Smoky Mountain News | September 25, 2019

the walk’ on opioid crisis Page 14 Project protects 710 acres in Maggie Valley Page 40

On the Cover:

The Smoky Mountain News’ annual Living Well special section aims to give readers a broad view of the many different opportunities for living a healthy lifestyle in Western North Carolina. Whether you’re interested in starting a new workout routine or searching for ways to improve your mental health, local health experts can help you get started. Photo by Cory Vaillancourt

Living Well

Fitness training gets personal ..........................................................................................4

CBD: Hype or help? ..........................................................................................................5

Swain health program reaches for new heights ........................................................6

Setting boundaries to lead a happier life ....................................................................8 Meditation center offers peace to WNC ..................................................................10

News

WCU event ‘walks the walk’ on opioid crisis ..........................................................14 Early plans for Jackson animal shelter presented ..................................................16 HCC names new president ..........................................................................................18 Board of Inquiry recommends removing ranger’s commission ..........................20 UNC-Charlotte shooter sentenced ............................................................................22

Opinion

Price tag for new central office is mighty high ........................................................23

A&E

with Marcus King ................................................................................28

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Fitness training gets personal

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER

While the benefits of regular exercise are well known, most people think the only way to stay in shape is to join a gym.

But that doesn’t work for everybody, all of the time; busy lifestyles can compete with limited hours, the gym can be intimidating for some and a general lack of knowledge can leave beginners wondering where to turn.

Luckily for Waynesville-area residents, there are a number of fitness professionals ready to lend a personal touch to your fitness regimen — whether you’re young or old, in great shape or just getting back into it, looking to maintain strength and flexibility into old age or seeking to push the limits of mind and body in competitive endurance challenges.

“I had gotten into a lot of problems with some osteoporosis and bone issues,” said Eileen Corbin, a registered nurse originally from Minnesota but an area resident for more than 35 years. “Blood pressure issues, pain, I mean I was losing muscle, and I didn’t even realize it.”

That was before Corbin encountered the teachings of Navy Seal Randy Hetrick. While deployed in the late 1990s, Hetrick was looking for a way to stay in shape, without the impractical implications of relying on fitness equipment like free weights.

He settled on resistance training, and began working out using only a jiu-jitsu belt and some parachute webbing. Hetrick went on to earn his MBA and began selling a product he calls the TRX Suspension Trainer out of the trunk of his car.

In 2004 he launched his company, Travelfit, and a year later began holding courses meant to teach fellow fitness instructors how to implement the system, which is really only a few simple nylon straps and rubber handgrips mounted to a wall or ceiling.

“It’s only been out there probably 15 years,” Corbin said. “It’s still young, and a lot of people don’t know about this thing yet. It’s called TRX, total resistance exercise.”

Resistance training differs from other fitness exercises in that resistance is provided only by one’s body weight, not by free weights or traditional rack machines.

Corbin became a certified TRX instructor a few years ago, and since then has operated her personal training service out of a small gym in downtown Waynesville.

“So as you angle, as you go deeper in your angles, you pull harder, you experience more strengthening. It’s all about strengthening, building muscles so that your core gets strong,” she said. “And this mode of mobility, they have over a thousand variations of exercises you can do. I know about 75 of them really well.”

Resistance training is one of the lowest-impact forms

Train and gain

Two very different personal trainers — geared toward drastically different personal training goals — are currently accepting new clients in Haywood County.

Elaine Corbin’s TRX (total resistance training) www.etotalfitness.d.leadmachine.website 60 S. Main St., Waynesville 828.421.8566 • etotalfit@gmail.com

Andre Vandenberg’s endurance coaching www.tri2pr.com • Andre@tri2pr.com

of exercise, and is thus great for people with joint issues. Unlike free weights, it also works all quarters of the body — upper, lower, right side and left side — independently, which can reveal where, exactly, people “cheat” by compensating for a bum shoulder, or a bad knee.

“We work on weak sides,” she said. “I pay attention to where they’re going with that kind of problem. I find a lot of issues. I don’t consider it physical therapy, I’m just saying it’s a way to strengthen the weaknesses that people have, that they don’t know they have.”

New clients can expect a complimentary assessment by Corbin, who suggests two 45-minutes sessions a week, because proper rest and recovery is just as important as exercise itself.

Some of her clients, though, don’t even need to see her that often — TRX systems are also sold for home use, so many people come to Corbin just to learn the ropes, and then work out at home because they don’t want to be tethered to an in-demand instructor, or a an inconvenient gym.

“Let’s say a triathlete for example, on Monday they’ll see the plan and I’ll have a swim workout in there, and have their warm up, their main set and their cool down,” he said. “And then if they have to do a run that day, it’ll show the run, whether it’s an easy run, a hard run, or a moderate run. They can use a Garmin watch or a fitness watch and it will send all the data, and I can look and see exactly what that individual did as far as pace. Based on their feedback I’m making my decision on what they need to do going forward.”

Remaining “untethered” is also a core component of Andre Vandenberg’s coaching practice.

“The cool thing with endurance coaching is it’s all done remotely,” said Vandenberg, who holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Appalachian State, with a concentration in clinical exercise physiology.

Vandenberg started off in competitive cycling about 15 years ago, but said he got “burned out” on it, so he transitioned into an even more demanding arena, triathlons. Although he does still do some personal training, his passion lies in the foundation that underlies all the events he takes part in — endurance.

“Training for a triathlon is really involved, and trying to put it all together, swim, bike, run, how much to do, how hard to do it, when to do it, can be very intimidating for a new person or even someone that’s been doing it for awhile,” he said. “It’s good to have somebody look from the outside in to help progress them along.”

For his clients, Vandenberg creates and then loads personalized weekly workouts onto his website.

“The thing is, you can just go online and get what I call a ‘canned plan’ for free,” he said. “My plans, they take into account your lifestyle, your family obligations and your work obligations, so it’s tailored to you.”

The unique web-based model allows for constant communication between athlete and coach; Vandenberg also takes phone calls and texts from his athletes, advising them every step of the way.

Having that “coach” in your corner is essential, says Vandenberg, who despite his own expertise uses a Virginia-based coach to keep him on track.

“Consistency is king,” he said. “It’s not one big workout that gets the job done. It’s a bunch of small, simple workouts over the course of time that gets the job done. So I always preach that: consistency, consistency, consistency. You won’t see these massive big workouts for people to do once in a while. With small, achievable goals, we’re going to get you to where you want to be down the road.”

Even though Vandenberg can advise clients anywhere in the world, he finds most of them in this region — for a very good reason.

“Western North Carolina and Asheville, believe it or not, is like the Boulder of the east coast,” he said, referring to the Colorado mountain town that has for years served as a prime training destination for the world’s top endurance athletes due to its altitude, climate and topography.

“We have pro cyclists that live here. We don’t have as many pro triathletes, they’re more on the west coast, but we have a few,” said Vandenberg. “It’s just the mountains, the cool weather. You have gravel roads, you have flat roads, you just have everything here. Bike shops. Trails. The culture is here, in this area. There’s an endurance community in Waynesville, believe it or not, and in Haywood County.”

CBD: Hype or Help?

Three years ago, few people had heard of cannabidiol (CBD). Now, it’s popular with all demographics. It’s even being used with cats and dogs. With an abundance of information floating around and a slew of products on the market, Kim Ferguson of Kim’s Pharmacy offers clarification and suggestions regarding CBD oil.

Q). For readers who need a refresher, what is CBD?

A). CBD is a chemical compound from the cannabis plant. It’s a naturally occurring substance used in products like oils and salves. Unlike its cousin tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it’s not psychoactive.

their body.”

Pilates studio open in Waynesville

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER

You don’t have to be a famous athlete or entertainer to take Pilates classes from Nikki Perkovich, but if you do, you just may find yourself training with some of them.

Perkovich was born in the United States, but left at an early age for Italy, where she married and spent 22 years of her life. When that chapter was over, she returned — to Miami — and opened up what was then the largest Pilates studio in the world.

“I bought a 6,000-square-foot building, and I was in there for almost 15 years on the corner of Coral Way and 17th Street,” she said. “I had a giant 50-by-50 foot room. I had 18 tables in one room.”

Perkovich had been trained in Pilates, a system of movement designed to increase flexibility, build strength and improve balance, by a disciple of Joseph Pilates himself. “It’s one muscle group of your body leveraging another muscle group. So it’s you against you. It can be your triceps against your hamstrings. It can be your biceps against your quads,” she said. “In the same room, I’ll have a strapping 19-year-old 160pound guy working the same little spring as an 85-year-old woman, doing the same movement and everyone is suffering to their potentiality because it’s their body against

It was in Miami where she in turn trained golfers, racecar drivers and performers like Madonna and Gloria Estefan, but when she wanted to downsize, her clients didn’t want her to leave.

“People come to me with knee pain, and back pain because my specialty is really pain. My clients were all very upset, because I have clients that I’ve been training for 20 years,” she said. “They said, ‘Don’t leave us! Don’t leave me by myself!’”

As she searched for a new building, she took the advice of her daughter, visited Waynesville, and like many others, decided to stay.

“I wanted to come out of the city because I lived in the country in Italy and I love the country,” said Perkovich.

She moved her studio into a smaller space in Miami, and brought about half of her equipment to her new location on Depot Street, where she’s been since opening this past March as Sanctuary7.

But she’s hasn’t exactly left Miami, despite living in Haywood County full-time.

“I hooked up all this streaming stuff. I mean, it was not easy to do because nobody’s really doing it,” said Perkovich. “So I teach from here to there.”

Cameras mounted in her Depot Street location transmit video to Miami, and vice versa. Waynesville clients can see themselves on one side of the split-screen, and can also see their Miami classmates as well.

“I teach between three and four classes a day, and I have teachers in Miami that are in the room and then I’m here with all the girls and guys in Waynesville,” Perkovich said. “Actually, the people in Waynesville are making friends with people in Miami. I go down there sometimes and when I go down there and my daughter who runs that studio comes up here, so we swap. And so she’ll teach up here and I’ll be down there.”

Q). There seems to be CBD available everywhere from pharmacies to gas stations to roadside stands. How is a person to know which product to buy?

A). You’re right. There is CBD everywhere these days. Many online manufacturers are selling it as well. I will say that products sold at our pharmacy have been vetted and carry a money-back guarantee. Before buying, I would encourage people to do their research and talk to a knowledgeable pharmacist or other individual who is well-versed on the topic of CBD. You really should purchase from a medical professional who can provide guidance on dosing, side effects and more importantly drug interactions. These are not benign products and really should be monitored by a medical professional.

Q). For what type of ailments do people seek CBD?

A). Primarily, I see folks using CBD when it comes to pain, sleep issues, PTSD, depression and anxiety. Others use it to support symptoms related to autism, multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, skin issues, smoking cessation, ADHD and more.

Q). How does CBD work with the body?

A). All cannabinoids, including CBD, impact certain bodily receptors. CB1 and CB2 receptors are present throughout the body, but most CB2 receptors are in the brain and deal with coordination, movement, pain, emotions, mood, thinking, appetite and memory, just to name a few.

Q). So, our bodies already create their own CBD?

A). All human bodies have an endocannabinoid system and it predates

the cannabis plant. The system itself is influenced by many things beyond cannabis and CBD. It’s designed to promote homeostasis and plays a central role in regulation, maintenance and balance of optimal health and healing. It does it on a cellular and systemic level. We even create our own endocannabinoids, anandamide and 2-AG. Anandamide is nicknamed the “bliss molecule.” What we’re seeing is that the body responds to external CBD in the same way because CBD occupies those same receptors.

Q). Would everyone benefit from taking CBD?

A). An antioxidant fights free radicals, which damage cells. CBD is a powerful antioxidant, more powerful than vitamin C and E, so with that being said, everyone could potentially benefit from using it.

Q). Is CBD FDA-approved?

A). While CBD is not FDA-approved in a broad sense, Epidiolex, a form of cannabidiol, has been approved. It’s used to treat Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, two serious and rare kinds of epilepsy.

Q). In what ways are people using CBD for their pets?

A). I’ve heard several anecdotal stories where people have had major success using CBD to soothe pet anxiety and chronic itching.

Q). What CBD advice would you want to leave our readers?

A). I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen CBD do for my patients here at the pharmacy. To me, it’s another powerful tool in the toolbox to help people live a happy, healthy life. With that being said, it’s always wise to do your research and speak with professionals you trust before taking any new product, including CBD.

Kim’s Pharmacy is located at 479 Dellwood Rd. in Waynesville. She and her associates are available to speak with customers about CBD.

‘The gift of health’

Squirrell gives back through fitness classes

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

Fitness has long been an important part of Angel Squirrell’s life, but in recent years she’s found renewed purpose by sharing it with others.

Squirrell works full time in IT at the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority, but three times a week she heads over to the Cherokee Fitness Complex for the evening, where she teaches zumba, dance fitness, tabata and, occasionally, spin.

“I think to be an instructor you have to enjoy being around people, and I love my community,” said Squirrell. “I have family here and friends here, and I think for me it’s about being able to give back. And I feel like I’m giving back.”

That feeling is compounded by the fact that all enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — as well as all non-enrolled hospital employees — can use the fitness center for free. Squirrell can invite her friends and co-workers to come out and exercise with her, and it won’t cost them a thing.

“I can’t give a lot, but if I can give the gift of health, I’m going to do that,” she said.

Squirrell grew up dancing, and she started running in the early 2000s — at 46, she’s training for her fourth marathon. But it wasn’t until about six years ago that she got certified as a fitness instructor. Squirrell started going to classes with Sussy Huskey, who said she could use someone to fill in for her when she couldn’t be there and urged Squirrell to get certified. Squirrell did just that, for

Community health program reaches for new heights

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR

Swain Summits is a new community health initiative launched through a partnership between Swain Community Hospital and Swain County Health Department to help people live their best lives.

“The main goal of Swain Summits is to make our community healthier,” said Chelsea Burrell, wellness outreach coordinator at Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. “We are confident the program offers every individual something positive and meets them along their individual health journey.”

The program, which was started about a year ago, is available for individuals or businesses trying to find a way to encourage their staff to be healthier. Community participation will hopefully lead to lower rates of chronic disease and obesity in the future. It’s already making a difference for more than 100 employees of the Swain County Public Schools system.

During the 2018-19 school year, employees lost a total of 371 pounds, with an average of 6 pounds per person.

Burrell said the program is a points-based system where employees and citizens alike earn points for engaging in healthy activities — reporting adequate sleep, physical activity, healthy food choices, attending fitness classes or health programs, annual exams with a physician and more.

“Swain Summits starts with a free health screening and

years helping Huskey out as needed. But since January, she’s been working with the Cherokee Fitness Complex.

“To me it’s therapeutic,” Squirrell said. “Even here at the hospital when I’ve had a busy day and something isn’t going right, I’m actually excited to get to class, because it makes me happy. I get the endorphins — I know if I’m getting those endorphins, my girls are getting the endorphins. It’s just a big stress relief.”

Attendance fluctuates with the seasons. Class sizes shrink in the summer as people spend more time outside, taking advantage of the longer days, but with sunset coming earlier and the summer vacations at an end, Squirrell is seeing her classes grow once more.

“I think the classes that I teach have brought folks in that maybe wouldn’t come to the gym, because weightlifting and getting on a treadmill — that’s not for everybody,” she said.

But if the goal is to get toned and fit, then dancebased exercise classes do the trick just fine. Squirrell’s on the short side, so the gym got her a small stage to stand on while running her classes, allowing her to better see her students.

“I can see my regulars shrinking,” she said. “They’re toning and they’re getting smaller.”

In addition to losing inches, they’re growing their stamina and resilience to common diseases such as diabetes. It’s amazing to see how far they’ve come between now and January, said Squirrell. That increased endurance, combined with shed pounds and toned muscle, causes a corresponding boost in confidence that’s rewarding to witness.

“People think it’s a cheesy thing when you tell them exercise is the fountain of youth. It really is,” said Squirrell. “I’m just amazed at some of the folks I see that

ends with a free health screening to truly divulge the health of our community as well as provide statistical evidence that this program format works,” she said. “We are with participants every step of the way through educational videos, explanations and healthy tips. There is no cost to participants.”

The program itself is approximately one year long, and it’s not too late to sign up. Those who miss the initial health screenings Sept. 19-25 can join the program in early 2020 when mid-health screenings for those already involved are done.

Burrell said post-health screenings will be done in the fall of 2020 to see how far participants have come. Those who participate are eligible for a prize individually as well as a team. Most improved from pre-to-post are eligible for a gift card.

Angel Squirrell teaches classes at Cherokee Fitness Center three times a week. Donated photo

are there daily, and I’m thinking they’re a lot younger than they are, but they’re not. To me it doesn’t matter what your age is or where you are in your physical fitness. It’s always the right time to jump in.”

Class schedules for the Cherokee Fitness Complex are available at www.facebook.com/cherokeefitnesscomplex or by calling 828.359.6494.

Community Hospital have established this same wellness program format within the school systems across three counties — Jackson, Swain and Graham.

“The ultimate goal of the program is to meet our community where they are and make a positive difference in lives, hopefully making Swain County healthier and happier not only in our eyes but their own,” she said.

While the program is still young, it has already seen major successes in creating a healthier community in Swain and surrounding counties as well. Harris Regional Hospital and Swain

“In the previous school year (2018-19), we had 328 awesome participants start the year, but only 111 participants completed the program in its entirety. Of those 111 participants, there was over 1,000 pounds lost — an average of 10 pounds per participant — with marginal improvements in cholesterol and body fat percentage. Improvement was seen in all three counties,” Burrell said.

Thus far, school systems and county employees are the only people who have participated, but now the program is open to the public. Swain Summits is eligible to those who are residents of the county or full-time employees 18 years or older.

Not only will the program result in a healthier community, but Burrell said it ends up saving the community money as well by reducing health-related expenses.

“The program is important to every resident from running marathons to getting started for the first time, engaging in new healthy habits that create a happier community in which we live and work,” she said.

There is no cost associated with Swain Summits. For more information, visit Swain Summits on Facebook.

Can cause coughing, congestion & headaches

3. May casue menstrual problems

“After dealing with a painful earache for several years and many doctor visits, Dr. Hogan identified my problem. I needed a spinal adjustment on my neck. Only 8 adjustments later my earache is gone!”

-J. Ballinger

Setting boundaries to lead a happier life

An interview with therapist Arika Morrison

What does it mean to set boundaries?

Setting boundaries is about understanding the parameter of our limits and personal needs. It’s how we communicate our “yes” and our “no.”

In relationships, it is understanding where one person ends and another person begins. There are different types of boundaries. Loose boundaries allow too many things in and rigid boundaries keep too many things out. Healthy boundaries serve as a filter, allowing good things in and bad things out.

Why are boundaries important?

Boundaries protect us. They are essential in various types of relationships: work, school, family, church and other activities. They protect our time, money, energy and body. They can set expectations in relationships. Boundaries help us to take care of ourselves by honoring our needs and the needs of others.

How do boundaries, or lack thereof, affect our stress level?

We can experience stress when we have too many

Arika Morrison.

Boundaries can become walls and isolate us from the good things that bring us joy in life. But, we can also experience stress if we don’t have enough boundaries. We can become overcommitted and have too many demands on our life. This can be very draining and cause us to neglect our physical and emo-

HealthPATH

Haywood County’s

Diagnostics,

In and network

Flexible

tional needs. We must replenish ourselves. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup.

What are some tips for those who struggle with establishing boundaries?

Many people have difficulty saying “no” because they don’t want to disappoint people. This is especially hard for people pleasers. They may feel they are being selfish or perhaps they don’t feel that their needs matter. It’s important to understand that we all have needs and we must take care of our needs to be healthy. This is not being selfish, this is self-care. Start by slowing down the automatic “yes” and say “maybe.” This creates space to ask yourself:

• Do I have time?

• Do I have the energy?

• Am I afraid of disappointing the other person?

• Am I neglecting my own needs?

• Does saying “yes” align with my values?

• Can I say “yes” joyfully?

It can feel uncomfortable to change your boundaries and it may be helpful to seek support from others. Many people benefit from learning communication skills and establishing boundaries to create a happy and healthier life.

Searching for philosophy

BY TARA HOGAN G UEST WRITER

What is your health philosophy? What keeps you going? Now more than ever, we need to be looking up from our devices asking ourselves these questions. Depression, anxiety, chronic pain and lifestyle diseases are rampant. Defining a strong health philosophy may be the answer the mystery of our culture of disease. A lack of philosophy is dangerous not only for one’s self but also to communities at large. Philosophy defines a person, beliefs and behaviors. Having a philosophy on health could be the single most important philosophy you could ever define in your life.

philosophy would ask, “What is blocking this child’s health? Is there stress on crucial parts that control for ear drainage? Is there an undiagnosed food sensitivity taxing the child’s immune system? Why is it that the child cannot defeat infection even with repeat antibiotic usage?” Chiropractic searches for the why instead of assuming that chronic infection is an inevitable part of life. There is always an underlying cause to every ill. And the lack of drugs is not usually the cause.

The chiropractic profession was founded on a philosophy, science and art for health. Few people know or truly understand this about chiropractic, and sadly some chiropractors don’t even get it. If you have ever been curious about why chiropractic is more popular than ever and why it has succeeded since 1895, read on.

First, for any of this to make sense, one must entertain the idea that the human body is a perfect structure and is completely self regulatory. For every cause there will be an effect.

The Chiropractic Premise: The body is formed, born and healed by a force called innate intelligence. A simple example of this is a superficial cut on the skin that heals itself. A more complex example would be a mother’s body producing healing immunoglobulins in breast milk for her sick baby.

Chiropractic was founded on ideas such that when the body is given proper nutrients, sleep, water and basic essentials it will function in healthy adaptive ways. A basic essential of the body’s function is proper framework of the spinal column, which protects our nerves. The chiropractic spinal adjustment is a way to positively influence spinal structure that is “off” and causing misfiring nerves. When improved spinal alignment is procured, the body may perform at optimum adaptation, which is our natural birthright.

Let us use the example of chronic childhood ear infections. I once heard a mom say she felt the hospital should give out coupons for ear tubes when a baby is born. According to her philosophy, she believed that ear infections are inevitable for all children. Chiropractic

In the last 20 years many studies have proven that chiropractic resolves back and neck pain. But this is purely a side effect of what is actually going on inside the body after chiropractic care. Nerve flow getting restored to the body tissues is what happens. Innate automatic healing of the self is what expresses.

Anytime nerve flow is inhibited by spinal column malposition it will express itself less clearly and symptoms occur. Causes for nerve inhibition include trauma, repetitive motions, or even emotional stress. Pain is an extremely common symptom to be

The human species has proven to be highly intelligent, adaptable and capable of performing amazing feats.

expressed, but chronic illness, and inability to heal with drugs or surgery may be due to the fact that the body’s natural healing forces have been inhibited by an incorrect postural structure.

The human species has proven to be highly intelligent, adaptable and capable of performing amazing feats. Even if the body is not given proper nutrition and sleep, loads of stress, plus a crooked spine, it is still able to adapt for some time. When inadequate physical structure, toxic environment, emotional stress, and mental load on the body is too much to bear, the human ability to behave intelligently, adapt to the environment and perform as a normal human will be compromised and the body will exist in a state of dis-ease.

Chiropractic opens us up and leads us on a journey that our body, mind and spirit may never have been able to conceive before. Spinal alignment is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the chiropractic paradigm. If you are curious or want your body to work better, please come visit us at Blue Mountain Chiropractic. It is our mission to help you achieve your highest potential in life by restoring your body. And above all else, we care.

Finding perspective

Meditation center offers peace to WNC

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

It was close to Christmas 2015 when Mark Stein and Randy Doster opened The Meditation Center in Sylva, an oasis of calming music and inspirational décor in a small white house along N.C. 107.

“They say, ‘When you build it they will come.’ I was just amazed — we were so blown away — that out here in the country there were so many people interested in those kinds of things,” said Stein.

He and Doster first got involved with meditation prior to their arrival in Western North Carolina, when they lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. They were both interested in spirituality and metaphysical concepts, said Stein, and began taking classes at a retreat center in Roanoke, Virginia. Eventually, they earned certification as metaphysical teachers from the United Metaphysical Churches.

“Meditation is simply just going into a quiet place and connecting with your higher self or a higher form of a spirit,” said Stein. “We don’t tell people what to believe. We allow people to sort of find their own way. We give them the principles and the guidance, and they find their own way with whatever works best for them.”

For Stein, meditation provides a “safe space” to look inward, to put things in perspective. Many times, he said,

the negative reactions people have to things going on in the world are as much a product of how they respond to events than they are of the events themselves.

“We can learn to respond differently, which reduces stress, and by reducing stress there’s other health benefits,” he said. “It helps with blood pressure, it helps with the heart.”

Those are benefits Stein experienced firsthand when

his newfound interest in meditation began to intersect with his longstanding career in a much different discipline. He retired last year after 19 years working in sales support for a software company. Doster, likewise, has a resume wildly divergent from his current involvement in meditation — he previously did electronic billing for Georgetown University and is retired from the U.S. Air Force.

What Are Cannabinoids?

Cannabinoids are a group of closely related compunds that act on cannbinoid receptors in the body, unique to cannabis (or hemp). The body creates compounds called endocannabinoids, while hemp produces phytocannabinoids, notably cannabidiol. Cannabinoids is traditionally used for pain, sleep, and fibermyalgia.

CBD has traditionally been used for:

Anxiety/Depression

Seizures

Pain/Fibromyalgia

Nausea/Vomiting

The Endocannabinoid System is perhaps the most important physiologic systerm involved in establishing and maintaining human health. Although the endocannabinoid system affects a wide variety of biological processes, experts believe that its overall function is to regulate homeostasis.

“Sometimes what we want is not always what we need, and [meditation] helps you find the perspective to understand the difference.”

— Mark Stein

More info

To learn more about The Meditation Center, visit www.meditate-wnc.org.

“I have a tendency to procrastinate, so I get stressed out about getting a project done,” said Stein. “Historically that was a very stressful thing for me, but the more I meditated the more I would be able to tell myself, ‘I can handle this.’”

That experience convinced him that meditation was something he wanted to share with the wider world, a desire that gave rise to opening the center in Sylva, which operates as a nonprofit. Most classes have a suggested donation attached to them, while others encourage participants to donate whatever they feel is fair.

“We’re not making any money from this,” said Stein. “It’s something we do for the good of the community.”

The Meditation Center offers a variety of opportunities for people interested in learning more. Every Tuesday evening there’s a healing meditation session that focuses on healing for participants — mind and body — as well as for their loved ones and community. There’s a Saturday discussion group that features a topic or issue of interest, followed by a meditation on that topic, as well as a variety of special classes and a metaphysical lecture on the third Sunday of each month, which focuses on finding deeper meaning in a passage of scripture.

“It’s fascinating, because we do see people who come in here who seem to be generally stressed out all the time,” said Stein.

They come to The Meditation Center, and they find that they feel better.

“That’s probably the main point, is really just learning to be part of life rather than trying to control it all the time, trying to impose our personal will on our situations,” said Stein. “Sometimes what we want is not always what we need, and it helps you find the perspective to understand the difference.”

that you have a DIETITIAN on call?

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN is the Corporate Dietitian for Ingles Markets. She can answer your questions about food from the farm to the plate, whether you want to know about nutrition, ingredients, preparation or farming practices.

Leah is a registered dietitian (RD), licensed in the state of North Carolina. She has a B.S. in Human Nutrition from the University of Maryland, completed her dietetic internship with the U.S. Army, served as an offecer and dietitian in the U.S. Army and worked in Public Health as a WIC and Nutrition Director in South Carolina. For the past 19 years Leah has been the Corporate Dietitian for Ingles Markets. Her passion to learn more about the food system has led her to visit over 60 farms (of all sizes) and food entrepreneurs in the past 6 years. She is also actively involved with farmers and food businesses in Western NC and works regularly with ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to promote local and NC grown and made products.

Stay connected with Leah!

Listen to her question and answer show, “Ingles Information Aisle”, every Saturday morning on WWNC 570am on iheartradio Read her columns in the Smoky Mountain News and in Smoky Mountain Living If you have questions write to her at: Lmcgrath@ingles-markets.com Call her: 800-334-4936

Tips to stay diligent with your yoga

BY J ERICA ROSSI

Finding it hard to get to the studio on the reg? Or sticking to your home practice while juggling work, family, fun or travel? It happens. Sometimes life has us looking in another direction and before you know it, you haven’t touched your mat in weeks.

I’ve gone through phases of squeezing in a practice twice a day to maybe once every few weeks, but, without fail, every time I return to my mat and start feeling the physical and mental benefits, I’m in disbelief that I’d abandoned something that makes me feel so good.  I often come across articles on how to stay diligent with your practice that say: Have good habits. Wake up early. Stay consistent. Make it a priority, etc. Uh yeah, I’m going to need something a little more concrete than that. I figured out that the key to keeping diligent with my

yoga practice, especially my self-practice while traveling and constantly changing scenery, is to find ways to get excited about it. So here are my tips to keep your practice and excitement to practice alive:

1. MAKE AN ADVENTURE OUT OF IT

I get in the car, throw my mat in the back and drive to somewhere I’ve never been: a park, near a garden, the bank of a canyon, but usually near a body of water as I find it invites a sense of calm. By making a mission of my practice, it becomes a fun reward for setting off and discovering something new. Settling onto your mat in these places feels like a way of honoring and embracing little slices of the world that we sometimes walk right past — a grassy spot behind a barn, near some cool rock forma-

tions or under a tree that’s older than most people you know. Maybe grab a journal and see what comes through in your post-practice clarity.

If you’re looking for a quick jump off in the Waynesville area, check out the cemetery, one of the nooks in Vance Park, something along Pigeon River or head up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

2. GET A PLAYLIST TOGETHER

Am I looking for a pump me up power flow? Do I want something to quiet my mind while I relax into some restorative poses?

Putting together a playlist before I start helps me set the vibe for what my mind and body needs that day and is also a good way to time my self-practice. Hop on YouTube or Spotify and chose a pre-made playlist or use the opportunity to discover new music, artists or genres. I bounce between desert/psycadelic rock; Afro beats; Indian drumming and sitar; or Indonesian gamelan.

Sometimes you end up creating the ultimate zen zone and are ready for a nap, and other times you end up in a one-man dance party ready to slay the day.

A playlist is just one piece of ambiance you can set up for yourself. Light some candles or incense, dim the lights, pump up the volume — all these help set the mood around you and enhance your feeling of place.

3. FEEL GOOD IN THE CLOTHES YOU’RE PRACTICING IN (OR WEAR NONE AT ALL)

Have you ever bought a pair of yoga pants that make you feel all sucked in and supported? Or a top that adds a little pop of color to your look? It’s little things like these that get me excited to hit my mat. It’s not about looking sexy — it’s about feeling good in your own skin.

As a sun worshipper, I prefer a hot day in a bathing suit top and some linen pants — flippin’ my dog as a tanning tactic more than a yoga pose (who said you can’t multi-task during yoga).

4. FIND A BUDDY AND MAKE PLANS FOR AFTER YOGA

Whether it’s getting to a studio or coming together for a self-practice, I find that making plans for after yoga makes sure I actually make it to my mat. Having a yoga buddy can keep you accountable if you’re looking for consistency in your practice and can also invite some fun. Maybe you want to sit on our porch and have a chat over tea, head over to your favorite local brewery for a cold brew or snack, have a picnic, get a couples’ massage, or better yet — maybe you and your friend decide to go on a yoga retreat together and make a fun trip out of it.

5. FIND YOUR MAT + KEEP IT IN EYESIGHT

I’ll practice in the sand, on the grass or a rug if I have to, but I’m a big fan of the feeling and smell of my mat (yeah, whatever, I like the smell of rubber and hope it never goes away).

For awhile I was using this old worn down mat that hadn’t withstood the test of extended backpacking trips — tossed in dirty bus storage and ripped up by cute dogs all eager to say “what up.” It had no grip or support and was really only great because it folded up so small. Then I made the switch to a Jade lightweight mat, which were the first green and non-toxic yoga mats on the market. No longer was I slipping around when I went on my hot yoga kick or feeling my bones touch the floor below my mat during savasana. By keeping it in eyesight, I’m more likely to roll er’ out and even just stretch a little bit. When picking a mat that’s right for you, consider what you need. Do you travel and want something lightweight? Do you want something thicker to support you? Do your hands and feet tend to get really sweaty during your practice? Are you tall and need a longer mat? Ask yourself these questions and then head to somewhere like REI where you can actually touch the mat. You might come across great deals online but I wouldn’t purchase one unless I’ve put my hands on it and feel confident that it’s what I need.

Western Carolina University event ‘walks the walk’ on opioid crisis

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER

It’s been said time and time again after forums, panels and public meetings held in communities across the country over the past dozen-odd years: if we could talk our way out of the nation’s opioid crisis, it would have been over a decade ago.

An upcoming opioid town hall event at Western Carolina University organized as part of the Jackson County Community Foundation’s opioid awareness month, however, seeks to ensure that participants — academics, law enforcement, legislators and members of the public — will not only talk the talk, but will also walk the walk.

“From the very first stages of planning this project, the single most important guiding principle for us was to move towards actionable next steps to improve the situation,” said Dr. Edward J. Lopez, founding director of WCU’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise. “To phrase that in the negative, the most important guiding principle is, we’re not going to have another event where we talk about it and then just go home.”

Instead, the Oct. 3 event is about laying the foundation for actionable steps that can be implemented in the near term.

“The opioid and addiction crisis are national problems and we’re feeling it hard in the western counties, like a lot of rural places are,” said Lopez, who also serves as WCU’s BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism. “Since the university is one of the leading organizations in Western North Carolina, and also because we have a lot of expertise in the hallways here on this topic, I think it’s actually a very natural thing for the university to be stepping up and offering its resources and expertise to help alleviate the crisis.”

Back in May, representatives from the Jackson County Community Foundation approached Jackson County commissioners, telling them they’d like to hold an opioid awareness campaign.

“We thought it was a good thing,” said Brian McMahan, chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. “It’s a continuation of some work that’s been in progress. Commissioners held a forum, a year and a half ago or two years ago now, in which we tried to educate elected leaders and business leaders, community leaders and our counties about opioids and trying to break down the stigma that goes with it.”

Presenting for the JCCF were President Ken Torok, Board member Susan Belcher — wife of the late David Belcher, WCU’s immediate past chancellor — and Dr. Patrick

McGuire, who said that a recent survey indicated 47 percent of Jackson residents had been negatively affected by addiction, and 17 percent of Jackson residents had used opioids in the last year, with or without a prescription.

“That was a shock,” McMahan said. “It just shows how dire the situation is, and that it needs some attention and awareness, and that’s why we wholeheartedly embraced this campaign.”

In July, commissioners approved $8,630 for the campaign, and earlier this month, they passed a resolution declaring September “Jackson County opioid awareness month.”

Among the startling points outlined in the resolution are that more people die from drug overdoses than from car crashes, and that in 2017 there were 29 Jackson County residents rushed to the emergency room due to opioid overdoses. Seven others died.

“The Jackson County Community Foundation came to us and proposed what ultimately became this awareness campaign capped off by a town hall,” said Lopez.

Lopez, though, is an economist by trade

“There’s not a more regulated, government-controlled, non-capitalist system that affects people’s wellbeing more than healthcare. Healthcare is the farthest we have from a capitalist system in the United States, so we have to look elsewhere,” he said. “We have to be wary of scientific consensus sometimes. It is an under-reported and underappreciated reality that the pain management community for almost a generation informed us all that it was their scientific consensus that the treatment of chronic pain using opioids was non-addictive. That turned out to be absolutely wrong.”

There’s almost nowhere in the United States that hasn’t been ravaged by the opioid crisis but data presented by The Post shows that in contrast to the crack epidemic of the 1980s, which primarily affected poor African-Americans in the nation’s inner cities, the opioid epidemic disproportionately affects poor, rural whites.

When WCU’s town hall convenes, one of the first people attendees will hear from is well-versed in that paradigm — Republican U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.

“She’s a very prominent person on the national scene with this crisis,” Lopez said. “Partly, that’s because of her constituents in West Virginia.”

West Virginia is one of the poorest, whitest, most rural states in the U.S., and according to maps generated from The Post’s data set, it’s practically ground zero for the opioid crisis.

Mingo County, in the southwestern part of the state, received the most oxycodone and hydrocodone pills per capita from 2006 through 2012 — more than 38 million of them, for a population of about 24,000 people.

— not a cop, not a doctor, not an elected official — but as it turns out, the subject of opioid addiction falls squarely under his purview.

“The Center for the Study of Free Enterprise specifically has a mission to provide research and thought leadership on issues that affect economic development in the region,” he said. “The tie-in there is both workforce, because the addiction crisis is a workforce problem, but also more broadly the Center’s mission is to study the system of free enterprise and its role in a flourishing society. The addiction crisis is keeping people from flourishing.”

Some have argued that the free enterprise system may have indeed played a role in the opioid crisis spreading like wildfire over the past decade; pharmaceutical companies overproduced and physicians overprescribed opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone, according to data released by The Washington Post in July.

From 2006 to 2012, more than 76 billion pills were manufactured and distributed in the United States, enough to give every person in the country exactly 230 of them.

Lopez says it’s not as much about free enterprise as it is about the blind trust in academic unanimity that had everyone thinking the pills were completely safe.

In North Carolina, Jackson County, home to WCU, fared much better than most counties with 11.7 million pills for 42,000 people but it nevertheless remains part of a clearly visible “opioid belt” of counties stretching through central and southern Appalachia from northern Alabama up into Georgia, Western North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.

“They’re affected by it just as badly, if not more so than we are here in Western North Carolina,” Lopez said.

“Sen. Capito also has brought the rubber to the road and has been influential with federal legislative steps that have been taken.”

Capito, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, recently corralled more than $35 million in funds to help her home state combat the opioid crisis, but her website is saturated with press releases that show she’s been a leader on this issue in Washington for several years.

Locally, there have been few legislators more active on that same front than Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, whose seven-county western district includes some of North Carolina’s hardest hit.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to have the senator come in and cap it off with his closing

WCU opioid town hall

• Date: Thursday, Oct. 3

• Time: 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

• Location: UC Grand Room, A.K. Hinds University Center, 245 Memorial Drive, Cullowhee.

In conjunction with the Jackson County Community Foundation’s opioid and addiction awareness campaign for the month of September, Western Carolina University’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise will host an opioid and addiction town hall.

Speakers include U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV); N.C. Sen. Jim Davis (R-Franklin); WCU professors Al Kopak, Edward Lopez, April Messer, Audrey Redford and Beth Young; N.C. Department of Justice outreach coordinator Holly Jones; and Buncombe County Veterans Treatment Court Coordinator Kevin Rumley, a WCU alum. Panel discussions will be moderated by Blue Ridge Public Radio reporter Lilly Knoepp and Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Cory Vaillancourt.

The event is free and open to the public but registration is strongly recommended, especially for those wishing to participate in one of four breakout groups held at the conclusion of the event, during which a free box lunch will be provided to registrants.

Parking is also free, in the Reid meter lot located on Memorial Drive to the north of the school’s main roundabout entrance.

For a full event agenda and to register, visit affiliate.wcu.edu/csfe/opioid-townhall.

For more information on the event, including speaker bios, maps, helpful links and more, visit www.wcu.edu/engage/ opioid-addiction-town-hall.

keynote,’ said Lopez. “I think he’s going to tell a little bit of his story and why he prioritized this issue, and then he’s going to review the three major pieces of legislation that have come out of Raleigh on it in the past few years, all in which he had a hand in.”

Two of the more recent are the STOP Act, which tightens prescribing procedures, and the Opioid Epidemic Response Act, which legalized syringe exchanges and test strips that can reveal the presence of deadly fentanyl in a user’s opioid supply.

Law enforcement professionals have been saying for years that it’s not possible to incarcerate our way out of the opioid crisis, much as others in the public sphere have opined that it’s not possible to talk our way out of it. Without disrespecting the efforts of elected officials like Davis, Capito and countless others, Lopez doesn’t think the opioid crisis can be legislated out of existence, either.

“Legislative solutions in this crisis are inherently limited. It’s true that legislation can put tighter restrictions on the distribution of addictive substances, but that’s only going to be one part of many, in the solution to this crisis,” he said. “I think what’s going to really carry the burden in improving the situation is on-the-ground, grassroots, bottomup types of efforts.”

Describing those efforts during the town

hall will be two separate panels of experts that will bring a diverse array of expertise to the conversation.

“It starts with the idea that there’s not going to be a single solution that works in every place and time,” Lopez said. “The solutions will be contextual and because of that, we need to have some experimentation. One type of experiment is a veteran’s court, another related type of experiment is a drug court.’

The first panel will be led by speakers with insight into those initiatives, including Dr. Al Kopak, a WCU professor of criminology and criminal justice, Holly Jones, a community partnerships and outreach coordinator with the N.C. Department of Justice, and recent WCU alum Kevin Rumley, who was formerly a homeless veteran who “spent much of his combat pay on opioids before switching to heroin,” according to his bio on the event’s website, but now serves as coordinator of the Buncombe County Veterans Treatment Court.

“Hearing from folks who have been on the ground leading these types of experiments with the affected community, with the people most affected by this crisis, is what this session is about,” said Lopez. “It’s about hearing from folks who have been trying different types of solutions and what we can learn from them about further experiments that we should be doing.”

The second panel will take a slightly different approach, focused less on the people in the trenches and more on the people in the front of the classrooms.

“It’s an academic panel in the sense that all the panelists are WCU faculty and they’re going to be presenting their understanding of this problem and potential solutions based on their research,” said Lopez, who himself will sit on that panel with WCU substance use studies certificate program coordinator Beth Young and April Messer, a WCU professor who works in critical care nursing.

“One good thing about having faculty members contribute to this is, we get paid to kind of sit around and think really in-depth about hard problems,” said Lopez. “When you do that, you begin to understand the scenario and the fruits of that research, and how it matters in forming solutions and action plans for next steps.”

Joining Lopez, Young and Messer on that panel will be WCU Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Audrey Redford, who looks at those next steps as only an economist can.

“One of the unintended consequences of a lot of these policies is that their goal is to try to reduce the number of people that are misusing substances,” said Redford. “For individuals that are already misusing prescription opioids, they’re going to seek out alternatives. One of the aspects of making prescription opioids harder to get is that it raises the cost of them for individuals who are trying to acquire them illicitly or illegally.”

This past August, as part of a Smoky Mountain News series on the impact of the opioid crisis in Western North Carolina

called Forced to Fight, Waynesville native and retired DEA Agent Joel Reece said it was for this exact reason that heroin is poised to make a big comeback, soon.

The final story in that three-part series chronicled the struggles of an active addict who told SMN that to avoid life-threatening withdrawal symptoms, she needed either $200 worth of pills a day, or $60 worth of heroin.

“The downside is that because heroin is significantly cheaper than many of these prescription opioids are on the black markets, individuals will transition away from taking the relatively — and I emphasize “relatively” — safer prescription opioids and will start using other illicit forms of drugs such as heroin and fentanyl just because they’re cheaper and they’re easier to access,” Redford said.

That’s exactly what happened to Haywood County native Clayton Suggs, as told by his mother Michele Rogers in the first part of the Forced to Fight series; after developing an opioid addiction subsequent to routine surgery, Suggs fought it for years until he overdosed on a mixture of heroin and fentanyl in 2018 after a full year of sobriety.

Redford is also a great illustration of Lopez’s desire to fully utilize WCU’s assets in answering questions that can produce realistic steps toward addressing a critical issue in a community of which they are also a part.

“Just to add in there personally,” Redford said, “I’m saying all this as someone who has had very close friends of my family pass away from opioid-related overdoses, and my research interests have come from the fact that my mother was a substance use disorder counselor when I was growing up. It’s personal to me as well. We’re not just sitting in an ivory tower saying, ‘Here’s what we’re doing wrong.’”

After the panels and the politicians talk the talk comes the most important part of WCU’s town hall, says Lopez.

“This is walking the walk,” he said of the four breakout groups that will convene during a working lunch at the conclusion of the event. “These next steps that are going to help improve the situation are not going to come from Raleigh and D.C., they’re going to come from our neighbors.”

The assessment and measurement group will explore how the nature of the problem can be understood through data-driven methodology. The treatment modes group will confer on plans for various addiction scenarios. The public policy group will consider how governments can help, and the social marketing group will discuss improving awareness.

“This is our chance for folks who care about and work on these issues to get together and compare ideas and work on actionable next steps,” said Lopez. “That could be a funding proposal. That could be a mass communications or social marketing campaign. We are designing this to where professionals who care about the work on this issue get together, and good ideas will bubble up from that.”

Early plans for animal shelter presented

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

Plans are progressing for a new animal shelter in Jackson County, the first new construction to be completed in the $7.65 million vision for a revamped Green Energy Park campus.

During a meeting held Tuesday, Sept. 17, county commissioners got their first look at the projected building layout, with cost estimates to be presented during a regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5. Commissioners will discuss the project again during a work session at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, said County Manager Don Adams, and be asked to make further decisions on the project’s direction during a meeting the following week, at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19.

In the Sept. 17 meeting, the project’s lead architect Cary Perkins, of the firm McMillan Pazdan Smith, gave commissioners an overview of how the building’s layout might end up.

A brick plaza would separate the animal shelter and the innovation center, a yet-tobe-constructed building that would be operated by Western Carolina University and provide a place for students and community members to combine art with engineering and design to develop new creations. The plaza would hook around to the main entrance through a public lobby, from which would branch off a large community room, and an office for the animal adoption nonprofit ARF. A third room could be used either as meeting space or for storage.

A pair of blocks supplying back-end functions like laundry, food storage, electrical equipment and staff rooms would run down the center of the building, with three pods of dog kennels holding 20 dogs apiece to the left when walking in from the lobby.

“There have been a lot of studies about the selection process,” Perkins told commissioners. “When people go in to select a new pet, if they’re overwhelmed by too many choices, they can’t make a decision. Some of the more successful shelters and humane societies limit that selection, so you would put fewer animals in a room.”

Splitting the dogs into three separate areas helps achieve that goal, and it also gives

staff flexibility. Staff could, for instance, say that all the animals in a particular room are 50 percent off that day, or say that a particular room is closed that day. They could organize the dogs by size, or type.

“It’s also a healthier environment,” said Perkins. With fewer animals in the same room, breathing the same air, disease won’t spread as readily.

The plan also includes four cat rooms, positioned to the right when walking in from the lobby. These rooms are situated along the brick plaza near the innovation center, with the windows allowing passerby to check out the felines inside.

“Even when the shelter is closed, people could peek in there and see that there’s animals in there,” said Perkins. “It’s easier to do with cats than dogs — it’s quieter to peek in on cats.”

Beside the dog area is the building’s intake and holding section. The schematic presented to commissioners includes 12 kennels for short-term intake holding, as well as rooms for cat isolation and dog isolation. There is also a grooming room and an intake exam room.

Comfortable Lake Junaluska Home

The plan offers options for expansion in the future, with designated areas to expand both the dog area and the cat area, should more space be required in the years ahead.

The Green Energy Park master plan used $3 million as the placeholder number for animal shelter construction, but the exact cost will depend on several different factors. Perkins said she’ll be pricing out various structural support systems for commissioners to choose from. If costs come in too high, the plan offers an option to reduce square footage by making the community room and lobby smaller.

The animal shelter will be built on the site currently occupied by the Green Energy Park office, and commissioners had hoped that the building’s existing steel frame could be reused in the new construction. Unfortunately, said Perkins, she can’t recommend that the county pursue that option.

The structure is not in mint condition — it’s missing some pieces, other pieces need repair and still others need replacing. Those fixes are difficult to do with the structure in place, so making them would not only cost money, it would drag out the construction timeline.

Additionally, said Perkins, building the animal shelter will require cutting into the concrete slab to install plumbing and other infrastructure.

“Once you cut out that slab, it starts to compromise the pre-engineered metal building,” she said.

However, said Perkins, the steel frame can be used for something — pieces of it could be made into canopies for the building, or it could be made into sculptures for the campus. Recycling is also an option — the county could get some money for the material.

When complete, the remodeled Green Energy Park campus would include not only the animal shelter and innovation center, but also a dog park, walking path and event space, in addition to existing Green Energy Park functions. The county is currently under contract for a 3.97-acre property on Haywood Road in Dillsboro, where it plans to relocate the staffed recycling center currently at the top of the Green Energy Park property. Doing so would reduce vehicular traffic through the area and make the campus more pedestrian-friendly.

Job fairs coming to Macon

Southwestern Community College has a pair of job fairs coming up on Oct. 1 at the SCC Macon Campus in Franklin.

The first event, scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m., is for jobseekers interested in full-time, seasonal, part-time, professional or entry-level positions of all kinds. Employers from business, education, government, nonprofit, healthcare, food services, hospitality, tourism, the outdoor industry and more will be in attendance.

Then from 6 to 8 p.m., a Trades Job & Skilled Labor Fair will provide opportunities for full-time, seasonal, part-time, professional and entry-level jobs as well as apprenticeships in professional trades and skilled labor occupations for automotive, electrical, building, plumbing, HVAC welding manufacturing and other technical skills.

Job seekers are encouraged to dress professionally and bring resumes. Employers who’d like to recruit at the events can contact m_despeaux@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4212.

WCU event to examine environmental attitudes

Western Carolina University will host the 10th annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium, designed to integrate indigenous and local knowledge with health and environmental issues, in the conference room of Blue Ridge Hall on Thursday, Sept. 26, and Friday, Sept. 27.

The symposium is an interdisciplinary forum with topics including ethnography, literature, art, music and native and western science. This year’s theme is “Giduwagi Appalachian Historical Ecology,” reflecting both the changing landscape and habitat of the mountains and attitudes toward the environment.

The keynote speaker will be Tom Belt, retired coordinator of WCU’s program in Cherokee language and noted for his knowledge and insights into Native American heritage and culture.

Several panel discussions are planned for the first day. The first day will conclude with a native food dinner served by members of the Native American Indian Women’s Association. It is free for those who pre-register for the symposium and $10 for those registering day-of.

For more information, contact Pam Myers at 828.227.2893 or pjmyers@wcu.edu.

The symposium is open to the public with a $75 registration fee, while tribal elders, students and WCU faculty are admitted free. To pre-register, visit go.wcu.edu/RootedintheMountains or call 828.227.2164.

Learn about Swain County murders

“Murders in Swain County: The Ethel May Shuler Story and Others Lost to History” is the topic of presentation at the Oct. 3 meeting of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society.

Through her research, Wendy Myers has discovered that there have been several murders in Swain County since its formation and before. Of particular interest was the murder of 16-year-old Ethel May Shuler October 1911 by Ross French.

Native to Swain County, Meyers is a 1991 Swain High graduate. She graduated from Georgia State University and works as a regulatory writer in pharmaceutical research. Since 2013, she has authored a blog on Swain County history entitled “Reflections of Olde Swain.”

The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center, 45 East Ridge Drive, Bryson City, NC 28713. Conversation and refreshments will follow the presentation. This is free and open to the public.

Haywood Community College names new president

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER

After more than six months spent searching, the Haywood Community College Board of Trustees announced on Sept. 19 that it had identified a successor to retiring President Dr. Barbara Parker. Parker will leave the school in December after six years, but not before spending her remaining days working with the school’s next president, Dr. Shelley White.

White’s been a Haywood resident for almost two decades after growing up “all over” North Carolina. She has significant roots in the Rutherfordton area, and is herself a graduate of a community college — Isothermal, in Rutherford County.

Over those same two decades, she’s worked her way up from being an instructor at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to serving as the Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development/Continuing Education since 2014.

According to a press release issued by HCC, White headed up development of the Composites Training Center of Excellence for GE Aviation’s expansion in Asheville, and the creation of A-B Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Center.

Her economic development focus is also apparent in the organizations she’s partnered with, including the Economic Development Coalition of Asheville and Buncombe County, and the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board.

The Smoky Mountain News sat down with White just days after the announcement to hear her thoughts on the community she’s long called home, but now will have a hand in shaping.

Smoky Mountain News: You have a strong background in economic development and workforce development. How does that fit into your role as an educator?

Dr. Shelley White: I think that the core of what we do is workforce development. So whether students are seeking a transfer degree to a four-year institution or if they’re looking at a career and a technical degree where they immediately go into the workforce, I think it’s very important that a community college be aligned with the workforce needs of the area and the region it serves so that we’re in tune with the job opportunities for students.

I think the community college has an opportunity to be part of that economic development engine for our community because we have programs that can help support industries as they’re making decisions to come to an area, to relocate or expand. We have training funds that are available to help, train up a workforce or improve and build skills for our workforce. For me, having that

background is part of the mission of what we do in community college.

SMN: You’ve been doing that at AshevilleBuncombe Technical Community College for 18 years, in various roles. What was that like over there, and what’s that going to be like over here?

SW: My progression there, I started as a part-time instructor when I was still a graduate student earning a master’s degree at Western Carolina University. I was teaching a program called human resources development, which is an employability skills program that’s provided at all community colleges, free of charge, for people who are jobseekers — if you need help with a resume, or learning computer skills, it helps to address any barriers that might be in place for you to to find the job that you want, and then also helps you connect with further educational opportunities.

So I taught in that program for a couple of years, and during that time was when I actually moved here and also taught part time at Haywood Community College. For the first several months, I taught in the GED program there before I got on full time at A-B Tech, and so I worked full time in that human resources program for about four years and then just progressively took on greater responsibility as director of occupational training, which is short-term training in pretty much any workforce sector that’s important to the area economy, like health care, manufacturing, hospitality.

Over the past five years, I’ve been vice president for economic workforce development, which then brings in things like the small business center. We have a business incubation program at A-B Tech that helps businesses to have a location, like an office space or a light production facility.

board. It’s very important for the college to be at the table, in conversations that are important to this region.

SMN: Which of those conversations are missing here?

SW: Just from observation, I wouldn’t say that they’re missing. I would say that there are always opportunities to strengthen and grow new partnerships. I think that’s one thing that’s so important with the community college system is that we are designed to be flexible.

public high school doing a phenomenal job of placing these kids in these high paying jobs?

SW: Knowing the hiring needs at GE Aviation, they are always looking for good talent, so I think if the high school has this direct pipeline, which is strong, that’s a wonderful opportunity for those students and we would want them to continue making those connections, but I think the college certainly has a role to play in that.

We had this same conversation at A-B Tech several years ago when GE made their announcement to expand, because we knew about the program at Pisgah. What we’ve worked to do is build more apprenticeshiptype programs within, for example, Asheville High. We’ve worked more with Asheville High on being their partner in machining through a program called Career and College Promise. I know there’s ways to engage, for example, other community members, other high school students who maybe aren’t in those programs. There’s ways to connect other members of the community who maybe aren’t in that program with these great employment opportunities. And then, we’ll look at building new partnerships. I mean, there’s no reason we couldn’t work with existing industries here to develop similar partnerships or apprenticeship/internship models like they’ve developed with GE. Something that we can do more of is to partner with the colleges around us on our messaging, working with Blue Ridge Community College, kind of along that Interstate 26 corridor. Although we don’t really have a model where we offer joint programming, we do a lot of joint messaging out in the community, so through our workforce board we talk a lot about our collective advanced manufacturing programs or our collective workforce development opportunities. That message is the message that we want to send to the community, and to the region, but also to employers who might look to locate here, because it’s hard to think that one college might be able to support a [company the size of] GE aviation.

What I’ve seen over time is that it’s so important to develop partnerships with community agencies, with, groups like the economic development coalition or the workforce development board along with your industries. I think that that translates to Haywood County very directly in terms of the opportunities for the college to be connected with the economic growth of the community.

I know there’s a partnership now in place between the Buncombe Economic Development Coalition and Haywood County, so I’m very excited about that partnership and being connected regionally with groups like the workforce development

It’s very important we remember that, when we’re looking at programming and when we’re looking at new opportunities. We might need to shift gears or change our focus on programming as needs become available.

Over time, Haywood Community College has been very responsive to the community in terms of building the regional high tech center and having that investment in advanced manufacturing. More recently, it was the announcement on the development of the new healthcare education building.

SMN: Right now Pisgah High School sends a lot of their students to GE Aviation, with whom you’ve worked extensively in the past. How does HCC see itself fitting into the GE Aviation world when you already have this

SMN: We recently published a story on a study of the UNC system looking at demographics over the next 20 years, and what to expect. They’re calling for declining enrollment. Haywood Community College appears to be thriving, so how do you plan to keep that up in the face of what could be decreasing demand?

SW: I think there are strategies that we can use to help offset what might be a natural decline. We’ve seen a pretty sharp decline since the recession, when it was the height of our enrollment across the community college system.

That’s either sharply or just kind of naturally leveled off over the past couple of years as we’ve settled into a really strong economy, but I think it’s in this time when we really can

make investments in programs like increasing awareness and this tuition-free guarantee program to connect with students who might not have otherwise come to us. That’ll be our continued mission.

I’m very encouraged by the tuition-free guarantee program that Haywood has put into place and I was reading some reports that it really has had a positive impact on their enrollment this fall.

I think we’ll build on that and continue to connect out in the high schools and let those students know that this is a great opportunity without having to necessarily leave home, without having to pay a lot out of pocket. They can get their first two years of college or a technical degree free of charge, and that’s important to help them start off on a good foot. I think focusing on that will also help enrollment.

“Knowing that we have such a great reputation, I would want to see us continue to build on that and make sure that we are continuing to address any kind of an awareness gap about what we can offer, because one thing I never want to hear is, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you guys did that.’”

— Dr. Shelley White

Another kind of mission or tenet of the community college system is lifelong learning. You may earn part of a degree, or you may earn a certificate when you’re younger, but then you can build on that over time and work towards degrees or come back and get additional degrees or work towards your professional certifications once you’re in your career.

Ensuring that we’re helping people hear of these opportunities throughout their lives — that they can come back to the college — I think that’s one piece of helping keep our enrollment strong.

SMN: You’re talking about letting students know, or letting people know about the opportunities here. How do you see HCC’s marketing telling that story to people in the community?

SW: It’s so important, and I think we have to engage, now. I’ve seen Haywood Community College engage in a way that I think is great and we can continue to build on, and it’s through social media.

Having a strong social media presence is very important and I think we have to continue to be creative on that front. If we’re wanting to connect with middle school and high school students, we need to be on social media resources that they’re using. Whereas now, I understand that Facebook is really

more for Gen X and older, younger students really aren’t hanging out on Facebook. That’s where we might be reaching their parents or even their grandparents, but at the same time, where can we connect to make sure that we’re staying relevant in the minds of younger students who are coming up?

That’s a very important strategy for our marketing, moving forward. I see Haywood Community College in the newspaper and I see it online. Just being a member of the community and knowing that we have such a great reputation, I would want to see us continue to build on that and make sure that we are continuing to address any kind of an awareness gap about what we can offer, because one thing I never want to hear is, “Wow, I didn’t know you guys did that.”

SMN: Everything that we’ve just talked about, especially the tuition-free guarantee, is aimed at breaking an intergenerational cycle of poverty in Appalachia, and in Haywood County. What are some other ways that we can lift everybody in this county as opposed to just the people who are able to get into community college or go onto four-year colleges?

SW: That’s a good question. And I think one issue that is of extreme importance is helping to address things like the opioid crisis and, what potential role the college could play in that.

For example, potentially making connections with individuals while they’re in recovery. When it comes to community college and being able to access education, no one should be left out. It’s important for us to dig deeper in areas where maybe it’s harder to connect.

My husband and I, we’re licensed foster parents with the Department of Health and Human Services here in Haywood County. We don’t currently have any children living with us during this transitional time of me taking on this job, but what that has done is it’s given us more insight into the issues that are faced by many members of our community. They’re challenged with issues like drug abuse and generational poverty and physical abuse to the point that they lose their children, they lose custody of their children.

I’ve seen through the work that I’ve done, we’ve been able to add programming to our list of services, things that we offer to help support our workforce continuing education students in Asheville, Buncombe County and Madison County where we’re able to, through grants, provide more “wraparound” services for individuals who maybe are interested in adding to their training and getting better paying jobs.

[Wraparound services are] more of an expanded case management model that we call navigators, someone who might have a similar background or have gone through similar struggles, a peer navigator who can say, ‘You know, I’ve been where you are. I’ve experienced that. Here’s some resources that will help you.”

We’ve seen a lot of success with being able to provide kind of an additional layer of service for people who are experiencing greater challenges, or greater barriers. Just in the past few days I’ve had conversations about connecting with health and human services to see, as I’m coming into my new role, what opportunities we have to partner, to maybe look at some of these ways to help support students.

Board of Inquiry recommends removing ranger’s commission

Six months later, Wozniak’s employment status still not resolved

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

ABlue Ridge Parkway law enforcement supervisor who admitted to using illegal substances still retains his position as head ranger of the Parkway’s largest district, despite a March Board of Inquiry recommendation that his law enforcement commission be permanently revoked, according to records The Smoky Mountain News obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Pisgah District Ranger Greg Wozniak, 46, has been barred from performing law enforcement duties since June 13, 2018, but he still holds the title of Pisgah District Ranger.

In the National Park Service, Boards of Inquiry are convened in situations when a commissioned law officer could end up being relieved of his or her commission. The board considers the case and then makes a recommendation to return the employee to full-duty status, continue suspending the commission or revoke the commission permanently.

The March 6 Board of Inquiry that dealt with Wozniak’s case stemmed from the aftermath of a June 12, 2018, traffic accident in Knoxville. Wozniak, off-duty at the time, was turning left to the Interstate 40 on-ramp. The other driver was going straight through the intersection, with both men claiming to have had a green light. Neither driver was hurt, but according to public documents, Wozniak left his car after the collision to remove a burgundy tackle box and throw it in the bushes. He then retrieved the box and threw it once more, this time off the interstate bridge to the roadway below.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found that the box contained 10.1 grams of marijuana, 6.1 grams of mushrooms and six THC edibles. A traffic report states that Wozniak had been drinking, as well, though no field sobriety test was ever performed and no DUI charge pressed. He was, however, booked on two charges of drug possession.

Wozniak admitted to internal investigators with the National Park Service that he had taken “a couple hits” of marijuana within four hours of getting behind the wheel and consumed “a beer or two” after the marijuana. However, a Knox County judge dismissed the charges, and they were later expunged.

In an email he sent to Parkway Superintendent J.D. Lee May 28 of this year, Wozniak expressed regret for his actions.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me this afternoon,” Wozniak wrote. “First let me apologize for my behavior and the negative publicity it has brought to the

Greg Wozniak appears in a 2009 photograph published in The Saratogan following his selection as chief ranger of Saratoga National Historical Park in New York, previous to his tenure on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Photo courtesy The Saratogan

Parkway. This past year has been the most difficult of my life in many ways.”

BOARD OF INQUIRY FINDINGS

Records show that the Parkway formally requested a Board of Inquiry hearing on Wozniak’s actions on Oct. 9, 2018, more than a month after an investigative report from the National Park Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility was returned Sept. 5, 2018, concluding that Wozniak’s conduct had violated state laws and federal rules. Emails between Parkway personnel and staff in the Park Service’s Washington, D.C., office regarding the potential timeline for a Board of Inquiry hearing began earlier, about two weeks after the OPR report was received.

The hearing was ultimately held on Wednesday, March 6, before a five-member board that gathered in D.C. It included testimony from Wozniak, who gave the board his version of the events of June 12, 2018.

According to the board’s report, Wozniak said that he hadn’t previously used drugs since college and that he was in town to get dinner with a friend of 15 or 16 years, who he had never known to use drugs. However, when Wozniak arrived at the friend’s house he discovered the friend had been smoking recently enough that the smell still lingered. Wozniak then asked the friend — who knew he was a federal law enforcement officer — if he could buy drugs from his dealer, and the friend, without hesitation, agreed to set up the deal. The two then went to meet the dealer — who Wozniak had never met before — in a parking lot, where Wozniak bought 10 grams of marijuana, 6 grams of mushrooms and six THC gummies. He had no plan as to how he would consume the drugs, Wozniak told the board.

The board found Wozniak’s story troubling on multiple counts.

then they no longer fit the job description of their position, prompting a termination process.

The Board of Inquiry reported the outcome of its hearing in a memo to Chief Ranger Neal Labrie dated Friday, March 15. The same day, Labrie emailed Superintendent Lee a draft memo for him to submit requesting permanent revocation of Wozniak’s commission. The memo would be sent from Lee to Regional Director Robert Vogel, with a signature line for each. Lee signed the document the following Monday, with Deputy Regional Director Karen L. Cucurullo signing in Vogel’s stead the same day, approving the revocation. On Friday, March 22, Labrie emailed a copy of that memo to Avis Brooks, an employee and labor relations specialist with the regional office.

Despite the existence of the approved request, it’s unclear that Wozniak’s commission was ever actually revoked.

On April 29, Labrie emailed Lee to say that due to some “administrative record issues” he would need to sign the request to revoke Wozniak’s commission again. The attached document is identical to the original version but for a third signature line designated for John Leonard, deputy chief of operations at the D.C. office.

Wozniak’s explanations of the initial use with his friend, the drug deal and his lack of a plan for how to use the drugs was “problematic,” the report said, and the board also “struggled” with the fact that Wozniak tried to hide the drugs from law enforcement before officers arrived at the car crash.

“Also troubling to the Board was Ranger Wozniak’s progression within a span of a few hours from using marijuana with a friend of 15 years, who he has never known to use drugs, to purchasing drugs from his friend’s dealer,” the report said.

The amount of marijuana Wozniak bought would be enough to fill a pipe 40 times, and the mushrooms would be sufficient for two or three uses, the report said.

“The Board felt that the simple use of marijuana was aggravated by the purchase, possession, attempted destruction and eventual arrest for drugs,” the report said. “It was the Board’s opinion that Ranger Wozniak’s actions violated the code of conduct and impaired the efficiency of the National Park Service by irrevocably damaging his ability to enforce laws and regulations.”

While the board did “factor in” that Wozniak sought mental health services after the incident occurred, it did not feel that was enough to mitigate his actions.

Ultimately, a majority of the board voted to recommend that Wozniak’s law enforcement commission be permanently revoked.

HANDLING THE RECOMMENDATION

Revoking someone’s law enforcement commission and terminating their employment are two separate processes, but one often follows the other. If someone hired to perform law enforcement duties is barred from acting in a law enforcement capacity,

Labrie’s email states that Vogel and Leonard would both be able to sign that day. However, the FOIA request does not contain any signed versions of the document. When asked about the current status of Wozniak’s commission, Parkway Executive Assistant Caitlin Worth said it had been suspended, but not revoked.

“It was the Board’s opinion that Ranger Wozniak’s actions violated the code of conduct and impaired the efficiency of the National Park Service by irrevocably damaging his ability to enforce laws and regulations.”

“Once the recommended actions are made the matter moves to a disciplinary process which involves a series of due process procedures between the employee and the federal agency,” Labrie said in an emailed statement. “There is no established timeline or estimate for this process to come to full completion and final action by the agency.” It is true that there is no set timeline to resolve these kinds of cases — in a July interview with The Smoky Mountain News, the Parkway’s former chief ranger Steve Stinnett said that the most important thing is to be thorough and to ensure that you’re not stepping on the employee’s rights. Cutting corners could leave the door open for an appeal that would render the initial termination useless.

“Some things could be done relatively quickly, and some

things could take a year,” he said.

However, other former Park Service employees who spoke to SMN on background said that this process seems to be taking unusually long.

According to Worth, Wozniak’s position title is still “Supervisory Park Ranger,” and he is the district ranger for the 164-mile Pisgah District — the Parkway’s largest. However, Chuck Hester, who is serving as acting district ranger for the Pisgah District, also holds the title of supervisory park ranger, she said.

In his current role, Wozniak is still earning time toward his retirement under the Federal Employees Retirement System. As of April 29, he has 20 years of qualified service as a law enforcement officer. According to federal retirement policy, law enforcement employees under the FERS program can retire at 50 if they have 20 years of service or at any age with 25 years of service. Because Wozniak is only 46, he would still need four more years in a law enforcement position to retire from the Park Service.

According to documents contained in the FOIA request, Wozniak draws a salary of $88,050 annually, which includes a base pay of $76,320 and a local adjustment of $11,730.

UNCLEAR RESOLUTION

The latter part of the 1,025-page FOIA response consists mainly of heavily redacted correspondence between the Parkway, the regional human resources office and Chen Song, an attorney advisor with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor. The conversation began following an April 10 email in which the employee and labor relations specialist Brooks requested that the solicitor’s office review Wozniak’s case.

In a series of resulting emails extending through the end of May, the parties went back and forth about the wording of a memo that was to be sent from Labrie to Wozniak. The contents and subject of the memo are redacted, though the subject line for one of the email threads to which the document is attached reads “Greg Wozniak | Proposal of Removal.” It is therefore likely that the memo in question was being drafted to inform Wozniak of his upcoming removal from the job.

The correspondence shows that the parties involved often had a difficult time communicating effectively, with Song expressing frustration in a May 31 email that NPS employees had “deliberately ignored” his emails for about two weeks.

“We at the Office of the Solicitor are working to help you,” Song wrote in an email to Tammy Hicks, supervisory employee and labor relations specialist, sent later the same day. “To help us help you, we need you to work with us. That is why it so concerns me [redacted].”

The FOIA response ends shortly thereafter. It is unknown whether a final document was agreed upon or why no final action has yet been taken on Wozniak’s employment status.

Wozniak did not respond to a request for comment.

UNC-Charlotte shooter sentenced

The man who opened fire in an UNCCharlotte campus classroom, killing Waynesville native Riley Howell, will now spend the rest of his life behind bars, after pleading guilty to two counts of murder Sept. 19. The April 30 attack at the Woodford A. Kennedy building wounded four and also took the life of fellow student Reed Parlier, of Mecklenburg County. In the wake of the shooting, reports emerged that Howell had rushed the shooter, preventing him from contin-

uing his attack. Those reports later proved true, posthumously catapulting Howell to national fame for his heroic act and earning praise from law enforcement officials who credited Howell with saving lives. Howell’s family later established the Riley Howell Foundation Fund, which supports organizations that help families affected by gun violence. A commemorative charity run, called the Mighty Four Miler, will be held in April and will benefit the Fund.

Local firefighter killed in the line of duty

A volunteer firefighter who died while responding to a call was laid to rest on Sunday, after a procession made up of dozens of first responders accompanied his casket from the Jonathan Creek Fire Department to Lake Junaluska’s Stuart Auditorium.

Capt. Claud G. Messer, 74, of Jonathan Creek, was killed around 6 a.m. Sept. 20 when the fire department vehicle he was driving rear-ended a log truck turning in to a

Sarge’s Furry Friends Benefit Bash

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation’s 11th annual Furry Friends Benefit Bash will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville.

Guests will enjoy bidding on many auction items, both in silent and live auctions. Among the auction items will be the ever-popular rights to have the winner’s pet pictured on the 2020 Sarge’s Dog Walk T-shirt. And, new this year will be bidding to have pet photos in a 2020 calendar; a private bourbon tasting at Elevated Mountain Distilling, with noshes from Frankie’s Italian Trattoria; and being a “Brewer for a Day” at BearWaters Brewing.

The event will be a sit-down dinner and a cash bar. Tickets may be purchased for $80 per person at Sarge’s Adoption Center, 256 Industrial Park Dr., Waynesville. Table sponsorships are available for $675, which will reserve a table for eight guests.

828.246.9050 or www.sargeanimals.org.

lumberyard. Messer helped found the department in 1986, and served as chair of its board of directors. A Haywood County native, Messer leaves behind his wife of 54 years, Judy, as well as a brother, two sisters, two daughters, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Messer’s family has asked that memorials and donations be made in his honor to the Jonathan Creek Fire Department, P.O. Box 158, Waynesville, NC 28786.

Join discussion on religion

On Tuesday, October 1 at 6 PM, the Jackson County Public Library is kicking off a three-part series of lectures/discussions on New Atheism, Science, & Faith in a Secular Age at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1 in the library community room.

The discussion will be led by WCU professor Daryl Hale. This series is free and requires no registration.

Hale is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy & Religion at Western Carolina University. The three programs will be on Oct. 1, Oct. 8 and Oct. 22. Among the topics covered will be the Four Horsemen of the New Atheism (Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris), Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx, Naturalism, and much more.

For more information, call the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva at 828.586.2016.

Price tag for new central office is mighty high

Is it a Taj Mahal or a wise use of tax dollars?

I’m talking about the proposal to spend around $13 million to build a central office for the Haywood County School System that will bring administration, food services, transportation, teacher/staff training facilities and more all under one roof.

The current central office is, in a word, a dump. It’s in part of a 1920s-era building that originally was a hospital, then was shared by the Department of Social Services beside and the school administration. Next, the building will be turned into housing for the elderly, so the school offices have to be out by December 2020.

The prospect of shedding several older buildings to consolidate seems wise. The old Crabtree Elementary School that houses food services and the bus garage atop the old landfill aren’t ideal for the purposes they are being used.

So yes, there’s no doubt this project would certainly fulfill many needs. But the question remains: is $13 million for administration — important as it is — and not for direct educational benefits of students a wise choice? We know Haywood County still doesn’t offer the Advanced Placement courses available to students in other systems, that test scores at some schools are not what they should be, that many parents want more remediation or more AIG offerings.

It’s worth noting that those kinds of recurring costs for more teachers and more classes don’t come from the same

Wall a monument to damaged democracy

To the Editor:

I am sickened by the thought of diverting yet another $18.4 billion for a border wall. That’s billion with a B! And for nothing but an illusion of security. No wall has ever successfully protected a nation.

Can Trump not think of something more constructive to do with those billions? I’m sure most of us can. How about additional services for disabled veterans? Or our failing roads, bridges, and municipal water systems? And is it really because he believes that such a wall is essential to our security or does it have more to do with trying to fulfill a promise to his supporters in an effort to be reelected?

Any portion of the wall that is actually built will become a monument to a president who has done more to destroy democracy than any other enemy our country has ever faced.

Joanne Strop Waynesville

America, get your C.R.A.P. together

To the Editor:

My grandmother Evelyn was a stickler for just a couple of things. She was fortunate that her father, a German immigrant silversmith in Newark, N.J., made a small fortune when he

pot of money as capital costs for buildings. For the most part, state taxes pay for teachers and classes while county taxes pay for buildings. We know the county picks up the tab for “local” teachers and that state lottery money and sometimes special bond money go toward capital projects, but for the most part it’s state money for teachers, county money for buildings.

Taxpayers in Haywood County know that a couple of the elementary schools — Hazelwood and Junaluska — are full. Several hundred apartment units will be built in these districts over the next couple of years, so more growth is coming. Central Elementary sits idle, which means it could pick up some of the slack, but there will be costs to get it up and going. And no one knows for sure whether Shining Rock — the charter school — will siphon more students or perhaps shed students and send them back to the public schools.

We have middle school gyms and buildings from the 1930s and 1950s. Think about that. The two big high schools have buildings from the 1960s. Maintenance on these buildings is expensive.

Haywood County is growing at a faster rate than the

took to smithing whiskey flasks for the “Dandies” of New York during Prohibition, allowing them to party on despite the law, and for his children to engage in activities with people of means, education and most importantly to her, manners.

She conveyed these ideals and habits on likely thousands of young children as a lifelong kindergarten teacher and required nothing less in her grandchildren, including me and my five siblings. We were expected to be attentive and courteous when spoken to, to send written thank-you notes for Christmas and birthday presents received and to be clean, polite and orderly at meals when she visited regardless of any arguments we were having between us. Proper respect for elders and civility were a given, along with a generously happy “Good morning” to all at the start of each day.

As children we found these required actions onerous, burdensome and in vast contrast to the orchestrated mayhem of our daily lives with two middle-class working parents raising six offspring and half the neighborhood kids coming or going at any given time. In our house a meal with nobody crying or screaming at the end was considered a success.

Looking backwards it’s easier to see that her requests were simply expecting common decency and just a touch of grace at each interaction with others. Over the five decades since, I’ve regularly discovered the value of these efforts in various settings and encounters of all sorts, from schools, sports, business, travel and marriage.

Our country’s leadership would do well to

nation and the state. By 2029, its population is expected to reach nearly 69,000 residents. And who knows, if Asheville real estate prices continue to skyrocket, east Haywood County could grow significantly faster than currently projected. Lots of unknowns, the kind of unknowns that bedevil county commissioners and school board members who have to make decisions now based on what they think will happen 10 and 20 years down the road.

So now the county and the school system will get down to brass tacks. County Manager Bryant Morehead and others from the county will begin sitting down with school officials to consider how the project might move forward, how it could be financed and paid for, and perhaps whether something less expensive might serve the same purpose. Could Central Elementary with some upgrades serve the purpose? Could the soon-to-be-empty Kmart be repurposed, just as the old WalMart was repurposed for the consolidated DSS and Health Departments?

Those professionals who will be digging down into the details will come up with the answer to these questions, and perhaps they will convince the skeptics among us of the need. But I’m not hearing much support for tying up $13 million in this project when there are so many other needs and so many unknowns. Just not sure we’ll get the bang for the buck.

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

LETTERS

refresh themselves of these simple truths and practices. The acrid vitriol and bitter discourse coming out of our nation’s capital is demeaning and damaging to every aspect of our society and our increasingly disjointed country. We need a better starting point if we are to bridge the differences ripping us apart and to move forward and meet the challenges of the day as the “united” states.

To assist in starting this process and elevating the dialogue, I would like to offer the C.R.A.P. Model of Conduct, based mightily on the lessons distilled from dear Evelyn’s recipe for productive, worthy and dignified social interactions and discussions.

“C” is for courtesy. At the very least, one is expected to always be considerate of others and kind in any communications, written or verbal. This includes not interrupting, shouting cruel accusations, burping, farting, tweeting derogatory statements and lies or other juvenile behaviors. White House grade: F.

“R” is for respect. At the very least, one is expected to allow others an opportunity to present their viewpoints and opinions and their reasoning, as guaranteed by our Constitution, without fear of threats, belittlement, misrepresentation. This includes not engaging in personal attacks, public mockery, intentional “fake news” or groundless insults based on their values, appearance or personal preferences. White House grade: F.

“A” is for acceptance. This goes hand-inhand with respect and acknowledges that we all come from different backgrounds, histories and life experience leading to different per-

ceptions, needs and outlooks, and is a necessary aspect of any inclusive discussion or negotiation. This includes not tweeting out asinine statements, backhanded slams or disparaging remarks about other’s families, lifestyles or one’s “shithole” existence. White House grade: F.

“P” is for politeness. When everything else fails and there is no agreement in sight, one can always resort to basic politeness as a common denominator across all aspects of interaction with others and gently excuse themselves from the discussion for the moment. This includes not being belligerent, arrogant, bullying, demeaning or being a loud-mouthed ignoramus with all the answers for everyone regardless of their views. White House grade: F.

When I look at this report card, one thing becomes glaringly clear. Our president would never have graduated from my grandmother’s kindergarten.

John Beckman Cullowhee

Corporate socialism rewards the rich

To the Editor:

A Republican acquaintance who won’t vote for her party’s candidate for president recently said, “But I don’t want us to get socialism,” meaning, she explained, some people getting handouts from government.

What living well means to me

This is our annual Living Well issue where we offer suggestions and advice on topics related to fitness, nutrition and wellness. It’s always fun to brainstorm ideas and decide what content will benefit our readers or what’s the hot thing right now for consumers. Is it an eating program like the Keto diet? Is it an exercise craze like Crossfit? Or, perhaps it’s a product like CBD.

had no clue which songs were topping the current charts. But since listening to today’s hits, I’ve developed a few favorite musicians.

Humans are in constant search for anything that makes us feel better, younger and healthier. From the Egyptians using fenugreek oil to slow aging to Juan Ponce de Leon searching for the fountain of youth to lobotomies treating depression, living happier, longer lives has been a quest for the ages.

I turn 40 years old in less than a month, and I’m feeling it. Physically, I’m in good shape, but mentally, I worry I haven’t achieved enough, done enough, explored enough to be the age that I am. Of course, sometimes people like me are hard to satiate and it’s challenging to ever feel like it’s “enough.”

While working on this edition, I’ve considered what living well means. Yes, a combination of nutrition and fitness obviously improves a person’s condition, but truly living a good life is more than that. In my opinion, fully living well means thriving in a state of gratitude instead of a place of judgment, skepticism or cynicism.

Sounds obvious, right?

But, it’s not. How many folks do you know who frown more than smile? Who complain more than compliment? Who moan more than laugh? In a fallen world, it’s easier to slip into negativity than find the light.

Gratitude is a challenging concept to embrace. It’s simple to say, “I feel grateful for all that I have,” but saying it doesn’t mean doing it.

The death of my mom and getting a divorce, all before the age of 40, helped me understand gratitude and do a better job of sitting with the emotion. Now that my little boys are with their dad part of the time, I fully appreciate every second I have with them. Whereas before, I think I took time with them for granted. I’m also working hard to enjoy my adult time, which has been hard for me. Moms often feel selfish if we’re having our own fun or exploring life without our kids in tow.

Over the past couple of years, my boys have become interested in pop music. Before that, I was living in a bubble of Indie/Americana/folk music and

One of those is Taylor Swift. Taylor has a lot of critics. People say she needs to stick to one genre, either country or pop, but I like her versatility. Haters love to bash her on social media. Meanwhile, she’s paying for fans to attend college. Some say her political views are wishy-washy, but for the most part, she’s just trying to walk the line between open-mindedness and not abandoning her fan base. Whatever is said, there’s no denying the girl is talented.

A song from her new album is called You Need to Calm Down. I was driving by myself recently and actually listened to the lyrics as opposed to merely singing along with the chorus.

The lyrics are a blatant message to people who bully behind the shield of the internet as well as those who shame others with picket signs. It’s a song about tolerance and leaving people alone to be who they are.

The video has received backlash due to some overt stereotypes, but nonetheless a few of the lines resonate with me.

Here’s a snippet from the song:

You are somebody that I don’t know But you’re takin’ shots at me like it’s Patrón And I’m just like, damn, it’s 7 a.m. Say it in the street, that’s a knock-out

But you say it in a Tweet, that’s a cop-out And I’m just like, “Hey, are you okay?”

And I ain’t trying to mess with your selfexpression

But I’ve learned a lesson that stressin’ and obsessin’ ‘bout somebody else is no fun And snakes and stones never broke my bones

So oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to calm down, you’re being too loud.

The song goes on to explore other political and societal issues.

At the end of the day, living well is being grateful and showing love to others. As Taylor eludes, living well is only being loud when your voice carries change or positive influence.

I can try all kinds of workouts, eating programs, tinctures or supplements, but really, what makes me happy runs deeper than all of that. At almost 40, I realize more than ever that life is short and sacred. And when I’m old and gray, I want to look back, smile to myself, and know I spent a life well lived. (Susanna is a writer, editor and sales professional for The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living and Mountain South Media. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com

I asked if she knew what corporate officers get, noting that the current Republicans in Congress and the N.C. General Assembly give many millions to the already obscenely rich in the form of tax breaks. Why? Because of campaign donations to those legislators. Most of the tax breaks flying out of that revolving door into well- tailored pockets go to CEOs and their upper staff in salaries and bonuses.

Workers have not gotten anything close to the same percent raise.

This happens even in corporations saying they “can’t afford” to pay current workers, so they close plants. Example: GM just “laid off” 15,000 men and women, likely forever if the current president and his enablers in the Senate keep control, yet GM just paid its CEO $25 million.

Duke Energy is giving CEO Lynn J. Good nearly $14 million this year. Recall, dear readers, that Duke “can’t afford” to clean up its coal ash ponds and put the cancer-causing sludge in lined containers. So CEO Lynn gets $14 million for leading a company that courts have proven knew it was poisoning people.

Somebody please explain to me why slow mass murder goes unpunished. My Christian Church Sunday School teacher didn’t teach us any lessons on that. Miss Betty was a farmer, mother and wife like many women in our small rural farm community. We were naive, I guess, actually believing Jesus’ teachings.

CEO pay has risen way out of proportion to corporate profits and way, way more than employees’ income. So those CEOs get rewards not for improving their companies but just because they could.

What do we call getting something for nothing? Corrupted “welfare,” or what my friend mis-labels as “socialism.”

Look up the real definition in any good encyclopedia. America isn’t nor will it be purely socialist no matter who is elected. But I hope we will enforce true “socialist” (good for society) laws that protect individuals from hugely powerful, ruthless corporations and others whose power is far out of proportion to the power of us individuals and families, who are ground under the wheels of their Bentleys and Jaguars.

Mary Jane Curry Haywood County

SMN buried an important story

To the Editor:

In the September 4 issue of The Smoky Mountain News I was happy to see that WCU, my alma mater, was recognizing a significant moment in its history: honoring the first African-American student by naming a residence hall after her. But I was saddened to see the announcement buried at the bottom of the page in the middle of paper.

As a country we have a long way to go to heal the injustices we have inflicted (and are inflicting) on those not like us. We, white people, need to begin to acknowledge our current complicity in perpetuating the perva-

sive and still accepted myth of white supremacy. Consciously attempting to see history from outside of this realm will help all of us. Real Christians don’t support bigotry, hatred, cruelty, violence, dishonesty or willful ignorance.

Marty Knight Asheville

Swain Democrats support animal control ordinance

To the Editor:

Swain County Democrats recently passed a resolution in support of the county’s proposed animal control ordinance and ask others to do the same. The proposed ordinance will protect the “health, safety and welfare” of county residents and protect companion animals from “abuse, neglect and abandonment.”

Specifically excluded are farm animals such as cows, sheep, horses, goats, rabbits, etc. Also excluded are licensed hunting dogs, working dogs used to herd or guard livestock, and service and therapy dogs.

The ordinance requires all dogs, cats and ferrets to be vaccinated for rabies. It outlines what is required if a person is bitten by an animal that may carry rabies. The ordinance gives details for protecting people from dangerous animals and calls for investigation of complaints about nuisance animals.

Animal cruelty, such as torture, beating and poisoning is prohibited under the proposed ordinance, which also prohibits depriving animals of food and water, abandoning them, or confining them in vehicles where high heat could cause suffering and death.

People who violate the ordinance may be subject to civil penalties, including fines.

The proposed ordinance calls for creation of a new Animal Services Center and employment of unarmed officers empowered to enforce the ordinance with citations, investigations, quarantines, seizure and disposition of animals. We think that is a good use of taxpayers’ money. People will be allowed to give away their animals to the center and to adopt spayed/neutered animals from the center for a fee.

Animal control is not a partisan issue that favors or targets any political party. Instead it deserves the support of all people who want animals protected from disease, starvation, over-population and abuse. We believe that controlling and protecting animals also will protect all of us, our children and families.

Commissioners are expected to consider the proposed ordinance at a public meeting on September 26 at 6 p.m. in the old federal courthouse in Bryson City. A copy of the proposed ordinance is available at http://www.swaincountync.gov/page_files/c ommissioners/agendas/agendas_2016/animal_control_draft_8_2016.pdf .

Brenda Donargo, Whittier Leila Tvedt, Bryson City On behalf of Swain County Democratic Party

More than medicine needed to address opioid epidemic

In the U.S., there is a common perception that there is a pill to fix everything. We are flooded with advertisements promoting pharmacological management for all kinds of conditions. There are even drugs that have been developed to counteract the side effects of other drugs, such as a pill to counteract constipation resulting from use of legally prescribed opioids. Substance use disorders may result from legally prescribed opiates, or from when people resort to opioid-based drugs as a way to self-medicate for chronic pain or mental illness that may be undiagnosed, or untreated, due to lack of access to treatment and support.

Thankfully, the health care system is slowly beginning to adopt the perspective that public health professionals have had for years — for example, recognizing the social determinants that contribute to a person’s health and ability to thrive. These underlying factors beyond individual behavior that influence one’s ability to be healthy are gaining more attention in the traditional health care arena, along with efforts to provide team-based approaches to health care delivery.

These are promising developments that can support patient- and family-centered care. However, we have a shortage of health

care professionals in our rural areas, especially affecting access to primary care services, including medication-assisted therapy to support individuals and families who are struggling with substance-use disorders and chronic pain.

Unfortunately, the medical model that predominates in the U.S. health care system will not be able to tackle these problems alone. For us to better meet these needs, all members of the team need to be able to work at their full (and appropriate) scope of practice. And a new mix of team members is also warranted, especially in primary-care settings.

The profession of nursing is the most broadly educationally prepared group of health care professionals that can contribute a holistic perspective to address the complex needs of individuals, families and communities working to overcome this current crisis. For this to happen, the general public, medical providers and policymakers need to acknowledge that there are other ways to

support health and wellness beyond traditional medical treatments. Medical providers, in particular, need to do a better job understanding what other health care professionals can bring to the table.

I have been in many health care settings where medical providers refer to medical assistants as “nurses,” which besides being a protected title reserved for individuals who hold licensure as a nurse, also reflects a lack of understanding of the different training, focus and capabilities that nurses (whether LPNs or RNs) can contribute.

Nursing interventions, such as therapeutic presence, distraction techniques and imagery to assist with pain management, are effective ways to support clients. For example, providers are using virtual reality to support chronic-pain management in our region, and the technology is undergoing clinical trials across the country. This and other nursing interventions to support clients with chronic pain and addiction are within the scope of practice of registered nurses (RNs) and do not require a doctor’s order — nor should they. Services that are valued in our health care system are deemed to be reimbursable. And nursing interventions are essentially never recognized by our health care system.

The multidimensional approach nurses use to assess client needs, clinical reasoning skills and use of evidence-based interventions also make them well-prepared for leading care management efforts for individuals with chronic diseases and substance-use disorders. Care management will become increasingly important as North Carolina moves to a new model of reimbursement within the state Medicaid system.

RNs — the health professionals who are most trusted and have the broadest educational preparation — need to be fully recognized along with other members of health care teams to address the holistic needs of clients, families and communities to help combat the opioid crisis and address other health care needs in our region.

Kae Livsey is an associate professor in the School of Nursing at Western Carolina University. She recently published a study on this topic for WCU’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise, which can be found at the website enterprise.wcu.edu. In partnership with the Jackson County Community Foundation’s opioid and addiction awareness campaign, the center is hosting a town hall focused on the opioid addiction crisis Thursday, Oct. 3. For information, visit the website go.wcu.edu/townhall.

tasteTHE mountains

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

CITY LIGHTS CAFE

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL

music every Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. Open Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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

FRANKIE’S ITALIAN TRATTORIA

1037 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley. 828.926.6216 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slow-simmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts. Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily. Brown bagging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available. Call-ahead seating available.

BOGART’S

303 S. Main St., Waynesville. 828.452.1313

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

BOOJUM BREWING COMPANY

50 N Main Street, Waynesville. 828.246.0350. Taproom Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday & Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Gem Bar

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

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE

454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville,

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

CHEF’S TABLE

30 Church St., Waynesville. 828.452.6210

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

CHURCH STREET DEPOT

34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville. 828.246.6505. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday

Spring Street in downtown Sylva. 828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine. Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events. Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

THE CLASSIC WINESELLER

20 Church Street, Waynesville. 828.452.6000. Underground retail wine and craft beer shop, restaurant, and intimate live music venue. Kitchen opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday serving freshly prepared small plates, tapas, charcuterie, desserts. Enjoy live music every Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. www.classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

COUNTRY VITTLES: FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANT

3589 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley. 828.926.1820 Winter hours: Wednesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet. Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.

EVERETT HOTEL & BISTRO

16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934

Open daily for dinner at 4:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday Brunch from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner from 4:30-9:30 p.m. Serving fresh and delicious weekday morning lite fare, lunch, dinner, and brunch. Freshly prepared menu offerings range from house-made soups & salads, lite fare & tapas, crepes, specialty sandwiches and burgers. Be sure not to miss the bold flavors and creative combinations that make up the daily Chef Supper Specials. Followed by a tempting selection of desserts prepared daily by our chefs and other local bakers. Enjoy craft beers on tap, as well as our full bar and eclectic wine list.

FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA

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

FIREFLY TAPS & GRILL

128 N. Main St., Waynesville

828.454.5400. Simple, delicious food. A must experience in WNC. Located in downtown Waynesville with an atmosphere that will warm your heart and your belly! Local and regional beers on tap. Full bar, vegetarian options, kids menu, and more. Reservations accepted. Daily specials. Live

Monday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com

FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE

44 Church St., Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. Reservations accepted. www.frogsleappublichouse.com.

GUADALUPE CAFÉ

606 W. Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.9877

Open 7 days a week at 5 p.m. Located in the historic Hooper’s Drugstore, Guadalupe Café is a chef-owned and operated restaurant serving Caribbean inspired fare complimented by a quirky selection of wines and microbrews. Supporting local farmers of organic produce, livestock, hand-crafted cheese, and using sustainably harvested seafood.

HARMON’S DEN BISTRO

250 Pigeon St., Waynesville

828.456.6322. Harmon’s Den is located in the Fangmeyer Theater at HART. Open 5:309 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (Bistro closes at 7:30 p.m. on nights when there is a show in the Fangmeyer Theater) with Sunday brunch at 11 a.m. that includes breakfast and lunch items. Harmon’s Den offers a complete menu with cocktails, wine list, and area beers on tap. Enjoy casual dining with the guarantee of making it to the performance in time, then rub shoulders with the cast afterward with post-show food and beverage service. Reservations recommended. www.harmonsden.harttheatre.org

HAZELWOOD FARMACY & SODA FOUNTAIN

429 Hazelwood Avenue, Waynesville. 828.246.6996. Open six days a week, closed Wednesday. 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast until noon, old-fashioned luncheonette and diner comfort food. Historic full service soda fountain.

J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY

U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817 Open for dinner at 4:30 Tuesday through Sunday. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

JOEY’S PANCAKE HOUSE

4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Open seven days a week! 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Joey’s is a family-friendly restaurant that has been serving breakfast to locals and visitors of Western North Carolina

for decades. Featuring a large variety of tempting pancakes, golden waffles, country style cured ham and seasonal specials spiked with flavor, Joey’s is sure to please all appetites. Join us for what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.

KANINI’S

1196 N. Main St., Waynesville.

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

MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM

617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva. 828.586.3555. Open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with Sunday Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Handtossed pizza, house-ground burgers, steak sandwiches & fresh salmon all from scratch. Casual family friendly atmosphere. Craft beer and interesting wine. Free movies Thursday through Saturday. Visit madbatterfoodfilm.com for this week’s shows & events.

MAGGIE VALLEY CLUB

1819 Country Club Dr., Maggie Valley. 828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine. Open seasonally for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmosphere. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT

2804 Soco Road, Maggie Valley. 828.926.0425. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Daily specials including soups, sandwiches and southern dishes along with featured dishes such as fresh fried chicken, rainbow trout, country ham, pork chops and more. Breakfast all day including omelets, pancakes, biscuits & gravy. facebook.com/carversmvr; instagram @carvers_mvr.

MOUNTAIN PERKS ESPRESSO BAR & CAFÉ

9 Depot St., Bryson City. 828.488.9561

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

tasteTHE mountains

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

PIGEON RIVER GRILLE

101 Park St., Canton.

828.492.1422. Open Tuesday through Thursday 3 to 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Southerninspired restaurant serving simply prepared, fresh food sourced from top purveyors. Located riverside at Bearwaters Brewing, enjoy daily specials, sandwiches, wings, fish and chips, flatbreads, soups, salads, and more. Be sure to save room for a slice of the delicious house made cake. Relaxing inside/outside dining and spacious gathering areas for large groups.

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR

Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center

70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828.926.0201

Home of the Maggie Valley Pizzeria. We deliver after 4 p.m. daily to all of Maggie Valley, J-Creek area, and Lake Junaluska. Monday through Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. country buffet and salad bar from 5 to 9 p.m. $11.95 with Steve Whiddon on piano. Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 to 8 p.m. 11:30 to 3 p.m. family style, fried chicken, ham, fried fish, salad bar, along with all the fixings, $11.95. Check out our events and menu at rendezvousmaggievalley.com

SAGEBRUSH STEAKHOUSE

1941 Champion Drive, Canton

828.646.3750 895 Russ Ave., Waynesville 828.452.5822. Sunday through Thursday 11

a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Carry out available. Sagebrush features hand carved steaks, chicken and award winning BBQ ribs. We have fresh salads, seasonal vegetables and scrumptious deserts. Extensive selection of local craft beers and a full bar. Catering special events is one of our specialties.

SALTY DOG’S SEAFOOD & GRILL

3567 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.926.9105. Open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Full service bar and restaurant located in the center of Maggie Valley. Featuring daily $6 lunch specials and daily dinner specials such as $1 Taco Tuesdays and 45¢ Wednesday Wings.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP

29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville. Using only the freshest ingredients in homemade soups, salads and sandwiches.

SPEEDY’S PIZZA

285 Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.3800

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

TAP ROOM BAR & GRILL

176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville. 828.456.3551. Open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, the Tap Room Bar & Grill has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Full bar and wine cellar. www.thewaynesvilleinn.com.

VITO’S PIZZA

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

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY

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

Where I’m going I’ll

be seeing you

A conversation with Marcus King

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER

At 23, guitarist Marcus King has quickly transitioned from a prodigy into a bonafide legend on the electric six-string. Crisscrossing the globe since he was a teenager emerging from Greenville, South Carolina, King and his band have risen to the upper echelon of rock-n-roll and soul music, a modern-day realm inhabited by the likes of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and JJ Grey & Mofro.

In conversation, King is very contemplative, an old soul of sorts, one that — like his playing — seems years beyond his actual age. And that alone is a testament to his musical spirit that has led The Marcus King Band into the soaring hearts of listeners night after night.

Smoky Mountain News: How are you doing with personal expectations and possible expectations of what you want to do moving forward?

Marcus King: Well, it’s something that I deal with. I’m constantly trying to outdo myself any way as a musician or as a person — to try to be better every day. And that can be really difficult. There are a lot of ways to deal with pressure, and performing is one way for sure. Pressure can certainly be motivation, and that’s what I’ve always used it for.

SMN: Where does that work ethic come from within you?

MK: It’s something I’ve always had, man. It’s partially due to having a lot of drive as a kid. I didn’t have very many friends. So, when I got something in my head, I would work really hard for it. I learned the value of hard work at a really early age and growing up around that kind of mentality.

SMN: What are you learning about the guitar these days? Are there things that are surprising you or different avenues that you’ve been going down?

Want to go?

The “Marcus King Family Reunion” music festival will be held Sept. 27-28 at Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain.

The lineup with include two performances by The Marcus King Band, as well as sets by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Yonder Mountain String Band, Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Amanda Shires, Futurebirds, Doom Flamingo, and more. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on www.mkbfamilyreunion.com.

“Musicians can be viewed as cynical, but I think it’s a little more a realist behavior, a little more of a comical view of this earth, and the way that things tend to fall apart if you try too hard.”

— Marcus King

SMN: At 23, you’ve already had a career that’s over a decade long. What do you see when you look back at the road to the here and now?

MK: I have a hard time looking back, you know? I’ve always kind of looked forward. That’s how I’ve always really tried to live. And [as] someone [like myself] that’s inclined to depressive states, it’s easy to fall back into the past. And it can consume you. So, for me, to always look forward is what keeps me moving.

SMN: And with that, a big conversation right now in the music industry is how touring musicians are dealing with intense stress, anxiety and depression…

MK: I think we’re in a really tough place as far as mental health goes with musicians. We’re in a place where somebody needs to do something and there needs to be somebody to step up. And there needs to be an outlet for musicians to reach out to one another and have each other’s backs out here. Nobody’s openly talking about this and what a problem it is, and that needs to be a light shined upon it.

MK: I’ve been listening to a lot of country music lately. A lot of older country music, really digging on Roy Nichols from Merle Haggard’s band. And [I’m] obviously listening to Willie Nelson’s playing, which is the most incredible, beautiful sounding guitar (known as “Trigger”) that there’s ever been. Something about this instrument, man, there’s an ever-growing soundscape of music to pull from if you’re looking for inspiration — you just have to look. It’s important what you play, but what’s more important is what you don’t play.

I’m working on a nonprofit organization now that I’m hoping I can get going as soon as possible. It’s something I’ve been working on for a while and it’s going to be raising awareness for this very issue. I’m trying to do my part. It’s something I’ve struggled with before and I’m here to speak openly about it. A lot of people don’t like to talk about it and that’s when we lose people, so we all got to be open about it. I’m here to say it’s really important to get it off of your chest because there’s so many of us that feel like that. You’re not alone. [I’ve felt] this way, and most of us have.

SMN: What has performing and creating music, traveling the world and meeting all

kinds of people, taught you about what it means to be a human being?

MK: It’s a very heavy question and it’s one that requires a lot of thought. But, with spending this much time out here [on the road], you learn how to have a good sense of humor, and how to laugh at the hilarity of life itself.

I think a lot of musicians can be viewed as cynical, but I think it’s a little more a realist behavior, a little more of a comical view of this earth, and the way that things tend to fall apart if you try too hard.

I’ve learned that taking yourself too seriously will always end in your own demise. But, I’ve also learned that you’ve got to respect yourself or nobody else will.

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Their music being born of love, children danced night and day

This past weekend at Kickin’ It On The Creek marked my 20th music festival in the last 27 weeks.

Three days off-the-grid with no cell service in the remote backwoods of Eastern Kentucky. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that incredibly beautiful place, physically and emotionally. It was truly a unique and moving experience.

HOT PICKS

1

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, on the campus in Cullowhee.

2

Author David Joy will be featured during the next installment of the “Southern Storytellers Supper Series” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

3

The 107th annual Cherokee Indian Fair will take place Oct. 1-5 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds.

4

There will be a comedy night from 9 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Mad Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant in Waynesville.

5

Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Heidi Holton (blues/folk) at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27.

They don’t make festivals like KIOTC anymore: it’s rare, if anything. And I’ll be writing more about it in our next issue of Smoky Mountain Living magazine. So, stay tuned, for it was a wild, wondrous adventure into the depths of Southern Appalachian music and culture, all nurtured by Mother Nature.

I didn’t realize I’d been to that many festivals until I started reflecting on it all during my long drive back to Western North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. And that doesn’t even figure in the countless concerts I’m finding myself at during the week between these melodic gatherings.

It was never my plan to attend this many festivals (with several more tempting events on the calendar for this fall and winter). It just, well, happened that way, with my festival travels in recent months taking me to Florida, Maryland, New York, California, Tennessee, Virginia, etc.

And I think a lot of it was this over-

whelming sense of sadness and loneliness within me that kept me hitting the road this year. I’ve felt like a ghost floating around society these past couple of years. Heck, maybe for several years now, truth be told.

In terms of festivals, I’m not sure I’ll ever push it this hard again in a single year. And I doubt I could even go any faster without the wheels falling off, too.

But, within this spring and summer, I just kept leaving town, always chasing after some show, some band, some sense of self that resides within the endless cosmic nature of music, especially when performed live.

I ran into a new friend this past weekend on the creek in Kentucky, someone I first crossed paths with last month when I was in The Bluegrass State covering the Railbird Festival in Lexington.

A true kindred spirit, this new friend is a soul I’m supposed to know and look upon fondly. Though I’m a raucous extrovert, it’s

rare I can meet someone immediately and talk for hours, and do so seamlessly.

Well, she got to asking me about why I go to festivals — why so many, and what purpose do they serve to the greater good within myself and others in attendance?

I told her I guess it’s the magic of everyone (and from all walks of life) coming together for reasons bigger than themselves. The music festival is one of the last gathering spots in our world where division and divisive language (and actions) doesn’t really exist.

These events are meant to be ones of celebration, of discovery, of adventure, and of toasting each other in the simple beauty that is human connection through melodic interaction.

That, and I find such a camaraderie and solidarity with musicians and bands. The road has always been my home (our home): the haphazard nature of it all, of nothing and everything while in pursuit of dreams long-held and in earnest.

My apartment has never felt like “home” for me, even after living in it for some seven years now. Sure, it’s nice to sleep in my actual bed after several days on the road, and to have friends over on my porch for a beer.

But, mostly, my apartment is a place where my books and vinyl records are, where my old photographs and concert posters are: the room where I squirrel away my memories with dusty trinkets, wrinkled concert tickets and faded backstage passes. I continue to chase the festivals — the music itself — with the same reckless abandon as I do the written word. But, by the same token, I feel like Forrest Gump when he stops running and turns to the people following him: “I’m pretty tired, think I’ll go home now.”

And yet, what is “home,” huh? The older I get, the more I think it’s a feeling, rather than a place. Western North Carolina gives me a true sense of ease, in terms of physically feeling at home. Though, emotionally, I’ve yet to make that sincere and genuine connection.

Lately, I feel this deep sense of one chapter closing, another opening. I don’t know what that means right now, but something is coming down the pike. And, at this moment in time, I think I wanted to prove to myself I could push the needle into this red zone of overdrive and overexertion to really see what I’m made of.

Or, I’m just some lonely dude running after the one thing that truly makes him happy: being in the presence of live music and writing about its ancient healing powers in the 21st century.

Who knows, eh? That’s the beauty of the unknown cosmic universe: who knows? We all just keeping trying to navigate our paths to the best of our abilities in whatever time we’re given to do so.

All that remains? Be kind to others. Be able to give love, and be able to receive love. The first two are within my wheelhouse, core concepts within my true heart and soul. But, the third has remained elusive, this silhouette on the horizon I keep running towards. Onward.

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

purchase of any full-price round of golf for a limited time

weekday rate

monthly on the first Friday at 12 pm.

to 452-5039

Kickin’ In The Sticks

The inaugural Kickin’ In The Sticks country music festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Elevated Mountain Distilling Company in Maggie Valley.

Live music will be provided by headliners Love and Theft, as well as The Ryan Perry Band, Diamonds Whiskey, The Chris Key Band, Mile High Band, The Maggie Valley Band, Caleb Gilbert and

ABBA tribute act in Franklin

Performing the classic hits of ABBA, the group ARRIVAL will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

ABBA was a Swedish pop group who took the world by storm with songs such as “Dancing Queen,” “Mama Mia” and “SOS.” They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music.

ARRIVAL from Sweden has been dubbed the “world’s greatest ABBA show,” this 12-piece tribute band includes original

HPAC welcomes Tenors UnLimited

“The Tenors UnLimited” will perform at 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

With a nod to The Three Tenors, the guys set out to bring their own take on the popular classical genre and expand the perception of what a 21st century “Tenor” could be.

Keil Nathan Smith.

There will also be an appearance by the characters from the hit Discovery Channel show “Moonshiners.” Kid’s activities and food vendors will also be onsite.

Tickets are $25 at the gate. Kids ages 12 and under are free. Gates open at 1 p.m. with the first act onstage at 1:15 p.m. Ages 21 and over must have a valid ID to drink. The event will benefit the Combat Veterans Association 15-7.

Tickets are available at Elevated Mountain in Maggie Valley. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to www.elevatedmountain.com and click on the event calendar.

ABBA musicians. The act has performed sold-out tours across the U.S. since 2005.

They are known as the most authentic ABBA show ever and are praised for delivering exact replicas of ABBA’s famous staging, sights and sounds. They have authentic costumes from the original band and have even been granted access to never-released music from ABBA’s archives.

Their production of “The Music of ABBA” transports concertgoers back to a time of disco lights, spandex, and platform shoes, and makes it hard to believe the real ABBA is not onstage.

Tickets starts at $25 per person. To purchase tickets, visit www.greatmountain music.com or call 866.273.4615.

smokymountainnews.com

The idea was simple: choose some of the most iconic songs across a variety of genres, stay true to the melody and incorporate rich harmonies to create their own unique sound.

Since then, Scott Ciscon (tenor,) Paul Martin (bass-baritone) and Jem Sharples (tenor) have performed all across the globe and are the UK’s original classical-crossover “man-band.”

The clever combination of popular opera, musical theatre, crooner standards and original songs has been the key to their success. That, combined with a wicked sense of humor makes their performance more than just a show and this is clearly apparent when “The Rat Pack of Opera” (as they are also known) takes to the stage.

This concert is currently sold out, but go online to www.highlandspac.org or call 828.526.9047 to get on the waiting list.

HCAC ‘Mind the Music!’

A program of music lessons for adults aged 55 and over, “Mind the Music!” begins its fourth year on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville.

The five-week session offers weekly afternoon group piano classes, private piano lessons, and ukulele lessons for beginners (on soprano or concert-sized ukuleles).

Music-reading and playing the instruments are two goals as we keep our minds and bodies active. Other reasons we offer these lessons include learning in a stress-free environment and experiencing the sheer enjoyment of music. The instructor has music degrees and many years of experience.

Students will need access during the week to a piano, a keyboard, or a ukulele. The cost for five lessons is $60, plus a material (under $18).

Interested persons should contact the Haywood County Arts Council at info@haywoodarts.org or 828.452.0593 and leave name, phone numbers, and email address.

Advance registration is required no later than Sept. 28.

Bryson City community jam

A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, 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 — year-round.

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

On the beat

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” at its Calaboose location with Chris West Sept. 26, The Gnarly Fingers Sept. 27, Gabe Myers 7 p.m. Sept. 28, George Ausman 4 p.m. Sept. 29, Woolybooger Oct. 3, Alma Russ Oct. 4, A. Lee Edwards Oct. 5 and Sukoshi Rice 4 p.m. Oct. 6. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host an acoustic jam with Main St. NoTones from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 26 and Oct. 3. Free and open to the public. www.blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing Company (Waynesville) will host a bluegrass open mic every Wednesday, an all-genres open mic every Thursday and 80H Project Sept. 27. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.boojumbrewing.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Hard Rocket Sept. 27, The Blue Ridge Busketeers Sept. 28, Darren Nicholson Band 8 p.m. Oct. 3, Elysium Park Oct. 4, Hoot & Holler Oct. 5 and Heidi Holton (blues/folk) 3 p.m. Oct. 6. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo Sept. 26 and Oct. 3. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Isis Music Hall (West Asheville) will host Lawn Series w/Whistlepig (honky-tonk) 6 p.m. Sept. 25, The Talbott Brothers (folk/blues) 7 p.m. Sept. 25, Lawn Series w/Fwuit (retro/soul) 6 p.m. Sept. 26, Matthew Mayfield (folk/rock) 7 p.m. Sept. 26, Dori Freeman (Americana/folk) 8:30 p.m. Sept. 26, The New Mastersounds (funk/soul) 8 p.m. Sept. 29, Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions w/Serene Green 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, Lawn Series w/Rahm & Friens (world) 6 p.m. Oct. 2, Julian Loida & Alejandro Rowinsky (world/acoustic) 7 p.m. Oct. 2 and Kinobe of Uganda w/Akello (world) 8:30 p.m. Oct. 2. For more information, visit www.isisasheville.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host an open mic night at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday and Heidi Holton (blues/folk) Sept. 27. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Legends Sports Grill (Maggie Valley) will host music semi-regularly on weekends. 828.926.9464 or www.facebook.com/ legendssportsgrillmaggievalley.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will

host the “Stone Soup” open mic night every Tuesday, Shayler’s Kitchen Sept. 27 and Frank & Allie Lee (Americana/folk) Sept. 28. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host The Captain Midnight Band (funk/rock) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27, Airshow (Americana/jam) 8 p.m. Oct. 11 and Cult of Kings 9 p.m. Oct. 12. All shows are free and open to the public. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• Oconaluftee Visitor Center (Cherokee) will host a back porch old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 5. All are welcome to come play or simply sit and listen to sounds of Southern Appalachia.

• Pickin’ on the Square (Franklin) will host Blueride (gospel) Oct. 5 and Intermission Band (variety) Oct. 12. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.townoffranklinnc.com.

• Pub 319 (Waynesville) will host an open mic night from 8 to 11 p.m. every Wednesday. Free and open to the public. www.pub319socialhouse.com.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host Alma Russ Sept. 27 and Gary Carter Sept. 28. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. www.rathskellerfranklin.com.

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

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

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

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

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

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic Night” on Mondays, karaoke on Thursdays and semi-regular music on Fridays and Saturdays. All events at 10 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.456.4750.

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host Seth Brand 6 p.m. Sept. 28. Free and open to the public. 828.743.6000 or www.whitesidebrewing.com.

On the street

WCU’s Mountain Heritage Day

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, on the campus in Cullowhee.

The free, family oriented festival celebrates Southern Appalachian music, folk arts, dance and culture. The event includes music and dance performances, living history demonstrations, vendors and awards programs.

This year’s musical headliner will be bluegrass legend Becky Buller, who will perform at 10:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. A two-time Grammy-winning songwriter and eight-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) recipient, Buller has broken down musical and societal barriers.

In 2016, Buller became the first performer in the long history of the IBMAs to win in both the vocal and instrumental categories — of which, she became the first female to win “Fiddle Player of the Year.”

Apples will be the featured food for the popular “Best in the West” recipe competition. Any made-from-scratch dish with apples as the essential ingredient will be eligible for the contest, including apple pie, apple sauce, apple cobbler, apple fritters, candied apples, apple crumb cake and apple dumplings.

“The recipe does not have to be an original,” said Lois Stiles, office manager with WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center and an event organizer. “A family favorite passed down through the generations is great, but so is something shared on the web or torn from a magazine, as long as the entry is made from scratch.”

In addition to the “Best in the West” recipe contest, the festival’s traditional food competition includes categories for canned goods, baked goods and heritage foods conservation. Competition is divided into adult and youth (16 and younger) divisions. Ribbons will be awarded to the top three entrants in each age division, plus a grand champion will be selected in each division.

Canned goods and heritage foods entries should be brought to WCU’s Cordelia Camp

Building Room 134 on Tuesday, Sept. 24, between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Baked goods and “Best in the West” apple recipe entries should be dropped off there between 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, with judging taking place that afternoon.

For more information or to request a copy of “A Gathering in Traditional Food Competition” booklet, contact the Mountain Heritage Center at 828.227.7129 or lstiles@wcu.edu.

The recipe and food contests are just a portion of the numerous competitions held during Mountain Heritage Day. Chainsaw and crosscut saw competition in several categories are a spectator favorite, as is a viewers’ choice car and truck show. There also is a juried selec-

Want to learn how to dance?

The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will offer lessons for rumba and line dances in October and November.

Classes will take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday for rumba, and 2 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday for line dancing.

The dates for beginning rumba lessons will be Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28 and Nov. 11 and 18. The dates for rumba (level 3) will be on Oct. 8, 15 and 22.

Beginning to high level line dancing will take place on Oct. 9, 16, 23, and 30 and Nov. 13 and 20. Private classes will be available from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in October and November.

Also, there will be two social dances. The Halloween Dance will take place on Oct. 12 and the Christmas Dance will take place on Dec. 14.

To register or questions, call 828.356.7060 or 828.550.3170.

Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express

tion for best arts and crafts vendors.

A popular 5K road race and fun run is held on campus the morning of the festival. It is organized and hosted by students in WCU’s sports management program, with proceeds going toward the Sports Management Association Scholarship. The course features a combination of pavement and gravel paths, and is appropriate for both beginner and accomplished runners.

The festival goes on, rain or shine. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for comfortable seating. Dogs on leashes are allowed on the grounds.

For more information, a full schedule of events and updates, go to www.mountainheritageday.com.

The Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express will depart at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4-6 and 1113 and noon Oct. 5-6 and 12-13 at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City.

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

Activities to enjoy at The Great Pumpkin Patch will include: campfire marshmallows, a coloring station, temporary tattoos, trick or treating, bouncy house, hayrides and live music. www.gsmr.com or 800.872.4681.

On the street

Cherokee Indian Fair

The 107th annual Cherokee Indian Fair will take place Oct. 1-5 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds.

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

Folk School

‘Fall Festival’

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

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

ColorFest returns to Dillsboro

The 11th annual ColorFest will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, in downtown Dillsboro.

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

Fair. Community arts and crafts exhibits, Miss Cherokee contest. Nationally known entertainers.

General admission is $10 per person at the gate, Tuesday through Friday. Children ages 6 and under will be admitted for free. Admission on Saturday is $15.

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

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

ALSO:

• “Travels and Tall Tales” with Alan French will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. The presentation, “The Vikings on a Rampage,” will begin with their raid on Lindisfarne. These marauders harried Europe from the British Isles to Constantinople for three centuries, earning for themselves a terrifying reputation while leaving a legacy worthy of review. Free and open to the public.

• The Rebel Cruise-In will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Sav-Mor parking lot in Sylva. There will be music, a 50/50 raffle, classic cars, muscle cars, and rat rods. Cost is $20 per vehicle. All funds raised will benefit the Jackson County Genealogical Society. 828.506.9241 or 828.508.4160.

MAGNESIUM What foods have it and how much do you need?

Magnesium tends to be kind of a tricky mineral because adequacy is difficult to assess since it is stored in cells and in the bones.

Why do you need MagnesiuM? Magnesium is involved in a multitude of chemical reactions in your body from protein synthesis to muscle contraction and having a normal heart rhythm.

What if you don't get enough? A deficiency of magnesium is uncommon but can result in nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and weakness.

What foods have it? Magnesium is found in many foods, especially those with fiber like green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, seeds and whole grains. Magnesium is also in animal products.

Some of the best sources include: almonds, spinach, cashews, soy milk, and edamame, shredded wheat cereal and potatoes.

hoW Much do you need? The RDA for 19-30 yr old men is 400 mg/day and women 320 mg/day. 31->51 men - 420mg/day and women 320mg/day

Pregnant and lactating women will need slightly more.

What if you get too Much?

As with many vitamins and minerals, it is difficult to get too much magnesium simply by eating foods. The risk for excessive amount of magnesium (toxicity) appears when individuals take supplements. Excess magnesium from supplements can cause diarrhea, cramping and nausea.

Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-healthProfessional/

On the street

Storytellers series welcomes Joy

Folkmoot, Blue Ridge Books and the Haywood County Public Library will present author David Joy during the next installment of the “Southern Storytellers Supper Series” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

The event brings southern culture and regional authors and musicians together for educational evenings of discussion, food and fun.

Joy is the author of the Edgar nominated novel Where All Light Tends To Go (Putnam, 2015), as well as the novels The Weight Of This World (Putnam, 2017) and The Line That Held Us (Putnam, 2018). He is also the author of the memoir Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey (Bright Mountain Books, 2011), which was a finalist for the Reed Environmental Writing Award and the Ragan Old North State Award.

David Joy.

He is the recipient of an artist fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council. His latest short stories and essays have appeared in Time, The

In addition to his writing, Joy enjoys hunting, fishing, his dog and nature. Come hear more about how these traditional aspects of mountain life have influenced and found their way into his writing.

Supper will be served at 6 p.m. followed by the presentation from 7 to 8 p.m. with a question and answer session until 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and $10 for students. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.folkmoot.org or call 828.452.2997.

• The Brew & Do (Good) Festival will kick off at noon Saturday, Sept. 28, in the yard at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Franklin. Live music by Frog & Owl Revival and The Colby Deitz Band. Cornhole tournament, kid zone, chili cookoff, and more. Proceeds benefit REACH of Macon County. 828.349.2337.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

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

www.countrytraditionsnc.com.

• Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host an array of wine tastings and small plates throughout the week. For more information and/or to RSVP for ticketed events, call 828.452.0120 or email info@waynesvillewine.com.

On the wall

Are you ready for ARTrageous?

A troupe of misfits artists, singers, dancers and musicians, ARTrageous will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

The group started as friends doing street theatre in Vancouver. Together they started the “All and Everything Theater,” a nonprofit Children’s Theater focusing on Children’s Entertainment, Street Theater and Life-sized Bunraku Puppetry.

As people who live and breathe the arts, creativity, community, and inspiration, ARTrageous pays tribute to their roots and share their passion with the world. Art, music, theater, singing, dancing and audience interaction — all on one stage.

Tickets start at $18 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.greatmountainmusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

As well, ARTrageous will host a free ARTreach program for students in kindergarten through college, a behind-the-scenes look at what the troupe does and is about. To register, call the box office at 828.524.1598.

Grants to regional artists

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) is now accepting applications for North Carolina Arts Council Regional Artists Project Grants (RAPG) through Sept. 30.

The grants will fund artists in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson and Macon counties at any phase of their professional development. Grants may cover equipment purchases, professional development training, marketing, and more.

Projects must occur between Dec. 1, 2019, and June 5, 2020. The deadline for applications is Sept. 30. Grantees will be notified by Oct. 31. Final Reports will be due Friday, June 5, 2020. For application information, visit www.haywoodarts.org/ regional-artist-project-grant. In the west, grant awards to artists generally range from $500 to $1,000 and follow a competitive application and review process.

The Haywood County Arts Council is supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

The Regional Artists Project program is

managed through a partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council and local arts organizations throughout western North Carolina working as a consortium.

Consortium partners include the Cherokee County Arts Council, Clay County Historical & Arts Council, Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center, Haywood County Arts Council, and Jackson County Arts Council. Since 1985, the North Carolina Arts Council has provided funds for the Regional Artists Project program to support professional artists. The regional consortium of western North Carolina arts partners matches the N.C. Arts Council to create a pool of funds for the artists.

For more information, contact Leigh Forrester, RAPG program administrator at 828.452.0593 or director@haywoodarts.org.

• The Autumn Leaf Craft Sales will be held at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 27-28 at the Hickory Knoll Methodist Church in Franklin. Over 25 local artisans. Vintage car cruise-in from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 28. 727.521.1508.

ALSO:

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

• The Museum of the Cherokee Indian has recently opened a major new exhibit, “People of the Clay: Contemporary Cherokee Potters.” It features more than 60 potters from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Cherokee Nation, and more than one hundred works from 1900 to the present. The exhibit will run through next April.

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

Exploring environmental issues through sound

The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present, “Resounding Change: Sonic Art and the Environment.”

This exhibition will be on display through Dec. 6.

“Resounding Change: Sonic Art and the Environment” highlights contemporary artists who use sound to engage with environmental issues. Co-curated by Carolyn Grosch, Curator of Collections & Exhibitions at the WCU Fine Art Museum, and Tyler Kinnear, adjunct instructor in the WCU School of Music, the exhibition features sound-based artwork that encourages visitors to listen more closely to the natural world and to think about how sound is being used in a time of environmental crisis.

The works in the exhibition, which range from a large-scale video installation to more intimate encounters with sound, ask us to consider humanity’s place in the natural world, aspects of environmental change, and the current conditions that shape our planet.

One notable work in the exhibition is a three-channel video installation entitled Gauge. Created by Raven Chacon, a Navajo Nation artist, and six other collaborators, Gauge is an immersive gallery experience that combines sound and image.

The time-lapse video component of Gauge captures dramatic imagery of an ice mural, created by the artists on Baffin Island, as it rises and falls with the tide. Paired with Chacon’s field recordings of crunching snow, human tools, wind, and wildlife in the Canadian Artic landscape, this multisensory experience prompts reflection on human presence in the landscape, the cycles of nature, issues of climate change, and notions of geologic time.

The WCU Fine Art Museum has a long history of collaboration and continues to serve as a site for interdisciplinary exchange. This exhibition is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the WCU Fine Art Museum and School of Music.

This exhibition is part of a series of WCU events and programs that dovetail with the University’s 2019-2020 campus theme “Environment and Sustainability.” Exhibitions, receptions, and associated programming at the museum are free and open to the public.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, with free parking available on site.

To learn more, please visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

HCAC studio tour exhibition

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

Exhibitors work in diverse media, including clay, fiber, wood, jewelry, glass, mixedmedia, sculpture, and two-dimensional applications. You can view the work of our local artists from Oct. 4-26 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville.

The reception for the studio tours will be held during Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, at the HCAC Gallery in Waynesville. Carolina Silverbells will be performing at the HCAC Gallery during Art After Dark.

The Haywood County Studio Tour is sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council. The tour is organized by a dedicated group of Haywood County artists, with the summer 2020 tour running from June 27-28.

Leigh Forrester, executive director of the Haywood County Arts Council shares, “We are so excited that we’re able to share the work of Haywood County’s fabulous talent in our gallery. These local artists enrich our county in a beautiful way.” Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday.

HCAC is closed on Wednesday and Sunday. Other demonstrations at the HCAC Gallery include the following:

• Saturday, Oct. 5: Artist demonstration with Jane Cole from 1 to 4 p.m. Free and open to the public. Demonstration technique will be triangles. If you are a quilter, you either love them or hate them. Cole will demonstrate her way to make them fun and accurate. Cole received a BS from Western Carolina University and is a juried member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. She has taught throughout New England, the southeast, France, and regularly at the John C. Campbell Folk School.

• Saturday, Oct. 12: Artist demonstration with Janice Swanger from 1 to 4 p.m.. Free and open to the public. Swanger will be demonstrating pastel techniques. She is well known for her animal portraits.

• Saturday, Oct. 19: Artist demonstration with Denise Seay from 1 to 4 p.m. Free and open to the public. Seay will be demonstrating hand quilting techniques. She has a passion to keep hand piecing, applique and quilting alive thru teaching and quilt repair, and her love of abstraction and photography drive her to create fiber art and share new techniques.

For more information, visit www.haywoodarts.org.

FACES OF HAYWOOD

As a North Carolina native I love introducing new comers to our state, especially our beautiful Smoky Mountains. I am blessed to have been able to make my home in the warm and caring community of Haywood Co. where I have been a Realtor for 16 years.

My career in real estate has been complimented by my background in both leadership and community service, while working in volunteer management with two widely known non-profits: March of Dimes Foundation and the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

I look forward to sharing my knowledge of the area and my experience helping you fulfilling your dreams.

Comedy night at Mad Anthony’s

There will be a comedy night from 9 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Mad Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant in Waynesville.

The lineup of standup comedians will include “Last Comic Standing” performer Tim Northern, Cory Smathers and Josh Merrell. Asheville comic and glass artist James Burks will also be on hand.

Admission is $5 at the door. Must be age 18 and over.

WCU to present ‘The Mousetrap’

Written by Agatha Christie, “The Mousetrap” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26-28 and 3 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

Directed by Stage and Screen BA Program Director Terry Martin, this is one of the most recognized murder mysteries in the world as the “longest running play in history” comes to WCU.

A group of strangers is stranded in a boarding house during a snowstorm, one of whom is a murderer. The suspects include the newly married couple who run the house, and the suspicions in their minds nearly wreck their perfect marriage.

Into their midst comes a policeman, traveling on skis. He no sooner arrives, when the jurist is killed. Two down and one to go. To get to the rationale of the murderer’s pattern, the policeman probes the background of everyone present, and rattles a lot of skeletons.

Others are a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift, and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone.

‘The Crucible’ comes to HART

The Arthur Miller classic work “The Crucible” will come to life on the big stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-5, 10-12 and 2 p.m. Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and 13 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

The layers of this play are so varied that it opens the door for hours of conversation. On the surface, it is the story of the Salem witch trials of 1692 and a man who can save himself by simply identifying others who have practiced witchcraft. But, the backstory of this play is far more interesting.

In 1953, Arthur Miller was appalled when his longtime friend Elia Kazan went before the House Un-American Activities Committee and named names. Kazan had directed Miller’s breakout classic “Death of A Salesman” and the two had been close friends ever since.

The Committee was on its own witch hunt for suspected communists and much of what occurred in Salem was happening in America in the 1950s. People’s lives were being destroyed and Miller used the Salem trials to take aim at the Committee. Politicians, being not too perceptive, never caught on and Miller endured no fall out for this open condemnation of what was going on.

Kazan, however, knew it was aimed at

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students and children. 828.227.2479.

him. He responded the following year with his own version of what was right and wrong, with the film “On the Waterfront,” in which Marlon Brando finally comes out and testifies against the mob bosses that ruled the Longshoreman. After Kazan appeared before the House Committee, he and Miller never spoke to one another again.

The production is being directed by Isaac Klein and will feature: Dwight Chiles, Anna Denson, Tom Dewees, Madison Garris, Zacary Landolt, Allen T. Law, Samantha LeBrocq, Art Moore, Marshal Herrick, Hanni Muerdter, Becky Stone, Mandy Wildman, and Henry Williamson.

Dining will be available before the productions at the Harmons’ Den Bistro. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.harttheatre.org.

• There is free comedy improv class from 7 to 9 p.m. every Thursday at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. No experience necessary, just come to watch or join in the fun. Improv teacher Wayne Porter studied at Sak Comedy Lab in Orlando, Florida, and performed improvisation with several groups. Join Improv WNC on Facebook or just call 828.316.8761.

Ways of escape: Backlash and Game of Snipers

Arecent review was of Abbi Waxman’s The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, a romantic comedy with sweet and wry advice about life, especially for the twenty-something crew.

This week it’s snipers, spies, assassins, murder, and mayhem.

As one of William Faulkner’s characters said, “My, my. A body does get around.”

And so do readers.

First up is Stephen Hunter’s Game of Snipers: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2019, 387 pages.) Here Swagger is back doing what he does best, taking out the bad guys and rescuing the good ones.

We begin when Janet McDowell shows up at Swagger’s ranch claiming a mercenary sniper with a deadly reputation killed her Marine Corps son in Baghdad. In her efforts to track down her son’s murderer, she has suffered beatings and rape in various parts of the Middle East, converted to Islam in order to understand her enemy, and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars traveling and buying information.

When Swagger, a famed sniper himself, agrees to help Janet McDowell, we follow him into a shadowy world of Mossad agents, the FBI, religious fanatics, and Mexican drug lords. Soon it becomes clear that Juba the Sniper, who killed MacDowell’s son, is on a mission to take out a major player on the world stage. Swagger, the agents, and local law enforcement officials find themselves in a deadly race to prevent that killing, desperate to find out exactly who and where Juba is, who is financing him, and the identity of the target he plans to murder.

Some of the criminals in Game of Snipers do murder for more than money. Juba, for example, is an Islamic fundamentalist out to damage the West, and in particular America, in whatever way possible. His Mexican drug lord associate, Menendez, enjoys great wealth but tells Juba he also hopes to “bring down an entire culture, a civilization, and the assumptions upon which it was built …. That is the point of narcotics: they are weapons, not pharmaceuticals, their mission to eat at the structures and disciplines of these pretenders, so stupid that they do not see the larger pic-

ture and understand that we are rotting out their infrastructure from beneath them ….”

Swagger and friends, including Janet

such men.

A thumb’s up on this one: Game of Snipers offers the usual fast-paced adventure readers have come to expect from Stephen Hunter.

One caveat: Hunter is an expert on firearms. In his novels, especially this one, he goes into great detail about shooting, the parts of various weapons, gunpowder and bullets. If these descriptions are of no interest, just skip these passages as I did and enjoy the ride.

Unlike Stephen Hunter, novelist Brad Thor

Claud releases final trilogy book

was new to me. His books keep popping up in the libraries and bookshops I visit, so I decided a week ago to give him a shot — forgive the pun — as well.

The plot of Backlash: A Thriller (Emily Bestler Books, 2019, 378 pages) is less tangled than Game of

Russian winter and the paramilitary troops hunting him. He faces savage wolves, starvation, infection, sleep deprivation, and always the bone-chilling cold.

Harvath does receive assistance from some of the villagers he meets along the way, including Christina, a doctor who treats his wounds. She, her family, and many of the villagers despise Moscow and the corruption and brutality of the national government.

Here is a fast-paced tale of survival, winter warfare, and comradeship. The men and the woman sent to rescue Harvath have promised to get their leader home by any means necessary, and as they work to do so, we are reminded of the intense loyalty bred within such tight-knit groups.

Snipers, but just as packed with action. Scot Harvath, an exNavy SEAL, helps run a private intelligence agency, the Carlton Group, which does outsource work for the CIA. Russian agents snatch Harvath from a home in New Hampshire, brutally executing two of his friends and his wife. His abductors intend to take him into Russia, and torture him until he spills everything he knows about the CIA and the Carlton Group.

This plan does not go well. Their plane crashes in a winter storm near the Russian border with Finland, and an enraged Harvath goes on the warpath. Determined to take revenge for his murdered loved ones, he must at the same time struggle to survive both the

The plot of Backlash parallels that of a novel written a good many years ago. In Last of the Breed, Louis L’Amour tells the story of a Native American pilot, Major Joseph Makatozi, whom the Soviets take prisoner after shooting down his plane. Makatozi, known as Joe Mack, also escapes his captors, and like Harvath, wages a one-man war against his pursuers, going so far as to scalp one of them as a sign of his vengeance.

Interestingly, Harvath also scalps several of the men he kills for the same reasons.

Perhaps this macabre touch is Brad Thor’s way of paying homage to L’Amour. Whatever the case, Backlash kept me turning the pages.

For me, novels like Backlash and Game of Snipers are the literary equivalent of an action movie and a bowl of popcorn. I hit the sofa or the chair on the front porch, open the book, and off I go, swept away, all worries, sorrows, and obligations forgotten for a short time.

Escapism.

It was just what I needed.

(Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. minick0301@gmail.com)

Thanks to ongoing conservation efforts, many of the peaks and mountainsides surrounding

Conserving for clean water

what’s happening in this room today, and how important this asset is that you all are protecting, that everyone in this room has been involved in protecting,” Haywood County Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick told the group Sept. 13. “One day clean water is going to be more expensive than oil. It’s going to be more expensive than milk. It’s going to be more expensive than so many things that we value now.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Walter Clark, executive director of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, said later in the program. “I think clean water is going to be a commodity that becomes more valuable and more rare, not just in this country but around the world.”

Cstate and nation gathered in Maggie Valley earlier this month to dedicate a land protection project that’s been in the works for a decade and a half — but is in many ways just beginning.

The Conservation Fund now owns tracts of land totaling 710 acres in Maggie Valley’s Campbell Creek and Jonathan Creek watersheds, with work underway to transfer that property to the Maggie Valley Sanitary District for permanent conservation. Another 1,350 acres are in the pipeline for protection, with property owners having agreed to sell it once the money is there to buy it.

“This is the beginning of a multi-phase project where, as funds become available, The Conservation Fund will work to convey the property to the sanitary district, and the sanitary district will manage it as watershed land,” Bill Holman, North Carolina director for The Conservation Fund, told the group of land managers, donors, elected officials and landowners gathered Sept. 13 at Maggie Valley Town Hall.

Protecting the 710 acres, previously owned by the Queen family, was itself a $3 million endeavor. Nearly half of the funding, $1.3 million, came from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program, which is a program of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Another $1 million came from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund, with $20,000 from the Pigeon River Fund. The remaining $627,500 is due to private support from landowners who sold their property for less than market value and to donations from Fred and Alice Stanback, and Brad and Shelli Stanback.

Neil Carpenter, district manager for the Maggie Valley Sanitary District, can well remember the project’s genesis, 15 years ago. Junior Ward, a lifelong friend of Carpenter’s

ing the project Carpenter and his board of directors were quick to jump on board. They started working with Mark Megalos, who at the time was the forestry stewardship coordinator for the Forest Service, and invited the 16 major landowners in the area to come enjoy a meal and learn about the project. Remarkably, they all attended, and they were all supportive.

“We encouraged all 16 landowners to go home, pray about it, talk to your family about it, and just get back to us at some point in the future,” said Carpenter. “That night before those landowners left the building, every one

So began the quest to map the area, appraise the parcels, apply for funding and navigate the countless legal and bureaucratic hurdles that accompany any land conservation project.

Fifteen years later, the first chunk of that property is permanently conserved, an achievement that will offer increased opportunity for outdoor recreation; provide key habitat and corridors for wildlife such as elk, bear and all manner of birds; and protect Maggie Valley’s supply of clean drinking water for future generations.

“The average person doesn’t really realize

“The average person doesn’t really realize what’s happening in this room today, and how important this asset is that you all are protecting, that everyone in this room has been involved in protecting.

— Kirk Kirkpatrick, Haywood County Commissioner

As of now, Maggie Valley has outstandingly clean water. This year, the Maggie Sanitary District was honored as one of 57 water treatment plants statewide to earn recognition from the N.C. Division of Water Resources for meeting a set of performance goals significantly more stringent than those required by state and federal standards. That wasn’t just a fluke occurrence — Maggie is a frequent flier on this annual list of outstanding water systems.

But those accolades are at least partially due to the fact that the slopes and peaks whose tributaries feed Campbell and Jonathan Creeks — which, in turn, feed Maggie Valley — have remained mostly undeveloped. The 710 protected acres, along with the 1,350 acres slated for conservation, will ensure that those creeks’ headwaters remain clean and pure for decades and centuries to come.

Mike Murphy, the U.S. Forest Service’s regional coordinator for the Forest Legacy Program, said this project is one of the most significant efforts he’s been involved with, despite having 11 years in his current position, in which he is responsible for a 13-state area. During his remarks, he recalled a trip he and his wife took to Peru last year with a couple friends, one of whom, David, had grown up in the country’s upper Amazon region. Murphy was excited to see this place he’d heard so much about — to experience firsthand the animals and plants and towering forests of his friend’s stories. But that’s not what met them when they arrived. Instead, they found that the jungles of David’s boyhood had been replaced by towns grown into cities, wilderness tamed into towns and enormous agricultural fields growing bananas, coffee and pineapples. For Murphy, that experience injected new meaning into the conservation efforts in Maggie.

“What does this really mean?” said Murphy. “What I was not able to see in Peru, someone 50 years from now, 100 years from now, can come up here and look and see what we see today. That’s what this means.”

For Brad Stanback, a donor in the project who also serves on the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, protection for the growing elk herd will be a

Explore a tree house

A hands-on, family-friendly tree house exhibit will be on display in the Baker Exhibit Center of the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville through Jan. 12, 2020.

Guests can climb through a large tree house, become an animal tracker or move their feet on the forest-sound floor. Incorporating all the senses, this popular exhibit from the Environmental Exhibit Collaborative engages families and children of all ages in indoor nature explorations and informs visitors about the ecology of sustainable tree harvesting.

The exhibit is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free with standard $14 parking fee.

Grants available for farmers

Applications are now being accepted for the WNC Agricultural Options Grant, which will distribute a total of $219,000 to WNC farmers in 2020.

The application deadline is Nov. 15, and applicants must contact their cooperative extension agents by Oct. 14 to set up an appointment to discuss their projects. WNC AgOptions helps offset farmers’ risk of trying new ventures and expanding their farms by offering grants of $3,000 and $6,000 in the 21 western counties and the Qualla Boundary.

Applications are available at www.wncagoptions.org or at county extension centers.

Hemp forum coming to Sylva

A panel discussion exploring the hemp industry in North Carolina will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

The panel will include Brent and Beth Hall of Country Roads Farm, Kyle Coleman of Mountain Flora Dispensary, and horticultural agent Christy Bredenkamp with Jackson County Cooperative Extension. Each panelist will speak about their area of expertise in the hemp industry, followed by an extensive Q&A period.

Free and co-sponsored by Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. 828.586.2016.

vital outcome of this conservation project and others like it. The elk were introduced to the Cataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 2001 and 2002, but their numbers are growing, and they need protected corridors to be able to move through the landscape without being forced to cross roads or private lands.

“A bull elk came through town a few years ago and went off into the Plott Balsams, came back, went back to the Smokies, picked up a herd of six cows, brought them through the town and up to the Plott Balsams,” he said. “Now there’s a breeding herd of elk in the Plott Balsams. This project just gives them a lot more room to move around and expand their range.”

But it’s not just about the 710 acres, or even about the 1,350 acres. The Conservation Fund has been leading a slow but relentless charge to conserve as much land as possible along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina, especially in the high-elevation Plott Balsams with their winning combination of beautiful views, rare spruce-fir habitats and diversity of plant and animal inhabitants.

Earlier this year, The Conservation Fund closed on two properties adjoining the Parkway in Jackson County and totaling 912.5 acres, which are in the process of being transferred to the Town of Sylva and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. A nine-year effort led to the 2018 establish-

Hawk migration comes to WNC

It’s hawk watching season at Grandfather Mountain, with visitors invited to watch migrating raptors at Linville Peak throughout the month of September.

The site has a nearly 360degree view with good visibility to the northern horizon. Official counters and volunteers will be positioned there to note the number of passerby in the sky.

Many of these birds will overwinter in South America and summer in the north,” said Amy Renfranz, director of education for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates the Linville, N.C., nature park. “Healthy habitats everywhere are vital to

Annual counts from Grandfather Mountain and other locations help track hawk populations and migration routes over time and provide important data to inform land management decisions. Grandfather Mountain is one of more than 300 Hawk Watch sites officially designated by the Hawk Migration Association of North America.

ment of the 6,730-acre Headwaters State Forest in Transylvania County, with The Conservation Fund taking the lead in that project. In 2017, the 1,925-acre Silver Game Land — which adjoins the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is close to the newly protected 710 acres — was added to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s holdings, thanks largely to work from The Conservation Fund. And in 2016, the Blue Ridge Parkway celebrated the addition of 5,329 acres to its boundary at Waterrock Knob thanks to the work of four separate land trusts. The Conservation Fund was the largest contributor to that effort, responsible for 2,986 acres.

All that’s needed to properly appreciate the magnitude of these efforts is a quick trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway. From Maggie Valley, it takes only about 10 minutes to drive up to Soco Gap and then jump on the Parkway to arrive at an overlook featuring views looking back toward Maggie Valley. In the distance rolls a ridgeline whose peaks include Waterrock Knob, Browning Knob and Mount Lynn Lowery. A couple more ridgelines jut up mid-scene, their peaks hiding the valleys from view.

It’s a beautiful vista, and it will stay that way — from that vantage point, everything in sight is conserved land.

“It’s really amazing,” said Murphy, “to think that we’re able to be a part of something that’s going to be here forever.”

“Hawk migration is a phenomena of nature that connects the world’s ecosystems.

Counts will be posted daily at www.hawkcount.org.

Get a front seat to chimney swift migration

Birdwatchers will gather at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in Asheville, to witness one of the greatest spectacles of the fall bird migration.

The group will meet on the seventh floor of the Asheville Civic Center parking garage on 68 Rankin Avenue to witness flocks of chimney swifts swirling in flight above the skyline before funneling into their chimney roosts as it gets dark.

Chimney swift populations have declined sharply over the past 50 years, in large part due to the loss of safe roosting places.

“We can do our part to help swifts by keeping existing chimneys open. Property owners who protect swift roosts and keep chimneys uncapped are aiding these birds on their epic journeys south for the winter and north in the spring,” said Audubon North Carolina Executive Director Andrew Hutson.

Chimney swift viewing events will be held across the state, with Asheville’s event organized by the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society.

Webcams give round-the-clock Smokies views

Webcams recently installed at Newfound Gap and Clingmans Dome will give visitors nearly real-time access to weather conditions and views from the highest elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The public can now access images taken every 15 minutes, along with hourly information on temperature, humidity, wind speeds, precipitation and air quality.

The new webcams at Clingmans Dome and Newfound Gap were installed last year, and staff has been testing their reliability and accessibility over the last several months. Visitors can check visibility and

precipitation conditions to better determine viewing and traveling conditions. The park also has webcams at Look Rock, Purchase Knob and Twin Creeks.

“We’re excited to have this opportunity to collect and share timely weather and air quality conditions with park visitors, as well as those who simply want to experience Smokies views from wherever they are in the country,” said Air Quality Specialist Jim Renfro. “We’re hearing from many people that these views and weather conditions help them feel connected to the park even if they are very far away or have never had a chance to visit in person.”

Virginia Parkway section closed indefinitely

Ron Rash, Keynote Speaker

Abigail DeWitt, Fiction

Jeremy B. Jones, Nonfiction

Nickole Brown and Jessica Jacobs, Poetry

Readings * Open Mics * One-on-One Critique Sessions

Funding for webcam installation and annual operations came from Friends of the Smokies and the National Park Service Air Resources Division. Other park partners helping to provide weather data and communication are Great Smoky Mountains Association, Tennessee Valley Authority, National Weather Service, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency and Air Resource Specialists, Inc.

Webcam information is available at www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm.

A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Virginia portion that has been closed since September will continue to be closed indefinitely, Parkway officials decided recently.

The section from milepost 106 to milepost 112 near Roanoke was closed Sept. 6 when Federal Highway Administration officials discovered subsurface material settling under the roadway, causing unsafe driving conditions — especially for low-clearance vehicles and motorcyclists.

There is no estimated re-opening date at this time. All road closures are depicted in real time at go.nps.gov/ParkwayRoads.

Environmental analysis complete for national forest’s Buck Project

The U.S. Forest Service has completed an environmental analysis for the Buck Project on the Nantahala National Forest’s Tusquitee Ranger District in eastern Clay County.

The project will use commercial timber sales to provide important young forest habitat and produce more oak and hickory trees over time. It will also use prescribed burning to promote the unique Serpentine Barrens and aim to improve water resource conditions through stream improvement projects.

Removing patches of older trees gives young trees access to sunlight and water, allowing them to sprout and grow. In these openings fruit, nutritious leaves and flowers attract pollinators and other insects and support small mammals that are prey for larger animals. Nearly 70 percent of the forest in the project area is over 81 years old, and the trend toward older trees is increasing such that in 50 years nearly half of the forest will be comprised of trees older than 130 years, with only 0.5 percent of the project area made up of trees less than 10 years old.

The Buck Project will leave 96 percent of the 20,638-acre area untouched and will not use clear cutting. Instead it uses a silviculture treatment called “shelterwood with reserves” that leaves some large trees behind. In 30 separate stands over an area of 795 acres, most large trees will be cut to make room for young trees to grow. The average opening in each stand will be 26 acres.

“To do this work we need to harvest timber in areas that don’t currently have roads and that has created some controversy,” said Tusquitee District Ranger Andy Gaston. “This is one of the few places in this part of the Tusquitee Ranger District where we can create the young forest that’s needed because the analysis area is bordered by wilderness and roadless areas. We’ve reduced the risk of sedimentation to streams through several measures, including reusing old road beds wherever possible.”

Other changes to the proposed project based on public engagement and interagency coordination include protections for sensitive areas, old forest communities, rare

plants, seeps, stream and boulderfields.

The Buck Project includes 17 stream improvement treatments to restore stream habitat quality and connectivity and reduce sediment to streams. Additional treatments include thinning and prescribed burning to improve ecological conditions in fire-dependent plant communities like the serpentine barrens, a unique community that has more than 20 state-listed rare plants and four state-listed rare butterflies.

Work in the project area could begin in 2020 and will continue for 5 to 7 years.

The environmental analysis follows a deliberative, science-based approach with input from a wide spectrum of stakeholders. The Buck Project was introduced to the public in 2017 through the National Forests in North Carolina website, by mail and at a public meeting at the Hinton Rural Life Center on November 2, 2017. A draft environmental assessment was released for a 30-day notice and comment period on April 10, 2019.

More information is available at https://go.usa.gov/xV3Ew.

Nature center lands grant for school outreach

A $4,500 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation is helping the Highlands Nature Center support its school outreach program.

The nature center offers more than 50 different STEM outreach programs to public, private and homeschool students in grades pre-K through 12 in the mountain counties. Such programs supplement existing lessons and curricula by bringing additional resources to the classroom and by providing outdoor, experiential education opportunities for students. This past school year, Highlands Nature Center’s Outreach Program served more than 9,000 students through more than 280 programs presented at 61 different schools throughout 13 regional counties.

Since most of these schools have very limited budgets for programs and field trips, funding from the Duke Energy Foundation will help Highlands Nature

Elementary school students get an up-close look during a Highlands Nature Center outreach program. Donated photo

Center expand its offerings to more schools, while continuing to provide its wide variety

Climate advocacy training coming to Sylva

of science outreach programming with minimal or no fees.

People interested in climate solutions are invited to attend a Climate Advocate Training, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sylva.

The training will include information on climate legislation introduced to Congress in early 2019, and how to support it. With hundreds of chapters worldwide, the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which is holding the training, aims to create a nonpartisan, broad, sustainable foundation for climate action, building upon shared values rather than partisan divides.

The Citizens’ Climate Lobby supports the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which would institute a fee on carbon at the point of extraction. The legislation is controversial, but the Citizens’ Climate Lobby believes it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent of 2015 levels by 2050. www.citizensclimatelobby.org.

The annual Highlands on the Half-Shell event will offer Cajun-inspired eats while supporting the Highlands Biological Foundation, 4 p.m. to dark Sunday, Oct. 6, in the meadow behind the Highlands Nature Center.

The bayou will come to the mountains with a feast of oysters, gumbo and other Louisiana delicacies under the canopy of Highlands’ autumn flame-colored leaves. Attendees are invited to come in their best “Cajun casual dress.”

$100 for HBF members and $150 for nonmembers, with proceeds going to support the foundation’s nature center, botanical garden and biological laboratory. To purchase tickets, visit www.highlandsbiological.org or call 828.526.2221.

Show your gratitude for public lands

National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands across America. This year’s celebration, to be held Saturday, Sept. 28, is expected to draw more than 200,000 volunteers at more than 2,600 sites, including several in the local area.

For more information about National Public Lands Day, including a database of events, visit www.neefusa.org/public-landsday.

GIVE THE SMOKIES SOME LOVE

Smokies fans will have a chance to give back during the 26th annual National Public Lands Day.

Information stations will be set up from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at popular sites throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, offering information about Leave No Trace principles and how to reduce impact on the natural environment while visiting the park.

day will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants will install drainage features, rehabilitate trail surfaces and remove brush on Kantai Fork Trail. Jobs may vary in complexity, but volunteers must be able to hike at least 2 miles and safely perform strenuous labor and use hand tools, with a minimum age of 16 and a parent or guardian present for those under 18. To sign up, contact Adam Monroe at 828.497.1949 or adam_monroe@nps.gov.

HELP OUT AT PANTHERTOWN

Volunteers are wanted during a National Public Lands Day event 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at Panthertown Valley near Cashiers.

The group will hike about 5 miles roundtrip on easy-to-moderate trails while doing trail corridor clearing and some tread and drain work. No experience is necessary, and tools and safety gear will be provided.

Volunteers should meet at the Salt Rock Gap trailhead at the end of Breedlove Road in Cashiers, wearing sturdy closed-toed shoes and long pants. Bring water, snacks and a lunch. Sign up with Jason Kimenker, friends@panthertown.org.

At Sugarlands Visitor Center and Clingmans Dome, visitors can sign up to become a Volunteer-In-Park and participate in the park’s Litter Patrol Program. Materials will be provided for anyone wishing to perform a litter patrol in the area of the park they’re visiting that day.

CARE FOR THE CRADLE

In addition, a trail maintenance work-

A.T. summit offered for young leaders

A hands-on opportunity for students, educators and service leaders ages 18 to 34 looking to learn about public lands, outdoor recreation, conservation and ways to support new stories in stewardship and recreation will be offered Sept. 27-19 in Bryson City.

The Everybody’s Environment Emerging Leaders Summit will include trail workshops, dialogue with conservation professionals and connections to local environmental organizations and land management agencies, all based out of the YMCA Camp Watia.

The Cradle of Forestry in America near Brevard is looking for volunteers to help with erosion control, mulching and invasive species removal on National Public Lands Day. Sign up with Clay Wooldridge, cradle@cfaia.org.

Daniel White, also known as “The Blackalachian,” will be the keynote speaker. White is an A.T. thru-hiker and Asheville native who promotes the importance of outdoor recreation and environmental health to the next generation of conservationists. The weekend will also include a night sky program and a trail maintenance project on the A.T.

The summit is hosted by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and a grant from REI allows the program to be offered free — meals and lodging included — to participants. Waters and backpacks will be provided thanks to donations from Hydro Flask and Osprey.

Apply for the program at tinyurl.com/e3summitapp.

Delayed Harvest waters to close for trout fishing

Delayed Harvest Trout Waters regulations will go into effect in 20 Western North Carolina counties on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

Under the regulations, no trout can be harvested or possessed in these waters between Oct. 1 and a half hour after sunset on June 5, 2020. Anglers may not possess any natural bait and may use only artificial lures with one single hook. Lures may not contain or be treated with any substance

that attracts fish by the sense of smell.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stocks these waters from fall through spring with high densities of trout to increase anglers’ chances of catching fish. Delayed Harvest Trout Waters are posted with diamond-shaped, black-and-white signs. For a list of Delayed Harvest waters, visit www.ncwildlife.org/learning/species/fish/tr out/troutfishing.aspx.

Celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day

A variety of outdoor activities will be offered 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard in recognition of National Hunting and Fishing Day.

The free event will include fly fishing, fly tying, outdoor cooking, air rifles, game tracking and more. Partners and sponsors include Federation of Fly Fishers, Cross Trail Outfitters, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Council, Trout Unlimited, N.C. Falconers Guild and Project Healing Waters. The event is one of three National Hunting and Fishing Day events statewide hosted by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

Watch a lumberjack competition

The Forest Festival Day and 24th annual John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet will take over the Cradle of Forestry and Pink Beds Picnic Area on Saturday, Oct. 5, near Brevard.

Traditional craftsmen, exhibitors, forestry students and entertainers will gather to celebrate forests and forest heritage, with a variety of craftsmen demonstrating their skill along the 1-mile Forest Festival Trail. Demonstrators will include quilters,

wavers, dulcimer crafters and blacksmiths, among others.

Simultaneously, the Woodsmen’s Meet, an annual lumberjack competition organized by Haywood Community College, will take place next door at Pink Beds, with events running from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students will compete in events ranging from axe throwing to pole felling to orienteering, as well as log rolling, archery, dendrology and cross-cut sawing, among others.

Admission to Forest Festival Day is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 4 to 12 and free for children 3 and under.

Cross-state bike ride to start at Blowing Rock

The Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast ride will leave from Blowing Rock on Saturday, Sept. 28, with participants pedaling until they reach Atlantic Beach on Oct. 5. Roughly 1,000 cyclists will embark on this full-service, cross-state ride, with those signed up so far representing 37 states and an age range from 6 to 82.

The route averages 65 miles a day, with three to five rest stops daily. Online registration is still open at www.ncsports.org.

Family Heirlooms return to the Smokies

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently received a priceless donation of Cades Cove artifacts to the museum collections when the great-granddaughter of Dan and Sidney Lawson — Robin Derryberry of Chattanooga, Tennessee — donated a chest of drawers, family Bible, wedding portraits and other family photographs to the National Park Service for long-term preservation at the National Park Service Collections Preservation Center in Townsend, Tennessee.

“Cades Cove played such a huge role in my family’s history,” said Derryberry. “While the items donated were important to us, we realized as a family that they deserved to be in a place where they could be enjoyed by the public and more importantly, preserved for future generations. We know these artifacts are in wonderful hands, and we couldn’t be more pleased.”

The Lawsons were involved members of the Cades Cove community, with Dan leading singing at the Methodist Church and Sidney helping to educate children in the cove. Their cabin is preserved as part of the Cades Cove Historic Landscape.

“We are thrilled to have these pieces as a part of the permanent park collection,” said Museum Curator Baird Todd. “It is rare treasure for us to have the full history behind the artifacts in our collections. This opportunity allows us to preserve and share a much richer story.”

The family Bible dates back to 1847 and includes personal family records, medical histories and obituaries. The dresser was handmade by Daniel Alexander Lawson as a wedding present for his wife Sidney. The couple married in Cades Cove just before Christmas in 1894. The dresser is one of the best pieces of local furniture in the park’s collections.

The Lawson dresser is currently part of an exhibit of various handmade furnishings from Cades Cove that will be on display through the fall of this year at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center located in Townsend. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Hickory Nut Gap Farm and the National Young Farmers Coalition will hold an event for anyone interested in pursuing a career in agriculture from 5-9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26. Guided square dance, live music by Bull Moose Party and update from the NYFC on capitol hill lobbying. Guest speakers, info booths and networking opportunities. RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/y3ownfem.

• Mast Store is hosting Dogs Night Out from 4-7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, in downtown Waynesville. Giveaways, treat samplings and a Ruffwear demo. 963.6511 or ryan@mastgeneralstore.com.

• The Drugs in Our Midst Annual Prayer Walk is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sept. 29 on Academy Street in Waynesville.

• Registration is underway for Marriage Enrichment Retreats that will be offered three more times over the next year at Lake Junaluska. Led by Ned Martin, an expert in marriage counseling. Price is $699 per couple. Dates are Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in 2019. Registration and info: www.lakejunaluska.com/marriage or 800.222.4930.

• Southwestern Community College will offer two job fairs on Oct. 1 at the SCC Macon Campus in Franklin. General job fair is from 1-4 p.m.; trades job and skilled-labor fair is from 6-8 p.m. Info for employers and job-seekers: m_despeaux@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4212.

• The Joe and Sue Morrow Teaching Forest Acceptance Ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Oct. 1 at Haywood Community College in the Charles M. Beall Auditorium Lobby in Clyde. The forest is a 50-plus acre property in Haywood County. A conservation easement held by the Haywood Soil & Water District allows HCC to use the land for educational purposes to enhance program offerings.

• The Western Carolina University “Chancellor’s Welcome Tour” will make stop on Oct. 8 at Shoebooties Café 25 Peachtree St. in Murphy. Events introduce Kelli R. Brown, WCU’s new chief executive officer.

• Bingo Night is at 6 p.m. on the second Saturday at the Fines Creek Community Center. 25 cents per game. Info: www.fb.me/finescreekorg or 593.7042.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health is seeking input from the community: http://health.jacksonnc.org/surveys. Info: 587.8288.

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

• Cashiers Area Chamber is seeking feedback to improve visitors’ experiences to the area. Take the survey at: tinyurl.com/y6w4uqyo.

B USINESS & E DUCATION

• Haywood Community College Continuing Education Department will offer a Pharmacy Technician Training Program starting October 1, 2019 through April 27, 2020. The program will prepare students to assist the pharmacist in a variety of settings through classroom, laboratory, and clinical experiences. The program is a Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) Recognized Program. 564.5128 or email vldevore@haywood.edu.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• Registration is underway for a two-part “Retirement Planning Now” course, that will be offered from 5:308:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, Oct. 8-10, at WCU Biltmore Park in Asheville. Led by Joel Kelley, CFP®, and Jacob Sadler, CFP®. Fee: $79. Register: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Registration is underway for a Pharmacy Technician Program with a Clinical Externship that will be offered by Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment from 6-8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Oct. 8-Nov. 26, in room 143 of the Cordelia Camp Building on WCU’s Cullowhee Campus. 50-hour program prepares students to work as pharmacy technicians. Registration: $1,099 (includes all materials). Go.wcu.edu/pharm-tech or 227.7397.

• The second annual Outdoor Economy Conference will be held on Thursday, Oct. 10, at Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville. Focus is on harnessing business opportunities available in the outdoor recreation industry and boosting the economy of WNC. Agenda and tickets: outdooreconomy.org.

• Southwestern Community College will offer a High School Equivalency Boot Camp from Oct. 14-Nov. 22 at SCC’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. Complete high school credentials in just over a month. 339.4272 or d_wilson@southwesterncc.edu.

• Registration is underway for a Six-Sigma Whitebelt Training, which will be offered from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, at WCU Biltmore Park in Asheville. Led by Dr. Todd Creasy, professor in WCU’s College of Business. Learn how to apply the five-step methodology of Six Sigma in product, process or service industries. Registration: $249 (by Oct. 1) or $279 (after Oct. 1). Info and register: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Registration is underway for Western Carolina University’s High Impact Leadership Certificate Program that will be offered from Oct. 28-Nov. 1 at WCU’s Biltmore Park Instructional Site in Asheville. Advance registration is $759 (through Oct. 1). After Oct. 1, rate increases to $849. Nonprofit rate is $649. Info and register: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• The Jackson County Public Library in Sylva will be starting a monthly documentary series called “DocuWednesday” at 4 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month. The movies will be shown in the beautiful movie theater in the Community Room. At the end of each movie, the staff member who selected that documentary will lead a short discussion with the public. If you would like to know what movie will be showing each month, please email Benjamin Woody at bwoody@fontanalib.org to be placed on an email list. 586.2016. www.fontanalib.org.

• Haywood Community College’s Workforce Continuing Education Department is offering a wide variety of courses. For a complete listing: www.haywood.edu. Info: 627.4669 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

• Evening classes for anyone wanting to obtain a high school equivalency diploma are offered from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays at Haywood Community College in Clyde. 627.4648.

• Concealed carry handgun is offered every other Saturday 8:30am-5pm starting at Mountain Range indoor shooting range. Lunch provided. Class $60. 452.7870 or mountainrangenc@yahoo.com.

• A meeting of current and former employees of the Waynesville plant of Champion/Blue Ridge/Evergreen is held at 8 a.m. on the first Monday of each month at Bojangles near Lake Junaluska’s entrance. FUNDRAISERS AND B ENEFITS

• Jackson County Genealogical Society will host its

annual Cruise-In fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 29, from 2 until 4 p.m. in Sylva at the Sav-Mor parking lot. The event, which will include classic cars and trucks, current-day muscle cars and “rat rods” as well as music, pays tribute to the old Rebel Restaurant. Participating vehicle owners will pay a $20 registration fee that enters them in raffles to win prizes donated by area auto parts stores and other merchants. A 50-50 raffle is planned, with the drawing set for 3:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold during the Cruise-In and will cost $1 each or $5 for six. Cars will parade through downtown around 4:15 p.m. jacksoncountygenealogy@gmail.com or http://www.jcgsnc.org.

• The “Highlands on the Half-Shell: Oyster Roast to benefit the Highlands Biological Foundation” is set for 4 p.m.-dark on Sunday, Oct. 6, at the meadow behind Valentine House, 888 Horse Cove Road in Highlands at Highlands Biological Station. Tickets: $100 for members; $125 nonmembers. The foundation is a nonprofit that provides support for the Highlands Biological Station. Info and tickets: www.highlandsbiological.org.

• REACH of Haywood has been selected as the featured non-profit at the first Stonehouse Pottery Gallery Opening on Sunday, October 6th, 1pm to 5pm. During this event, the Stonehouse Gallery and Studios will be open for tours, and a portion of every sale will help REACH in our ongoing efforts to serve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse. The works in the Gallery showcase many different pottery styles, and artists will be available to answer questions. Some artists may even be working in the studio! Light refreshments will also be available. Stonehouse Pottery Gallery is located 103 Cabin Flats Rd (The Balsam Post Office).

• Visit Jack the Dipper in Waynesville on Sunday, Oct. 13 and support Camp Ability with your purchase. Jack the Dipper is opened from noon to 10 p.m. and will be giving Camp Ability 10% of the purchases from the day. Camp Ability is a day camp for children with a variety of abilities where each day is full of possibilities. www.campabilitywnc.org/ or 246.2256.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS

• Tables are available to rent for the Jackson County Senior Center’s upcoming Yard Sale and Craft Shows, which are from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Department on Aging building in Sylva. Cost: $10 for one table or two for $15. Info: 586.5494.

H EALTH MATTERS

• The Alzheimer’s Association – Western Carolina Chapter – will offer “Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. Information on detection, causes and risk factors, stages of the disease, treatments and more. 524.3600.

• Western Carolina University will host a town hall Thursday, Oct. 3 from 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., in the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center. The event will feature a series of discussions and sessions focused on the national opioid and addiction crisis and on identifying potential solutions. The free event is a partnership between WCU’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise and the Jackson County Community Foundation. The event is open to the public free of charge, and lunch will be provided. Advance registration is required by Monday, Sept. 30. To register or for more information, visit the website go.wcu.edu/townhall.

• A “Preparation for Childbirth” class will be offered from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday from Oct. 3-24 at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville. Pre-registration required: MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

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

■ Complete listings of local music scene

■ Regional festivals

■ Art gallery events and openings

■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers

■ Civic and social club gatherings

• This fall, Four Seasons will host a six-week support group for those who have lost loved ones to drug overdose. Sessions will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. on Fridays from Oct. 4-Nov. 8 in Waynesville. Facilitator is Dan Yearick, MS, LPC-S. Info and registration: 692.6178. www.fourseasonscfl.org.

• The WNC Ostomy Support Group will meet from 6-7 p.m. every second Monday at the Jackson County Center Cooperative Extension’s Meeting Room, 876 Skyland Dr., Suite 6, in Sylva. Group is for people living with a urostomy, ileostomy, colostomy or a continent diversion. Facilitated by Certified Ostomy Nurses.

• “Your Amazing Newborn” class will be offered from 79 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville. Focusing on abilities, behavior, appearance and reflexes of your new baby. Pre-registration required: MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

• “Breastfeeding A-Z” class will be offered from 7-9 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville. Focusing on techniques for proper latching and comfortable positions for a baby and mom to get started. Pre-registration required: 452.8440.

R ECREATION AND FITNESS

• Rumba and line dance lessons will be offered this fall through the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. Rumba classes are from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Line dancing is offered from 2-3 p.m. on Wednesdays. For more info and date ranges, call 356.7060 or 550.3170.

• Yin & Tonic will be offered from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, at Waynesville Yoga Center. Long posture holds that release stress and improve flexibility; follow with a crisp beverage and chat with classmates. Cost: $14. Register or get info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• The CommUnity Square Dance is from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Reid Gym on Western Carolina University’s campus in Cullowhee. Caller teaches and calls dances to live, old-time music. No partner or experience necessary. Pammanottus@gmail.com.

• Contra Dance is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. Live music by Blue-Eyed Girl with Charlotte Crittenden as the caller. Cost: $7 for adults; free for children. www.coweeschool.org.

S PIRITUAL

• Registration is underway for Guided Personal Retreat, on Oct. 21-23 at Lake Junaluska. Lakejunaluska.com/retreats or 800.222.4930.

P OLITICAL

• The Jackson County Planning Board will hold its regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m. on Oct. 17, one week later than usual, at the Jackson County Department on Aging’s Heritage Room in Sylva.

AUTHORS AND B OOKS

• The Southern Storytellers Supper Series will feature David Joy, author of the Edgar-nominated novel “Where All Light Tends to Go” (Putnam, 2015), from 69 p.m. on Sept. 26, at the Folkmoot Center in Waynesville. Tickets are $20 in advance, $10 for students and $23 at the door. 452.2997 or info@folkmoot.org.

• Acclaimed author Mary Ann Claud will share her new novel Alex Dances at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.

S ENIOR ACTIVITIES

• A program of music lessons for adults aged 55 and over, “Mind the Music!” begins its fourth year on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville. The five-week session offers weekly afternoon group piano classes, private piano lessons, and ukulele lessons for beginners (on soprano or concertsized ukuleles). Students will need access during the week to a piano, a keyboard, or a ukulele. The cost for five lessons is $60, plus a material (under $18). Interested persons should contact the Haywood County Arts Council at info@haywoodarts.org or 828.452.0593 and leave name, phone numbers, and email address. Advance registration is required no later than Sept. 28.

• Senior Tennis Time is from 9 a.m.-noon every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Oct. 30 at the Donnie Pankiw Tennis Center at 128 W. Marshall Street in Waynesville. For ages 55-up; intermediate or higher skill level. $1 per person per day. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

K IDS & FAMILIES

• The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will offer a new afterschool program for Grades 1-5 starting in October at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Times are 3-6 p.m. Cost is $40 per week or $10 per day. Homework help, active play, lifetime sports and arts and crafts. Info: 456.2030 or cmiller@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has designated Saturday, Sept. 28, at Youth Deer Hunting Day. Ages 17-under may use any legal weapon to hunt deer of either sex and are not required to be accompanied by an adult if they have completed a hunter education course: www.ncwildlife.org/huntered or www.ncwildlife.org/hunting.

• On Sept. 28 the Great Smoky Mountain National Park Sugarlands Visitor Center and Clingmans Dome invites families to sign up to become a Volunteer-InPark (VIP) and participate in the park’s Litter Patrol Program. This is program is in celebration of the 26th annual National Public Lands Day. https://www.neefusa.org/public-lands-day.

• Officer presentations on “Hidden in Plain Sight: What every parent should know about their child’s bedroom” will be offered from 5-7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Presented by Renew Bryson City, the Marianna Black Library and the Bryson City Police Department.

• The Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express will depart at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4-6 and 11-13 and noon Oct. 5-6 and 12-13 at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. www.gsmr.com or 800.872.4681.

• “Nature Nuts: Squirrels” will be offered to ages 4-7 from 9-11 a.m. on Oct. 7 and Oct. 22 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• Waynesville Art School offers the Young Artist Program in the afternoons for 5-6 year old, 7-8 year old, 9-12 year old. Intro to Printmaking and Evening

studies in arts is offered for 13-19 year old. Waynesville Art School is located at 303 N. Haywood Street. Info: 246.9869, info@waynesvilleartschool.com or visit WaynesvilleArtSchool.com for schedule and to register.

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

K IDS FILMS

• “Overcomer”, will be shown at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza. Shown at 1:15, 4, and 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 25 and 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 26. Visit www.fandango.com for pricing & tickets. Info. on Facebook or 246.0588.

• “Abominable”, will be shown at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza. Shown at 6 and 8:20 p.m. on Sept. 26, 11 a.m., 12:30, 1:30, 3, 4, 5:30, and 7 p.m. on Sept. 27-29 and 12:30, 3, 5:30, and 7 p.m. on Sept. 30-Oct. 3. Visit www.fandango.com for pricing & tickets. Info. on Facebook or 246.0588.

• The Highlands Biological Foundation will offer a series of nature-themed films and documentaries shown at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of March in Highlands. For info on each show, call 526.2221.

• A family movie will be shown at 10:30 a.m. every Friday at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, on the campus in Cullowhee. The free, family oriented festival celebrates Southern Appalachian music, folk arts, dance and culture. The event includes music and dance performances, living history demonstrations, vendors and awards programs. For more information, a full schedule of events and updates, go to www.mountainheritageday.com.

• The 107th annual Cherokee Indian Fair will take place Oct. 1-5 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. Games, carnival rides and community arts and crafts exhibits. Miss Cherokee contest and nationally known entertainers. General admission is $10 per person at the gate, Tuesday through Friday. Children ages 6 and under will be admitted for free. Admission on Saturday is $15. For a full schedule of events: www.visitcherokeenc.com.

• The 11th annual ColorFest will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, in downtown Dillsboro. Artisans will be displaying authentic Cherokee art, pottery, jewelry, photography, loom beading, handmade soaps, many kinds of needle work, Christmas ornaments, pine cone wreaths, candles, rustic furniture, chair caning, baskets and much more. www.visitdillsboro.org.

• The Forest Festival Day and 24th annual John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet will be held from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Cradle of Forestry near Brevard. Traditional craftsmen, exhibitors, forestry students and entertainers will demonstrate their skills. Admission: $10 adults; $5 for ages 4-12. Free for children 3-under.

• The annual “Fall Festival” will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 5-6 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. Crafts, music, and dance performances. www.folkschool.org.

A&E

S PECIAL EVENTS & FESTIVALS

• The 2019 “Art After Dark” season will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. the first Friday of the month in downtown Waynesville. Main Street transforms into an evening of art, music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors. www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.

• The 10th annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium, designed to integrate indigenous and local knowledge with health and environmental issues, is set for Thursday and Friday, Sept. 26-27, in the conference room of Blue Ridge Hall in Cullowhee. Interdisciplinary forum with topics including ethnography, literature, art, music and more. Registration fee: $75. Tribal elders, students and WCU faculty admitted free. Preregister: 227.2164 or go.wcu.edu/RootedintheMountains. Info: 227.2893 or pjmyers@wcu.edu.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center will hold a three-day festival of gear, family friendly games and live music from Sept. 27-29, in Nantahala. Full schedule and more info: https://tinyurl.com/y7zhmmpw.

• The Brew & Do (Good) Festival will kick off at noon Saturday, Sept. 28, in the yard at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Franklin. Live music by Frog & Owl Revival and The Colby Deitz Band. Cornhole tournament, kid zone, chili cookoff, and more. Proceeds benefit REACH of Macon County. 349.2337.

• The 21st annual “Mountains to Coast” cycling tour of North Carolina is set for Sept. 28-Oct. 5. Register for the entire distance, three-day options or first- and last-day only options: www.ncsports.org. Info about Cycle North Carolina: 919.361.1133 or www.cyclenorthcarolina.org.

troupe does and is about. To register, call the box office at 524.1598.

• Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will lead a moderate, two-mile, round-trip hike at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, along the Big Butt Trail. Meet at Walker Knob Overlook, Milepost 359.8. Bring water, wear good walking shoes and be prepared for changeable weather. Info: 298.5330, ext. 304.

• “The Crucible” will come to life on the big stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-5, 10-12 and 2 p.m. Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and 13 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on www.harttheatre.org.

• Lamberto Roque Hernandez will be featured at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3, in the A.K. Hinds University Center Theater in Cullowhee. Part of the ACE Series at Western Carolina University. Tickets: $5 for WCU students, $10 for non-WCU students and WCU faculty and staff and $15 for general admission. Available at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

• Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will lead a moderate, one-mile round trip hike at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, to the top of Devils Courthouse. Meet at the Devils Courthouse Overlook at Milepost 422.2. Bring water, wear good walking shoes and be prepared for changeable weather. Info: 298.5330, ext. 304.

• Pickin’ on the Square in Franklin will host Blueride (gospel) on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. www.townoffranklinnc.com.

• Pickin’ on the Square in Franklin will host Intermission Band (variety) on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. www.townoffranklinnc.com.

• Tickets are on sale now for the Fall Harvest Festival, which will feature bluegrass legends The Gibson Brothers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Stecoah Valley Center. Info and tickets: www.stecoahvalleycenter.com. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in the air-conditioned Lynn L. Shields Auditorium.

F OOD & D RINK

• The “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 and Dec 31 at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first-class car. Wine pairings with a meal and more. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

ON STAGE & I N CONCERT

• Comedy night from 9 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Mad Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant in Waynesville. Comedians will include “Last Comic Standing” performer Tim Northern, Cory Smathers and Josh Merrell. Asheville comic and glass artist James Burks will also be on hand. Admission is $5 at the door. Must be age 18 and over.

• “The Mousetrap” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26-28 and 3 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students and children. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 227.2479.

• Performing the classic hits of ABBA, the group ARRIVAL will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets starts at $25 per person. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

• ARTrageous will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets start at $18 per person. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615. As well, ARTrageous will host a free ARTreach program for students in kindergarten through college, a behind-the-scenes look at what the

• Tickets are available now for a performance of “A Christmas Carol,” which will be on stage at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, in the University Center Theater at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Tickets: $5 for WCU students, $10 for non-WCU students and WCU faculty and staff and $15 for general admission. Available at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

• Tickets are available now for Holidays at the University Center, which will be held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 4-5, in the University Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Tickets: $5 for WCU students, $10 for non-WCU students and WCU faculty and staff and $15 for general admission. Available at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS

• “Travels and Tall Tales with Alan French” is set for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. Topic is “The Vikings on a Rampage.” 524.3600.

• The results of a recent archeology project that uncovered Cherokee artifacts at Western Carolina University will be presented Sept. 26-27 during the Cherokee Archeology Symposium at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. Sign up: https://bit.ly/2kdLpFh.

• The Jackson County Public Library is hosting Hemp in Jackson County: A Panel Discussion at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 26 in the Community Room. This program is free of charge. The panel will be composed of Brent and Beth Hall of Country Roads Farm, Kyle Coleman of Mountain Flora Dispensary, and Christy Bredenkamp the Horticulture Agent for Jackson County. Each panelist will speak about their area of expertise in the Hemp industry. After each speaker is done, there will be an extensive Q&A period.

• The Gem & Mineral Society of Franklin meets at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building, 1288 Georgia Road in Franklin.

• The Autumn Leaf Craft Sales will be held at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 27-28 at the Hickory Knoll Methodist Church in Franklin. Over 25 local artisans. Vintage car cruise-in from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 28. 727.521.1508.

• “Best in the West” competition will be held during the Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day on Saturday, Sept. 28, in Cullowhee. Apples will be the featured food for the popular “Best in the West” recipe competition. Any made-from-scratch dish with apples as the essential ingredient will be eligible for the contest, including apple pie, apple sauce, apple cobbler, apple fritters, candied apples, apple crumb cake and apple dumplings. In addition to the “Best in the West” recipe contest, the festival’s traditional food competition includes categories for canned goods, baked goods and heritage foods conservation. Competition is divided into adult and youth (16 and younger) divisions. Ribbons will be awarded to the top three entrants in each age division, plus a grand champion will be selected in each division. For more information on being a part of the contest call 227.7129 or visit www.mountainheritageday.com.

• The Fines Creek Flea Market is scheduled for 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Road in Clyde. 550.6842 or 593.7042. Info: www.fb.me/finescreekorg.

• The Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society meets at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 3 at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center at 45 E. Ridge Drive in Bryson City. Topic is “Murders in Swain County: The Ethel May Shuler Story and Others Lost to History.” Led by Wendy Myers.

• Registration is underway for Choir Music Weekend, which is Oct. 18-20 at Lake Junaluska. For small and medium-sized adult choirs. Worship and specialized workshops. Lakejunaluska.com/choirmusic or 800.222.4930.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES

• More than 20 fine artists will unveil works inspired by the Blue Ridge Parkway during the opening gala for the benefit art show “Of Valley & Ridge: A Scenic Journey Through the Blue Ridge Parkway” at 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 11, at Zealandia in Asheville. Supports the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Tickets: $100. Info: BRPFoundation.org or 866.308.2773, ext. 245.

This October, Haywood County residents and visitors are invited to view work from Haywood County artists who operate studios in the county and have participated in past open studio tours. You can view the work of local artists from Oct. 4 to October 26 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville. A reception for the studio tours will be held during Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, at the HCAC Gallery in Waynesville with a performance by Carolina Silverbells. Saturday artist demonstration are scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 5: quilter Jane Cole, Oct. 12: animal pastel artist Janice Swanger and Oct. 19 applique and quilting artist Denise Seay. Free and open to the public. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Applications are being accepted for artists who

want their work included in monthly gallery exhibits or retail spaces through the Haywood County Arts Council. HaywoodArts.org or GalleryGifts@HaywoodArts.org.

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present, “Resounding Change: Sonic Art and the Environment.” This exhibition will be on display through Dec. 6.

FILM & S CREEN

• “IT: Chapter Two”, is showing at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza at 1, 4:30, and 8 p.m. on Sept. 25-26 & Sept. 30-Oct. 3 and 3:30, 7, and 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 27-29. Visit www.fandango.com for pricing & tickets. Info. on Facebook or 246.0588.

• “Hustlers”, is showing at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza at 1:30, 4:15 and 7 p.m. on Sept. 25-26, 12:30, 7:45 and 10:15 p.m. on Sept. 27-28, 12:30 and 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 29 and 1, 4, and 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 30 – Oct. 3. Visit www.fandango.com for pricing & tickets. Info. on Facebook or 246.0588.

• “The Peanut Butter Falcon”, is showing at The Strand on Main at 1 and 7 p.m. on Sept. 25-26 in Waynesville. 38main.com.

• “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool”, is showing at The Strand on Main at 1 and 7 p.m. on Sept. 27-Oct. 3, and 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sept. 28-29 in Waynesville. 38main.com.

Outdoors

• The Smokies Skiwalking School will be offered from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Mondays through Oct. 21 at Smoky Mountain Elementary School in Whittier. Register and get more info: 586.4009 or 488.3848.

• “Pushing the Limits – Transformation” discussion will be led by STEM coordinator Randi Neff at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. Conversation will center around Barbara Kingsolver’s “Flight Behavior.” Refreshments served. Updates also on current climate change and monarch butterflies research. 524.3600.

• Hickory Nut Gap Farm and the National Young Farmers Coalition will hold an event for anyone interested in pursuing a career in agriculture from 5-9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26. Guided square dance, live music by Bull Moose Party and update from the NYFC on capitol hill lobbying. Guest speakers, info booths and networking opportunities. RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/y3ownfem.

• “Kephart: A Librarian’s Effort to Create a National

Park” will be presented by the Great Smoky Mountains Association and the Friends of Hunter Library at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Hourlong discussion moderated by WCU professor Mae Claxton.

• An opportunity to watch flocks of chimney swifts swirling in flight above the Asheville skyline is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, on the seventh floor of the Asheville Civic Center parking garage, 68 Rankin Ave. in Asheville.

• The “Everybody’s Environment Emerging Leaders Summit” will be offered Sept. 27-29 in Bryson City. A hands-on opportunity for students, educators and service leaders to learn about public lands, outdoor recreation, conservation and ways to support new stories in leadership and recreation. Keynote speaker is Daniel White, an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and Asheville native. Hosted by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy; funded by a grant from REI. Apply: tinyurl.com/E3SummitApp.

• Volunteers are wanted to help out from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Panthertown Valley near Cashiers. Hike roughly five miles on easy-to-moderate trails while doing trail corridor clearing as well as tread and drain work. Sign up: friends@panthertown.org.

• The Cradle of Forestry in America is seeking volunteers to help with erosion control, mulching and invasive species removal on Saturday, Sept. 28, near Brevard. Sign up: cradle@cfaia.org.

• An opportunity to help gather salamander population data is scheduled for 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Led by Rhonda Wise, a park expert on salamanders. For ages 8-up. Sign up by Sept. 26: Christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 476.4667, ext. 11.

• A National Hunting and Fishing Day program is from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sept. 28 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y53o5ddq.

• Friends of the Smokies is partnering with Navitat Canopy Adventures to offer one day each month through September where Navitat visitors receive a 10 percent discount, and a portion of sales will be donated to Friends of the Smokies. Next date is Saturday, Sept. 28. Navitat Asheville is located at 242 Poverty Branch Road in Barnardsville. Reservations and info: 626.3700.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a variety of opportunities on Saturday, September 28 in celebration of the 26th annual National Public Lands Day. On this day, National Park Service staff and volunteers will host information stations at popular sites throughout the national park. These stations will offer information about Leave No Trace principles and provide tips on how visitors can explore and enjoy the National Park while reducing their impact on the nat-

ural environment around them. Informational stations will be in operation from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. www.Facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainsNPS and https://www.neefusa.org/public-lands-day..

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a volunteer Trail Maintenance Workday as part of the celebration of the 26th annual National Public Lands Day. Participants are invited to participate on a trail rehabilitation project on the Kanati Fork Trail from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 28. Minimum age of participants is 16, under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible parent or guardian. Interested participants should contact Trail and Facilities Volunteer Coordinator Adam Monroe at 497.1949 or adam_monroe@nps.gov for more information and registration.

• A “Backyard Birding By Ear: For Beginners” program is set for 9 a.m.-noon on Sept. 30 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. For ages 10up. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y53o5ddq.

• The Franklin Bird Club will have a bird walk along the greenway at 8 a.m. on Oct. 2 in Franklin. Meet at Big Bear Shelter parking area. Franklinbirdclub.com or 524.5234.

• “On the Water: Little River” will be offered to ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 2, through the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• The Tuckaseigee River Chapter No. 373 of Trout Unlimited meets at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the United Community Bank, 1640 E. Main St. in Sylva.

• “Intro to Fly-Fishing” will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 4 and Oct. 22 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• Citizens’ Climate Lobby will hold a Climate Advocate Training for residents of Sylva and nearby communities from 1-4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 18 Jackson Street in Sylva. Climate solutions and info on climate legislation. https://citizensclimatelobby.org.

• “Eco Explorers: Raising Trout” will be offered from 1-3 p.m. on Oct. 7 and Oct. 22 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• “Casting for Beginners” will be offered to ages 12up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 8 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• A Hunter Education Course will be offered from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 15-16 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in

Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• “On the Water: West Fork Pigeon River” will be offered to ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 15, through the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• Backpacking course, will be offered by Landmark Learning on Oct. 21-25. www.landmarklearning.org.

• The Waterrock Knob Visitor Center is open daily through Nov. 11 for the season on Mile 451.2 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/hours.htm.

COMPETITIVE E DGE

• Mountain Heritage Day 5 K will be held at 8 a.m. on Sept. 28 at Western Carolina Campus in Cullowhee. Registration ends Sept. 26. $20 (non-student) and $15 (student). Register here: https://tinyurl.com/y6zy56gh

FARMERS MARKETS

• The Swain County Farmer’s Market is held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. every Friday through October at the barn on Island Street in downtown Bryson City. 488.3848 or www.facebook.com/SwainCountyFarmersMarket.

• Jackson County Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva. jacksoncountyfarmersmarket@gmail.com or www.jacksoncoutyfarmersmarket.org.

• The ‘Whee Farmers Market is held from 3-6 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October at the entrance to the village of Forest Hills off North Country Club Drive in Cullowhee. 476.0334 or www.thewheemarket.org.

• Haywood Historic Farmers Market is on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon at the HART Theater parking lot and Wednesdays from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the First Baptist Church overflow parking lot beside Exxon. waynesvillefarmersmarket.com or haywoodfarmersmarket@gmail.com.

• The Original Waynesville Tailgate Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon at 171 Legion Drive in Waynesville. 456.1830 or vrogers12@att.net.

• Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market runs 8 a.m. to noon, on East Palmer Street across from Drake Software. 349.2049 or www.facebook.com/franklinncfarmersmarket.

• “Locally Grown on the Green,” the Cashiers farm stand market for local growers, will be held from 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday at the Village Green Commons on Frank Allen Rd. next to the Cashiers post office. info@villagegreencashiersnc.com or 743.3434.

H IKING CLUBS

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will host an easy twomile family hike on Saturday, Sept. 28, on the Appalachian Trail to Moore Creek Camp. Reservations and info: 421.4178.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate-tostrenuous 7.5-mile hike on Saturday, Sept. 28, from Sweat Heifer to Kephart Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Info and reservations: 456.8895.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate four-mile hike with an elevation change of 100 feet on Saturday, Sept. 28, to Lower Whitewater Falls. Info and reservations: 743.1079.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a strenuous nine-mile hike with an elevation change of 1,700 feet on Saturday, Sept. 28, off the Georgia Bartram Trail. Info and reservations: 772.233.7277.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take an easy, 1.5mile hike with an elevation change of 200 feet on Saturday, Sept. 28, to view 80-foot-high Rufus Morgan Falls. Info and reservations: 526.6480.

• Carolina Mountain Club will take a 12-mile hike with a 2,800-foot ascent on Saturday, Sept. 28, from Big East Fork to Shining Creek Loop. Info and reservations: 606.3989, jqs290@gmail.com, 606.1490 or quilter290@gmail.com.

• Carolina Mountain Club will take a five-mile hike with a 900-foot elevation gain on Sunday, Sept. 29, at Sam Knob Loop. Info and reservations: 384.4870 or stuengo@comporium.net.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have a 6.3-mile hike with a 1,650-foot elevation gain on Wednesday, Oct. 2, to Big Butt from Balsam Gap. Info and reservations: 670.1611, 240.604.5000 or rlevy@cato.org.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have a 5.1-mile hike

with a 1,100-foot ascent on Wednesday, Oct. 2, to Mount Pisgah. Info and reservations: 785.9593.

• Carolina Mountain Club will host its fall Mountain Treasures Camporee from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 4-6, at the Appletree Campground near the Nantahala Gorge. Hikes of various lengths and difficulties will be offered Saturday and Sunday. Dinner will be shared Saturday night; ham and turkey offered at additional cost of $3-5. Campsite fee: $10 per person for two nights. kathannigan@gmail.com.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate four-mile hike with an elevation change of 700 feet to Rabun Bald on Saturday, Oct. 5, on the Georgia Bartram Trail. Info and reservations: 524.5298.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have a 6.2-mile hike with a 700-foot ascent on Oct. 7 from Sunburst to Waterfalls. Info and reservations: 667.5419 or bobbipowers23@gmail.com.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a strenuous, eight-mile hike with a 600-foot elevation change on Saturday, Oct. 12, on the Road to Nowhere in Smoky Mountains National Park. Info and reservations: 524.5298.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have an 11-mile hike with a 1,800-foot ascent on Saturday, Oct. 12, from Lemon Gap to Max Patch. Info and reservations: 606.3989, jqs290@gmail.com, 606.1490 or quilter290@gmail.com.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have a 5.1-mile hike with a 1,100-foot ascent on Sunday, Oct. 13, from to Mount Pisgah. Info and reservations: 785.9593 or dd1zz@yahoo.com.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate three-mile hike with a 400-foot elevation change on Sunday, Oct. 13, in Panthertown Valley. Info and reservations: 954.632.7270.

MarketPlace information:

The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads,

■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2. If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

Classified Advertising:

Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

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SUPER CROSSWORD

SETTING OUT TO SIEGE

ACROSS

1Dwelling place: Abbr.

4Modifying wd.

7Fail to mention

11Prez Lincoln

14Bar checks

18Artificial fat

20Relatives of allegories

22To -- (precisely)

23Mocking remarks from Pluto's master?

25Burnett of CNN

26-- Spumante (wine)

27Schubert's "The -King"

28Manet's forte

29Actor Claude

30"No, we're not going to give the employee a raise"?

37I, to Franz 40"Mazel --!"

41Fed. crash-probing org.

42Countertenor

43Very small toll to drive on a road through the Alps?

48Present from birth

52To a foreign country

53Fair-hiring inits.

54"Der --" (Konrad Adenauer)

56Ruin totally

57Fragment

58Use stitching

60Quips about a Civil War general?

64-- Boothe Luce

66Yuletide quaff

68"-- be great if ..."

69Leeds lav 70Miser's reformation into a generous person?

77Santa -78Polly's "Alice" role

79-- -TURN (street sign)

80Wafer brand

82Verbal noun the nitwit uses a lot?

88Actress Thurman

90Be inclined

91British noble

92"Why Can't -- Friends?"

93Deutsch article

95Develop

97Painting on plaster

99Concert tour during which a Muppet opens for the "Open Arms" band?

103Singer Amos

105Tap-in, e.g.

106Suffix with north or west

107Opposite NNW

108"Stop grazing and return to your barn"?

115Bedeck

116Air safety org.

117Stimpy's pal

118Close

122Certain Slav

123Very inexpensive part of a ship's hull?

129Different

130Maryland suburb of D.C.

131Motorist's guide

132Inuit's ride

1331040 org.

134With 11-Down, "Don't drop your guard!"

135Tent stake

136Gold, to Spaniards

DOWN

1City in Italia

2Yalies

3Religious faction

4Enjoyed food

5Sahara-like

61567-1625 king of

Scotland

7Great riches

8Some parents

9Infuriation

10-- Mahal

11See 134-Across

12Big -- (WWI gun)

13Kin of -trix

14Korean martial art

15Upper heart chambers

16Living thing

17Taste, e.g.

19Power tool brand

21Trounce

24Mork's home planet

29Env. notation

31R&B singer -- James

32Frogs' kin

33Group values

34Ad Council ad, for short

35"Son of," in Arab names

36Property transferor

37Windows ad catchphrase

38Steel-gray metallic element

39"Woo-hoo!"

44-- Dame

45-- the scene (having recently arrived)

46Flower plot

47Shade tree

49Totally fine

50Ascot, e.g.

51USNA grad.

55Perfumed powder

59Make furious

61Find by chance

62Archaic verb ending

63"Benny & --" (Johnny Depp film)

65& others

67Become liberated

71Not given under 112Down

72Winter woe

73Logical

74OPEC ship

75Gathers bit by bit

76Tickles a lot

81Without batting --

82Furry TV alien

83Opposite of 118-Across

84Lofty verse

85Place to find pearls

86Peter out

87Sudden --

89Squirrel's bit

94Put between

96Ladder step

98Quarter, e.g.

100Tach reading

101"For shame!"

102Dada artist

104Less certain

108Valises, e.g.

109Novelist Scott

110Eponymous code creator

111Balsa boats

112Witness' promise

113Cousin, for one: Abbr.

114Sooner city

119Sailors' saint

120Lab medium

121Debtor's woe

123DOJ agency

124"Certainly!"

125May hrs.

126Harem room

127-- v. Wade

128Duffel or tote

ANSWERS ON PAGE 48

Cherokee had high regard for owls

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in September 2002 in The Smoky Mountain News

The ancient Cherokees were astute observers of the natural world within which they existed. The mountain landscape and all of its plants and animals were a part of their spiritual cosmos.

Their spiritual system divided the world into three levels. The Upper World— the realm of light, goodness, and the everlasting hereafter — was represented by the birds. The Under World — the realm of darkness, evil, and eternal death — was represented by the serpents. By balancing these realms the Cherokees sought to bring peace and harmony into the Middle World, the mundane everyday realm within which humans reside.

The main portion of Cherokee animal imagery is devoted to birds. For them birds were magical. Birds are beautiful and lively … they sing … and they can do something that humans can only dream about … they can fly.

Most Cherokee bird lore is concerned with the ones they saw on an everyday basis: cardinals, chickadees, tufted titmice, etc. And most of their bird stories are rather lighthearted. Not all of their bird lore, however, has this aspect. At times they associated birds with the negative aspects of the Under World. The most logical candidates for this distinction were the owls, those woeful denizens of darkness.

There are five owl species that appear

BACK THEN

with regularity here in the southern mountains: great-horned owls, barred owls, screech owls, barn owls, and saw-whet owls. The Cherokees no doubt observed all of these, but their recorded lore gives names to but three.

“Tsgili” is the great-horned owl, which many also know as the “hoot” owl because of its “hooting” calls. The barred owl is “uguku,” an onomatopoetic word that mimics the bird’s “who cooks for you” call. “Wahuhi” for screech owl is also onomatopoetic in that it mimics the bird’s whinnying call.

Owls appear in differing contexts within Cherokee lore. The screech owl was often a messenger of future events. Owls in general were associated with warfare. When on the war trail the ancient Cherokees, a hypersuperstitious people, divined the future outcome of a conflict according to screech owl calls. If heard on the right or left, the call signified that the Cherokees would be victorious. If heard ahead or behind, the call signified defeat, in which instance they would cancel the expedition. Owl calls were also used as a means of communication by scouts at night.

Anthropologist James Mooney, who lived with the Cherokees on the Qualla Boundary (present-day Cherokee) during the late 1880s, observed that “Owls and other night-crying birds are believed to be the embodied ghosts or disguised witches, and their cry is dreaded as a sound of evil omen.” Of the three owls named in Cherokee lore, the great-horned owl was by far the most dreaded; indeed, the term “tsgili” was expanded in meaning so as to signify “witch.” Both the great-horned owls and the Cherokee witches indulged their mysterious powers only in darkness. They were the masters of the night.

Little wonder that the great-horned owl was held in such intrepid regard.

The great horned will hunt by day, but it is supremely equipped for night stalking. The feathered tufts (“horns”) on its head look like ears but aren’t. The ear slits hidden among the feathers can differentiate and pinpoint the origin of faint sounds. Its eyes are 35 times more sensitive than those of a human being, so powerful that they can capture prey in light so dim it is the equivalent of a candle burning in the dark nearly half a mile away. Specialized wing feathers, downy-fringed like a butterfly’s, enable this predator to move silently in flight. No sound of rushing wings warns the victim of a devastating strike.

The Cherokee witches admired and were associated with these qualities in numerous ways. I have always been struck by the sacred formulas (chants or incantations) that the

Cherokee medicine men used to create good luck in hunting or warfare, in healing, or in affairs of the heart. The evil medicine men or “witches” used the sacred formulas to accomplish their own nefarious ends.

One of the most drastic of these has been labeled “To Lower One’s Soul” by Alan Kilpatrick, a member of the Cherokee Nation is Oklahoma. In The Night Has a Naked Soul (Syracuse University Press, 1997), Kilpatrick states that the Cherokee sacred formulas which fall into this category “represent instruments whose express purpose is to destroy human life. Because of their grave and irreversible consequences, life-threatening spells … were traditionally the last incantations to be taught an apprentice.”

Here is one of the “lowering” sacred formulas that I have rendered from one of Kilpatrick’s rough paraphrase. No reader will be surprised at this point to see which bird is invoked:

To My Enemy

Your name is night. I am the black owl that hunts the darkness for your heart and soul. Your name is the night. I am the black owl hunting your soul.

George Ellison is a writer and naturalist who lives in Bryson City. info@georgeellison.com