of education, there are many options, including home-

schooling and private schools. However, public schools should not be places of religious indoctrination. Perhaps this candidate should seek to be a board member of one of the local private schools rather than bring her “conservative, Christian mom” views to a position that would affect children other than her own.

Three education facts you should know

BY JOHN HOOD G UEST C OLUMNIST

Ihave strong opinions about education policy in North Carolina and beyond. Maybe you’ve noticed!

I’ve also been researching and writing about the subject for a very long time. During my first stint as a newspaper reporter in 1986, I covered raucous debates about a potential merger of school districts in Nash County, Edgecombe County, Rocky Mount and Tarboro. My first syndicated columns on education policy ran in state newspapers a few months later.

By 1989, I was reporting on education controversies from New York to California and writing for such publications as Reason, The Wall Street Journal, and Reader’s Digest. Later, I helped build research teams devoted to education policy. In my current philanthropic role, I helped fund and evaluate such teams in institutions across the country.

Still, neither the strength of my convictions nor the number of years I’ve been expressing them constitute valid reasons for you to accept my opinions at face value. Moreover, if you passionately disagree with my takes on school choice, teacher compensation, college admissions or history standards, you need not preface your rebuttals by recounting your own career histories. I already know plenty of people who are brilliant, possess more experience than I have in education policy and practice (with regard to the latter, I’ve only taught at the university level for five years), and think my opinions are entirely wrongheaded. You may well be another member of that notvery-exclusive club.

The political conversation is already chock-full of partisans and performance artists doubting each other’s intelligence, questioning each other’s motives and calling each other names. That’s toxic and pointless. To the extent I’ve played the game myself in the past, I’m sorry. Let’s try something else.

It might help to try to establish a set of commonly shared facts. To that end, I commend to your attention the latest edition of BEST NC’s publication Facts & Figures: Education in North Carolina. The organization’s name is an acronym: Business for Educational Success and Transformation in

North Carolina. BEST NC’s board includes current and former CEOs of some of the state’s biggest and most innovative companies.

Here are three sets of statistics from Facts & Figures that really stuck out to me. First, when it comes to educational finance, North Carolina has a long history of deviating from national norms. Since the 1930s, we’ve funded public schools primarily at the state level, while in most places local funding plays a bigger role. That’s still true. State revenue makes up about 62% of school funding in North Carolina and local revenue only 28%. For the nation as a whole, those two shares are nearly identical (47% and 46% respectively). Similarly, while North Carolina spends less per-pupil than most states do on K-12 education, we spend much more than average on higher education. As a result, in-state tuition for the University of North Carolina system is the fourth lowest in the nation.

Second, and related to that, while state expenditures on K-12 and community colleges have been on the rise in recent years, after adjusting for enrollment and inflation, that’s not the case for the UNC system. At $13,126 per full-time student in 2020-21, state funding for UNC is about 20% lower than it was before the onset of the Great Recession.

Third, COVID-era learning losses have been devastating. The share of students scoring proficient on 2020-21 end-of-grade tests was down substantially from two years earlier. The smallest drop was eight percentage points in eighth-grade reading. The largest was 27 points in fifth-grade math. These are facts. What they mean, and how policymakers ought to react to them, are matters very much open to debate. I happen to believe that North Carolina should keep local funding to less than 30% of K-12 spending, that UNC’s operating costs needed to be trimmed over the past decade, and that lengthy school closures during the pandemic were unwarranted and disastrous.

Disagree? Let’s talk. I’m open to persuasion. Are you?

John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His latest books, Mountain Folk and Forest Folk, combine epic fantasy with early American history. folklorecycle.com.)

THE WHEELS THROUGH TIME ROLL ON

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR

With a quick roll start to crank over the engine of the 1916 Traub motorcycle, Matt Walksler hops off the bike and knocks down the kickstand. The 106-year-old machine rumbles, the smell of oil and gasoline soon permeating the air. He turns to the crowd of a couple dozen folks making a semi-circle around him.

“If you Google the ‘World’s Rarest Motorcycle,’ this bike will immediately pop up,” Walksler said. “This is the only one known in existence. There is no record of a Traub motorcycle company, either. And it was found behind a brick wall in Chicago in 1967 — its origin still a mystery.”

The crowd is wild-eyed, with looks of sheer amazement and pure wonder running across each face, whether a young child holding his mother’s hand or an elderly military veteran in his wheelchair. All in attendance are sporting some kind of bike attire (with Harley-Davidson the brand of choice), a red or blue bandana hanging out of back pockets to wipe the grease off one’s fingers.

Walksler turns off the Traub and the onlookers clap in acknowledgment of the special moment. Walksler smiles in appreciation, shakes a few hands extended towards him, and eventually makes his way across the massive showroom to start another antique motorcycle, the crowd growing in size with each bike coming to life throughout the afternoon.

These sights and sounds are just another day at Dale’s Wheels Through Time museum in the heart of Maggie Valley. The roar of engines and the inundation of motorcycles — either within the 38,000-square-foot museum housing over 370 bikes or outside in the vast parking lot — is nonstop. Hundreds of people in seemingly every direction, the familiar and alluring combination of oil and gas wafting throughout the property.

The scene is surreal and overwhelming, and yet oddly beautiful and cathartic, seeing first-hand multiple generations of folks coming together for this one true and honest passion in their lives — motorcycles.

“Wheels Through Time is the premier collection of American motorcycles anywhere in world. But, you know, it’s not your standard

WNC motorcycle museum celebrates 20 years, looks ahead

museum,” Walksler noted, taking a scarce moment to sit behind his second-floor office desk. “This place is more of an experience, rather than just a building full of old bikes. There’s more history in here than you could see in a dozen or more visits. It’s an interactive experience, which is what’s so neat about it.”

The “Dale” in Dale’s Wheels Through Time is the late Dale Walksler, Matt’s father and mentor, who founded the museum in 2002. A larger-than-life character, Dale collected motorcycles for over 50 years of his life, bouncing from coast to coast for decades, always in search of the next big treasure hunt of steel and history.

Sadly, after a four-year arduous battle with cancer, Dale succumbed to his illness on

“This

place is more of an experience, rather than just a building full of old bikes. There’s more history in here than you could see in a dozen or more visits.”

Feb. 3, 2021, at age 68. Recently, the museum celebrated 20 years with a weekend of festivities, including an engine crank over of 20 rare bikes, one for each year in operation.

“It’s been a really emotional weekend. Twenty years here in Maggie Valley has really flown by,” Matt said. “And what really makes me proud is that when my dad moved here, this was his dream to do exactly what we’re doing today. I know he isn’t here to see it, but he’d be proud of how things are going, proud of where the museum has come to.”

At 39, Matt is now the curator and owner of the museum, ultimately carrying the torch of his father’s vision headlong into the next generation and beyond. And though there are a lot of similarities between Matt and Dale, there are also subtle differences.

“In a lot of ways, he and I are the same. But, I’m not afraid to take a break,” Matt chuckled, his thoughts drifting to his wife and young children. “He never took a break. I mean, this is our lives and it’s what we do. But, for him, he was the most driven of driven people that I’ve ever met in my life.”

Where Dale was gregarious and a true

force of nature in person, Matt is humbler in his tone and the way he carries himself around the museum. But, both of them contain this immense wealth of motorcycle knowledge that knows no bounds. The motorcycles both Walksler men have discovered, rebuilt and ridden across America with their bare hands is astonishing — in lore and in method.

“It’s hard to call this work, it really is,” Matt said. “We’ve very fortunate to be in a place where every person that comes over that bridge and into the museum is smiling. You get to meet all of these amazing people from all over the world, and you get to hear their story and their love for motorcycles.”

That, and just like his father, Matt brings to the table a captivating sense of self, especially when it comes to the plethora of YouTube videos and live streaming through social media, something Dale was a pioneer at with his television and internet programs early on in the museum’s history. As of last check, the Wheels Through Time YouTube channel has over 112,000 subscribers.

“It’s about the preservation of these bikes, getting them running again. And the biggest part of it for me was watching my dad with people, seeing the effect he had when he would share his passion with people — that’s a contagious thing,” Matt said. “When you saw the positive effect that Dale had on someone, it makes you want to do the same thing — my biggest goal is to run this museum like he would have.”

Although Wheels Through Time was created in 2002, Dale’s lifelong love of motorcycles came about in 1967. He was 15 years old and building his first bike when that initial spark of passion and persistence caught like wildfire. By 22, he established a HarleyDavidson franchise in Mount Vernon, Illinois.

From there, Dale started collecting bike after bike, scouring the United States for rare finds, only to soon open up a museum in Illinois. Eventually, he decided to pull up stakes in the Midwest and put down roots in the legendary motorcycle riding haven that is the mountains of Western North Carolina.

“He took a big leap of faith in moving everything to here in Maggie Valley. But, his idea and vision worked, where now we’re breaking attendance records every month,” Matt said. “Between word-of-mouth and our YouTube channel, the museum is growing every single day. And our goal is to continue to grow the collection, continue to enhance the experience and keep preserving history.”

Strolling through the museum showroom, there are hundreds of antique motorcycles within reach. Priceless machines surrounded by endless memorabilia and trinkets — event posters, advertising signs, a slew of mechanical parts to yet another project planned for the future — all paying homage to the timeless image of a rider on the open roads of America.

“It’s that freedom of American exploration,” Matt said. “It’s in the blood of everybody. Hitting the road on a motorcycle with the wind in your face. It sounds very nostalgic, but it’s real and tangible.”

As a kid growing up in Illinois, some of Matt’s earliest memories are of running around the Midwest with his dad and hitting the road in a quest to track down and salvage

another motorcycle.

“My dad would get in the van, point in a direction and go find something. We’d drive hundreds of miles every weekend, heading to antique bike meets — picking parts, mingling with old motorcycle buddies of his,” Matt marveled. “And, being a Harley-Davidson dealer for 26 years, things would find him, too. People would come in and trade their old Panhead for a new Harley — it was a great time for digging up old motorcycles.”

And though maybe it’s a little harder nowadays to dig up a rare bike by chance or happenstance — with many dusty barn finds already discovered or social media connecting collectors and sellers — there are still steel horses out there ready to be let loose and back out onto the hard blacktop.

“We’re all just temporary caretakers of these bikes — things change hands, priorities change. Where we may find a lot less of that bike in the barn that hasn’t been found yet, there are certainly more people out there who may have been collecting for 20, 30, 40, 50 years,” Matt said. “Each one of those collectors has kept those bikes in running condi-

tion, each is a caretaker of the history and story behind every motorcycle that’s cared for and preserved.”

Getting up from his desk, it’s time for Matt to walk down the stairs and back onto the showroom of the museum. There are more rare motorcycles to crank over and many more hands to shake in solidarity of a passion that reaches into the furthest corners of the human spirit and condition.

Each handshake is a person from somewhere, anywhere, who — almost like the film “Field of Dreams” — perhaps simply found themselves at Wheels Through Time for reasons beyond their own comprehension — all they know for sure is that had to be here, if but for a moment.

“You know, without the story part of all these motorcycles, it’s just a bunch of inanimate objects, a pile of metal. The bikes don’t move without human interaction,” Matt said. “There’s this incredible connection between humans and motorcycles, this connection with history and your own personal memories. There’s a million reasons why people come here — everyone has their own story.”

North Main Street | (828) 634-7333 Get details on any property in the MLS. Go to beverly-hanks.com and enter the MLS# into the quick search.

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Don’t ever change your ways, fall with me for a million days

It was during the third sip of my fourth beer on Monday evening at The Scotsman in downtown Waynesville when my thoughts started drifting to this essay from The New Yorker I’d read several years ago — one which I often return to, usually when the late summer warmth transitions to the early chill of an impending fall and soon-to-be-here winter.

Titled “Between Solitude and Loneliness,” the Oct. 15, 2016, essay by the late Donald Hall is something of a touchstone, at least in my existence, as I circle back once in a while to a wrestling match that puts my intent at odds with what is actually laid out in front of me, or a lack thereof.

But, there I was, sitting at the long, wooden bar counter of The Scotsman by myself. Mid-July and an ongoing heat wave of humidity and high temperatures that seems to linger longer than normal this goround. Two empty seats to the left of me, two empty seats to the right.

It was SIN (Service Industry Night) at the establishment, with most of the bartenders and servers from other spots in town finally able to jump to the other side of the counter in search of strong libations and heart conversations. Drinks held high and in celebration of an evening off to do whatever the hell they wanted to do — nobody to attend to, just friends and co-workers from the trenches of daily life.

The DJ in the corner blasting 1980s tunes throughout the late-night shenanigans, with a song by The Cure striking a particularly deep chord within the current state of my

less thought, either on a barstool at night or drifting down dirt backroads of Southern Appalachia by day, windows rolled down and a hot sun overhead. Put down the pedal and push up that damn mountain ridge.

The clock nearing 11 p.m. Monday. “Between Solitude and Loneliness” by the late Donald Hall pops into my field-ofvision. I remember first coming upon the article. It was by chance at my parents’ farmhouse in my native Upstate New York. Subscribers to The New Yorker, I saw that issue with Hall’s essay near the TV remote control in the back den (aka: my father’s hideout).

And I found a lot of solidarity with Hall and his words of wisdom, more so flashbacks of a life well-lived. He was in his late 80s when he wrote the essay, which was an ode to his late wife, the writer Jane Kenyon — 19 years younger than Hall, who fell victim to a terminal illness when she was in her late 40s.

Anyhow, Hall wrote from the perspective of an old man sitting in his old farmhouse on an old road in rural New Hampshire, reflecting on the path to the here and now, where familiar faces and loved ones came and they went, only to be left alone on the last part of his journey as solo and alone as he was when he entered this world.

HOT PICKS

1

Concerts On The Creek will continue with The Summit Church Band (rock/pop) from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 15, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

2

Legendary singer-songwriter

Tommy Stinson will perform at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at Yonder in Franklin.

3

A stage production of “The Music Man” at 7:30 p.m. July 14-16, 2123, 28-30 and at 2 p.m. July 17, 24 and 31 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

4

The annual Front Street Arts & Crafts Show will showcase some of the finest regional artisans from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 16, in downtown Dillsboro.

5

The “Friday Night Street Dance” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. July 22 in front of the historic courthouse in downtown Waynesville.

thoughts, “And I know I was wrong/When I said it was true/That it couldn’t be me and be her/In between without you.”

Sipping that beer, my eyes wandered around the shelves behind the bar. Not really looking at anything, mostly lost in thought. Though I know many of the patrons at the other tables and sitting in the other chairs, I don’t have much to say or offer that evening.

Truth-be-told, I haven’t felt like I’ve been able to offer much in the way of interaction lately, seeing as my mind keeps focusing on ancient truths and kind of being lost in rest-

Though the end of any existence is sad and sorrowful, it’s also important to understand the path of life taken to that ultimate conclusion. One must sit and ponder the decisions made and what actions were taken that led you to where you are today, like sitting at The Scotsman nearing midnight on a Monday, age 37 and sipping a German draft beer, staring blankly at the shelves behind the register.

Usually, when I’d leaf through “Between Solitude and Loneliness,” I’d find myself somewhat somber about the whole story of Hall and where he ended up being so alone towards the end of his time on this earth. Sometimes I’d put the essay down and think, “Why even try to find and embrace love? It’s just going to disappear someday, anyhow.”

But, as I’ve gotten older and let his words and sentiments soak deeper into my being, I find myself thinking more about the beauty between the lines, this incredible period of time he was lucky enough to spend with Jane.

Those quiet mornings of writing in their respective wings of that old farmhouse, the afternoons sunbathing and swimming in the nearby pond, the evenings of grilling some kind of delicious meat while pouring oneself a glass of wine, some poignant, soothing music echoing through the household.

And it’s visions like that which stream across my mind on those nights like last night, during the third sip of my fourth beer, thoughts drifting to this essay from The New Yorker I’d read several years ago.

A song by The Cure swirls around the dimly-lit barroom — a slight grin of appreciation for that moment at-hand, a slight spark of the hopeless romantic within me that I’d thought wasn’t enough of a spark anymore to set my heart ablaze. Ah, the mind wanders. Onward.

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

poems about solitude and the search for direction in a world that is complex & uncertain.

Orchard Coffee welcomes Tyler Ramsey

Acclaimed singer-songwriter and former member of Americana/indie juggernaut Band of Horses, Tyler Ramsey will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, July 15, at Orchard Coffee in downtown Waynesville.

Tickets are $25 per person and are available for purchase at the shop. There are a limited number of tickets. This show will sell out. 828.246.9264 or orchardcoffeeroasters.com.

Concerts On The Creek

The 13th season of Concerts On The Creek will continue with The Summit Church Band (rock/pop) from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 15, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

Everyone is encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. These events are free, but donations are encouraged. Dogs must be on a leash. No alcohol, smoking or coolers are allowed in the park. Food trucks will also be available.

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

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

Chamber music returns to Waynesville

The Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas (CMSC), formerly the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival, returns to Waynesville after a two-year absence.

Concerts will be held at 4 p.m. July 17 and 31 at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

Works by Beethoven, Haydn, Dvorak, Mozart, Chopin and modern artists will all be featured. The society has been a premier chamber music festival in the Carolinas for 45 years. Internationally acclaimed musicians from all over the world have come to the mountains of North Carolina each year. In past seasons, performers included the winner of the gold medal at the

‘An Appalachian Evening’

International Van Cliburn competition in Dallas, a silver medalist of the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, Grammy Award winners and Grammy-nominated ensembles.

Taking place in small venues, the festival creates an intimate interaction between performers and audiences. The Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas is a program of Warren Wilson College.

Season and individual tickets are available online or at the church. Students will be admitted with no charge. Single tickets will be $30, with tickets for both concerts $50.

For more information, click on cmscarolina.com, email chamber@warrenwilson.edu or call 828.400.6465.

Bryson City community jam

A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of the Sawmill Creek Porch Band.

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

This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts. 828.488.3030.

The “An Appalachian Evening” series will continue at the Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville.

The annual summer concert series offers an ever-changing schedule of bluegrass, folk and old-time mountain music by award-winning artists — quality entertainment for the entire family. Rich in cultural heritage, the series continues to be a favorite with locals and visitors alike. All concerts will begin at

7:30 p.m. in the air-conditioned Lynn L. Shields Auditorium.

Performers include Appalachian Road Show July 16, The Jeff Little Trio July 23, Aubrey Eisenman & The Clydes July 30, The Wildmans Aug. 6, Nu-Blu Aug. 13, Pretty Little Goat Aug. 20 and The Kruger Brothers Aug. 27

For more information, call 828.479.3364 or click on stecoahvalleycenter.com.

Rock legend to play Franklin

Founding member of rock icons The Replacements and a longtime member of Guns N’ Roses, singer-songwriter Tommy Stinson will perform at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at Yonder in Franklin.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase onsite. Doors are at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $25 per person. For tickets, click on eventbrite.com and search “Tommy Stinson Yonder.” 828.200.2169 or eatrealfoodinc.com.

On the beat

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Free and open to the public. blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Concerts On The Creek (Sylva) will host The Summit Church Band July 15 and The Caribbean Cowboys (oldies/variety) July 22 at Bridge Park in Sylva. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. These events are free, but donations are encouraged. 828.586.2155 or mountainlovers.com.

• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Franklin) will host Chatham Rabbits (Americana/folk) 5 p.m. July 16. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7.50 for children. 828.369.4080 or coweeschool.org/music.

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company (Maggie Valley) will host an Open Mic Night 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.734.1084 or elevatedmountain.com.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host Erick Baker (Americana/folk) 6 p.m. July 27. Admission is $40 per person, which includes light bites. A cash bar is available. oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.

• Fontana Village Resort Wildwood Grill will host Doug Wilhite (singer-songwriter) 5 p.m. July 15, Granny’s Mason Jar (Americana) 6 p.m. July 16 and Takeout July 23. Free and open to the public. 800.849.2258 or fontanavillage.com.

• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will host Leadfoot Lily (Americana) July 15 and The Johnny Webb Band (country/rock) July 22 at Town Square on Main Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Trivia Night 7 p.m. July 14, Ross Hollow July 15, We Three Swing (jazz/fusion) 4 p.m. July 17, Sleepin’ Dogz 5:30 p.m. July 21, Grizzly Goat (indie/folk) July 22 and J.J. Hipps & The Hideaway (rock/blues) July 23. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host an Open Mic Night every Wednesday, Shain Lyles July 14, Kate Thomas (singer-songwriter) July 21 and Tina Collins (singer-songwriter) July 23. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” w/Hibiscus Sunshine every Wednesday, Jason Lyles July 15, Liz Nance (singer-songwriter) 2 p.m. July 17 and Three On The Tree 2 p.m. July 24. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and

open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Breeze Cable (singer-songwriter) July 16. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

ALSO:

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Trivia Night at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, Old Time Jam 6:30 p.m. every Thursday and Log Noggins (rock/indie) July 15. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host Dusk Weaver (Americana/folk) 7 p.m. July 14 and a Community Jam 6 p.m. July 21. Free and open to the public. 828.488.3030 or fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• Moss Valley (Franklin) will host Rumours (Fleetwood Mac tribute) 6 p.m. July 22. Gates at 6 p.m. Show from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Free and open to the public. Food trucks and beverages available onsite. Presented by Drake Software.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Open Mic Night with Ivor Sparks every Wednesday, Kate Thomas (singer-songwriter) July 15, Twelfth Fret (Americana) July 16, Mountain Gypsy (Americana) 5 p.m. July 17, Steve Heffker (singer-songwriter) July 22 and Wyatt Espalin (singer-songwriter) July 24. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host Blue (bluegrass) July 15, Eddie Clayton (rock) July 16, Somebody’s Child (Americana) July 22 and Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs (Americana) July 23. All shows behind at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. noc.com.

• Orchard Coffee (Waynesville) will host Tyler Ramsey (Americana/indie) at 8 p.m. July 15. Tickets are $25 per person and are available for purchase at the shop. 828.246.9264 or orchardcoffeeroasters.com.

• Pickin’ In The Park (Canton) will host Running Wolfe & J. Creek Cloggers July 15 and Rick Morris & Appalachian Mountaineers July 22. Shows are 6 to 9 p.m. at the Canton Rec Park located at 77 Penland St. Free and open to the public. cantonnc.com.

• Pickin’ On The Square (Franklin) will host Friends (blues/country) July 23. All shows begin at 6 p.m. at the Gazebo in downtown. Free and open to the public. franklinnc.com/pickin-on-the-square.html.

• Saturdays On Pine (Highlands) will host The Wobblers (Americana/indie) July 16 and Russ

Wilson Big Band (swing/jazz) July 23 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park on Pine Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host The Carter Giegerich Trio (Celtic/bluegrass) from 2 to 5 p.m. every Sunday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host Skies Of Avalon July 21. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host The Swingin’ Medallions (rock/R&B) 7:30 p.m. July 23. Tickets start at $18 per person. smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.

• Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville) “An Appalachian Evening” live music series will include Appalachian Roadshow July 16, The Jeff Little Trio July 23, Aubrey Eisenman & The Clydes July 30, The Wildmans Aug. 6, Nu-Blu Aug. 13, Pretty Little Goat Aug. 20 and The Kruger Brothers Aug. 27. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 828.479.3364 or click on stecoahvalleycenter.com.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Cliff Williamson July 13, Tricia Ann Band July 14 and 15, and Carolina Freighshakers (classic rock) July 16. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Cigar & Wine Co. (Waynesville) will host Karaoke 6 p.m. July 14 and Bridgett Gossett (singer-songwriter) 2 p.m. July 17. Free and open to the public. 828.944.0686 or valleycigarandwineco.com.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host Bridget Gossett (singer-songwriter) July 14, The Loudes July 15, Mile High (classic rock) 3 p.m. July 17, Ricky Gunter (singer-songwriter) July 21 and Melissa McKinney (singer-songwriter) 3 p.m. July 24. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host Doug Ramsay & Company (singer-songwriter) 6 p.m. July 15. 828.743.6000 or whitesidebrewing.com.

• Yonder (Franklin) will host Tommy Stinson (singer-songwriter) 6 p.m. July 14. Tickets start at $25 per person. For tickets, click on eventbrite.com and search “Tommy Stinson Yonder.” 828.200.2169 or eatrealfoodinc.com.

C HATHAM R ABBITS

North Carolina is a place so identifiable by its separate regions – the mountains, the piedmont, the coast – that it has the tendency to feel indescribable, meaning one can conceptualize the state as a mashup of places rather than a single locale. The art and artists born from the state often embody that same sense of blended regions, borrowing from broad cultural traditions and plumbing the histories of others’ stories on the way to telling their own. Because of this, many NC artists can call a particular region home, but their work belongs to the state because the entirety of the state has opened itself to them and they have opened themselves to it. Chatham Rabbits exemplify NC’s tradition of producing artists who embrace the state’s many cultural resources and diverse musical traditions.

Saturday, July 16 • 5PM • Flying Cloud Food Truck Outside on the Green Bring your chairs, blankets, etc., and spread out! Adults $15 / Children 6-18 $7.50 / Under 6 Free

On the street

Ready for the ‘Chopstick Challenge’?

In partnership with the Japanese Outreach Initiative at Western Carolina University, the Marianna Black Library will be hosting a Japanese “Chopstick Challenge” from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 18, in the auditorium of the library in Bryson City.

Nanaka Okamura, JOI Coordinator, started Japanese Calligraphy at the age of six. She is a certified master of Japanese Chopsticks and will be leading this free workshop. Children are welcome to participate if they are old enough to sit calmly by themselves. Okamura came to the US last July and has been teaching Japanese culture (such as Japanese Calligraphy, origami, seasonal events, manner, etc.) and the Japanese language to people in the community here in Western North Carolina.

Look for more events at the library through July and August. Space is limited. Please reserve your spot at https://forms.gle/KhwtvzkUVYUDc4R7A or contact the library at 828.488.3030.

Front Street Arts & Crafts

The annual Front Street Arts & Crafts Show will showcase some of the finest regional artisans from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 16, in downtown Dillsboro. Dozens of booths will display and have for your perusal the handmade craftsmanship of regional fine artists and crafters intermingled with the sounds of family entertainment.

Vendors will line Front Street offering a choice of many handmade items, including soaps, baskets, pottery, jewelry, bird houses, and much more. There will also be a performance by the J. Creek Cloggers (11 a.m.), as well as live music from singer-songwriter Suzie Copeland (noon and 1 p.m.) and jazz/pop trio We Three Swing (2 p.m.).

The arts and crafts show is free and open to the public, with a small parking fee that includes a shuttle from Monteith Park

The “Friday Night Street Dance” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. July 22 in front of the historic courthouse in downtown Waynesville. Live mountain music and clogging. Participation encouraged. Free to attend. downtownwaynesville.com/calendar. A Shot Above photo

directly to the festival itself. You can even bring your dog (on a leash). For more information, call 828.506.8331 or click on visitdillsboro.com.

ALSO:

• “Peach Jam” will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Food trucks, live music, vendors, bounce houses, kids activities, pie eating contests, and more. For more information, email hotheadevents@gmail.com.

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine

Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first-class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.

HART presents ‘The Music Man’

There will be a special stage production of “The Music Man” at 7:30 p.m. July 14-16, 2123, 28-30 and at 2 p.m. July 17, 24 and 31 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

The audience will be transported to River City, Iowa, where you’ll meet a slew of incredible characters, from a School Board turned Barbershop Quartet to the Gossiping Pick-aLittle Ladies to an All Boys Marching Band.

“The Music Man” would be nothing without the Music Man himself: Professor Harold Hill, played at HART by Dominic Michael Aquilino. Hill is a traveling salesman who promises to save your town from the big trouble it’s in by forming a Boys Marching Band.

The only trouble is, “Professor” Hill knows nothing about music and the local Librarian, Marian Paroo, played at HART by Emily Dake, has a library full of reference books and a great knowledge of music that could expose him. Add this town of quirky Iowans and you have a night full of entertainment and delight.

Tickets range from $14 to $36 per person. You can purchase tickets by clicking on harttheatre.org or calling HART’s Box Office at 828.456.6322.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host legendary comedians Chris Tucker July 16 and Rodney Carrington July 23. caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• A stage production of the beloved tale “Alice in Wonderland” will be held on select dates throughout this spring at the Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee. The production is an original work by Havoc Movement Company that will be joining the Cherokee Historical Association for the spring season. cherokeehistorical.org/alice-in-wonderland.

On the wall

ALSO:

• The “Cultivating Collections” exhibit will be showcased through July 29 in the Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. This year’s exhibition highlights three areas of the collection — vitreographs, glass, and works by Black artists. The pieces on view convey the stories of bold innovators and speak to the importance of Western North Carolina in the history of glass and printmaking. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and until 7 p.m. on Thursday. 828.227.ARTS or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• “Drive-In Movie Night” will screen “Dirty Dancing” at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Concessions available onsite. Admission is $20 per car. You must have a parking ticket. 828.488.2376 or darnellfarms.com.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of adult workshops, including “Cherokee Language Printing” 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday, July 14, “Sketching For Wellness” 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, July 21, “Oil Painting Workshop” 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, July 21 and “Etching Press Intro” 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, July 22. southwesterncc.edu/ scc-locations/swain-center.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of children’s workshops, including “Mushroom House Kids Class” 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, July 15. southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.

• Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will host the following events onsite at the Haywood Handmade Gallery in downtown Waynesville: “Fused Glass Flower Garden” class 5 to 7 p.m. July 15 and a “Garden Harvest Basket & Wine Tasting” class 5 to 7 p.m. July 22. For more information and/or to register for a class, haywoodarts.org.

• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. For more information, call The Uptown Gallery at 828.349.4607 or contact Pat Mennenger at pm14034@yahoo.com. franklinuptowngallery.com.

• A “Foreign Film Series” will be held at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, on the second and fourth Friday, two movies from around the globe will be shown. This program is in the Community Room and is free of charge. To find out what movie will be shown and/or for more information,

Open call for art grants

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) in Waynesville is now accepting applications for grants funded by the Grassroots Arts Program and has over $27,000 in funds to award.

Since 1977, the North Carolina Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program has provided North Carolina citizens access to quality arts experiences. HCAC serves as the North Carolina Arts Council’s partner in awarding grants to local organizations for arts programs in Haywood County.

In November 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a state budget that included an additional $10 million in funding for the Grassroots Arts Program. The source of the additional funds was from the American Recovery Act Plan.

“With this large infusion of additional

please call the library at 828.586.2016. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library. To learn more, click on fontanalib.org.

• Farmer’s Market (with artisans) will be held

funds, the North Carolina Arts Council made several temporary amendments to the guidelines that increased eligible organizations and projects” said HCAC Executive Director Morgan Beryl. “This is great news for Haywood County nonprofits who do some kind of art programming but aren’t necessarily considered arts organizations.” Projects must occur between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

Grant application requirements and the application can be found on HCAC’s grant webpage: haywoodarts.org/grantsfunding. The application form is a fillable PDF. Applicants should download, fill out and email the final application to director@haywoodarts.org with the subject line: “Grassroot Application — Organization Name.”

All applications must be provided via email no later than 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Hard copies will not be accepted.

from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through October at 117 Island Street in Bryson City. Stop by the old barn by the river for local, homegrown produce, as well as baked goods, jellies and preserves, authentic crafts, and more. Food truck, picnic tables and live music. Leashed pets are welcome. Outdoor event. 828.488.7857.

Shipwreck, survival and faith all in one novel

Novels that touch on faith and God have long intrigued me.

concern for others. Yet thoughts of God are far away from all these cowboys.

everyone else in his life.

Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited,” Anne Tyler’s “Saint Maybe,” Sigrid Undset’s “Kristin Lavransdatter,” Rummer Godden’s “In This House of Brede,” Mark Helprin’s “A Soldier of the Great War”: these and other stories I’ve read over the last 40 years or so feature men and women discussing God, pondering the ramifications of faith, and wondering whether an all-powerful deity exists.

And even in in those novels in which an Almighty is only a background actor on the stage, such as in “A Soldier of the Great War,” that presence still reveals much about the characters and about the human condition in general. In my entire life, I’ve only known one person who had apparently never pondered God’s existence. He was neither a believer nor an atheist — he didn’t even qualify as an agnostic — but was a practical Midwesterner who seemed to have simply lived his life without spiritual wonderment.

The opposite holds true in Mitch Albom’s “The Stranger in the Lifeboat” (Harper, 2021, 140 pages). A multi-million dollar yacht, the Galaxy, carrying wealthy and famous passengers seemingly explodes on the last day of its voyage. Ten people, again seemingly, escape immediate death on a lifeboat. This crew of survivors includes a little girl, Alice, who won’t speak and whom none of the others recognize from the yacht, and a stranger, “maybe twenty years old, and his eyes were pale blue,” who swims to the raft out of nowhere. We meet this man here:

Nevin yelled, “HOW LONG WERE YOU IN THE WATER?” perhaps thinking a raised voice would snap him to his senses. When he didn’t answer, Nina touched his shoulder and said, “Well, thank the Lord we found you.” Which is when the man finally spoke.

Sometimes fiction operate like that friend. I consider Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” one of the great American novels. I’ve read this saga of the Old West, have revisited many parts of the story, and twice watched the miniseries based on that novel, but I’m always struck by the near absence of religion in that glorious tale. Given that its nineteenth century setting, “Lonesome Dove” takes place at a time when religion, Christianity in particular, was a driving force in the lives of many and at least a peripheral

“I am the Lord,” he whispered.

As the story progresses, various newscasters report this sinking, offering their viewers — and we the readers

— insights into the lives of the rich and the powerful assumed lost at sea. Later, when an empty lifeboat bearing the name Galaxy washes up on the island of Montserrat, police inspector Jerry LeFleur digs into the story of what actually happened to those that may have once clung to this boat for survival. He is a man who has lost his belief in God after his 4-year-old daughter is drowned, leaving him living with his wife, a woman of faith, but estranged from her and

Dodson to present poetry debut

We hear much of this story from Benji, a deck hand on the yacht who made it to the lifeboat. He possesses a notebook in which he writes an account of what is happening to Annabelle, the love of his life.

“The Stranger in the Lifeboat” contains nuggets of wisdom. Here, for example, is part of a conversation between Benji and Alice near the end of the story.

“Why did my wife have to die?”

She nodded as if this were expected. She placed her other hand on top of my palm.

“When someone passes, Benjamin, people always ask, ‘Why did God take them?’ A better question would be, ‘Why did God give them to us?’ What did we do to deserve their love, their joy, the sweet moments we shared? Didn’t you have such moments with Annabelle?”

“Every day,” I rasped.

“Those moments are a gift ….”

One warning to readers: Benjie is an unreliable narrator. Whether he is in a delirium while recording events in his journal is unclear, and truth is up for grabs until the end of the story. Even now, having finished the book, I’m unclear as to whether some of the incidents actually took place or are figments of Benji’s imagination and unbalanced mental state. Moreover, some events he recounts, the ones we can be reasonably certain did occur, seem unlikely to this reader. To offer more details would spoil the plot.

Albom ends his story with this paragraph:

In the end, there is the sea and the land and the news that happens between them. To spread the news, we tell each other stories. Sometimes the stories are about survival. And sometimes those stories, like the presence of the Lord, are hard to believe. Unless believing is what makes them true.

Perhaps his use of murky details and the fevered telling of “The Stranger in the Lifeboat” is Albom’s attempt to get us to suspend our disbelief, and as Benji did, to take a leap of faith.

(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)

Writer Danita Dodson will present her latest work, “Trailing the Azimuth,” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. “Trailing the Azimuth” is Dodson’s first work of poetry. It guides the reader down various trails through striking imagery, resonant language, and intensity of vision. The poems in this collection represent the search for direction in a world that is complex and uncertain. Dodson is a poet and literary scholar. She is also the co-editor of the pedagogical volume Teachers Teaching Nonviolence (2020). Her critical articles have been published in various literary journals. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Southern Mississippi. Combining a love of scholarship and diverse experiences, Dodson has been a Fulbright-Hays fellow in Turkey, a professor in Nicaragua, an amateur archaeologist in the Southwest, and a Spanish teacher in Appalachia. The event is free to attend. 828.456.6000 or blueridgebooksnc.com.

O er includes a complimentary Warm Welcome with one of our instructors who can answer any questions, chat about your specific needs + introduce you to the studio. You will also receive 10% o our on-demand programs and free access to our video library during the o er!

Vist our website for details and to purchase!

It happened so fast that if my head had been a bit closer, it would have been going down Caney Fork too.

Up the creek

Where the heck is Moses Creek? Up Caney Fork!

mud.

On Friday, May 27, the day after a big Western North Carolina, the air was so clear and the sky so blue it made me think back to the spring of 2020 when Covid shut down the world and for a few weeks the earth’s atmosphere returned 300 years to preindustrial clarity. I called it Pandemic Blue.

During the height of the storm, however, the sky was dark and heavy as I walked down Moses Creek Road, with a downpour streaming off my hat. My destination was the bridge over Caney Fork, one of the principal creeks in Jackson County. Caney Fork comes to life on the southern flank of the Great Balsam Mountains, and if you have pulled into milehigh Caney Fork Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway and taken in the vista stretching out for miles below, you’ve been there. Many times, I have taken in Caney Fork from the other direction too, while canoeing its clear, lively waters through sun and shade and looking up at the forested mountains around.

But the Caney Fork I saw that day racing under the bridge was something else entirely — a raging brown beast. For water to move faster, it would have to fall straight down. For water to be thicker, it would have to be pure

Caney Fork looked like it was bringing half of the valley along with it — and not only dirt, but trash and yard items swept off the banks, woody debris, leaves, branches. I even heard a big submerged rock flipping and clopping downstream. The creek itself was loud, surging in pulses against the bridge piers.

A log about 20 feet long and a foot in

diameter suddenly came into view around the bend. The ends were sawed off, so it must have washed out of someone’s wood lot. The bridge, newly built, is a massive concrete trough that looks out of place over our country creek — as if the NCDOT has plans for an interstate to cross it someday. It replaced a 50year-old wooden bridge that I thought suited the creek better. The central piers that support the new structure are thick pillars sunk to bedrock. But when the log crashed broadside into the upstream pier with a thud, the bridge and I felt the impact.

Then here came a snag with its rootball

still attached. I leaned way over the concrete railing to get a good look, and when the snag hit, the current sucked the rootball down, causing the trunk itself to rear up and smack the side of the bridge. It happened so fast that if my head had been a bit closer, it would have been going down Caney Fork too.

I walked upstream on a gravel driveway that parallels the creek. Seeing a chunk of wood come rolling along and wanting to get an organic feel for how fast the creek was going, I decided to race it. The channel was its lane, the driveway mine. First one to the bridge was the winner.

I probably would have done better when I was young. A Moses Creek neighbor who is my son’s age told me she sometimes runs for exercise to the top of our property on a trail I’ve built. That’s a gain of 600 feet in elevation, the last part steep. I hike the trail every day, and it helps keep me fit, but I don’t remember when I last ran on it, or anywhere.

Maybe that’s why “race" doesn’t really describe my attempt to out-run that chunk of wood. “Run" isn’t the right word either, in the sense of stretching out the legs, eating up ground. I was shocked to discover the best I could do was little more than a rapid hobble, hips creaking and knees squeaking. Even when I poured it on, out of the corner of my eye I saw the heavy, insensitive, wooden thing pull ahead and leave me behind, winded. Caney Fork had given it new life.

I stopped and watched the chunk disappear under the bridge, waving back at me with a branch. If my young neighbor had been looking on, she would have laughed.

(Burt Kornegay ran Slickrock Expeditions, a wilderness guiding business based in Cullowhee, for 30 years, and he is the author of "A Guide’s

to

Discover Life in America

In 2018, Great Smoky Mountains National Park realized that there was a missing piece to its rich puzzle of history, which led to the park’s new project, the African American Experience Project.

This project is a collaborative effort with park partners and the community to document and share the untold stories of African Americans in and outside the Smokies. These stories have been shared by many African Americans around crackling campfires, sun-beaten front porches, and lamp-lit bedrooms, but they have yet to be shared with the world.

At 1 p.m. July 13, learn about the

African American Experience Project from Atalaya Dorfield, one of the folks working to reveal the missing pieces of the puzzle of Smokies history.

Science at Sugarlands is a speaker series dedicated to the natural history of life in the Smokies. DLiA hosts talks once a month from May to October, bringing regional scientists to talk about their Smokies-related research.

Talks are 30-45 minutes followed by a Q&A and they’re free, open to the public, and geared for a general audience. All talks will be hosted on Zoom. Register to receive a Zoom link via email.

Adopt a shell at the Marianna Black Library

Marianna Black Library Summer reading program staff helped find homes for over 50 seashells in their Adopt-A-Shell Program.

Children of all ages were eager to adopt a shell from the library’s temporary Shell-ter. Each child received an adoption certificate along with a detailed hand-painted shell with name and case story. One adopted shell turtle named Turbo was born in Ocean Isle Beach was allergic to seaweed but loves to be read books about the weather. His newly adopted caregiver didn’t have any books on the weather and was encouraged by staff to check out a book at the library to read to Turbo. Allison Reid, an artist and library employee, hand-painted each shell. There are a few shells left for adoption. If interested, and if patrons agree to read to their shell every night, they may stop by the library in Bryson City and see if any shells are left for adoption.

Learn the basics of solar energy

WNC Climate Action Coalition is hosting its second program of its three-part series on energy efficiency for home and business owners.

“An intro into solar energy: Practical considerations for local policy” with be held at 10 a.m. on July 16 at Waynesville’s First United Methodist Church and can also be accessed via Zoom.

The first hour of the workshop will focus on the technology of solar energy today, and the second half will look at the policy of solar energy including a look at Haywood County’s four different energy providers. Relative energy costs will be discussed and

the potential savings versus costs for home and business owners.

The speaker, William M. Hite, has undertaken efficiency and renewables coursework at the N.C. Clean Energy Center at NC State University. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Alliance of Nurses for Health Environments, a national policy and advocacy organization focusing on the intersection of climate and health. He attended CleanMed 2021, a practice GreenHealth-sponsored conference whose mission is to decarbonize the American healthcare sector. He serves on the Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS) Committee at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville.

To receive the Zoom, email wncclimateaction@gmail.com.

Big Creek Trail reopens

Great Smoky Mountains National Park reopened Big Creek Trail following an eight-week closure for a trail rehabilitation project. The park trail crew made much needed improvements along the entire 5.6-mile Big Creek Trail by repairing the tread surface and removing hazard trees.

Improvements included rehabilitating 97 drainage structures, reshaping 1,040 linear feet of trailside ditches, constructing a 24-foot bridge, and rehabilitating 530 feet of trail tread. The renovation improves overall trail safety and helps ensure the protection of natural resources along the popular horse and hiker trail. The trail crew completed the work a week ahead of schedule.

For more information about features along the Big Creek Trail, please visit the park’s website at nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/mouse-creekfalls.htm.

The Big Creek trail is again open following a rehabilitation project. Donated photo

Haywood Community College to host hunter safety courses

Haywood Community College’s Department of Arts, Sciences, and Natural Resources and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission will offer a hunter safety course 6 to 9 p.m., Aug. 2-3 on the HCC campus in building 3300, room 3322. Participants must attend two consecutive evenings to receive their certification.

More than a firearm safety course, instruction includes ethics and responsibility, conservation and wildlife management, wildlife identification, survival and first aid, specialty hunting, and tree stand safety.

These courses are offered as a community service and are free of charge. There are no minimum age requirements; however, written exam must be completed without assistance. Courses are taught by wildlife officers, hunter education specialists, and certified volunteer instructors. Certification is accepted in every state and province in North America. Additional hunter safety courses will be offered in September, October and November. Pre-registration is required. Anyone interested in taking a hunter safety course must register online in order to attend any session. Course registration may be completed at ncwildlife.org.

CMC launches 100th year

The Carolina Mountain Club kicks of the start of its 100th year on Saturday, July 16, and to celebrate it’s offering a $100 discount on family and individual lifetime memberships.

The low price applies to anyone who pays for a lifetime membership between

July 16 and the end of the month, and the membership dollars will support a newly established endowment fund to help support CMC through its next 100 years.

For existing members, CMC has created a new hiking challenge to commemorate the anniversary. The Centennial Challenge requires club members to work 50 hours on the trails and hike 50 miles on club-led hikes in 2022 and 2023. Those who complete the challenge will receive a certificate

Learn about the history of Bartram Trail

The July Nantahala Hiking Club program features Brent Martin of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy, who will present on the history of the Bartram Trail and on the travels of naturalist and artist William Bartram through the Southern Appalachians in the spring of 1775. He will also provide an overview of the trail today and current issues and projects.

In addition to being the executive director of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy, Martin has, over the years, worked as Regional Director for The Wilderness Society, Associate Director of Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (now Mainspring) and Executive Director of Georgia Forestwatch. He is the recipient of the Southern Environmental Law Center’s James S. Dockery Southern Environmental Leadership Award and lives in the Cowee Community with his wife (Angela), dog (Bella) and cat (George IV). In his spare time, he writes and helps his wife run their eco-tourism business, Alarka Expeditions. His most recent work is “George Masa’s Wild Vision: A Japanese Immigrant Imagines Western North Carolina.”

Join the NHC at 6 p.m. on July 14 for what promises to be an interesting and informative presentation.

and newly designed patch.

CMC started in 1923 as a spinoff of an earlier outdoor club, the Southern Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club, which chiefly focused on maintaining cabins for its members’ use. In 1931, CMC united with the Carolina Appalachian Trail Club to complete segments of the Appalachian Trail in the North Carolina-Tennessee region. At the time, CMC had about 60 members, of whom 25-30 were active.

Learn about hellbenders

The series “Where We Live: History, Nature, and Culture” will present a program on the Hellbender, a giant salamander found in our local streams.

The hellbender is one of only three giant salamanders found in the world. North Carolina is home to more than 65 species of salamanders, with 50 species in our mountain region alone. The Eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) is the largest salamanders found in North America.

Hellbenders are 16-17 inches long on average, but they can grow to be more than 2 feet long and weigh more than 2 pounds. Once common throughout the mid-eastern United States, this giant salamander has disappeared from many streams because of declining water quality, over-collecting and persecution.

Local names for hellbenders include water dog, mud puppy, devil dog, snot otter, grampus and Alleghany alligator. Although they are large and slimy, hellbenders are harmless and not poisonous, toxic, or venomous, contrary to popular belief.

Lori Williams, Wildlife Diversity biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, will be the speaker. She is conducting a longterm inventory and monitoring project on hellbenders.

The program will be held at the Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center at 51 Cowee School Drive in Franklin, beginning at 6:30 p.m. July 18.

WCU to offer Writing in Nature kids camp

Western Carolina University’s Division of Educational Outreach will be offering a new kid’s camp entitled “Writing in Nature” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, July 25, to Friday, July 29.

Sue Wasserman, this year’s Writer in Residence for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will lead the camp.

“While wandering along stream banks and wooded trails, the children are encouraged to see nature in new ways as well as find their beautiful voice for fun writing, photography and drawing activities,” said Wasserman.

Campers will go to various location on and around WCU’s campus to do writing and nature themed activities.

Materials will be provided for each camper. Parents/guardians are encouraged to bring a change of clothes at pick up for water activity days.

This camp is designed for ages 9-12 and is $179 per camper.

For more information and to register, visit camps.wcu.edu and click on “Day Camps” or call 828.227.7397.

Notes from a Plant Nerd

BY ADAM B IGELOW

A little beauty on an early spring day

One of my favorite things in the world to do is walk people into a field of wildflowers that they haven’t seen yet, point one out and then watch as they realize that those flowers are also blooming all around them. It’s not their fault that they didn’t see them at first. Often, until we are shown something, we don’t see it. Once we are shown it, it is difficult to not see it.

This is known as the “pop-out effect,” and it certainly does not just occur with wildflowers. For most people, if they have a reference for this phenomenon, it occurs when you buy a new (or new-to-you) car model. Before you got that car, you hardly ever saw them on the road. But as soon as you start driving it, you see the same type of car everywhere. That’s the “pop-out effect.”

In the early to mid-springtime, most of the wildflowers blooming in the woods around us are small and easily overlooked. From the earliest blooms of Trout Lily (Erythronium sp.) and Liverleaf (Hepatica sp.) in late winter through the first of the showy wildflowers like Trilliums and Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium sp.) of spring, many people will be walking along trails and not even realize they are walking past beautiful and diverse plants, sometimes accidently stepping on them.

Beauty, along with other true ephemerals like cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenate) and Bishop’s Cap (Mitella diphylla) emerge from the ground in springtime, leaf out, make a flower, set seed, and die back to the ground in the span of only a few weeks. So, you either get to see them when they bloom or you must wait until next year to catch them again. This, combined with their beauty, makes them special.

There are two species of Spring Beauty that bloom in the woods around us. The Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) has long, lance-shaped leaves, while the Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia carolini-

In our modern culture, there is an unofficial medical condition known as “Plant Blindness.” People with this “condition” exhibit symptoms like, “(a) thinking that plants are merely the backdrop for animal life; (b) failing to see, or notice or focus attention on plants in one’s daily life; (c) misunderstanding what plants need to stay alive; (d) overlooking the importance of plants to one’s daily affairs” according to James Wandersee and Elisabeth Schussler, who coined this term in 1999.

Among my favorite of the really small and really beautiful wildflowers of the Southern Appalachian Springtime are Spring Beauty (Claytonia sp.). With flowers about the size of my pinky nail, it is all too easy to overlook this spectacular plant. Plus, Spring Beauty are considered one of the true spring ephemerals, meaning that for most of the year these plants lay dormant under the ground waiting for that perfect blend of warmer soil and air temperatures and available sunlight that reaches all the way to the forest floor, before the trees have time to put on their leaves. The Spring

ana) has leaves that are shorter and wider than its Virginia cousin. Now, don’t let the names fool you as both the Virginia and Carolina spring beauties can be found throughout the Eastern U.S. and into Canada. Often, plants with state names in their botanical name just means that is where the first European explorer found them growing.

The flowers of both species look similar, and at first glance seem to be pink. Upon closer inspection, often while lying on the forest floor, it turns out that their five flower petals are white with pink stripes. They even have pink colored pollen, and in certain light they look like they are coated with sugar crystals, lending me to think that they should taste like peppermint candies. They don’t, trust me. However, one of their other common names, Fairy Spuds, refers to their edibility and use. Spring Beauty has an edible tuber, like a potato and would make a great giant baked potato — were you the size of a fairy. Since you’re not, perhaps they are best left in the ground to grow, and to flower, and to bring joy on an early spring day.

(Adam Bigelow lives in Cullowhee and leads wildflower walks and ecotours through Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions. bigelownc@gmail.com.)

WNC Calendar

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The Jackson Arts Market takes place from 1-5 p.m. every Saturday at 533 West Main St. in Sylva with live music and an array of local artists. David Cheatham will play music July 16.

• “Art After Dark” will be held from 6-9 p.m. each first Friday of the month (May-December) in downtown Waynesville. For more information, go to facebook.com/galleriesofhaywoodcounty.

• “Peach Jam” will be held from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Food trucks, live music, vendors, bounce houses, kids’ activities, pie eating contests, and more. For more information, email hotheadevents@gmail.com.

FUNDRAISERS AND B ENEFITS

• The Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society’s annual Open House and 35th anniversary celebration will take place from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society. For more information visit chhumanesociety.org.

H EALTH AND WELLNESS

• Swain County Caring Corner Free Clinic is open Thursday’s 4-9 p.m. at Restoration House (Bryson City United Methodist Church). Office hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9 a.m.-noon. Call 828.341.1998 to see if you qualify to receive free medical care from volunteer providers.

• The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department is offering a six-week Hustle dance class from 6:15-7:15 p.m. beginning Tuesday, July 19. Cost is $60 per person. For more information call 828.456.2030 or email tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

K IDS & FAMILIES

• Storytime takes place at 10 a.m. every Tuesday at the Macon County Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• “Art in Motion — Kinetic Art” will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 13-15, at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

• A youth summer workshop “Creatures and Critters” will take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. July 20-22, at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

• A youth summer workshop “Magic and Mystery” will take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. July 27-29, at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

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

Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.

• Mountain Street Dances will be held July 8, July 22, Aug. 8 and Sept. 30 in downtown Waynesville.

• Carringer Farms and Marie’s Custom Ornaments Trunk Show will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 23 at Acorns in Highlands. For more information visit www.oldedwardshospitality.com/calendar-of-events.

• Front Street Arts & Crafts Show will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 16, in Dillsboro. For more information call 828.506.8331 or visitdillsboro.com.

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company (Maggie Valley) will host an Open Mic Night 7-9 p.m. on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.734.1084 or elevatedmountain.com.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host Erick Baker (Americana/folk) 6 p.m. July 27. Admission is $40 per person, which includes light bites. A cash bar is available. To purchase tickets, click on oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.

• Fontana Village Resort Wildwood Grill will host Doug Wilhite (singer-songwriter) 5 p.m. July 15, Granny’s Mason Jar (Americana) 6 p.m. July 16 and Takeout July 23. Free and open to the public. 800.849.2258 or fontanavillage.com.

• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will host Leadfoot Lily (Americana) July 15 and The Johnny Webb Band (country/rock) July 22 at Town Square on Main Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host Dusk Weaver (Americana/folk) 7 p.m. July 14 and a Community Jam 6 p.m. July 21. Free and open to the public. 828.488.3030 or fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• Orchard Coffee (Waynesville) will host Tyler Ramsey (Americana/indie) at 8 p.m. July 15. Tickets are $25 per person and are available for purchase at the shop. 828.246.9264 or orchardcoffeeroasters.com.

• Saturdays On Pine (Highlands) will host The Wobblers (Americana/indie) July 16 and Russ Wilson Big Band (swing/jazz) July 23 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park on Pine Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host Skies Of Avalon July 21. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

• Valley Cigar & Wine Co. (Waynesville) will host Karaoke 6 p.m. July 14 and Bridgett Gossett (singersongwriter) 2 p.m. July 17. Free and open to the public. 828.944.0686 or valleycigarandwineco.com.

events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• Take a trip around the world with four different wines every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Bryson City Wine Market. Pick from artisan Charcuterie Foods to enjoy with wines. 828.538.0420.

• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.

ON STAGE & I N CONCERT

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host legendary comedians Chris Tucker July 16 and Rodney Carrington July 23. For tickets, caesars.com/harrahscherokee.

• The Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas will take place at 4 p.m. Sundays July 17 and 31, at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. Season and individual tickets are available online or at the church. For more information visit cmscarolina.com or call 828.400.6465.

• A stage production of the beloved tale “Alice in Wonderland” will be held on select dates throughout this spring at the Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on cherokeehistorical.org/alice-in-wonderland.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center will host “Letterpress Printing,” an adult workshop, from 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, in Bryson City. For more information visit southwesterncc.edu/scc-locations/swain-center.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center will host “Cherokee Language Printing,” an adult workshop, from 9-11 a.m. Thursday, July 14, in Bryson City. For more information visit southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.

• A class on still-life in oils with Gina Brown will take place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 21-22 at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

• A class for intermediate woodturning with John Tagliarini will take place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 27-29 at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES

• Artists in Residence at Lake Junaluska will host the second annual Associates Art Show from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, on the Kern Center porch. Musicians from the lake will also be there to entertain.

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

• Three Potters Symposium will take place from 10 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. July 30, at The bas com Center for Visual Arts. For more information visit thebascom.org.

FILM & S CREEN

• A “Foreign Film Series” will be held at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, on the second and fourth Friday, two movies from around the globe will be shown. This program is in the Community Room and is free of charge. To find out what movie will be shown and/or for more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016.

Outdoors

• Nature and Nurture: The Voorhees Family Artistic Legacy will be on display at the Baker Visitors Center through Sept. 5. For more information call 828.665.2492 or visit ncarboretum.org.

• ArborEvenings take place from 5:30-8 p.m. at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, Thursday and Friday evenings through Sept. 30. www.ncarboretum.org.

• The annual Zahner Conservation Lectures will take place at 6 p.m. Thursdays from July 7 to Sept. 1. To view the full lecture lineup, visit highlandsbiological.org.

• Hike Sheepback to Purchase Knob with Haywood County Recreation at 9 a.m. July 16. Registration required, cost is $10. haywoodcountync.gov/222/Programs or 828.452.6789

• Brent Martin will present his new book about George Masa Sunday, July 17, at Yonder Market in Franklin. To purchase the book or view updated information about events, visit alarkaexpeditions.com.

• Hike Fork Ridge Overlook to Waterrock Knob with Haywood County Recreation at 12:30 p.m. July 17. Registration required, cost is $10. haywoodcountync.gov/222/Programs or 828.452.6789.

• Hike the Flat Creek Trail with Haywood County Recreation at 10 a.m. July 20. Registration required, cost is $10. haywoodcountync.gov/222/Programs or 828.452.6789.

• Paint and Sip at Waynesville Art School will be held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m. To learn more and register call 828.246.9869 or visit PaintAndSipWaynesville.com/upcoming-events. Registration is required, $45.

• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North

• Yonder (Franklin) will host Tommy Stinson (singersongwriter) 6 p.m. July 14. Tickets start at $25 per person. For tickets, click on eventbrite.com and search “Tommy Stinson Yonder.” 828.200.2169 or eatrealfoodinc.com.

F OOD AND D RINK

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming

• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m.3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. 828.349.4607 or pm14034@yahoo.com.

• Collector’s Talk with Kirk Moore: “Sense of Place, One Person’s Travels Through the Southern Imaginary Landscape,” will take place at 3 p.m. July 15, at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. The event is free. For more information visit thebascom.org.

• The exhibit “Like No Other Place” is open July 16 through Dec. 31, in the Joel Gallery at the The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. For more information visit thebascom.org.

• The Highlands Biological Foundation’s annual summer soiree will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, July 18, on the historic ravens property. Tickets are $250. To register, visit highlands biological.org or call 828.526.2221.

• The Southeaster Permaculture Gathering will take place Aug. 5-7, in Celo, North Carolina. For more information visit skutheasternpermaculture.org.

FARM AND GARDEN

• Flower grower Meg Thurman will teach a flower arranging class at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 14, in the Atrium at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Free, with space limited. Call 828.586.2016 to register.

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

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

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

• Boost in Print

• Add Photo $6

• Bold ad $2

• Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4

• Border $4

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

Business

Opportunities

BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. We want to Read Your Book! Dorrance Publishing- Trusted by Authors Since 1920 Book manuscript submissions currently being reviewed. Comprehensive Services: Consultation, Production, Promotion and Distribution Call for Your Free Author`s Guide 1-888-425-1126 or visit dorranceinfo.com/nc

Employment

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain applicants. Call CTI for details! 1-855-554-4616 The Mission, Program Information and Tuition is located at CareerTechnical.edu/consumer-information.

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ready to work in months! Call 866-243-5931. (M-F 8am-6pm ET)

four-year degree in a Hu-erence will be given to applicants with a Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and/or experience providing Social Work services. Applicants should complete an application for Jackson County which is located at www.jcdss.org and submit it to the Jackson County Department of Street, Sylva, NC 28779 or the Sylva branch of the NC Works Career Center. Applications will be taken until July 22, 2022.

DIGITAL MARKETING

SPECIALIST The Smoky Mountain News is looking for a Digital Marketing Specialist who can plan, build, and implement digital marketing campaigns across multiple channels and platforms. The ideal candidate will increase digital awareness of our brands — which include The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine and Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine — and also work with business clients to increase awareness of their company, brand, products, and services. This person should be able to create and manage social media campaigns — mainly Facebook and Instagram — manage e-newsletters, and collaborate with our team of sales professionals, graphic designers

THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT Of Social Services is recruiting for a Social Worker in Child Protective Services. This position investigates reports of child abuse and neglect and provides services to families where needsquires some availability after hours. The starting salary is $45,736.42, if

and content creators to increase our digital sales volume. We need a self-starter capable of working independently as well as in a team setting. This person will have strong interpersonal skills, a knack for creative thinking as it pertains to digital revenue, a solid understanding of grammar and writing, and willsess the ability to learn) photography and videography. This is a full-time position with Mountain South Media, a division of The Smoky Mountain

Waynesville and Sylva. Recent college grads with appropriate skills and degree encouraged to apply. Email greg@ smokymountainnews. com for inquires or to send a resume.

Medical

DENTAL INSURANCE

From Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 350 plus procedures. Real dental insurance - NOT just a discount plan. Do not wait! Call now! Get your FREE Dental Information Kit with all the details! 1-844-4968601 www.dental50plus. com/ncpress #6258

Pets

LULA FROM SARGE’S ANIMAL RESCUE Sweet

Lula is a medium sized brindle Pit Bull who we’ve been told is great with kids, super loyal, affectionate, and would make for a great family pet. Lula is reported as being house trained and knows sit, lay down, and comes on command. She walks well on a leash but can be a bit reactive towards larger dogs approaching her. Lula’s adoption fee is $50. If you’d like to meet her, please submit an adoption application at www.sarges.org (828) 246-9050 info@sarges. org

LABRADOR RETRIEVER MIX DOG (WHITE),BAILEY 7 year old girl; sweet, calm, and a little shy. Loves to just hang out. Asheville Humane Society (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org

DENIED SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY?

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SSD and denied, our attorneys can help! Win or Pay Nothing! Strong, recent work history needed. 877-553-0252 [Steppach-

KITTENS! Asheville Humane Society has numerous kittens for adoption, all 2-6 months old, in a variety of colors and cute as can be! (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org Real Estate Announcements

OCEAN ISLE BEACH DEALS! Prime ocean lot $1,750,000. $250,000.00 under market! Canal homes and condos great

prices. Don’t wait! Coastal Carolina Realty. Call Stuart 1-800-NCBeach

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise ‘any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination’. Familial status includes children under 18 living with parents or legal guardians and pregnant women. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate in violation of this law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

Entertainment

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Health/Beauty

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WATER DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME? Call for a quote for professional cleanup & maintain the value of your home! Set an appt. today! Call 833664-1530 (AAN CAN)

Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com Beverly Hanks & Associates- beverly-hanks.com

• Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com

• Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com

• Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com

• Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com

• Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com

• Ellen Sither - esither@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

Emerson Group - emersongroupus.com

• George Escaravage - george@emersongroupus.com

• Chuck Brown - chuck@emersongroupus.com

ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com

• Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com

• Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com

• Lyndia Massey - buyfromlyndia@yahoo.com

• Randy Flanigan - 706-207-9436

Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com

• The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

• Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@kw.com

• Darrin Graves - dgraves@kw.com

Lakeshore Realty

• Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com

• Lyndia Massey- buyfromlyndia@yahoo.com

Mountain Creek Real Estate

• Ron Rosendahl - 828-593-8700

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management

• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

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

• The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com

• Ron Breese - ronbreese.com

• Landen Stevenson- landen@landenkstevenson.com

• Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

• Mary & Roger Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net

• David Willet - davidwillet1@live.com

• Sara Sherman - sarashermanncrealtor@gmail.com

• David Rogers- davidr@remax-waynesville.com

• Judy Meyers - jameyers@charter.net

Rob Roland Realty

• Rob Roland - RobRolandRealty.com

Smoky Mountain Retreat Realty

• Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com

• Sherell Johnson - Sherellwj@aol.com

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SUDOKU

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