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September 23-29, 2026 Vol. 28 Iss. 17
Swain commissioners discuss roadless rescission Page 5 A researcher’s pursuit of Masa’s missing photos Page 32
CONTENTS On the Cover: Two years ago, Hurricane Helene ravaged Western North Carolina. The immediate recovery was fueled by locals helping locals and the work of selfless volunteers from outside the area. As long-term efforts continue, many are beginning to ask when the federal government will step up and do more. (Page 6) Jack Snyder design
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News Maggie event brings leaders together to talk public safety ....................................4 Swain commissioners discuss roadless rescission ................................................5 The burden of trust: WLOS meteorologist reflects on Helene............................15 Jackson Commission candidates discuss library, Flock, and more....................16 One Big Beautiful Bill shifts SNAP costs to counties............................................18 Community briefs ..............................................................................................................21
Opinion Don’t you just love the First Amendment! ..................................................................22 Our narcissist, our brat ....................................................................................................23
A&E Southeast Cougar Club to host show at Haywood County Fair ........................24 Mountain Layers welcomes Alma Russ ......................................................................27
Outdoors A researcher’s ongoing pursuit of Masa’s missing photos ..................................32 Enjoy hike-a-thon challenge in Haywood....................................................................34
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Folks from around the region gathered for the roundtable event. Kyle Perrotti photo
‘Meet in the Middle’ event brings leaders together to talk public safety
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BY KYLE PERROTTI NEWS EDITOR or the second year in a row, law enforcement leaders, elected officials, and advocates met to discuss key issues affecting public safety with the goal of working toward concrete solutions. The event, called “Meet in the Middle,” was organized by Western North Carolina DWI Taskforce leader Ellen Pitt and was cohosted by state Reps. Anna Ferguson (RSwain) and Eric Ager (D-Buncombe). During the two-hour roundtable, held the afternoon of Sept. 13 at Maggie Valley’s town hall pavilion, each participant had the chance to discuss two issues they considered important to the evolving world of public safety. Along with Ager and Ferguson, other elected leaders and candidates showed up, including Republican NC-11 nominee Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson), Buncombe County Sheriff candidate Gary Parris, and District Attorney-Elect for Rutherford and McDowell counties, David Norris. Also present were representatives
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and streets for the economy to be what it needs to be, so you’ve got to have the police highly trained,” she said. Pitt has led the charge to pass new DWI laws, including the Sober Operator Act. Originally proposed by Pitt’s longtime ally, the late Rep. Mike Clampitt, it is now sponsored by Ferguson and Ager. Pitt encouraged lawmakers present to consider how “desperately needed” the sober operator act is. People around the room spoke one by one. Some talked about making it easier for a grandparent to get limited guardianship over their grandchildren in situations where the parents are struggling with addiction. Ferguson also wanted to see changes in DWI laws, including the ability to introduce roadside breathalyzer numerical results as evidence in court. “The more I talk with law enforcement, the more I’m amazed the hoops you have to jump through to even get information introduced in court,” Ferugson said. Finally, Ferguson said that legislators need to consider what laws should be passed to regulate recreational “We need a modernization of our legal cannabis use when, not if, it is structure in North Carolina that takes into legalized. Ager advocataccount the new technologies we have.” ed for the use of — Eric Ager continuous alcohol monitoring bracelets for DWI defendants awaiting trial. from various aspects of law enforcement, “We need a modernization of our legal including North Carolina State Highway structure in North Carolina that takes into Patrol (NCSHP) troopers. account the new technologies we have,” he Pitt kicked off the event with opening said. “We’ve learned a lot over the last 30, remarks, during which she drove home the 40 years. Our legal system is a bit trapped importance of public safety. From educain the past.” tion to agriculture, while different candiThe NCHSP troopers, First Sgt. Aaron dates have different priorities, she argued Ammons and Sgt. Cory Hipps, discussed that public safety is a necessary complestaffing issues the area is grappling with. ment to any other agenda. There are 20 troopers right now covering “We need safe business environments
Haywood and Jackson counties, and that number should be up to 25. Of the 17 western counties comprising Troop G, only two are fully staffed. Jean Harris, a member of Nurses Against Drunk Driving, lost her sister, brother-in-law, and 8-year-old nephew in 2024 to a driver now awaiting trial on a DWI charge for the collision. “My number one passion right now is to make sure the sober operator act gets passed,” she said. District Attorney-Elect for Rutherford and McDowell counties David Norris said he’d like to see more simplified DWI laws, noting that there are 65 paragraphs in that statute, which creates a lot of room for error for prosecutors. Bill Hollinged, a former Waynesville police chief who now heads up the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, said he has been surprised by the proliferation of shops that carry THC products and kratom, which affects the user similarly to an opioid. Republican Haywood County Sheriff candidate Mark Mease, who currently serves as a narcotics investigator with the Cherokee Indian Police Department, echoed that concern, adding that they are seeing more vape pens popping up as well. “We’re seeing these vape cartridges popping up in schools with fentanyl and meth, not just THC,” he said. Balkcom touted her public safety record as a state legislator, especially in the realm of public safety when it comes to protecting children. She said she would like criminals to dread jail again. “We don’t make believers out of criminals anymore,” she said, adding that she wants the “fear of God” put into them. Pitt closed things out by thanking those who put in the work for the DWI Taskforce and those who attended. “Everybody gets heard,” she said. “That has served us well for all these many years.”
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Swain commissioners discuss roadless rescission BY LILY LEVIN STAFF WRITER he Trump administration’s proposed Roadless Rule rescission — which The Smoky Mountain News has covered at each stage — dominated part of the Sept. 15 Swain County meeting when Kimberly Smith, an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians enrolled member and The Wilderness Society’s southeastern states conservation specialist, urged commissioners to give public comment. She used an Indigenous perspective to frame the sites a rescission would impact. “The forest, rivers, and wildlife were here before us, and if we make the right choices, they will be here after us. We often think about stewardship as something to do to a place, but stewardship is also about understanding we have a relationship with a place, and with that comes responsibilities,” she said. U.S. Forest Service road building, if
comment. She shared a few examples. From one student, “Don’t cut the trees down, please. Trees are so pretty; they give us air. Trees give us medicine. Please don’t cut them down.” Another had said, “Please protect our future, our water, our species, our trees, our roadless areas.” A third had commented, “Please, please, please keep our nature, our wildlife safe. Roads in these wilderness areas will ruin so many things.” The public has written around 7,000 comments daily, with outliers on Aug. 21, Sept. 14, and Sept. 16, each with nearly 20,000 submissions. Most comments are boilerplate; daily unique submissions are closer to 2,000. Of all comments, 99.1% oppose rescission, 0.7% support it, and 0.2% are neutral or have an unclear stance. Of unique comments, 97.7% oppose rescission, 1.7% support it, and 0.6% are neutral/unclear. Smith referenced several WNC “The forest, rivers, and wildlife governing bodies — Boone, were here before us.” McDowell County, Hendersonville, Henderson County, Franklin, and — Kimberly Smith Buncombe County — that had submitted joint public comments in hopes commissioners would make the same decision. allowed in all 20 Western North Carolina “I think one of the big issues here would roadless areas, would affect runoff, water be logging on the forest, and we need timsupply, and endangered species. In Swain ber, and the way the Forest Service, the County’s two roadless areas — Cheoah Bald places that’s been logged in the past, I’ve and Wesser Bald — rescission-induced visited, and they seed the roads down. changes to sedimentation and water quality They’re green. It creates a good area for are expected to lead to a 31-70% eastern wildlife,” said Commissioner Bobby hellbender population decline. Other local Jenkins. “You can’t tell it’s been logged.” road construction threats include habitat Smith emphasized the differences fragmentation, canopy removal, invasive between those sites and old-growth roadless species encroachment, and plant and areas, one of which is home to a 426-yearamphibian habitat disruption. old tree, and explained how roadless protecSmith added that a rescission would tions interact with timber harvest. financially harm the county, which, based “When it comes to commercial logging on a 2023 Made by Mountains WNC in these forested areas, one of the things Outdoor Recreation Participation Survey, that the Roadless Rule does is add clarity on received $23,660,693 in labor income from process and location, which allows for more outdoor recreation visits. The outdoor efficient means of going into public lands recreation industry employed 729 people in for logging,” she said. 2023, or 5.2% of all Swain County residents, Commissioners ultimately tabled the far above Haywood’s 2.2%, Jackson’s 3.2%, decision until their Oct. 6 meeting, the final and Macon’s 2.1%. According to the report, day of public comment. The U.S. 50% of respondents hiked while 46% particiDepartment of Agriculture on Sept. 11 pated in nature viewing, activities likely extended the public comment period by 15 affected amid a roadless rollback. days through a federal register notice that Despite the rescission’s acute local itself has garnered over 4,000 comments. impacts, commissioners were largely “I would like to do a little research. It’s unaware of it before the meeting. pretty interesting to me,” said “I’ll be honest. I did not know that this Commissioner David Loftis, noting that the was even a thing coming down until it was hellbender lives within Swain County’s “two shared with us,” said Commissioner Tanner virgin stands of timber.” Lawson. Commissioners then briefly debated Smith assured the policy “is not a part whether a water dog is a hellbender, which of general knowledge,” mentioning educaSmith answered affirmatively. tion sessions she’s facilitated. “They’ve got, like, 15 different names, She’d been at Swain East Elementary like snot lizard, lasagna lizard, mud puppy. earlier that day to explain roadless areas to I love a hellbender,” she said. 80 students, all of whom submitted a public
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The long muck-out
Helene recovery has progressed slowly over two years. How long until things are back to ‘normal’? BY KYLE PERROTTI NEWS EDITOR eb Smathers checks activity in the Gulf of Mexico whenever he looks at the weather in Western North Carolina. He began this practice after Tropical Storm Fred inundated Canton in August 2021. In September 2024, he saw something concerning. A storm was developing that would soon become known as Hurricane Helene. In the months before Helene reached Western North Carolina, the region was in a drought. Prayers for rain were answered the week before it hit land as upward of 8 inches fell, saturating the soil and swelling creeks. What many didn’t consider but now know is that the mountains were primed for catastrophe. Smathers, Canton’s mayor, considered the worst-case scenario. Before Helene was even named, he prepared for what such a storm could do to a town that had already been through so much. He coordinated with leaders at all levels of government. Emergency responders were put on alert, and businesses near the Pigeon River were encouraged to move inventory and equipment. “The lesson learned in 2021 is that we can’t take chances anymore,” Smathers said. One of Smathers’ first calls was to Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead, who at the time was in Pittsburgh for the International City and County Managers Association (ICMA) Conference. Morehead, Smathers, and
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others were receiving briefings from the National Weather Service station in Greenville, South Carolina. With each briefing, the picture became clearer, and meteorologists began using words like “unprecedented.” “One of the folks from the Weather Service said, ‘You are going to have hundreds of landslides,’” Morehead recalled. There would be over 2,000 in Western North Carolina. What happened during Fred informed the Helene response in Haywood, even if that recovery effort was still ongoing. Two days before Helene hit, crews were working removing debris from Fred in and along the East Fork of the Pigeon River. During that storm, the world was gripped by COVID’s Delta Variant, so congregant sheltering was prohibited. Displaced households were put up at Lake Junaluska, which was expensive and logistically challenging. Ahead of Helene, the Waynesville Armory was open and available, which eased some anxiety for county leaders. In conjunction with emergency response leaders, Morehead worked to get emergency response resources in the right spots. While knowing what lay ahead provided advantages, it also created a feeling of dread. The ICMA conference Morehead attended offered sessions on mental health with a focus on personal resilience amid overwhelming challenges. “I was like, I hope that stuff works,” Morehead said with an uneasy laugh. Helene made landfall about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee at 11:10 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. By
Cabell Tice photo
the time it moved north into The Carolinas, it’d been downgraded to a Tropical Storm. Rivers and creeks in Western North Carolina began slipping their banks around dawn on Friday, Sept. 27. Conventional wisdom is that mountains shelter communities from the worst a hurricane can bring. However, heavy rains hitting soggy earth were channeled into the valleys with ferocious velocity. The sheer hydraulic force of the flash floods brought a new kind of devastation, something unseen during coastal storms. Over 100 lives were lost in North Carolina, and the years-long recovery process is estimated to cost almost $60 billion, over triple Hurricane Florence, which in 2018 ravaged the coast and set the previous record of $17 billion in damages. While estimates vary, early Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) figures said in North Carolina 73,000 homes were lost and 9,000 road sites were damaged. To date, over 16.6 million cubic yards of debris have been removed. Two years later, the recovery continues. While Smathers doesn’t like looking back at the harrowing experience, he must. If experience has taught him anything, it’s that the time will come that he will be glad to have learned the hard lessons. “The thing that weighs on me is, when the next storm hits, will we have done everything we could to prepare?” Smathers pondered. “Because that’s the question we’re going to have to answer.”
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THE ONGOING RECOVERY
news September 23-29, 2026 Smoky Mountain News
finance department, making him uniquely equipped to handle the budgetary challenges. He credited Long-term recovery efforts having competent people around began not long after Helene’s floodhim who’ve gained plenty of relewaters receded. On Oct. 9, North vant experience for executing what Carolina’s General Assembly unanmany have considered to be the imously passed $273 million storm most effective short-term and longrelief package that then-Gov. Roy term recovery. Along with Tropical Cooper signed the following day. Storm Fred, many on the staff The act also loosened regulations weathered the COVID pandemic that could prove cumbersome in and the 2023 closure of Canton’s those early, uncertain days and paper mill. Some were even workextended Cooper’s state of emering during the 2004 flooding gency through March 1, 2025. caused by Hurricanes Frances and In an interview with The Smoky Ivan. The team has been seasoned Mountain News, Democratic Gov. by the unimaginable. Josh Stein recalled visiting Western “Those things, including Fred, North Carolina as Attorney felt like a dress rehearsal for General in October 2024 as he hit Helene,” Morehead said. the homestretch of his gubernatoriFor families whose homes were al campaign. The Attorney damaged or destroyed by a storm, General’s office is concerned with the most important relief comes in guarding consumers against scams the form of FEMA property buyand price gouging in the wake of a outs. Following Fred, 27 houses disaster. The scenes were bleak, but were part of that program, which he was motivated by the resilience just finished its work a few months on display. People were already ago. Following Helene, the county mucking out homes and businesses has 89 parcels in mitigation. Things and removing drywall below the water line, putting in the hard Zeb Smathers (left) and Haywood Rep. Mark Pless (back right) look on as Gov. Roy Cooper and FEMA are moving “much quicker” for the 89 total parcels in mitigation from work to get their lives on track. Administrator Deanne Criswell address reporters at Pisgah High School’s Memorial Stadium. Cory Vaillancourt photo Helene, he said. Morehead attrib“I took that inspiration to get as utes that speedier result to the prepared as I could for when I local governments have had to shoulder the $9.8 billion, with over $2.8 billion coming county hiring a full-time recovery and became governor in early January, to immeburden to complete necessary projects and from the Federal Highway Administration resilience officer coupled with a “greater diately try to accelerate the recovery howevthen wait for reimbursement. Emergency Relief Program alone. Much of er I could,” Stein said. Morehead spent much of his career prior that money has gone toward restoring a secOn Jan. 2, 2025, as cold temperatures SEE HELENE, PAGE 8 to working in Haywood in Gaston County’s tion of I-40 through Haywood County near gripped the mountains, upon being sworn the Tennessee line that in some areas in, Stein signed five executive orders meant washed away entirely. That project is expectto meet immediate needs by restoring critied to cost a total of $2.8 billion, making it cal infrastructure to create a foundation on which a larger recovery effort could be built. by far the most expensive NCDOT project ever. “Our objective was to try to act with as State and local leaders have made several much urgency as we possibly could to get trips to Washington, D.C., to ask for more people in homes as quickly as we could,” federal relief money. The Stafford Act Stein said. “[We wanted] to try to restore requires that the fedaccess to properties eral government through private “The thing that weighs on cover a minimum of roads and bridges to 75% of eligible costs help local governme is, when the next for major disasters. ments get their As of now, the feds storm hits, will we have water and sewer have covered about operational, even if done everything we could 16.3%. During Stein’s it was with duct tape many trips to the to prepare? Because and baling wire at nation’s capital, he first.” has pleaded for the that’s the question we’re The state has money Western provided $3.1 bilgoing to have to answer.” North Carolina needs lion for the recovery, and deserves. In — Zeb Smathers over six times what June, he and Sen. it allocated in the Kevin Corbin (Rwake of Florence. Macon) traveled to the capital. Ahead of This includes $700 million from the state that trip, he lowered his ask from $13.48 bilbudget passed July 1. While Stein wasn’t lion to $10.17 billion. He attributes the enthusiastic about everything in the budget reduction to more precise accounting of dolhe ultimately signed, he praised the Helene lars spent and dollars available, as well as a relief. better understanding of conditions on the To date, $645 million has been awarded ground. by the state to rehabilitate 530 waterway The $9.8 billion allocated from the federsites through the Emergency Watershed al government and $3.1 billion from the Protection (EWP) Program. Also, 232 state, in addition to $6.4 billion from insurstreamflow rehabilitation assistance proance and private funds, makes up less than a gram sites have been approved at a total of third of the total estimated cost from $34 million. Helene’s devastation. From the beginning, The federal government has allocated
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sense of urgency” from the federal government due to the widespread devastation wrought by Helene. The county also has an employee whose sole focus is writing grant applications. Still, a relative lack of revenue has plagued Haywood. Property tax revaluations were scheduled for implementation in 2025, but that was delayed until 2027. Current values are based on data collected between 2019 and 2020. That lower valuation, coupled with $190 million loss in value from the shuttered paper mill, compounded the fiscal hardship created by the storm. Despite the challenge, Morehead feels the delay was the right decision. There have been other hurdles. An issue with rebuilding housing stock is that the Federal Housing and Urban Development guidelines aren’t conducive to rapid development in rural areas. Morehead said there have been some affordable housing projects that didn’t come to fruition because of those tight regulations. “There needs to be something to help communities recover in a
pipeline for that,” Corbin said. Infrastructure resilience is a key component of getting ahead of the next storm. A mostly state-funded project will connect the water systems of Canton, Clyde, and Waynesville. Loss of potable water wreaked havoc across the region following Helene, especially in Asheville, where some neighborhoods went almost three weeks without water, and many areas were required to boil water for almost two months. If the next storm renders water in one municipality undrinkable, it may be that the other water system can supply those residents. Leaders have also considered developing a more resilient housing stock, from using stronger building materials to preventing construction in flood-prone areas. County and municipal governments have purchased many such properties, with some being turned into parks that can impound floodwaters. “That’s how we get better; just keeping people out of harm’s way the best you can,” Morehead said.
THE FEMA PROBLEM
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There has been $2.48 billion in FEMA public assistance obligated across 2,942 Helene-related projects. The agency has provided $568 million in individual assistance, compensating over 160,000 households. However, reimbursements to local governments for work already completed is still slow-going, according to The Asheville Citizen Times. Even though Morehead feels like Haywood County is in a stable situation, reimbursements make a tremendous difference. “We got paid in late May or early June on $10 million,” Morehead said. “A Less than a third of the total financial need in the wake of Helene has been met. Jack Snyder graphic penny on the tax rate brings in about a million bucks. That’s a lot of money when you start thinking about the fashion that they need it, instead of trying to mold what they need impact here on Main Street.” into this program,” Morehead said. FEMA falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Another example of unnecessary bureaucracy involves the federal Under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the agency fell under EWP Program. That program requires plans for debris removal to be scrutiny for its large backlog of pending approvals. The main culprit stamped by an engineer. That review requires additional time and creating that backlog was Noem’s infamous policy that required her money. In the mountains where snags in creeks need to be cleared, personal approval of any expenditure over $100,000, a policy that snags that could worsen future flooding. Clearing debris in those sithindered not only FEMA contracts but also Trump’s immigration uations shouldn’t require that degree of oversight, Morehead said, agenda and even national security items. According to WRAL, in adding that the issue hasn’t been as cumbersome in the aftermath of July of last year, Stein wrote to Noem asking why she wasn’t approvHelene. ing $281 million in Helene recovery. “We really didn’t need engineers in Fred, but everything required “Applications submitted as far back as February 2025 remain it,” Morehead said. “The state now understands the difference, and without a final decision,” the governor wrote. “Further delay of Helene EWP doesn’t have those same engineering requirements, so these funds keeps communities and families in limbo, all while we we’ll be able to knock it out cheaper.” are in another dangerous hurricane season.” Sen. Corbin said one of the main jobs of state government offiTrump removed Noem from her DHS post in March. When cials now is to keep FEMA money in the “pipeline” for property buyMarkwayne Mullen, previously a representative and senator from outs and home repairs since the flow of approved applications Oklahoma, took over, he rescinded Noem’s disastrous policy. remains steady. Many awaiting such imbursements are stuck doling Elected officials in North Carolina from both parties have said that out money for a mortgage on an uninhabitable property while also FEMA reimbursements have since come with fewer delays. paying to live somewhere else. Right now, more money has been However, leaders think money still moves too slow, and those funds requested than is available. In addition, across the region, over 1,100 are urgently needed. While Morehead and Smathers both acknowlhomes have been repaired, rebuilt, or weatherized by nonprofit and edged that accountability for taxpayer dollars comes at the expense volunteer organizations using state funds, but over double that of efficiency, slow reimbursements have real world conseamount are waiting in the queue. quences. “We need to make sure that that we’re able to keep money in the
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“very big disappointment,” and that he thought it might “go away.” In January 2025, he ordered the creation of a federal FEMA review council. The order claimed that “vulnerable Americans” aren’t getting support they need and alleged “political bias” in the organization. The council was tasked with producing a report including assessments of FEMA’s adequacy and an exploration of the agency’s role in the federal system. The council made its report public in May. The recommended changes would shift much of the disaster-relief burden to state, territorial, and tribal governments. Critics raised concerns whether those all such governments could absorb the associated cost, especially when it comes to disasters in rural areas. During a recent visit to Buncombe County, FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton weighed in on the issue in an interview with The Citizen Times. “I think FEMA has a lot of things it can improve on,” Hamilton said. “I think there’s also areas that FEMA has been blamed for things that aren’t its fault. It’s a bit of a mixed bag.” “My hope is that the final outcomes will
SEE HELENE, PAGE 10
Smoky Mountain News
“It’s an absolute bureaucratic nightmare,” Smathers said. “The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand’s doing, and it creates delays.” “They’ve got to make sure everything’s verified; I get that, but those areas where we already have state or local procurement laws. Maybe just open it up and let us follow our own rules and have some flexibility,” Morehead said. Morehead was quick to point out that the FEMA employees on the ground have been committed and “very easy to work with.” The problem is a disconnect somewhere up the chain of command, he believes. But FEMA staffing woes at all levels have also created issues, one source close to the recovery effort said. As soon as rapport with a program manager is built, that program manager is replaced. That familiarity matters in the same way that a person wouldn’t want to go to different doctor every time they have an issue. Under Trump, FEMA’s workforce has shrunk considerably. Less than two weeks ago, a federal judge said the president’s plan to cut the agency’s staffing in half is unlawful. While many have called for FEMA reform, others have questioned its very existence. During a visit to the region, Trump said FEMA was “not good,” a “disaster,” a
September 23-29, 2026
Gov. Josh Stein (left) and Sen. Kevin Corbin en route to Washington, D.C., in June to explain why the state needs urgent funding from Congress. Governor’s office photo
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be ways to truly reform emergency management as an entire industry to make it better, faster, and more efficient with how it delivers,” he added. Stein has had conversations with decision makers in Washington, D.C., about specific frustrations state and community leaders have with FEMA. He isn’t opposed to states taking a more active role in disaster recoveries, but he noted that doing so requires an “infusion of funds so that local governments can do the immediate work of rebuilding whatever infrastructure was busted in their community.” Stein also said he wouldn’t want the agency’s flaws to be justification for abolition in lieu of reform. “It’s imperative that the federal government remain a funding partner in this work at the same time that it gives states and local governments more authority and more flexibility to respond,” he said. Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) has known Secretary Mullen from their time together in the House and Senate. Budd called the secretary a “true friend” who understands FEMA’s need to be “efficient and responsive” but added that Helene’s unique nature has made recovery complicated. He believes Mullen will find ways to make future recoveries more flexible, adding that a key in future disasters will be getting people from all relevant federal agencies on the ground sooner. “I think you’ve just got to get on it and stay after it,” Budd said.
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The senator also thinks that with what folks from the community and volunteer organizations were able to do on the ground, FEMA should consider directing money toward organizations that have proved their mettle. “I would say it was the front-line people, not even in federal government, who were the most help to the communities,” he said. “Anything we can do to resource them and make them more resilient and telecommunications more resilient (should be consid-
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ered). Those are the things that we’re working on that aren’t front and center, that aren’t really noticed.”
A (MOSTLY) BIPARTISAN RECOVERY Recovery at the community level has been apolitical; just neighbors helping neighbors and outside volunteers giving selflessly. As far as government goes, there’s
always a chance that political bickering may harm long-term prospects. However, up to now, Republicans and Democrats have worked well together, often in coalitions of unlikely allies, to make sure Western North Carolina isn’t left behind. Stein has frequently been accompanied by state and local leaders from both parties on his trips to Washington, D.C. “We’ve been working with the (state’s congressional) delegation to make our case and prove it,” Stein said. “I believe there’s widespread agreement that the funds are needed and worthwhile, and we just need this administration and this Congress to do something.” Corbin recalled the June trip to D.C. with Stein, which included an impromptu four-hour car ride back when the state plane had mechanical problems. Corbin said the two didn’t talk about other political issues, even though the senator had sponsored an anti-DEI bill impacting state colleges and universities that the governor had just vetoed. They put aside outstanding political beefs to focus on the task at hand.
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said. He said he’s also been happy to work with state officials toward their common aim, even the Democratic governor. “The goal is to help Western North Carolina,” he said. “It’s not to play partisan politics.” Bob Scott photo
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“One thing we can agree on is that we need to work toward recovery for Western North Carolina,” Corbin said. “That is not debatable. That is not political.” “People just figure that we disagree on everything, and that’s just not accurate,” he added.
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While FEMA provides relief money Another bipartisan effort is the through its channels, the federal governGovernor’s Advisory Committee on WNC Recovery, made up of dozens of elected lead- ment can fast-track a large sum of money ers from both parties as well as business and through a direct appropriation. The only direct appropriation was passed in community leaders. Corbin co-chairs the December 2024 toward the end of the Biden committee with Asheville Mayor Esther Administration. About $30 billion more in Manheimer, a Democrat. The committee, Helene relief is needed to meet the requiretasked with looking broadly at what is and ment established by isn’t working, has the Stafford Act. been a focal point for “One thing we can agree Budd has said he planning efforts. wouldn’t vote in Corbin said it also on is that we need to we favor of an upcomprovides accountabilneed to work toward ing supplemental or ity, not only for outreconciliation bill side entities but also recovery for Western meant to bolster milfor the members themselves. North Carolina. That is not itary funding amid an expensive ongo“This has not debatable. That is not ing war with Iran if it been a ‘name-only’ committee,” Corbin political. People just figure doesn’t include Helene relief. That said. “It’s been a that we disagree on bill should come working committee.” before Congress Sen. Budd, a everything, and that’s just around November Republican, has and is expected to emerged as the most not accurate.” also include aid for vocal proponent of — Rep. Kevin Corbin Florida farmers expeHelene relief in riencing crop loss Congress and stood due to unseasonable alongside President frost. While he told SMN he’s in favor of Trump during his January 2025 visit to delivering more money to the Department Swannanoa. While he has criticized Biden’s of Defense and those farmers, he can’t supinitial response, he told SMN that he port something that doesn’t take care of the worked with that administration during the biggest problem in his own state, even if it early stages of the recovery, even advising has overwhelming Republican support. In his staff that sending Air Force One to Asheville could hurt relief efforts due to clos- July, Budd came before the Senate ing the surrounding air space. SEE HELENE, PAGE 12 “They heeded my advice on that,” Budd
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Appropriations Committee and said that too many recovery projects have stalled due to inefficient funding, forcing towns to implement “expensive short-term stopgap solutions just to carry out their most basic functions for their residents.”
Stein’s larger request. The bipartisan sentiment that’s become a hallmark of the Helene recovery may end at the White House. On Sept. 16, during a campaign rally for Senate candidate Michael Whatley, who as Trump’s Helene Czar has been criticized for his lack of presence and action, the president ruffled some feathers. “We spent more than $2 billion in FEMA
While Budd didn’t condemn Trump’s comment, which he considered made in jest, he didn’t seem to agree with the tone. “I can’t speak from his perspective, but I can say I don’t joke about those things,” Budd said. “I’m very serious when it comes to continuing support for Western North Carolina.” Western North Carolina in January will
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As time goes by, memories of Helene still linger, leaving many wondering if once-in-a-lifetime storms will become more routine. Jack Snyder photo
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“Every time I’m in Western North Carolina, people ask me to make sure that they’re not forgotten. This is Congress’s chance to remind them that we’re serious about helping them get back on their feet,” Budd told senators. Budd told SMN that even without a direct appropriation, he’s pushed for a speedier, more effective recovery. For example, he recently spoke with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin about a billiondollar request for water projects in the region. While Budd said he wants to work with Stein on the governor’s $10.17 billion request, he prefers to look at things on a project-by-project basis rather than trying to convince Congress to greenlight an 11-figure appropriation. “I think that’s a good way not to have accountability on the dollars,” he said of
for funding,” Trump said. “You’re waiting for some additional money … I’m gonna get that to you. Now, if Michael loses, I’m not sending it.” The line elicited as many groans from the Republican crowd as it did laughs. Considering the tragedy that was Helene and the hard work locals have put in to reopen businesses, rebuild homes, and get lives back on track, even when favorably interpreted as a bad joke, that kind of talk doesn’t help anyone, Stein told SMN. “The idea that you would make any allusion, joking or not, that helping people who were harmed by a natural disaster is in any way contingent to who they elect to office is 100% offensive and wrong,” he said. “We need to stop joking about the recovery and start delivering for the people of Western North Carolina.”
have a new congressional representative, either Republican Jennifer Balkcom or Democrat Jamie Ager. Both weighed in on Trump’s remarks to WLOS. Contrary to most, Balkcom didn’t believe the quip was made in jest. “He’s not withholding Helene funding. We’ve never — in the state House that I’ve served in — ever withheld Helene funding. We have fought to get Helene funding,” Balkcom said. “I don’t think he was being funny. I think he was trying to persuade voters to vote for Michael Whatley.” Ager didn’t even directly reference Trump’s remark in his comment to WLOS. “We’ve got people still struggling to put their lives back together. We’ve got whole communities waiting to get money from Helene recovery,” Ager said. “It’s already been stalled and delayed
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way too long, and we need leaders in this country who understand that leadership matters, that words matter.”
While there is warranted frustration about the slow flow of money, Corbin wanted to temper the conversation by reminding people that what everyone experienced was unprecedented, and so too is the recovery. The blueprint is being drawn as the process plays out. “Money could have come quicker, work could happen quicker, but it’s hard to point blame when I think everybody involved has done their best,” he said. Recovery efforts proceed at the speed of bureaucracy, but noticeable improvements continue, Corbin noted. Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service announced it’d received nearly $65 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove thousands of fallen trees from the mountains. Such debris increases risks during future wildfires, floods, and landslides. In a process that is likely to take years, as the next big storm may be right around the corner, time is of the essence.
portion of the hardest-hit areas, he considers how his backyard narrowly avoided devastation. Just a small shift in the storm’s path and it could have been Franklin, Bryson City, and Sylva that received the brunt instead of Asheville, Hendersonville, Marshall, and Canton. “You talk about the Cullasaja River, the Little Tennessee, the Hiwassee River — those are all very vulnerable areas,” Corbin said. “If a storm like this hits again, hopefully we’ll be ready for it.” Mayor Smathers admitted that even with the specter of another storm always looming, fatigue has become a factor for many in Canton. All the loss, all the work put in, and all the work that still needs to be done is overwhelming, especially considering Helene hit before the Fred recovery was even complete. “I think people are over it, and they just want to move on,” he said. But if recent history has taught us anything, it’s that it will happen again. To let hopes that it won’t guide decisions is facile. Soon enough, leaders will find out whether the blueprint drawn from Helene will work. “This has been so unique,” Smathers said. “When another storm hits, you’ll see what’s been fixed and what hasn’t.”
Smoky Mountain News
Much of the Blue Ridge Parkway was also damaged during Helene. Some sections of road were wiped away. The parkway is a crucial tourism driver, bringing almost $1.4 billion per year to local economies in North Carolina and Virginia. While the entirety of the road was closed following Helene, most is now reopened, except for the stretch between the Linville Falls area and Mount Mitchell State Park, which incurred exceptional damage. Many repairs have been slow-going due to remote locations, difficult terrain, and shorter construction seasons due to unpredictable weather at higher elevations. According to the National Park System, all recovery projects along the parkway will be completed by the end of the year. That project, which has also benefitted from over 22,600 man-hours of volunteer labor, has been entirely federally funded. The Stafford Act bars FEMA from providing reimbursements for work done on private roads and bridges. Until Helene, the state had never provided funds for such efforts. The mountains of Western North Carolina are unique in the number of private roads crisscrossing creeks that split its valleys and coves. A new state program has completed 146 repairs to private roads and
September 23-29, 2026
FEMA falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the agency fell under scrutiny for its large backlog of pending approvals. The main culprit creating that backlog was Noem’s infamous policy that required her personal approval of any expenditure over $100,000, a policy that hindered not only FEMA contracts but also Trump’s immigration agenda and even national security items.
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LOOKING AHEAD
bridges, as well as associated pipes and culverts that serve about 852 households. Another 48 roads are under construction. Many of these projects have been completed by nonprofits and volunteer organizations using state funds. Stein wanted people to remember that even with the most efficient response, longterm recovery is just that — long term. While $9.8 billion in federal dollars have been allocated, that money hasn’t all been dispersed. That process takes time, he said. “The work has not yet been done, and that’s where folks really can appreciate that this is a marathon and not a sprint,” Stein said. “A lot of the recovery work takes place in in years two, three, and four.” The accepted timeline for a return to something like normal is five years total. In the meantime, as climate change creates storms that can dump more precipitation inland, those working to recover from Helene are thinking about what must be done when this happens again. “We need to be prepared,” Corbin said. “Weather patterns are changing. Chances of something like this happening again are certainly there.” While Corbin represents only a small
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The burden of trust
other weather event. There are also those who will put themselves in harm’s way, unknowingly or not, because they want to marvel at the sheer force of nature. To describe a storm as catastrophic may make the adventure all the more alluring. “You can tell people all you want until you’re blue in the face that something’s going to be really bad, but it comes down to them making the decision,” Boyer said. He also considers that predicting the weather isn’t the same as predicting infrastructural or even institutional of Helene, when the ground became saturated in many failures. places. “I couldn’t have gone on TV and told people, ‘Some of “We knew that it was likely to be unprecedented in terms you are going to be without power for a month, some of of the amounts of rain that far in advance,” he said. “More you are going to be without water for more than a than 48 hours out, the Weather Service was starting to use month,’” he said. language like ‘unprecedented, historic,’ those kinds of Of course, there’s the reality that even explaining the words. Even ‘catastrophic’ was being used.” specific long-term effects of a catastrophic storm could Over 100 people would die in North Carolina because of cause more chaos, which only compounds the problems Helene. Like many who did vital work before, during, and first responders and others have to deal with. after Helene, Boyer considers what he could have done bet“Who’s going to go on TV and say that? It would put ter. people in a panic … my boss would probably come in and say, ‘What are you doing?’ You’ve got to be careful because your messaging has to be impactful to make people take action but not to panic,” he said, “You just you hope that you’ve done enough, and you don’t want to panic people, but you want action to be taken, and there’s a fine line,” he added. Boyer also considers some ramifications of the storm on a different level. There are some people who are so disadvantaged socioeconomically that it isn’t so easy to find a safe place to ride out the storm. Many are more concerned that they’ll have to get to work in the morning no matter what havoc is brought by the storm. “People can’t pay their rent, or they can’t buy food for their kids, or they weren’t expecting to seek higher ground and go pay for a hotel for three days. That’s not going to happen, so I can’t help the fact that there are these people that are vulnerable. I mean, there’s a lot of vulnerable people that are in floodplains and in landslide country, and that’s the unfortunate thing.” Jason Boyer has been the chief meteorologist at WLOS for 17 years. Donated photo Boyer prays that something like Helene doesn’t happen again, but with the impacts of climate change, the previ“Could I have made the points more clearly? What ously unthinkable may be something everyone must could I have said differently? What could I have shown endure from time to time. illustratively?” Boyer considered. “But there is only so “Our odds of experiencing something like that again much you can do. Did we do everything, in retrospect, that are probably greater now than in past,” he said. I think we could have done? It’s probably a no, but I think Boyer said he’s the kind of person who wears his emothat could be said for anybody.” tions on his sleeve, and yet he doesn’t like to talk about Even if Boyer had done a “perfect job,” he considers Helene. Like many, visions of the storm are haunting, and that it wouldn’t be enough. No matter what he and local there’s always that lingering question — what would he do leaders do to prepare people for the severity of what may differently? come, it’s hard to imagine something of that magnitude, “You feel like you could have maybe done more to save something that is truly incomprehensible until you experilives,” he said. “That’s just human nature. And I know peoence it. Just getting people prepared to move to higher ple say, ‘Well, you did as much as you could,’ and I know ground if the water levels rise is difficult because those that that’s probably true, but in a sense, you’re always your people are so used to taking shelter during just about any worst critic.”
WLOS meteorologist reflects on Helene
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September 23-29, 2026 Smoky Mountain News
BY KYLE PERROTTI NEWS EDITOR any across Western North Carolina wondered what they could have done differently in the wake of Hurricane Helene. People can think of a host of folks this would apply to — elected leaders, first responders, those who lost property or loved ones. Among that group are professionals whose job it is to communicate reliable information during an uncertain time. Jason Boyer has become a trusted voice during his 17 years offering weather forecasts in the region, someone people feel they have grown to trust. Boyer is the chief meteorologist for WLOS, the local ABC affiliate. Parts of Western North Carolina receive news broadcasts from Tennessee and South Carolina. WLOS is the only station based out of the region, meaning most people turn to Boyer and his colleagues for their local forecast. Boyer began his time as WLOS’ chief meteorologist 17 years ago. He said he hadn’t covered a devastating weather event until Tropical Storm Fred claimed six lives in Cruso and flooded downtown Canton. The widespread damage caused by Helene was something else entirely. The day-to-day pressure for a TV meteorologist is pretty low. A few degrees here or there or a stray shower may mess up someone’s afternoon plans, but no real harm is done. Sometimes, the stakes are a bit higher. Farmers want to know if temperatures may get cold enough that crops are subject to frost damage. Parents are curious whether an incoming winter storm may lead to a school cancelation. Sometimes, lives are on the line. “Helene was a storm where it was obvious this is going to be life-threatening, and unfortunately, people probably were going to perish,” he said. “That was something you try not to think about, but in the back of your mind, it’s there.” The modern age makes things a bit trickier too. There’s a whole host of amateur meteorologists with social media followings. Some are good, some are bad, and some are merely hyping forecasts to chase clicks. “I know social media is a wonderful thing in many ways, but it’s also a very terrible thing because it can make people distrust, and I think there’s a lot of that,” Boyer said. He recalled that once it became clear how bad Helene could be, he texted those close to him let them know to “be ready for the worst.” He grew especially concerned during what’s called a precursor rain event a couple of days ahead
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Jackson Commission candidates discuss school bond, library, Flock, and more
She also supports raising the teacher supplement. Almond called Flock cameras a Fourth Amendment violation that the public has already rejected. On data centers, she would keep the door closed unless Duke Power, not ratepayers, absorbs the energy costs and the river is protected, she said AI’s spread of propaganda worries her regardless. When the moratorium ends, she would build on the county’s crypto-mining ordinance “to make it just so unfavorable to them to come here that it wouldn’t be worth their time.” When discussing the county’s withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library System (FRL), Almond said, “I was not in favor of it, and if I had a chance, I would rejoin the FRL,” saying it isn’t right to leave Swain County holding the bag. She would put it near the top of her agenda and lift the new restrictions on community rooms. Her pitch final pitch to voters is: “I have a good plan of action for the county.”
David J. Rogers
Three spots on Jackson County’s commission are open. File photo BY ALEX PERRI STAFF WRITER arly voting in Jackson County (and across the state) begins Oct. 15, and ahead of the election, The Smoky Mountain News has interviewed the five challengers in the Jackson County Board of Commissioners race. The lone incumbent, John Smith, did not respond to SMN’s multiple requests for an interview. Six candidates are running for three spots on the board, and regardless of who wins come election night, the new class of commissioners will face a host of challenges in their term, from public education to Flock cameras, to affordable housing, and more. Across the pool of candidates, there was bipartisan support for keeping data centers out of Jackson County and defunding Flock Security cameras. Here are where the candidates stand on the issues.
“Jackson County is short 2500 homes, and that’s not just affordable homes,” she said. Almond points to workers who staff Jackson County jobs but live, shop, and pay taxes in Haywood County. Her approach would be to put county-owned land to use, use grants to extend infrastructure, and partner with developers so the county recoups its money when homes sell. She also wants vacant buildings and deteriorating occupied homes rehabilitated and a housing commission with teeth. “I want the housing commission to set up rules for landlords so that people aren’t being taken advantage of by slumlords,” she said. That figure represents wages not earned, shifts not filled and spending that never reaches local businesses, and it compounds the same labor-market squeeze she describes in housing, where Jackson County employers already struggle to keep workers who can't afford to live in the county. On schools, Almond opposed the bond referendum and would instead ask voters in 2028 for a small sales tax increase OARD OF OMMISSIONERS HAIR ACE so,”not just property owners, but everyone who buys anything in Jackson County, is helping contribute to our schools,” Marcia Almond rather than “putting $105 million onto the backs of people that can barely pay their mortgages now.” Democrat Marcia Almond is a retired nurse with more than Until then, she says the county must work with what it’s 30 years of experience who came to the got and try to make repairs, prioritizing region as an operating room supervisor, Blue Ridge and Fairview. then spent the rest of her career as a staff “I’m not in favor of starting [Smoky nurse in general surgery at Harris Mountain Middle School] until our existHospital, retiring in 2008. ing schools are in good repair,” she said, Almond has extensive public service questioning the chosen site’s preparation experience: serving two years as council costs, suggesting Fairview could be conmember and mayor for The Village of verted into the middle school, and indicatForest Hills, a seat on the Southwestern ing she would let the grant deadline lapse Commission’s executive board, volunteer rather than take on the debt. work at Good Samaritan Clinic and Circles On employee pay, she wants a formal of Hope, and administering COVID-19 comparison of law enforcement salaries vaccines. and turnover rates before setting raises, She names affordable housing, childnoting Macon and Jackson counties each care, and living-wage jobs as her top three blame the other for poaching officers. Marcia Almond Donated photo priorities. She says housing and childcare Almond would pay for raises by killing the are what pushed her to run. county’s Flock camera contract. As mayor of the Village of Forest Hills, she has experience “Why not take that money and give it to county employdealing with housing initiatives and said she blocked a developees, to the sheriff ’s department, and other county employ16 er who wanted to build outside Forest Hills’ zoning ordinances. ees?”
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David Rogers, the Republican candidate for Jackson County Commission chairman, says three decades in the automotive service business have given him the problem-solving instincts local government needs. “The first thing you do when you got an issue in the car is you get under the hood,” he said. “I take a local government issue, and raise the hood and say, ‘Okay, this is the issue,’ and then I’m going to dig in and find out what’s causing that issue, so I can figure out how to fix it.” Beyond his career, he coaches baseball and football at the high school level, ran a men’s group at his church for about four years, and counsels people recovering from addiction. He named taxes, county employee and teacher pay, and school infrastructure as the county’s top three issues. Rogers said he agreed 100% with commissioners’ decision to keep the school bond referendum off the ballot. “I’m all for building the middle school, but we need to do it with the grant we have and try to not spend any of the taxpayers’ monies if we don’t have to.” Rogers added the county should investigate why the project’s cost climbed from roughly $52 million to $110 million. His sharpest criticism was reserved for long-range planning. Citing artificial turf installed a decade ago with no replacement plan, he said, “That’s not good planning. That’s not good leadership,” and pointed to Macon County’s high school as a model. “They plan 10 years in advance to do it,” he said. He called the twoyear planning delay at Blue Ridge School unacceptable, noting the school still has bathrooms that aren’t handicap accessible and a promised cafeteria that hasn’t been built, while its $15 million allocation David loses purchasing Rogers power. As to when he’d Donated photo pay for capital needs without raising taxes, Rogers said, “our budget is so inflated, it’s crazy,” but declined to name specific cuts. On pay, with the sheriff ’s office down eight deputies, he said raises are “a need, not a want,” arguing a salary study “should have been done two years ago.” He also supports supplemental pay increases for teachers. “That’s not even a question. That’s a no-brainer,” Rogers said of the pay increases, and floated performance-based budgeting to reward departments that save money. He said he would also extend the county’s one-year data center moratorium.
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the people was not heard, and that was alarming.” Bridgers names environmental protection as a top priority, tying it directly to the tourism economy. “If we take care of things, these mountains and rivers are sustainable not just for the beauty of the place, but that becomes an economic driving force,” he said, adding that industry “comes and goes.” On housing, he pointed to an estimated 1,500 county homes that sit empty or operate as short-term rentals. “I would be interested in looking into that and seeing what we can do to persuade people to maybe do long-term (rentals),” he said, while acknowledging the state legislature has barred commissioners from capping rents. Bridgers linked the housing shortage to issues in school staffing, recounting a principal’s warning that recruiting teachers has grown difficult as the cost of living has skyrocketed. “Ten years ago, we had our pick of prospective teachers, and now it’s a tougher sell.” He supports raising the teacher supplement and pay for county employees generally, citing deputies and educators leaving for better-paying jobs. “I would be in support of raising, generating more salary or stipends for all public servants, fire department, law enforcement, teachers, EMT, everybody,” he said. Bridgers called the library split a product of “a culture war” and said he would vote to restore public access to library community rooms. “It’s called the community room, so the community should have access to it,” he said. On the middle school and bond referendum, he declined to say how he would have voted but faulted the process. “It should not have gotten to that point,” he said, calling for cost-conscious design: Blue Ridge School’s gym “doesn’t have to be the Taj Mahal,” and Fairview Elementary’s cafeteria “is not up to code, so that’s got to be done.” He said the county should be able to “give everybody what they need. Maybe not just everything they want, but everything that they need.” Bridgers said he is Sean wary of data centers and Bridgers the people who insist on having them, and flatly Donated photo opposes Flock cameras. “I’m not in favor of ongoing surveillance of American citizens,” he said, adding he would vote to defund them. While he would be new to local government, Bridgers said he is running to better the lives of Jackson County residents. “I’m a professional actor. This is all new to me,” he said. “I’m educating myself, but I do know that I have good judgment, and I know that this is my home, and I want everybody to have opportunities to have the best life they can have.” 17
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government,” he said. He also opposes data soring and its attempts at erasure of identicenters under current conditions: “I don’t ties.” believe in just giving 1,000 acres (to) someHer first step if elected would be restoring body and letting them take all the water public use of library community rooms. because they might give us a little money.” “If a group is not causing harm, if it’s not On county employee pay, Sutton favors a hate group, I don’t understand that we can’t consistent annual step raises. allow people used to those spaces,” she said. “I’d rather get a 1% raise every year than On the $105 million general obligation a $2,000 or $3,000 bonus because every year school bond, Walawender offered a split veryou don’t get that percentage, you lose it,” dict. he said. “Do I think it’s reasonable to let voters in He supported the county’s exit from the Jackson County decide where their money FRL over content placegoes? 100%,” she said. “Do ment, saying, he wasn’t I think we needed $105 ISTRICT ACE advocating for anybody million bond? I don’t.” burning books but She pointed to Steven J. Sutton believed the FRL should Commissioner Michael have been more amenable Jennings’ recent remark Republican candidate Steven Sutton, a to Jackson County’s wishes about revisiting the Blue lifelong Jackson County resident and retired on content moderation. Ridge plans as evidence law enforcement officer, is running for counSutton said he would that commissioners, the ty commissioner on a platform built almost restore community room school board, and the disentirely around one issue: taxes. access with updated guidetrict have not been workSutton graduated from Smoky Mountain lines but said he wasn’t ing closely together. High School in 1990 and enlisted in the sure what those guidelines When asked about Army at 17, serving four-and-a-half years in would be yet. On housing, county employee pay, she the infantry. He returned home to work for he said streamlining said raises will require canthe Jackson County Sheriff ’s Office before Casey Walawender Donated photo dor about trade-offs. inspections is the county’s joining the Highway Patrol. He now works main lever. “Where is there money as hospital police. His community service “I think politics needs to be a little less to be found in the budget? Is there money to includes eight to ten years on a youth sports political,” he said. be cut in the budget?” She criticized commisboard for football and basketball. sioners who say employees deserve a raise He said rising taxes convinced him to and that the county must cut the budget 5% run. Casey Walawender in the same breath without explaining how to “The biggest (issue) is always going to be do both. Democrat candidate Casey Walawender taxes,” Sutton said. Walawender supports the data center said the county’s departure from the FRL was While he acknowledged the recent propmoratorium and stricter rules afterward, callthe moment that pushed her into the race, erty tax increase was driven by the state, he ing her position “a hard no” and saying she and she is campaigning on transparency, said the county controls its own spending. has “no desire to be responsible for the downlong-term planning and broader representa“It’s up to your county to kind of keep fall of the Tuckasegee River.” tion on the board. everything else down as far as not building On Flock cameras, she said, “If I had to Walawender, a Western Carolina multi-million dollar buildings one right vote on this issue right now, I would vote to University graduate with a degree in philosoafter the other,” he said. defund them.” phy and a minor in social work, recently finOn the school bond, Sutton said he ished her master’s in social work. could not say how he would have voted Over her career, she has managed a level without seeing the ballot language. ISTRICT ACE three residential facility for “I don’t mind putting teenage boys with severe [the bond referendum] on Sean Bridgers trauma, managed cases for the ballot as long as everystudents moving from midbody understands your tax Democrat Bridgers is dle to high school in Texas, is going to go up,” he said. a Jackson County native and, most recently, mental When asked how he and Western Carolina health work in Jackson would handle deferred University graduate who County Public Schools at maintenance projects such works professionally as Cullowhee Valley, Smoky as the school bus garage and an actor. He is running Mountain High, and Scott’s renovations at Smoky for county office for the Creek Elementary School. Mountain High and Blue first time, saying the “You can’t work with Ridge, Sutton said essential fight over the county’s kids without working with needs come first but that library system pushed their families,” she said, funding has limits. “If we him off the sidelines. describing years of coordinacan fund it, we can fund it. “I’ve never held pubBut if you can’t, you can’t,” lic office. I’ve never Steven J. Sutton Donated photo tion with local Department of Social Services, law he said. “I really believe peowanted to,” he said, notenforcement, nonprofits and ple have been hit hard enough with tax for ing he has coached high churches. the last what three four years, and we just school football and worked with civic organWalawender said the library vote crystalgot to slow it down.” izations in towns where his acting career lized her decision to run. He is skeptical the Smoky Mountain took him. “Our county commissioners weren’t repMiddle School project can break ground The galvanizing moment came at a comresenting all of Jackson County,” she said, before its state grant expires. missioners meeting on whether to remain in arguing that residents spoke drastic numbers “I think we’re going to just have to start the FRL. in favor of remaining in the FRL and were over on that,” he said. “I was very proud of the community for subsequently ignored. Sutton, who once supported Flock camcoming out in such overwhelming support “I think it was all complete nonsense,” she of us remaining in the Fontana Regional eras, has reversed course and would back said, adding that the move has cost the coundefunding them without stronger safeLibrary System, and I was just really disapty “at least $300,000 that it didn’t need to guards. pointed that it didn’t seem to matter,” he “I’m not a big fan of mass surveillance by cost us” and amounted to “attempts at censaid. “It was very clear to me that the will of Rogers also supports removing Flock cameras. “I think it infringes on the citizens’ rights right now.” He said, adding, “I am 100% behind our sheriff and our sheriff ’s department.” With his closing pitch, Rogers said, “I feel like I’m the best man for the job because I’m not there for Republicans, I’m not there for independents, I’m not there for Democrats. I’m there to make this county the best it can be, and I think our better days are ahead of us.”
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One Big Beautiful Bill shifts SNAP costs to counties BY ALEX PERRI STAFF WRITER ounties throughout North Carolina are gearing up to adjust to changes outlined in HR 1, or the One Big Beautiful Bill, which will cost local counties hundreds of thousands of dollars. The bill mandates several changes to health and human services across the country, some of which have already gone into effect, and some of which will continue to roll out over the next several months. One of HR 1’s significant changes is to the operation of the federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Starting Oct. 1, reimbursement rates for SNAP administration costs will reduce from 50% to 25%, and starting October 2027, North Carolina could be responsible for paying $140 million in SNAP benefit costs for the first time in the program’s history. Historically, the federal government has reimbursed 50% of any costs associated with SNAP program administration like labor cost for reviewing applications or managing IT infrastructure. This changes in October, as HR 1 will require counties to cover 75% of these administrative costs. The state has not offered counties help to alleviate the burden of these shifting costs. The reduction in SNAP reimbursement rates will cost the following counties in The
Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2026
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Smoky Mountain News coverage area the following amounts annually: • $281,000 in Jackson County • $144,000 in Swain County • $237,000 in Macon County • $411,000 in Haywood County “HR 1 doesn’t change who’s hungry in Swain County,” said Swain County Manager
EBT cards) and 50% of the program’s administration costs. Starting Oct. 1, 2027, the federal government will stop covering 100% of SNAP benefits for the first time, and based on current estimates, North Carolinians could be responsible for paying $140 million in SNAP benefit costs according to the N.C. Budget and Tax Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Driven by HR 1, this change reflects increased focus on the “state error rate,” which evaluates how accurately states determine benefit eligibility and tracks the frequency of recipient underpayments and overpayments. An error is considered an under- or overpayment greater than $48, and Weatherford said something as small as a transposed number or a clerical oversite could lead an error. Additionally, Weatherford warned that a FY 2025-2026 turnover rate of 34.4% in SNAP benefits help lowJackson County plus low pay, little flexibility income households get in hiring practices, and clunky, hard-to-use groceries every month. software could cause major financial penalties down the road if the county does not do Tommy Dills. “It doesn’t change any of that. more to invest in a strong workforce. It just changes who pays for it.” Overworked, underpaid, and underDills is just one of many leaders in North trained employees are one factor contributCarolina local governments who now have ing to the state error rate. to figure out how their counties will adjust The Fiscal Year 2025 North Carolina to increasing cost. state error rate was 7.36%. If that does not North Carolina is just one of nine states in the U.S. that operates under a state-super- drop below 6% in FY 2026 across all 100 North Carolina counties, each county will vised, county-administered social services have a proportion of their sales tax revenues system. The majority of states have a stategarnished by the state to pay for SNAP benadministered system, which means county efits. Departments of Social Services (DSS) are Even if a particular county in North run and funded by a centralized state Carolina has a 0% agency. error rate, if the state In North “HR 1 doesn’t change does not average Carolina, each DSS under 6%, all 100 office is an indewho’s hungry in Swain counties will face a pendent county-run penalty. Counties County. It doesn’t change agency, meaning with high error rates county commissionany of that. It just will face additional ers set their budgets penalties. changes who pays for it.” and the state is In Swain County, responsible for disfor example, that — Swain County Manager bursing the federal penalty is estimated and grant funding Tommy Dills to cost around each county claims. $190,000, and while At an Aug. 4 Dills said Swain County will find a way to Jackson County Board of Commissioners absorb the costs rather than reduce SNAP work session, Jackson County DSS Director benefits, that $190,000 is no small number. Cris Weatherford gave a presentation to “In a county our size, $190,000 is a commissioners and said that of the nine deputy, a paramedic, and the local match on state-mandated, county-administered states, a project our people have waited years for,” North Carolina ranks lowest in terms of he said. “We will find it, because the obligastate funding to support its programs. tion to serve our citizens does not move “The can is getting kicked ever increaswhen the funding does, but our residents ingly to the county from our federal and deserve a plain accounting of what hapstate governments,” Weatherford said. pened. The federal government stepped back from a commitment it has kept since the program began, the state passed its TATE ERROR RATES share downward, and the county absorbed Also at risk for North Carolina county both.” governments is funding for SNAP benefits Compared to state and federal agencies, themselves. Dills noted, local counties have far fewer Since its inception, the federal governoptions to absorb that kind of financial ment has paid for 100% of SNAP benefit shift. costs (this is the money that goes directly on
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Community Almanac
Smoky Mountain News
Tuscola Summit and Chamber Choir alumni reunion Alumni of Tuscola High School’s Summit Choir are invited to a reunion on Saturday, Nov. 28, celebrating the program, which is marking its 45th year. Summit was created by David Traynham in 1982 and has given Tuscola students the chance to pick a song to perform in front of a large crowd, sometimes alongside the school’s chamber choir. Traynham died earlier this year. The reunion will include a memorial to him and others who have passed over the years. Tuscola’s Summit Choir has The reunion will offer prior been a proud tradition for participants the opportunity to 45 years. Donated photo relive old memories with old friends while also mingling with folks who’ve performed with the choir over the years. Programs and yearbooks from past years will be on display. There will be hors d’oeuvres, beer, and wine available. There will also be performances of “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You” and “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Alumni who participated in the program prior to 2000 will be hosted from 5-7 p.m., and after 2000, from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28, at Wells Event Center in Waynesville, although guests from any year are welcome any time. Anyone who wants to provide photos for a slideshow can send them to tuscolasummitchamberreunion@gmail.com. Tickets are available for purchase at eventbrite.com/e/tuscola-summit-chamber-choir-reunion-tickets-1998393223928.
Learn about the Lufty/ Smokemont community
“Lufty/Smokemont: The Church, The History, The People and The Community” is the topic of the Oct. 1 meeting of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society. In 1829, Mt. Zion Baptist Church was estabished on the northwest bank of the Oconaluftee River near Arneechee Ford. The church became the heart and soul of the community, changing its name over the years; today it is commonly known as the Smokemont Church. Those early families, he Mingus, Carvers, Conners, Lamberts, Becks, Fishers, Bradley’s, Queens and their descendants as well as others, were the “backbone” of the hurch and the community. Dick Sellers will share the history of the church and community from its early years through the ogging boom and to the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Included within he history will be stories of the unique and memoable characters who were a part of this communiy history and are still remembered fondly to this day. Sellers is a native of Jackson County and a descendant of the Sellers, Buchanans, Conners, and other families that were among the first setlers in the region. He is also active member with he Jackson County Genealogical Society and volunteers with Great Smoky Mountain National Park, working in the Oconaluftee Visitors Center. The presentation will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Swain County Regional Business Education and
Training Center, 45 East Ridge Drive in Bryson City. Conversation and refreshments will follow the presentation. This event is free and open to the public.
FUR's Barnyard BBQ Blast returns Every cat that Feline Urgent Rescue (FUR) of Western North Carolina rescues, nurses back to health, and places in a forever home starts with community — people who show up, refuse to look the other way, and, yes, open their wallets. On Sunday, Oct. 11, that community will gather at Barn Star Events for the 11th annual Barnyard BBQ Blast, FUR's signature autumn fundraiser. Doors open at 1 p.m., and lunch is served at 1:30 p.m. The afternoon offers a smoky, slow-cooked BBQ spread from Ben's Backdraft, donated by The Dog House; craft beer donated by Boojum and Frog Level Brewing; music; raffles; a silent auction; and the easy warmth of people who care about the same things. FUR's annual meeting kicks things off at 1 p.m. — with a chance to hear directly about the organization's work and impact — before the party takes over. Individual tickets are $40 and include a full BBQ meal with all the fixin’s and unlimited nonalcoholic drinks. A cash bar will be available. In addition, FUR is offering four tiers of event sponsorship — a meaningful way for local businesses and community members to make a bigger impact. Tickets and sponsorships are available online at furofwnc.org/events.
Rev. Gina Gilland Campbell receives Leadership Award Rev. Gina Gilland Campbell was honored with the 2026 Junaluska Leadership Award on Sept. 5 during Lake Junaluska’s Associates Celebration Weekend, recognizing her longtime service, leadership, and generosity in support of Lake Junaluska’s mission. Campbell has served on the Lake Junaluska Board of Trustees for nine years, including as chair of the Advancement Committee from 2022– 2026. She has also served on the Sharing Our Gifts Campaign Steering Committee since 2021, helping advance Lake Junaluska’s strategic vision and encourage philanthropic support for its future. Her connection to Lake Junaluska is deeply rooted in her family. Her parents, Jim and Glener Gilland, purchased their Lake Junaluska home in 1969, and Campbell purchased the home from them in 2024. Bill and Wanda Musgrave, recipients of the 2025 Junaluska Leadership Award, presented this year’s award. In announcing Campbell as the recipient, they described her as someone who “feels Lake Junaluska in the depths of her soul.” Campbell said her years of service to Lake Junaluska have been an expression of her love for the place. “Anything I have ever, [or] ever will do here, I do out of love for a prayed-in place,” Campbell said.
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Community invited to shape Haywood County Craft & History Trail Artists, museums, galleries, historic sites, arts and cultural organizations, craft organizations, festivals, tourism partners, local governments, businesses, and other community organizations are invited to participate in a planning meeting for the new Haywood County Craft & History Trail. The county-wide initiative is being developed to connect and promote the places, people, organizations, and experiences that tell the story of Haywood County through its craft, art, history, and cultural heritage. Development of the trail is supported by a grant from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. The planning meeting will bring together potential partners from throughout Haywood County to begin shaping the scope and direction of the trail. Participants will have an opportunity to share ideas, discuss priorities, identify potential trail partners and sites, and consider how the initiative can serve both residents and visitors. Organizations and businesses that believe they may have a place on the trail — or that simply want to contribute ideas during its development — are encouraged to attend. Participation in the planning meeting does not require a commitment to become a trail site or partner. The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Sept. 29 at the Shelton House Barn, 49 Shelton St. in Waynesville.
Haywood Sheriff to offer special needs alert stickers Haywood County Sheriff’s Office is providing stickers to help notify first responders that someone in the home or vehicle has a confirmed special need, may be nonverbal, have autism, or experience increased anxiety during emergency situations. This early awareness allows responders to approach the situation with greater understanding and provide the best possible assistance. These alerts are intended for individuals with confirmed special needs so first responders have accurate information when responding to emergencies. In addition to providing a sticker, families also have the option of sharing their address with the office so a confidential alert can be placed in the Computer-Aided Dispatch system. This information can help dispatchers and first responders better prepare when responding to your home during an emergency. To verify the information and ensure the sticker is issued for an individual with a confirmed special need, a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver must contact the office directly. Contacts are Capt. Matt Shell, matthew.shell@haywoodcountync.gov or 828.356.2939; and Deputy Gina Zachary, public information officer, gina.zachary@haywoodcountync.gov or 828.356.2880.
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Opinion
Smoky Mountain News
Don’t you just love the First Amendment! he rights enshrined in the First Amendment are fundamental cornerstones for this country. So every now and then it’s worth re-examining its essential message to make sure those rights are protected for every American citizen for as long as this country exists. And no better time. This week, Sept. 17-23, is Constitution Week. As fate would have it, a local story broke just last week that prompted a healthy discussion about the First Amendment, its protections, and its limits. The chair of the Haywood County Republican Party, Kim Genova, fellow Republican activist Kathy Yurksaitis Forrestal, and a third speaker, David Henderson, went to a Haywood County Commissioners’ meeting a couple of weeks ago to complain about the weekly protests in front of the courthouse by the Hands Off Haywood organization, according to a thorough account of the meeting published by The Mountaineer. The Hands Off Haywood gatherings are anti-Trump for the most part, people getting out and letting others know that they vehemently disagree with his antics and actions,
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Paying for votes, dictator style Letter to the Editor: On September 9, at the Dallas, TX midterm Republican convention, our president pledged to send every American adult a check for $5,000 if voting retains MAGA control of both houses of Congress. (I did the math: $5,000 per U.S. adult comes to $1,384,000,000.) Memories of a challenging yet rich experience working in Haiti in the 80s from years ago came flooding back. There are similarities, both comical and appalling, between the U.S. and that island dictatorship. In 1985, my wife Katherine took a job with a college that sends students to a developing country for a Study Service Trimester. As her spouse, I was hired as support. We would lead 24 American students in Haiti. We found host families, scheduled experts to teach Haitian language, history, politics, and culture (art, music, religion, sport), for the first half of the trimester, and then we placed students in service placements (clinics, schools, re-forestation projects) for the second half. The program aimed to broaden students’ perception of our own country’s role and its obligations to the world. We were eager for a foreign adventure; we arrived in July, 1985. Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, was named Haiti’s president-for-life at 19, a successor to his father, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Papa Doc had been cruel and
and those who show up each Saturday say they are worried about the future of the country. So they make the effort to gather in front of the courthouse with signs to show their feelings about the current administration. More importantly, they have a permit and have their own guidelines that they follow to avoid confrontation and to deescalate any potential situations. The gatherings have been happening for 18 months, and so far, law enforcement officials say there have been zero issues. In other words, these people are practicing a cherished American tradition, that of having the right “peaceably to assemble” to protest and make their opinions heard, as that fine sentence at the beginning of this piece points out. On what grounds did the GOP Editor activists make their protest? Genova claimed to have gotten calls from both citizens and local businesses concerned that protestors were harming business on Main Street. Henderson told commissioners someone needs to do something before the situation gets more heated. Forrestal, who has started counterprotesting across the street said at one point, protestors walked over to her and surrounded her, and she felt “intimidated.” I’m not going to laugh out loud because this is a worth-
Scott McLeod
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” — The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
LETTERS repressive, torturing and murdering his perceived opponents. Baby Doc, though not as wickedly intelligent as his father, still maintained a rule allowing no dissent. He and his family lived in obscene luxury in the presidential palace while his people labored and starved. Hoping to legitimize his weak and corrupt office, Baby Doc had declared a presidential referendum in July of 1985. We witnessed his campaign from our house in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. His black limousine with heavily tinted windows sped through the streets. A backseat window was rolled down. We could see only a presidential arm, clothed in a dark suit sleeve and white shirt cuff, scattering paper money (Haitian gourdes) to the impoverished Haitians hoping to catch some currency. Georges, our employee, was disappointed. He’d only snagged one gourde, then worth about 20 cents. He complained about what a pittance that was because in the last presidential election, Baby Doc had tossed him three gourdes. Katherine and I laughed, remarking that Haitian politicians were much more efficient than our American ones; the bribes and payoffs came directly and openly. A polling place was directly across the street from our house. On referendum day, the usually bustling streets were empty because Haitians did not want to be snatched up and forced to vote. We witnessed truckloads of union workers being driven to the
while discussion to have. None of those concerns come even knee-high to overriding the First Amendment right to assemble, especially to a group that has a permit and has had not a single instance of acting violently or even impeding passersby, in a country where we will always reserve the right to tell our elected leaders, “go to hell,” if we so choose. That’s America! If we take the three who went to the commissioners at their word — meaning, they spoke honestly and their intent wasn’t to stop the protests because they disagree with the Hands Off Haywood message, that it wasn’t to stifle free speech — then this little incident will just fade away because it is a non-issue. Commissioners quibbled just a bit, reminding protestors to keep their protests peaceable and even voicing some concerns about the impact on businesses. Feeble, but they are elected and so must answer to those who come before them. As a person who makes their living off a free press and the First Amendment, I love this issue and the fact that this discussion actually happened. With that in mind, I’ll give a rousing shout of support to the Saturday protestors, to Forrestall for her courageous counterprotesting, to those who spoke at the commissioner meeting, to the commissioners, to the media who covered this issue, and, most importantly, to the First Amendment and all its glorious guarantees. Happy Constitution Week. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)
polls; we were told they were taken to several polling places, repeatedly registering support for Baby Doc. At the polls, armed paramilitary monitored whether voters chose a “yes” or “no” ballot. The next day we listened to “The Voice of America” which reported that U.S. Ambassador Clayton McManaway had publicly praised the referendum as a “progressive step.” Baby Doc, president for life, the Haitian government claimed, had won a nearly unanimous 99.9% approval rate. At last, the following February, a popular uprising drove the 33-year-old despot into exile. To me, no limousine with darkened windows can hide the similarities between our would-be American president-for-life today and the disgraced Baby Doc then. Russell Binkley Haywood County
Constitution is worth celebrating Letter to the Editor: As Constitution Day just recently passed (Sept. 17), it is worth taking a fresh look at what our founding document actually established and what it did not. A common claim is that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation.” While it is certainly true that many Americans in the founding era were Christians and that many of the Constitution’s signers came from Christian backgrounds, the Constitution itself
tells a different story about the nature of our government. The Constitution establishes no national religion. It does not mention Jesus Christ, Christianity, or the Bible. Instead, Article VI expressly prohibits religious tests for federal office, ensuring that public service would not depend on adherence to any faith tradition. The framers themselves held a wide variety of religious beliefs. Some were orthodox Christians, others were influenced by Enlightenment thought, and some embraced forms of religious rationalism often associated with Deism. Despite these differences, they agreed that the new federal government should not be tied to a particular church or denomination. That commitment was later reinforced by the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty. The genius of the American experiment was not the establishment of a Christian government, but the creation of a constitutional system in which people of all faiths, and of no faith, could enjoy equal rights under the law. On Constitution Day, we should celebrate the document for what it truly accomplished: a government founded on liberty, citizenship, and constitutional principles rather than religious affiliation. That vision has allowed generations of Americans with diverse beliefs to live, worship, and participate freely in our democracy. Jennifer Germain U.S. Army veteran Franklin
Our narcissist, our brat
Chris Cox
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Smoky Mountain News
New recipe? When what we really want to say is this: How do you do it, day after day, cheering on the most terrible human being to ever inhabit the White House? How can you cosign this behavior and, you know, still face the mirror every morning? For years, the right wing has blamed mainstream media for distorting reality — and mainstream media does indeed have much to answer for, especially since the advent of the Internet — while at the same time developing its own media that has constructed an alternate reality for its viewers, one that is most remarkable for its willingness not only to distort the truth, but to omit it altogether when it does not align with its agenda, which is basically that all liberal ideas are not just wrong, but evil, and that by extension, liberal people are not just wrong, but evil. Millions of people of been pickling their own brains in this brine for decades now. It has severely damaged their ability to square the reality shaped for them there with the one they encounter every day through their own experience. Quite often, they do not believe their own eyes and ears. That is why Trump remains popular among that demographic despite his objectively abysmal job performance and behavior that would be roundly and savagely criticized if he were anyone else. The mailman. A bank teller. A Democrat. He routinely demeans members of the media who ask even the most benign questions. Hardly a day goes by when he doesn’t post some absurd tirade on social media or use AI to imagine and then pose himself as the hypermasculine protagonist in any number of historical or superhero scenarios. Most tellingly, Trump is the first American president to dispense with even a pretense of attempting to unite the country. He is the first to openly declare that people who disagree with him are traitors, enemies of America, “very bad people,” ad nauseam. Trump’s behavior has been rationalized and excused in the name of “getting results,” but when the results are a string of broken promises, a deeply divided and dispirited country, and an economy and culture that are flailing in every imaginable metric, what else is there than mere performative gestures? And then another tantrum when he doesn’t get his way. And another tantrum after that. If he can’t have his name on the building, by God he’ll tear it down. That’s an apt metaphor for his entire presidency. Trump is the first American president in need of a spanking. In November, he’s going to get one. (Chris Cox lives in Haywood County and is a columnist, essayist, humorist, and recovering misanthrope. He is the author of three books, including the brand new, “We Didn’t Miss a Thing.” Previous books include “Waking Up in a Cornfield” and “The Way We Say Goodbye.” You can follow his writing on substack.)
September 23-29, 2026
merican presidents have varied significantly in experience, aptitude, intelligence, empathy, and character. Much can and has been written on any or all of these important qualities as they pertain to the leader of the free world. But Donald Trump, who has shown the world over and over that his one guiding light is self-aggrandizement, has finally found a way to become one of the most memorable presidents in the nation’s history. He is our very first brat president. Trump is the first president who needs a spanking. Seriously, a good old-fashioned trip to the woodshed. The first who needs to be sent to bed without his supper. The first who needs to be grounded for his bad behavior. Trump is seemingly always in the Columnist middle of some tantrum. Almost always, it is because he isn’t getting his way. Almost always, it is because he isn’t being properly worshipped to his liking. Just now, he’s having a tantrum because enemies of “we the people” are refusing to put his name on The Kennedy Center. For the moment, in an apparent fit of pique, it has been shut down, fenced up, barricaded. Trump is threatening to demolish it unless his name is added, just as he demolished the East Wing of the White House, the Rose Garden, the economy, and our relationships with allies around the world. Befitting a narcissist, Trump likes seeing his name on everything. Buildings, monuments, currency, all manner of merchandise, you name it. Or rather, he will name it. After himself. As a corollary, if he isn’t naming things after himself, he’s claiming them for “his” country. Thus, the Gulf of Mexico becomes the Gulf of America. Lake Ontario becomes Lake America. Because he says so. Like God, he names things. Like God, he has made his people in his own image, the MAGA masses who have in turn made every particle of themselves a tribute to Trump, from flags, bumper sticks, hats, and T shirts to the sad and willful distortions of reality required to align with whatever madness the new day may bring. If you are reading this now and still identify as MAGA or MAGA-adjacent, you must surely know how frustrated the rest of us are with you by now. After a decade of this literal nonsense, I reckon most folks have settled into a way of getting along with family and friends that likely requires them to “take off ” their opinions and perhaps even their values like a pair of shoes when they come in the house. We rope off the things that cannot be talked about and proceed accordingly. Looks like we’re heading for a great leaf season, and aren’t these yams amazing?
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A 1970 Mercury Cougar owned by Jeff Hurndon. Donated photo
Haywood County Fair The annual Haywood County Fair will take place Sept. 24-27 at the Smoky Mountain Event Center in Waynesville. The fair will run 5-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10 per day for adults, $5 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 and under. General admission tickets are valid for Friday through Sunday only. Tickets can also be bought at the fair gate (cash only). To note, Thursday gate admission will be per car load at a rate of $25. Midway rides not included in gate admission. A special offering by the N.C. Cooperative Extension, the free-of-charge “4th Grade Day” at the Haywood County Fair will be held at 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Smoky Mountain Event Center in Waynesville. The following day, from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Sept. 25, “Senior Day at the Fair” will take place. Presented by the Haywood County Senior Resource Center, anyone over the age of 55 is invited to come and experience all the fun of the Haywood County Fair. For a full schedule of activities and/or purchase tickets, visit haywoodcountyfair.com.
Want to go?
‘The Gentleman’s Car’ Southeast Cougar Club to host show at Haywood County Fair
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR n 1982, when Chris Jones turned 16 years old, he inherited his brother’s 1968 Mercury Cougar. The vehicle was originally bought and sold at the Miami-Dade Lincoln Mercury dealership in Florida by Jones’ uncle. “So, it was a love affair that started a long, long time ago,” Jones chuckled. “I got bit by the Cougar bug young, and I’ve always enjoyed them.” These days, Jones is the proud owner of a 1969 Cougar convertible known as a “Standard Cougar.” And within his over 40-year admiration for the Cougar, he has collected and restored around 20 examples of the vehicle himself. “When you look at muscle cars in general, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang are the very popular ones, but those were made at a ratio of roughly four or five to one compared to the Cougar,” Jones noted. As the founder of the Southeast Cougar Club — an organization that “celebrates the classic muscle car years of the Mercury Cougar”
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in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama — Jones oversees a passionate group of automobile enthusiasts who adore the Cougar for a myriad of reasons [from an array of backgrounds]. To note, the national chapter, the Cougar Club of America, has been around since 1980. “What kind of holds the Cougar community together is that we’re a small, tight-knit group,” Jones said. “So, because so few [Cougars] were made, there’s not a lot of us out there. Because of that, and because of the uniqueness of the car, you have to develop friendships in order to acquire because there’s quite a few unique features about it.” Southwestern Community College (SCC) will host a special car show at the Haywood County Fair (HCF) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. So, why Haywood County? Well, even though Jones currently calls Georgia home, he’s planning on relocating to Western North Carolina in the coming years to be closer to family. And this year’s showcase is also a test run of sorts for the SCC in preparation for a potentially bigger show at the HCF for the
Cougar’s 60th anniversary of its inception in 2027. From 1967 to 2002, the Mercury Cougar was only second to the Grand Marquis in terms of its longevity on the production line. The Cougar was also regarded as “The Gentleman’s Car,” where it was seen by many to have more of a European flare compared to its contemporaries of the time. According to Jones, the Cougar was aimed “to compete with the Jaguar and some of the foreign cars that were coming in.” On the luxury editions of the Cougar, there were upgraded features offered like leather seats and faux wood trim, attributes that, at the time, reflected a more refined European style. “Obviously (nowadays) it’s an almost 60year-old car, so it doesn’t provide all the creature comforts that a newer vehicle does today,” Jones said. “To me, it’s like you’re driving an old boat or an old airplane, where it hearkens back to a time and age where things were simpler.” Jones pointed out how, in the old days of the Cougar in the 1960s and 1970s, it was com-
The Southeast Cougar Club will host a special car show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Haywood County Fair in Waynesville. The event is open to the public and will be located between the apple orchard and the bar. For more information, visit haywoodcountyfair.com.
An old magazine ad for a Mercury Cougar. mon practice for a consumer to walk into a dealership, sit down with the salesperson and go item-by-item on the order list and build your own vehicle to your exact specifications. “America has a love affair with the automobile, more so than almost any other country on the planet,” Jones said. “And back then, no two cars looked the same — the Cougars were, in their own sense, a very unique vehicle.”
HOT PICKS BY GARRET K. WOODWARD
‘You know that old trees just grow stronger, and old rivers grow wilder every day’
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Bloomingdale Bog Trail. Garret K. Woodward photo
A special stage production of Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off” will be performed on select dates and times through Sept. 27 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
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EVENTS Scotsman Sc otsman Oktoberfest Oktoberf fest Saturday, Septembe er 19 - Satur S d day, O October b 4
Join us for the largest selection of Traditional and Authentic German Ales & Lagers + German Food Specials!
Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host the annual “Oyster Roast & Bluegrass” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.
Thursday, September 24
Pickin’ On The Square (Franklin) will host Paradise 56 (rock/blues) at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.
Saturday, September 26
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Scotsman (Waynesville) will host Hello My Dear (Americana/blues) at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.
hope is to someday split time between Western North Carolina and Saranac Lake, a small cabin in each location filled with books, vinyl records, guitars, and a woodstove. The Bloomingdale Bog is a rail-to-trail path, a former railroad line cutting through the remote depths of the Adirondacks. There’s this certain section I jump onto, and I do so every single time I find myself back home. I hop into my truck and pull out of the dirt driveway of my folks’ farmhouse on the outskirts of Plattsburgh, New York. Head up Route 3 into the mountains, the Champlain Valley now in the rearview mirror. And just about an hour later, put the truck into park at the trailhead. Lace up the shoes and go. I usually end up at the trail in the late afternoon, right when the sun begins to fade behind the nearby peaks and tall pine trees surrounding me while in motion. The sunshine pierces through the branches, the smell of pine needles soothing the aches and pains within the beating muscle in my chest. After about a half-mile, the ideal rhythm is found in my arms and legs. The pace is steady and enjoyable, my restless soul soon relaxing into deep thought, my gaze shifting left and right to observe and appreciate the bogs, creeks, and birds high above. Right now, the plan is to return to the Bloomingdale Bog Trail by this time next week: right before the memorial service, right after I swing into the farmhouse and hug my parents hello. With this past year heavy and heartfelt, there will surely be plenty to ponder quietly to myself while jogging down the trail in the fleeting sunshine of another day I’m lucky enough to wake up into and inhabit — the word “gratitude” echoing loudly throughout the ether of time and space. Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
Bo Bullman Classic Country 8pm - 10pm Hello My Dear (Caitlin Krisk koo) Soulful Blues - Americana - Roots o Rock 8pm - 10pm
Sunday, September r 27 Celtic Sunday with Trippin Up the Stairrs 3pm - 6pm
ScotsmanPublic..com 37 CHURCH ST • DOWNTTOOWN WAAYYNESVILLE @thescotsmanwaynesvillee
Mon-Thurs: 4PM-12AM Fri & Sat 12pm-1am • Sun: 11AM-1AM
Please send resume to: blueridgemassage23@gmaail.com
Call:
828. 246.91 55
Smoky Mountain News
And I think for most of us, our hometowns remain that foundation by which to get grounded about earthshaking matters in our lives, this dot on a map that offers up a priceless perspective on things we sometimes can’t explain or figure out. By heading back to the beginning, we’re able to make sense of the present, able to view the unknowns of the future with grace and curiosity. Within my own cross-examination of the trials and tribulations of this past year — the personal hardships and loss of important figures in my life, the nothing and everything of each day we wake up into and inhabit — my thoughts drift to those certain spots back home that clear the mind, those tangible locations that are a peaceful refuge and safe haven for my sanity. Pictured in this column is the Bloomingdale Bog Trail, just down the road from Saranac Lake, New York, in the heart of the ancient Adirondack Mountains. That trail has been a long-time Zen zone for me, with Saranac Lake remaining my most favorite town in all of America and beyond. My home is Waynesville, but my heart will always be in Saranac Lake. In truth, the
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September 23-29, 2026
ednesday morning. Stepping onto the front porch of my apartment in downtown Waynesville, the air was cool. A breeze wafted through town from the nearby mountain ridges cradling the community. Walking to my truck, I noticed the first of the fallen leaves on the sideyard. “Felt like fall this morning,” I commented to my publisher in passing later in the office. Fall will forever be my favorite season. Warm sunshine and brisk air. Chopped wood and fireplaces. Jeans, boots, and a barn coat. Football on the TV. Going for trail runs in the backwoods without the intense heat and daunting humidity of summer. Sipping cold beers on the front porch and picking guitar at sunset. Not to mention the most awe-inspiring annual performance by Mother Nature, which is the foliage throughout the mountainous regions of our vast country. As mentioned in last week’s column, my Aunt Moe recently passed away at age 64 after a long battle with muscular dystrophy. The family memorial service will be at Saint Patrick’s Cemetery in my hometown way up on the Canadian Border. Thus, I’ll be heading north and ducking back over the MasonDixon Line to Upstate New York to spend quality time with loved ones from the starting line of my existence. Bear hugs and teary eyes. The memories remain. So, that puts me back in my beloved North Country during the time of the year that I cherish most, if but for a somber and sorrowful reason. And yet, it seems like most of my visits back to the ol’ stomping grounds over the past decade or so are usually for funerals, which is part of life for you and me (all of us), sadly. And that’s OK. It’s these exact junctures of saying goodbye to beloved faces, and interacting with other familiar ones while doing so, that radiates one’s true character and personal growth amid the grand scheme of things in our universe. Besides, if you don’t open up your soul to the vulnerability
of grief and acceptance, of remembering someone’s genuine presence and making sense of life itself, what’s the sense of purpose in your time on this earth? It’s like the late Greek philosopher Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Let those tears flow freely, I say. Sit with your thoughts for a little bit and put into order the organized chaos of your mind. It’s healthy to hurt and grieve, the key being knowing when to wipe your eyes and move forward. It’s healthy to also question the “how” and “why” of a lost loved one, the key being able to find peace and solace in that process. There’s no simple answer to the “how” and “why,” just shoulders to lean on, happily.
The annual “Mountain Heritage Days” celebration will run through Sept. 26 on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
arts & entertainment
This must be the place
Or stop in at:
97 7 N Main Stt Waynes Wa essvville blueridgemassage-wncc.com
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arts & entertainment
On the beat • 4118 Kitchen & Bar (Highlands) will host live music 6-8 p.m. Thursdays. Free and open to the public 828.526.5002 or 4118kitchenbar.toast.site. • Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library (Cashiers) will host “Community Jam Sessions” from 2-4 p.m. the second and fourth Sunday of each month. Informal jamming. All skill levels are welcome. Free and open to the public. 828.743.0215 / fontanalib.org/cashiers.
• Bevel Bar (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.246.0996 / bevelbar.com. • Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host “Music Bingo Night” 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, The Blue Mountaineers (bluegrass) Thursdays, Jerry Gaff (singer-songwriter) Sept. 25 and Doug, Lisa & Roberto Sept. 26. All music starts at 5 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.246.9320 / facebook.com/brbeerhub.
two are free) and A. Lee Edwards (Americana/indie-folk) Sept. 30. All shows begin at 5 p.m. and admission is $30 per adult unless otherwise noted. For tickets and reservations, visit cataloocheeranch.com/ranch-event. • Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Brent LaCasce (jazz/piano) Sept. 25 and Two Armadillos (guitar/vocals) Oct. 2. All shows begin at 6 p.m. with a $10 cover. Reservations highly recommended. The kitchen and wine bar will open at 4 p.m. 828.452.6000 or classicwineseller.com. • Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center
September 23-29, 2026
Do you like Journey? Renowned Journey tribute band Departure will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Departure surpasses most tribute band, as they not only bring the sights and sounds of the original Journey band but also add a special flair that makes for a great evening of classic rock music and showstopping entertainment. The quintet is the longest running and most respected Journey tribute band in the world. They’ve been performing together for more than 10 years and book more than 100 shows each year. They replicate the look, sound, and feel of the original 1980s rock supergroup, who are best known for hits such as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Faithfully,” and “Open Arms.” Tickets start at $18 per person with upgrades available. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit smokymountainarts.com or call 828.273.4615. • American Legion Post 47 (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic” 6:30 p.m. Mondays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.456.8691. • Angry Elk Brewing (Whittier) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows are free and open to the public. 828.497.1015 / facebook.com/angryelkbrewingco.
Smoky Mountain News
• Appalachian Women’s Museum (Dillsboro) will host Libby Rodenbough (singer-songwriter) Oct. 15. Both shows begin at 6 p.m. Admission is free. Donations appreciated. appwomen.org. • Assembly On Main (Waynesville) will host “Trivia Night” 6 p.m. Tuesdays and “Karaoke Night” 7 p.m. Thursdays. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0839 / assemblyonmain.com. • Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host “Open Mic” 8-10 p.m. Thursdays. Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 / balsamfallsbrewing.com. • Balsam Mountain Inn (Balsam) will host “Picking on the Porch” (open community jam) 6 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.283.0145 / thebalsammountaininn.com. 26
• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host “Karaoke Night” 9 p.m. Wednesdays, “Trivia” 7 p.m. Thursdays, “Open Jam” 10 p.m. Thursdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows are located in The Gem downstairs taproom and begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0350 / boojumbrewing.com. • Breadheads Tiki Shak (Sylva) will host “Tiki Trivia” at 7 p.m. every other Thursday of the month and Long Way Ramblers (Americana) Oct. 9. All shows begin at 10 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.307.2160 / breadheadstikishak.com. 828.586.1237 / cdpjaxcountync.org. • Bryson City Brewing (Bryson City) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0085 / brysoncitybrewing.com. • Bryson City Outdoors (Bryson City) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.342.6444 / brysoncityoutdoors.com. • Cataloochee Ranch (Maggie Valley) will host Brian Ashley Jones (Americana) Sept. 23, a “Barn Dance” with Darren Nicholson Band (Americana/bluegrass) 4:30 p.m. Sept. 25 ($15 per child ages 3-11, children under age
will host “World Drum Classes” every Friday at 2:30 p.m. (adults, free) and 4 p.m. (family friendly, all ages, free), “Waynesville Acoustic Guitar Group” 2-4 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday of the month (free) and semi-regular live music monthly. 828.452.2997 / folkmoot.org. • Friday Night Live Concert Series (Highlands) will host Shortoff Mountain Boys (Americana/bluegrass) Sept. 25. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org. • Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host “Jazz On The Level” 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Len Graham (singer-songwriter) 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Justin Brown (singer-songwriter) 6 p.m. Sept. 25, Long Way Ramblers (Americana) 6 p.m. Sept. 26 and Marley’s Chain 3 p.m. Sept. 27. Free and open to the public. 828.454.5664 / froglevelbrewing.com. • Frog Quarters (Franklin) will host live music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Free and open to the public. 828.369.8488 / littletennessee.org. • Happ’s Place (Glenville) will host Heath Rankin Sept. 25, Kody Paul Sept. 26, Doug Ramsay Oct. 2 and Alamo Band Oct. 3. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.742.5700 / happsplace.com.
Departure. File photo (Franklin) will host “Open Mic” at 6 p.m. every second Friday of the month and Mama’s Broke (Americana) Nov. 12 ($15 adults, $7.50 kids). 828.369.4080 / coweeschool.org/concert-series. • Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host live music at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Thursdays and Somebody’s Child (Americana) 5 p.m. Sept. 26. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 / curraheebrew.com.
• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host Trace Adkins (country) 9 p.m. Oct. 9. For tickets, visit caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee. • High Country Wine & Provisions (Highlands) will host live music during “Friday Night Vibes” at 5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.482.4502 / highcountrywineandprovisions.com. • High Dive (Highlands) will host DJ Real Bill 9 p.m. Saturdays. 828.526.2200 / highlandsdive.com.
• Current Tavern (Canton) will host the “Music at the Tavern” summer series with semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.492.0249.
• Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host “Blues & Brews” with Scott Low 6-9 p.m. Thursdays, Zorki (singer-songwriter) 13 p.m. Saturdays, “Bluegrass Brunch” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays, the “Salon Series” with Bobby Bare Jr. (singer-songwriter) 8:30 p.m. Sept. 24 ($41.84 per person, tax included). Reservations encouraged for all performances. 828.526.2590 / highlandermountainhouse.com.
• Cut Cocktail Lounge (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.631.4795 / thecutcocktaillounge.com.
• Highlands Performing Arts Center (Highlands) will host Nu-Blu (Americana) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26. 828.526.9047 / highlandsperformingarts.com.
• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Orchard Sessions” with Cruz Contreras (singer-songwriter) Oct. 7. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Admission is $50 per person, with discounts rates available for hotel guests and members. 866.526.8008 / oldedwardshospitality.com.
• Highlands Smokehouse (Highlands) will host live music from 1-3 p.m. Sundays. 828.526.3554 / highlandsmokehouse.com.
• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville)
• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Monday Night Trivia” every week, “Open Mic” on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows and events begin at 7
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p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.586.9678 / innovationbrewing.com.
• John C. Campbell Folk School (Brasstown) will host a “Community Jam” 7 p.m. Thursdays at the nearby Crown Restaurant and semi-regular live music on the weekends. folkschool.org. • J.R. Chophouse (Franklin) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.369.3663 / jrchophouse.com. • Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park (Highlands) will host the “Highlands Heritage Jamboree” 1-7:30 p.m. Sept. 26. Live music from the U.S Fleet Forces Navy Band, Foxfire Boys and Darren Nicholson Band. Highlands Smokehouse will be serving barbecue. Family activities will also take place. Admission is free. Lawn chairs and blankets allowed. 828.526.5841 / highlandschamber.org/heritage-jamboree. • Las Barricas (Franklin) will host C-Square Band 11 a.m. on the fourth Friday of each month. Free and open to the public. 828.349.4484 / lasbarricasmexicanrestaurant.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Mondays, “Trivia Night” 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, “Old Time Jam” 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and Blue Jazz (blues/jazz) Sept. 25. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 828.349.2337 / lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Macon County Public Library (Franklin) will host The Vagabonds (Americana) at 2 p.m. the first and third Monday and a “Song Circle” open jam from 3-6 p.m. the first Tuesday each month. Free and open to the public. 828.524.3600 or fontanalib.org/franklin. • Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host “Open Mic Night” with Frank Lee every
• Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host “Karaoke With Russell” on Mondays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.9105 / facebook.com/saltydogs2005. • Santé Wine Bar (Sylva) will host semi-regular live music on Sundays. All shows begin at 5 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.631.3075 / facebook.com/thewinebarandcellar. • Saturdays On Pine Concert Series (Highlands) will host Darren Nicholson Band (Americana/bluegrass) Sept. 26. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.
Alma Russ. File photo
Tuesday, Troy Underwood (singer-songwriter) Sept. 25, Alma Russ (Americana/folk) Sept. 26 and Mountain Gypsy (Americana) 5 p.m. Sept. 27. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 / mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com. • Mountain Vibes Kava Lounge (Waynesville) will host “Trivia Night” 7 p.m. Mondays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.246.9283. • Old Edwards Inn (Highlands) will host live music in the Hummingbird Lounge at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Free and open to the public. 866.526.8008 / oldedwardshospitality.com.
will host “Karaoke” 8 p.m. Fridays and semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 / facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse. • Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin)
• Sauced (Waynesville) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. every other Wednesday (Sept. 23 and Oct. 7) and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.246.9585 / saucedwnc.com.
SEE ON THE BEAT, PAGE 30
• Orchard Coffee (Waynesville) will host “Open Mic Night” 6 p.m. on the first Friday of every month and semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.246.9264 / orchardcoffeeroasters.com. • Otto Community Center (Otto) will host James Thompson “Music Nights” 4 p.m. first and third Friday of each month. Bring a beverage and snack of your choice. Free and open to the public. go2ottonc.com. • Peacock Performing Arts Center (Hayesville) will host “Songwriter’s Showcase #63” Sept. 26. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For tickets, 828.389.ARTS / thepeacocknc.org.
Smoky Mountain News
• Legends Sports Bar & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host “Open Mic Night” 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Karaoke Thursdays (6 p.m.) and Saturdays (7 p.m.), with live music each Friday (8 p.m.). Free and open to the public. 828.944.0403 / facebook.com/legendssportsgrillmaggievalley.
Rising singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alma Russ will hit the stage at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City. Based out of Western North Carolina and with her unique brand of “patchwork music” (country, folk and Appalachian styles pieced together), Russ enjoys playing guitar, banjo and fiddle. Russ was also a contestant on American Idol Season 16. Her most recent album, “Fool’s Gold,” was recorded in an abandoned church in the West Texas desert while Russ was on a national tour. The event is free and open to the public. For more information on Russ, visit facebook.com/almarussmusic. For tickets, 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.
September 23-29, 2026
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host “Board Game Night” 5 p.m. Mondays, “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Tuesdays, “Trivia Night” 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, “Open Mic Night” 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, “Karaoke” Sept. 25, and Rotary Club Scholarship Fundraiser (with live music) Sept. 26. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 / lazyhikerbrewing.com.
Mountain Layers welcomes Russ
arts & entertainment
• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.226.0262 / innovation-brewing.com.
will host “Karaoke” 7 p.m. Wednesdays, “Trivia Night” 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, “Open Mic” 6:30 p.m. on certain Fridays, R.A. Nightingale (singer-songwriter) Sept. 26 and Owen Walsh (singer-songwriter) 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29. Free and open to the public. 828.369.6796 / facebook.com/rathskellercoffeebarandpub.
• Pickin’ On The Square (Franklin) will host Paradise 56 (rock/blues) Sept. 26. All shows begin at 6 p.m. at the Gazebo in downtown. Free and open to the public. franklinnc.com/pickin-on-the-square.html. • Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro)
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arts & entertainment
On the wall
HCAC’s ‘Go with the Flow’ A new exhibition celebrating the beauty, significance and inspiration found in the waterways of Haywood County, “Go with the Flow” will be on display through Nov. 2 in the Haywood Handmade Gallery at the Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) on Main Street in Waynesville. “Go with the Flow” brings together artwork inspired by the Pigeon River Watershed and the many rivers, creeks, and streams that shape Haywood County. Artists were encouraged to explore water not only as a physical presence, but also as a source of movement, reflection, change, connection, and inspiration. The exhibition features a variety of artistic mediums and perspectives, highlighting the many ways artists experience and interpret the waterways that are such an important part of our community and landscape. “Water is such an integral part of life in Haywood County, and it has long been a source of inspiration for artists,” said HCAC Executive Director Tonya Harwood. “‘Go with the Flow’ gives us a chance to celebrate the beauty of our waterways while also reminding us of our responsibili-
• Bosu’s Wine Shop (Waynesville) will host a “Paint & Sip” at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22. 828.452.0120 / waynesvillewine.com.
September 23-29, 2026
‘Cherokee People and the American Revolution’
• “Farmers & Artisans Market” will be every Friday morning (May-October) at 117 Island St. in Bryson City. Stop by the old barn along the river for local, homegrown produce, as well as baked goods, jellies/preserves, authentic crafts and more. Picnic tables onsite. There will also be live music. Leashed pets are welcome. This is an outdoor event. Free and open to the public. 828.488.7857. • WNC Paint Events will host painting sessions throughout the region on select dates. For more information and/or to sign up, visit wncpaint.events. • Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host
A work by Greg Vaeth. Courtesy of HCAC
ty to care for them. We are excited to have Haywood Waterways with us during the opening reception to help connect the artwork with the real-world importance of protecting our local waterways.” The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, visit haywoodarts.org.
“ArtWorks” at 1 p.m. every second Thursday of the month. Come create your own masterpiece. The materials for art works are supplied, and participants are welcome to bring ideas and supplies to share with each other. Ages 16 and up. Space limited to 10 participants. Free and open to the public. 828.488.3030 / vroberson@fontanalib.org. • CRE828 (Waynesville) will offer a selection of art classes and workshops at its studio located at 1283 Asheville Road. Workshops will include art journaling, watercoloring, mixed media, acrylic painting and more. 828.283.0523 / cre828.com. • Three Rivers Gallery (Bryson City) will be hosting an array of artist receptions, exhibits and showcases on select dates. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through
Smoky Mountain News
On the table
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• Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host the annual “Oyster Roast & Bluegrass” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. Oysters from Lowcountry Oyster Company, craft ales from Burial Beer Co., and live bluegrass from Daniel Ullom & Emma Rast. Tickets are $50 per person. For tickets, visit highlandermountainhouse.com or call 828.526.2590. • Cataloochee Ranch (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular culinary events and workshops throughout the week. For a full schedule of upcoming activities, tickets and reservations, visit cataloocheeranch.com/ranchevent. • Balsam Mountain Inn (Balsam) will host “Wind Down Wine Flights” 6 p.m. Thursdays
A first-of-its-kind exhibition centering Native voices, perspectives and creativity in response to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the exhibition “Unrelenting: Cherokee People and the American Revolution” is currently being showcased at the Museum of the Cherokee People (MotCP) in Cherokee. On view through Dec. 30, the exhibition features historic objects in conversation with works by Cherokee artists, merging cultural heritage, military history, and contemporary art for a nuanced examination of a pivotal moment in Cherokee and American history. With research beginning in 2022, the exhibition’s curators — MotCP Director of Education Dakota Brown (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), MotCP Director of Collections and Exhibitions Evan Mathis and
Sunday. 828.488.3638 / threeriversgallery.com. • Haywood County Arts Council (Waynesville) will offer a wide range of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. HCAC’s Haywood Handmade Gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. 828.452.0593 / haywoodarts.org. • Jackson County Green Energy Park (Dillsboro) will be offering a slew of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. 828.631.0271 / jcgep.org. • Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center (Robbinsville) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. 828.479.3364 / stecoahvalleycenter.com.
guest curator Brandon Dillard (Cherokee Nation), director of Historic Interpretation and Audience Engagement at Monticello — sought Cherokee accounts of the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the Museum of the Cherokee American War Cherokee People. (1776-1794), highlighting the complexities of memoFile photo ry and commemoration. As the nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the curators of the exhibition aspire to spark conversation about American identity and sovereignty among visitors of all walks of life, sharing new research in the first exhibit about Cherokees in the American Revolution by Cherokee scholars. General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for children ages 6-12 and free for children ages 5 and under. MotCP offers free admission to members of federally recognized tribes and museum members. Student, educator, senior, and military rates available. Admission to all changing exhibitions is included in the general admission ticket price. For more information, visit motcp.org.
• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. 828.339.4000 / southwesterncc.edu/scc-locations/swaincenter. • Dogwood Crafters (Dillsboro) will offer a selection of upcoming art classes and workshops. 828.586.2248 / dogwoodcrafters.com.
ALSO:
• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Franklin) will host semi-regular arts and crafts workshops. 828.369.4080 / coweeschool.org. • Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host semi-regular artist gatherings and workshops. 828.452.2997 / folkmoot.org.
waynesvillewine.com.
and a special semi-regular wine tasting. 828.283.0145 / thebalsammountaininn.com. • Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will have the wine bar and kitchen open from 4-8 p.m. Fridays/Saturdays. There will also be special wine dinners and cheese tastings on select dates. 828.452.6000 / classicwineseller.com. • Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host semi-regular craft brewery tastings. Free and open to the public. 828.246.9320 / blueridgebeerhub.com. • “Flights & Bites” will be held at 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville and specialty wine dinners on select dates. 828.452.0120 /
• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturday at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. 828.538.0420. • “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal and more. There will also be a special “Carolina Moonshine” train on select dates. 800.872.4681 / gsmr.com.
‘Under the Stars’ dinner at Skyline Lodge The popular “Under the Stars, On the Rocks” culinary series is currently underway at the Oak Steakhouse at the Skyline Lodge. FIle photo Skyline Lodge in Highlands. The events feature renowned chefs from around the Southeast on select dates, with the final gathering of the 2026 season being Tuesday, Oct. 13. Each four-course meal in the series is unique and personal to the guest chef, offering a one-of-a-kind outdoor dining experience. Dinners are $175 per person (including beverage pairings). Reservations required. For more information and/or to make reservations, call 828.526.4008 or visit skyline-lodge.com.
On the street arts & entertainment
ColorFest returns to Dillsboro The 18th annual ColorFest will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in downtown Dillsboro. Come spend the day in a walk-about mountain town filled with color and history. Enjoy a day of fun, food, live music, artisan demonstrations, entertainment, and shopping. Dozens of 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. ColorFest is free and open to the public. For more information and a full schedule of events, visit dillsboronc.org.
ColorFest. File photo
WCU’s ‘Mountain Heritage Days’ A beloved long-time Western North Carolina tradition, the annual “Mountain Heritage Days” celebration will run through Sept. 26 on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. The festival of Southern Appalachian traditions and culture is renowned as a showcase of bluegrass, old-time and traditional music, as well as family activities, food vendors, artisan demonstrations, and the region’s finest arts/crafts booths.
facebook.com/smnews Mountain Heritage Days. File photo
September 23-29, 2026
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, updates, and a full schedule of events, visit wcu.edu/engage/mountain-heritage-days.
On the stage HART presents ‘Noises Off’
• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host legendary comedian Mike Epps at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. For tickets, visit caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.
• Peacock Performing Arts Center (Hayesville) will host a special stage production of “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” on select dates and times Oct. 9-18. For tickets, thepeacocknc.org or 828.389.ARTS.
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Smoky Mountain News
A special stage production of Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off” will be performed on select dates and times through Sept. 27 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (HART) in Waynesville. Widely acclaimed as one of the funniest farces ever written, “Noises Off” gives audiences a hilarious look at the unpredictable world of live theatre, where missed cues, forgotten lines, backstage rivalries, and increasingly disastrous performances threaten to bring an entire production crashing down. The comedy begins during the final rehearsal of “Nothing On,” a delightfully questionable British bedroom farce that the company is preparing to take on tour. With opening night rapidly approaching, director Lloyd Dallas is simply trying to get his actors through The cast of ‘Noises Off.’ HART photo the show. Unfortunately, there are still entrances to remember, props to track, doors that refuse to cooperate and an increasingly important question about where, exactly, the sardines are supposed to go. Tickets start at $19 per person with upgrades and discounts available. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit harttheatre.org or call 828.456.6322.
71 North Main St. Waynesville 29
arts & entertainment
ON THE BEAT, CONTINUED FROM 27 • Scotsman (Waynesville) will host “Open Mic Night” every second Monday of the month with Bridget Gossett (sign-up at 6:30 p.m.), Bo Bullman (country gold) Sept. 24, Hello My Dear (Americana/blues) Sept. 26 and Trippin’ Up The Stairs (Celtic/world) Sept. 27. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 / scotsmanpublic.com. • Skyline Lodge (Highlands) will host semiregular live music on the weekends and “Vinyl + Vibes: 60s” with DJ Real Bill 6 p.m. Sept. 27. Free and open to the public. 828.526.4008 / skyline-lodge.com. • Slanted Window Tasting Station (Franklin) will host Generations (Americana) 6 p.m. Sept. 25 and Michael Kitchens (singer-songwriter) 4 p.m. Sept. 27. 828.276.9463 / slantedwindow.com. • Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host John Schneider (singer-songwriter) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and Departure (Journey tribute) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26. Tickets now available, with seating upgrades offered. 866.273.4615 / smokymountainarts.com.
September 23-29, 2026
• Smoky Mountain Dog Bar (Waynesville) will host “Open Mic Night” 5-7 p.m. Fridays. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0726 / smokymountaindogbakery.com. • Stubborn Bull (Highlands) will host “Live Music Monday” each week with local singersongwriters, including Madison Owenby Sept. 28 and L.C. Branch Oct. 5. All shows begin at 5:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.200.0813 / the-stubborn-bull.com. • Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.488.7843 / swainartscenter.com. • Tattered Tartan Pub (Andrews) will host “Trivia Night” 6:30 p.m. Fridays, “Karaoke” 8 p.m. Saturdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.835.2199.
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newsdesk crafts
Smoky Mountain News
• Trailborn (Highlands) will host its “Carolina Concert Series” with local singer-songwriters
Cataloochee Ranch goes Americana
A. Lee Edwards. File photo
Americana/indie-folk singer-songwriter A. Lee Edwards will perform at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley. Edwards has been a singer-songwriter for over 30 years. His music holds an honesty and an authenticity not built on outward style but inner substance. He is joined by a backing band of some of the top players in the region, all with vocal harmonies reminiscent of The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Buck Owens & Don Rich. Admission is $30 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit cataloocheeranch.com/ranch-event.
on select dates on the weekends. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.482.1581 or trailborn.com/highlands.
(Americana) 2 p.m. Sept. 27. Free and open to the public. 828.944.0686 / valleycigarandwineco.com.
• Twisted Spoke Food & Tap (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.926.1730 / facebook.com/twistedspokerestaurant.
• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host “Trivia With Tom” Wednesdays, “Music Bingo” Saturdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows and events begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 / valley-tavern.com.
• Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.743.3000 / theuglydogpub.com.
• Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 5202 (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.456.9356 / vfw5202.org.
ALSO:
• Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host “Bluegrass Music” with Nitrograss 6 p.m. Wednesdays, “Karaoke” 9:30 p.m. Fridays, “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Sundays and semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.526.8364 / theuglydogpub.com. • Valley Cigar & Wine Company (Waynesville) will host the “Tuesday Music Social” 4 p.m. weekly, Bridget Gossett Duo (rock/blues) 5 p.m. Sept. 25 and Raphael Graves Trio
• Vineyard At High Holly (Scaly Mountain) will host Tim Austin (singer-songwriter) 3 p.m. Sept. 25, Jordan Denton (singer-songwriter) 2 p.m. Sept. 27, Cecil Thompson (singersongwriter) 3 p.m. Oct. 2, and Monica Spears (singer-songwriter) 2 p.m. Oct. 4. Free and open to the public. 828.482.5573 / thevineyardathighholly.com. • Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will
host “Trivia Night” 7 p.m. Mondays, “Karaoke Night” 8 p.m. Thursdays, with semi-regular DJs and live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9 p.m. 828.456.4750 / facebook.com/waternhole.bar. • Western Carolina Brew & Wine (Highlands) will host David Lloyd (singer-songwriter) Sept. 26. All shows begin at 1 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.342.6707 / wcbrewandwine.com. • Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.743.6000 / whitesidebrewing.com. • Yonder Community Market (Franklin) will host “First Friday Classic Country: Jim Austin & Friends” (Americana/country) 6 p.m. each month (Oct. 2) and the “On the Lawn at Yonder” live music series with David Childers & The Serpents (Americana) 4 p.m. Oct. 11. Admission by donation. Family/dog friendly. 828.200.2169 / eatrealfoodinc.com.
thursdaay
On the shelf
Jeff Minick
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themes, and then tops off her book with three essays, one on marriage, another in praise of the “hippie subculture” that still endures today, and a short manifesto by her friend Myles Doak, “My Life Philosophy.” Some poems by another friend, Samuel Hazo, are also included. The book’s title refers to her 2024 volume, “Slices of Life: Inspirations and Understandings.” For those of us who are about the same age as Hicks, her “experiences” from the 1970s will bring back memories. She meets “The Maestro of Love” Leo Buscaglia, for instance, the professor, speaker, and bestselling author who was just becoming famous for his hugs and his philosophy of warmth, love, and affection. Hicks’ accounts of the teens she counseled after graduating college bring back the confusion of the time: the drugs, the drifting, the young people often racked and wrecked by broken hearts and broken dreams. Because the episodes in this portion of Hicks’ book tend to jump around a bit, the narrative at times can grow confusing. At one point, for instance, Hicks writes of moving to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, “where my parents were living and where we lived in a rented trailer boxed between a VFW post and a Little League baseball field …” Unless I missed something in my reading, I was left with no clue as to why her parents were living in a trailer in such a place. Because “More Slices” is largely a book of reflections on the past and lessons learned, it seems appropriate to sum up the book with Hicks’ poem “Soon As …” “soon as you think that everything’s okay something starts to clink or grate along the way
WILL BE SHARING HIS NE EW NOVEL,
Hollow Folk IN CONVERSA AT TION WITH EMILY LY NASER R-- HAL ALL
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Smoky Mountain News
William Holland Thomas. Yet the main protagonist in this survey of the past is the Little Tennessee River and the valleys and hills surrounding it. It’s a valuable addition to the history of our region, and Holland brings a lifetime of exploration and local knowledge to its pages. Among his several previous books are histories of the Nantahala River and Fontana Dam, and “Hiking Trails of the Smokies.” He’s also served as a scout and collaborator for movies made in these mountains, like “The Last of the Mohicans,” “The Fugitive,” and “Nell.” Perhaps the author’s familiarity with the region explains the one quibble I have with “The Little Tennessee River.” The first 40 pages or so of the book refer continually to hills, streams, and towns both ancient and modern with which I’m unacquainted. Holland means these place names as guides to the terrain, but all too often, with only a brief mention and no anchor like an historical incident to fix them in the mind, they drift by without any real meaning. In Holland’s account of William Bartram’s famous early expedition into the mountains, for instance, we encounter this sentence: “Bartram crossed the Chattanooga River at Earl’s Ford; ascended Warwoman Creek to Saddle Gap; skirted Clayton, Georgia; and reached the Eastern Continental Divide at Mountain City.” This inventory of travel left me lost in the wilderness. As I say, however, that’s a quibble. “The Little Tennessee River” is local history at its best and most valuable. And now for something completely different, as the tagline from the old Monty Python show put it: In “More Slices: Experiences, Essays, and Poems” (Precision Communications, 2026, 130 pages), Susan Lannan Hicks takes readers back to her undergraduate and post-college days 50 years ago, adds a sampler of her verse, employing a variety of topics and
September 23-29, 2026
et’s kick off today’s book talk with Lance Holland’s “The Little Tennessee River: Following the Cherokee Path” (The History Press, 2026, 224 pages). In his story of this river, Holland takes an interesting approach to the past. He focuses our attention on the many transitions and developments in transportation and industry which the passage of time has brought to our mountains: the coming of the European settlers, the opening up of the mountains along the river with trails and rough roads, the railroads drawing in tourists and industry, the dams that providWriter ed electricity here and elsewhere, and most recently, the return of some of this land to an earlier state of wilderness. Holland’s story of geography, development, and commerce brings us accounts of those men and women — the Cherokee, the early settlers, the loggers, miners, and dambuilders — who left their mark on the region, while certain other chapters of history necessarily receive short shrift in his narrative. With the exception of his description of the 1865 skirmish between Union and Confederate troops at White Sulphur Springs, for example, Holland says little about the Civil War in these mountains. On the other hand, he rightly spotlights the early history of the Little Tennessee River, particularly in regard to the Cherokee. Here he shares with readers their initial contacts with the whites coming from the east, then brings that light to bear on the tangled history of settlers and Cherokee in the late 18th and first half of the 19th centuries. Here, too, we meet the primary historical figures of that time, like Chief Junaluska and
Andre rew K. Cla ar rk
arts & entertainment
Of time and a river: two books, two reviews
OCTOBER R 1st • 6pm 6
(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)
‘Hollow Folk’ reading at City Lights Andrew K. Clark will discuss his new novel, "Hollow Folk," with Emily Naser-Hall at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. In the book, grad student Ethan Ray takes a night auditor job at the aging Holloway mountain resort, expecting a quiet shift. Instead, strange red lights fill the Appalachian sky, silent winds whip through the trees, and owl gargoyles come to life. Clark is a Western North Carolina writer whose debut, "Where Dark Things Grow," was a finalist for the Manly Wade Wellman Award and won an IPPY. Its sequel, "Where Dark Things Rise," won an IndieReader Discovery Award. Naser-Hall is an assistant professor of Film and Media Studies and graduate program director in English Studies at Western Carolina University. The reading is free and open to the public. For more information, visit citylightsnc.com or call 828.586.9499.
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Outdoors
Smoky Mountain News
A colored lantern slide of George Masa’s work is one of Angelyn Whitemeyer’s recent finds in her pursuit of his lost photographs. Jennifer Fulford/Smokies Life photo
Word from the Smokies BY JENNIFER FULFORD FOR SMOKIES LIFE
A researcher’s ongoing pursuit of George Masa’s missing photos n search of George Masa’s lost work, Angelyn Whitmeyer collects old photos from every place she can find them. She has documented thousands of the famed photographer’s images from all eras of his life, particularly after he was smitten with the Smoky Mountains about a 100 years ago. Whitmeyer is not an academic, per se. As
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a young woman, she started her work life as a teacher of first and second grade. Eventually, she moved into an accounting career. Those two professions underpin what has now become more than a hobby in retirement. Like a teacher, she wants to share; like an accountant, she is good at finding things. Those “things” in this case are the photos Masa took as an amateur and professional photographer, mostly after his arrival in Western North Carolina in 1915. He died in Asheville in 1933 of tuberculosis. “For him, hiking and taking photos were just so intertwined,” Whitmeyer said. “I think
that his deep appreciation for nature obviously was one of his hallmarks. He was at the right place at the right time for that kind of work. I don't know that anybody else could have done what he did.” Whitmeyer has been looking for originals, reproductions, and published versions of his print photography since 2019. She became curious about noteworthy local photographers, including Masa, after teaching a continuing education course on accomplished female photographers. Masa was on her shortlist of renowned locals, but his personal life was somewhat of a mystery. His work, however, was powerful. As a Japanese immigrant in the pre-Depression era, details about his life have been patchy until the last few years, even though his photos, particularly those of the Great Smoky Mountains, are larger than life. He’s been described as the Ansel Adams of the region.
The Asheville newspaper at the time declared in a headline: “Few Men Have Ever Known Smokies as Well as Photographer Masa.” Whitmeyer has been diligently working in the background while a recent groundswell of interest in Masa’s work has come from photography enthusiasts, Smokies history buffs, and academic researchers. Several books, including Smokies Life’s “George Masa: A Life Reimagined” (Smokies Life 2024) and documentaries such as “A Life Reimagined: The George Masa Story” (Bonesteel Films 2026) chronicle a growing understanding of the man, his interests, and his life before the Smokies. Whitmeyer has done her own investigating with little fanfare. She creates PDFs of Masa’s photographs, using as source material original photos, when she can find them, or postcards, print publications, negatives, photographic prints, slides, and other media, found in a myriad of places. The exactitude of her research is precisely described in the database she created for the research, GeorgeMasaPhotoDatabase.com. Though a dot-com site, the database is intentionally non-commercial. It’s more aptly a scholarly dot-passion-project. The information is free. “It is meant to be a publicly available ‘catalogue raisonné’ of George Masa’s printed works,” Whitmeyer said. Her scrupulous work habits and meticulous methods so far have borne an impressive collection. Launched in 2023, her database has grown from about 4,000 to 6,600 “data points,” which include the photos themselves — about 2,700 — as well as subsequent uses of those images. Currently, her appendix of locations where Masa’s work has been published runs 19 pages, and she is finding more instances every week. On the day we spoke, she had discovered three new photos, each from an Asheville Citizen-Times collection recently archived at the University of North Carolina Asheville. “I think the most interesting [find] recently for me was from a person in England who mailed me and said, ‘My grandfather was in the States at the time with George Masa, and he was in the hiking club,
Angelyn Whitmeyer’s background in teaching and accounting have helped her become an accomplished researcher who has curated a database of photos by the late George Masa, noted for his artistic compositions of the Smoky Mountains between 1920 and 1933. Jennifer Fulford/Smokies Life photo
George Masa worked with several cameras that represented state-of-the-art photographic technology in the early 1920s. Courtesy of the North Carolina Collection at Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina
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Celebrate Fall with WATR Darnell Farms will host an event offering an afternoon of hayrides, pumpkins, corn maze exploration, and a delicious DreamWhip by the Tuckasegee River. Hosts will gather by the riverbank for a streambank repair demo, enjoy live music and food carts, and share updates on WATR projects and future leadership. Whether you live along the river, paddle it, or simply care about clean water, join in for a fun, informative experience. The event will begin at 3 p.m. on Oct. 3 at 2300 Governors Island Road in Bryson City. Purchase tickets at zeffy.com/en-us/ticketing/annual-meeting-48.
outdoors
Mountain Monarch Festival at Gorges State Park Offering something for all ages, the fourth annual Mountain Monarch Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3, at Gorges State Park in Sapphire. This free event, hosted by the park and sponsored by Friends of Gorges State Park and other partners, will celebrate the monarch butterfly during its migration and bring attention to the species’ declining numbers. Butterflies can be seen in early October each year flying over the park, heading south to the high-elevation fir forests in central-southern Mexico’s Volcanic Belt, where they overwinter until early spring. The festival offers educational programs and exhibits as well as fun for the whole family, including children’s crafts, face painting by Macon Faces Face Painting, a butterfly hike, and a Monarch Migration Passport to lead through the activities. The event will be held rain or shine and is first come, first served. Visit www.friendofgorges.org for details.
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail to close Great Smoky Mountains National Park will temporarily close Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 24 to safely complete roadside mowing and other maintenance. Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a nar-
row, single-lane road with steep roadsides in one of the busiest sections of the park. The park will temporarily close the road at the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail entrance. Visitors can still drive the Cherokee Orchard Road loop and access the trailheads for Old Sugarlands Trail, Rainbow Falls Trail, Trillium Gap Trail, and Twin Creeks Trail. Check the park website for up-to-date information on road closures.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
September 23-29, 2026
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It’s common for Whitmeyer to spend a few hours each day sitting at a library or university collection or at her own desk in Asheville, sorting through the latest leads. She’s known by name at the Special Collections of UNC Asheville, and likely several other institutions, where she is often found sitting at the end of a long conference table, peering from polished eyeglasses at new images with calm seriousness. Her tools are an Apple laptop, a scanner, and her keen eye for Masa’s work. When she receives or finds a new Masa photo, she categorizes it by subject, scans the image, creGeorge Masa’s work, ates a PDF description sheet, scattered or lost and uploads the document to over time, has her database with its metadaturned up in any ta—anything known about number of places. the image or its source. She This set of vintage keeps a working document colored lantern on the site called “Comments slides are at on Photographs and University of North Collections,” more than 100 Carolina Asheville. pages in length, detailing her Jennifer Fulford/Smokies research process and signifiLife photo cant observations. Over the years, surviving prints of Masa’s photos ended up in many hands and resting places. Now, no fewer than 32 collections or institutions hold photographic files, including Smokies Life. “Despite all these collections,” wrote retired UNC Asheville archivist Gene Hyde in an essay and Q&A with Whitmeyer about the lost work. “It was widely known that Masa took a lot of photographs that were generally considered missing or lost. How many Masa photographs there were, and where all of them were, was always a bit of a mystery.” Whitmeyer has come across plenty of photos that could be Masa’s, and she sets those aside for possible deeper research later to find Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky definitive data to make that Mountains National Park. Photo by call. Knowing Masa’s style, George Masa, courtesy of Smokies Life, Kephart Family Collection, National Park Service Collections she can usually discern Preservation Center, Townsend, Tennessee. whether they are most likely his, but not always. For those mysteries, she looks forward to finding the and I have in that he was detail-oriented right documentation to give the artist his also,” she said. “He was meticulous with due. what he did. He was very careful about how Explore Angelyn Whitmeyer’s database he lined up his photos in his camera. The at georgemasaphotodatabase.com. Find the kind of equipment he was using, it took Smokies Life biography of Masa and other some skill to do.” stories about the photographer on smokiesFor others who also find Masa intrigulife.org/tag/george-masa. Whitmeyer weling, Whitmeyer’s work is a boon. Janet comes inquires to the mailing address on McCue, a retired Cornell University librariher database. an and coauthor of “George Masa: A Life (Jennifer Fulford is the editorial team manager Reimagined,” is always eager to see the for the 29,000-member Smokies Life, a nonproducts of Whitmeyer’s quest. profit dedicated to supporting the scientific, “Angelyn is a wonderful combination of historical, and interpretive activities of Great avid collector and dogged researcher,” Smoky Mountains National Park by providing McCue said. “We are always delighted when educational products and services such as this Angelyn announces a new ‘find.’ Her datacolumn. Learn more at SmokiesLife.org, or base is a labor of love. How lucky are we to reach the author at jennifer@smokieslife.org.) be the recipients of her largesse.” and he met George Masa, and he bought some photos from George Masa,’” she said. In the same vein as Masa, who devised his own numbering system to catalogue his photos, Whitmeyer has created a cataloguing system to organize her database. In addition to the customized code, the database includes a photo number (if assigned by Masa), a description, size, date, media type, and source. If a photo was used more than once, she lists all the known locations of its use. “ I think there are similarities that he
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outdoors
This first-of-its-kind event seeks to inspire locals and visitors to explore some of the many incredible trails in Haywood county. Donated photo
Introd ducing NE EW Local Products s at Ingle g es Marketts. As you’rre shopping at Ingles s be sure and notice some of the ne n w local produ ucts you can find at your loc cal Ingles store*
Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2026
• Dare Vega e n Cheese — this Weaverville company makes vegan (cashew-based), dairy-frree, soy-free and d gluten-free cheese e alternatives.. Look for them in the PRODUCE section.
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• From Atop p Tater Hill — These homemade skin care products are made from 100% 1 grassfed tallo ow. Look for the em in the health and d beauty sectiion. • Barkin’ Brew Bites — Dog trea ats made from spent s grains from NC N brewers. *these products ma m y not be available in all stores ... be sure and check with your Ingles Marketss store manage er if you can’t find them!
Puzzles can be found on page 38 These are only the answers.
Enjoy Hike-a-thon Challenge in Haywood The Environmental Action Community (EAC) of Western North Carolina is hosting a “Haywood Hike-a-thon Challenge 2026: All Levels” fundraiser Oct. 3-4. This first-of-its-kind event seeks to inspire locals and visitors to explore some of the many incredible trails in Haywood County, from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Mountains to Sea Trail, and the Pisgah National Forest. Hikers will register as individuals or form a team, gather pledges, and plan their own hike(s) within the weekend timeframe. They can also compete with other hikers for prizes such as oldest/youngest hiker, most miles hiked, largest group, highest pledge earners, most creative attire, and more. Guided hikes of three different levels (including an all-inclusive, disabled-friendly
hike) will also be offered that weekend to encourage new hikers to join the fun. All levels, abilities, and ages welcome. The challenge will also seek to establish a record for the most hikers on Haywood trails for one event. The Hike-a-thon launch will be at 9 a.m. on Oct. 3 at Grassy Ridge Mine Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the closing celebration and awards presentation will be at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. EAC is a local 501c3 nonprofit whose goal is to make Haywood the Greenest County in North Carolina. All proceeds from the fundraiser directly support its programs. For more information and to register or donate, visit eacwnc.org. Questions can be directed to info@eacwnc.org.
Birding in Franklin The Franklin Bird Club leads walks along the greenway on Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. through September. Walks start at alternating locations: Macon County Public Library, Big Bear Park and Salali Lane. Walks are about two and a half hours. The public is welcome. All walks are weather dependent. • Sept. 30, meet at the Macon County Library parking lot. A full schedule and directions to each starting location can be found at facebook.com/groups/franklinbirdclub/ or littletennessee.org/franklin-bird-club.
State holds free hunting and fishing day events The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) will host two free family-friendly events to recognize National Hunting and Fishing Day, an annual celebration promoting outdoor recreation and conservation. An event will be held at the John Lentz Hunter Education Complex from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, located at 1017 Millstone Road in Ellerbe. There will be an array of outdoor activities for all ages. Another event co-hosted by NCWRC and
Haywood Community College will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the same day. "National Hunting and Fishing Day events are an awesome chance to celebrate North Carolina’s hunting and fishing traditions and share them with new folks,” said Western Engagement and Education Supervisor Casey Williams. “It’s a fun way to get people excited about all the outdoor recreation our state has to offer." More information is available on the NCWRC website and HCC website.
Smokies reminds visitors to view elk and bears safely
North Carolina's forests are among the state's most important natural resources. Our forests are prized for their scenic beauty, sporting tourism, and outdoor recreation. Pivotal in protecting these areas are Natural Resource Managers from federal, state, and private entities who work together to manage our region's valuable forest lands. On Sept. 24, FIND Outdoors will host a free Stewards & Storytellers Learning Series titled “Natural Resource Management is Serious
Business...sometimes.” The lecture will be presented by Robert Beanblossom, a longtime forest manager with decades of experience, who retired after 42 years with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. He now volunteers as the beloved caretaker at the Cradle of Forestry in America, where he continues his commitment to forest stewardship and public education. Tickets are free, but RSVPs can be made at gofindoutdoors.org. The event is open to the public and includes two complimentary alcoholic beverages and light snacks. Drinks are made available through generous support from Oskar Blues.
are timed activities with the public able to view and cheer on their favorite team. Event visitors can experience these competitions and special events throughout the day. For more information, visit haywood.edu/events/huntfish.php.
Smoky Mountain News
FIND hosts lecture on resource management
Haywood Community College, in partnership with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, is hosting the National Hunting & Fishing Day event on its campus to celebrate our national conservation heritage. Now in its 53rd year, this nationally recognized day is the largest and most effective grassroots movement ever undertaken to promote outdoor sports and conservation. The John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet will also occur on this same day. The confluence of these events celebrates the outdoors, conservation, and collegiate lumberjack competitions. The Hunting and Fishing Day includes free, interactive activities for families and youth of all ages. Featuring many community partners sharing information to the community about their services, they will share how they support our regional ecology and community spirit. Specialty activities are scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include
interactive demonstrations, archery, fish printing crafts, and the ability to build a fishing pole and fish on campus. Community partners on campus include Balsam Mountain Trust Nature Center, BearWise, Haywood Waterways, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and many more. The John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Meet will start at 8 a.m., concluding at 5 p.m. This competition will feature over 10 colleges and universities from this region testing their skills in multiple competitions such as water boil, pole fell, crosscut, and pole climb. These
September 23-29, 2026
respond during an encounter to keep both themselves and wildlife safe. To ensure the safety of both wildlife and people, the NPS reminds visitors to follow these regulations: • Keep your distance: It is illegal to approach elk within 25 yards (75 feet) or bears within 50 yards (150 feet) or at any distance that causes an animal to change its behavior because of your presence. Violations may result in fines or arrest. • Never feed wildlife: Dispose of all garbage or food scraps in bear-proof garbage containers or take trash with you. • Respect closures and staff direction: Fields around Oconaluftee and Cataloochee are closed to all visitors during the rut. Elk and bears are among Do not stop on roadthe chief attractions in the ways when viewing Smokies, but the animals wildlife, and respect can be dangerous to all bear-related clovisitors. Donated photos sures. Follow instructions from park rangers and volunteers when viewing wildlife. • Stay alert and slow down: Wildlife frequently cross roadways. Obey posted speed limits and always remain attentive when driving through the park. • View wildlife from your vehicle safely: Use designated pulloffs and ensure your vehicle is completely all herd stress. When viewing elk, visitors off the roadway without obstructing traffic. are required to stay at least 25 yards (75 • Back away if approached: If an elk or feet) away and avoid disturbing or provokblack bear approaches, calmly increase your ing them. distance by moving away from the bear. If a Black bears are highly active during black bear continues to follow, stand your autumn. They must build sufficient fat ground, be loud, throw rocks, and continue reserves to sustain themselves through dento back away slowly. If an animal approachning in winter, when they do not eat or es you, it is your responsibility to safely and drink. As natural fall foods like acorns calmly maintain the legal distance. If a become abundant, bears move across the black bear attacks you, defend yourself by park, and visitors may see them more frefighting back, and do not play dead. quently near roadsides. To learn more about elk and bear safety As bears are unpredictable, visitors in the Smokies, visit the park’s elk and black should be alert in the park, stay at least 50 bear webpages. yards (150 feet) away and know how to Great Smoky Mountains National Park reminds visitors to view wildlife safely as elk and black bear activity increases this fall. Autumn offers opportunities to witness elk during their annual breeding season, known as the rut, and to observe bears feeding on fall food sources. While these experiences can be amazing to witness, they also require caution, awareness, and respect for wildlife. During the rut, bulls experience elevated testosterone levels and may exhibit defensive or aggressive behaviors toward perceived threats — including people, vehicles, and pets. Female elk, or cows, remain protective of their calves, contributing to over-
HCC hosts Conservation and Woodsmen’s Meet
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Market WNC PLACE Legals
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NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION INTENT TO ISSUE NPDES STORMWATER DISCHARGE PERMITS
The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission proposes to issue Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) NPDES stormwater discharge permit(s) to the Municipalities listed below. Public comments or objection to the draft permits are invited. Written comments regarding the proposed permits will be accepted until 30 days after the publish date of this notice and considered in WKH ¿QDO GHWHUPLQDWLRQ regarding permit issuance and permit provisions. The Director of the NC Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (DEMLR) may hold a public hearing should there be D VLJQL¿FDQW GHJUHH RI public interest. Please mail comments and/ or information requests
to DEMLR at 1612 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1612.
The Town of Waynesville has requested renewal of permit NCS000501 in Haywood County.
Interested persons may visit DEMLR at 512 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27604 to UHYLHZ LQIRUPDWLRQ RQ ¿OH Additional information on NPDES permits and this notice may be found on our website: https:// www.deq.nc.gov/about/ divisions/energy-mineraland-land-resources/ stormwater/stormwaterprogram/stormwaterpublic-notices, or by contacting Isaiah Reed at Isaiah.reed@deq.nc.gov or (828) 296-4618. NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.24E001394-490 Jerry Anthony Cooper, KDYLQJ TXDOL¿HG DV WKH Administrator of the Estate of Jerry Scott Cooper of Jackson County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before Dec 23 2026, or this notice will be pleaded
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in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment. Administrator c/o Jerry Cooper 705 W Main Street Sylva, NC 28779
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.26E000203-490 Connie S. Dycus, KDYLQJ TXDOL¿HG DV WKH Administrator of the Estate of Jerry D. Dycus of Jackson County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before Dec 16 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment. Administrator Connie Dycus 705 W Main Street Sylva, NC 28779 NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.26E000189-490 Charles L. Hyde Jr. and Cynthia S. Marks, KDYLQJ TXDOL¿HG DV WKH Co-Executors of the Estate of Charles Larry Hyde of Jackson County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before Dec 16 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment. Co-Executors Estate of Charles L. Hyde 705 W Main Street Sylva, NC 28779
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Real Estate Announcements JUST ADD WATER ACROSS 1 "May I talk to you briefly?" 8 Placed 12 Motor oil additive 15 TV character whom you "better call" 19 Certain outlet accessory 20 River of Aragon 21 Weeding tool 22 Singer Amos 23 Like a gallery that has five dozen paintings by artist Antoine? 25 Sort of 27 Shar- -- (wrinkly dogs) 28 What a hailstorm is doing when composer JeanPhilippe is caught in it? 30 Hawaiian for "appetizer" 32 Little League precursor 33 Calling device in a forest east of Paris? 41 Banquet, e.g. 45 Four eighths 46 Let borrow again 47 Monte -48 Oil from flower petals 49 Wine enjoyed near a hearth? 53 Aliens, briefly 54 August hrs. 55 Guilty feeling 56 Garage oil 58 Hilo hellos 64 Giving the go-ahead for 68 Atmosphere 69 Raised, flat land that you are visiting today? 72 Rapa -- (Easter Island) 73 Bookish sort 75 Giorgio of fashion 76 Apartment policy about animals
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ANSWERS ON PAGE 34
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