Smoky Mountain News | September 3, 2025

Page 5

Sylva slightly expands social district hours Page 19

On the Cover:

It seems like I-40 in Haywood County near the Tennessee border has been down to one lane in each direction for a long time now, even though it’s only been about a half-year. Many have questioned when the highway will be restored to its four-lane glory. Last week, NCDOT officials finally gave some solid answers. (Page 10) Kyle Perrotti photo

News

Food assistance program likely to be gutted..............................................................4

Macon to hear public comments on health department takeover........................5

Sylva candidates stake out contrasts in forum............................................................6

Shining Rock charter school singles out media with new policy..........................8

Trouble brewing: Trump’s tariffs drive up coffee costs..........................................16

Sylva slightly expands social district hours................................................................19

Opinion

‘High vibe’ is the truest way forward............................................................................20

Helping those still struggling..........................................................................................20

A&E

Cosmic connection: A conversation with Nick Hexum..........................................22 Oak Ridge Boys return to Franklin..............................................................................26

Outdoors

Remembering adventures at Camp Margaret Townsend ....................................30 The Joyful Botanist: I am Ironflower............................................................................35

D IGITAL MARKETING S PECIALIST Tyler Auffhammer. .

ADVERTISING SALES: Amanda Bradley.

Maddie Woodard.

C LASSIFIEDS: Scott Collier. . . . . .

N EWS E DITOR: Kyle Perrotti. . . . . . .

WRITING: Lily Levin. . . .

Cory Vaillancourt. .

Garret K. Woodward.

ACCOUNTING & O FFICE MANAGER: Jamie Cogdill. .

D ISTRIBUTION: Scott Collier. . .

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C ONTRIBUTING: Jeff Minick (writing), Susanna Shetley (writing), Adam Bigelow (writing), Thomas Crowe (writing)

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Food assistance program likely to be gutted, despite helping WNC residents

BY LILY LEVIN STAFF WRITER

Like any parent or guardian, Katie Clubb wants to provide nutritious food for her grandchildren. Clubb, a Canton resident, said with rising grocery prices, SNAP benefits don’t adequately cover healthy options for anyone in her household.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2024 reported that the average person received $187.20 in SNAP — Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program — per participant, per month. That wouldn’t even cover the USDA low-cost meal plan dietary needs of a 6-year-old receiving five free school lunches per week, and it would only cover the first 11 years of food needs for someone getting free breakfast and free lunch. The benefits are a tight squeeze for anyone over 12 and even children under 12 during school vacation.

But with the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, Clubb said bags of produce were delivered weekly for herself and her grandchildren.

Regularly supplying fresh fruits and vegetables was not the only way the program helped Clubb out.

“[My refrigerator] tore up, so I needed a new refrigerator. Couldn’t afford it. During the storm, lightning struck my stove. I couldn’t afford a new stove,” she recalled.

HOP provided both appliances for her, she said, along with a new microwave.

“[HOP is] anything that can have a health impact for families who are struggling with a chronic health condition,” including home remediation and non-allergenic bedding and transportation to the grocery store, said HOP Public Information Officer Jennifer Caldwell.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in late 2018 was granted federal authorization to advance HOP in three target regions — including Western North Carolina, where it has served 13,482 individuals — by expanding Medicaid to cover its services. Now, despite evidence of HOP’s success, the program was suspended July 1, pending passage of the

state budget.

The proposed budget, however, would shut it down.

Someone is eligible for HOP if they have Medicaid and one or more chronic conditions — including adverse childhood experiences, which are also determinants of health — explained Caldwell.

Haywood County resident Chris Ulmer said he qualified for the program because of a COPD diagnosis. He and his wife, Robin, were out of work after Helene. The Ulmers

repairs, Chris said, which they couldn’t afford on their own. The Ulmers’ doctor is in Old Fort, Tennessee, he added, and they have no way of getting there. And without the truck, they can’t tow their camper to another location. “We have to worry about $200 a week to stay [at this campground],” Robin explained.

In addition to money and resources, the program provided things some might consider less tangible, like spending time with family — or a trip to the park on a summer afternoon, said Christy Mosteller, HOP coordinator for Mountain Projects.

decided to start selling barbecue, which Chris said HOP made possible. The program covered food for the couple for the week, enabling them to invest the money they earned through sales back into barbecuing. The Ulmers are looking to open a brick-andmortar business.

“I already have my EIN from the IRS … I have my food handlers. I’ve done everything that I have to do, except have a physical trailer,” Chris Ulmer told The Smoky Mountain News.

But “now that we don’t have [HOP], anything we earn is just to get, I mean, mainly milk, because I have stomach problems, and I have some other health issues,” he explained.

When the Ulmers’ truck broke down, it was the last straw. HOP paid for vehicle

HOP was supposed to run from 2020 until 2025. Then COVID got in the way, and the program didn’t start until March of 2022.

Despite two years of delays, Caldwell said “when it’s all averaged out, it saves about $1,000 per member per year participating in the program.”

Investing upfront in social services, she added, prevented emergency room visits and hospitalizations and medical interventions.

According to Caldwell, the federal government — through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — saw the data up to December 2024 and granted a five-year permission for the pilot to continue.

“But the state has to put money in. They have to budget for it,” she said. And that hasn’t happened, which “effectively makes [HOP] dead in the water.”

“Those are the moments that life’s about, and when you are so incredibly overwhelmed and consumed by financial stress, health stresses, day-to-day life, an afternoon out like that can be vital to your emotional and mental functioning,” Mosteller said.

HOP facilitated meaningful relationships, too.

”My thing was just being able to talk to Patricia, our case manager, about everything. She was very, very just gentle and kind and willing,” Robin said.

“The whole program was just good … it’s very beneficial and very much needed in every community,” she added.

Caldwell said the Healthy Opportunities Pilot always had huge financial incentives for the state of North Carolina. “The federal government matched, actually two-to-one for every dollar North Carolina put into the program … North Carolina was able to provide $3 worth of services for every Medicaid member for $1,” Caldwell told SMN. As a result, she said, the program was “budgeted four or five years ago without discussion.”

Budget negotiations are ongoing. In other words, HOP “is on legislators’ radar, but we need to keep it on their radar,” Caldwell explained, which can look like calling or emailing state reps about continuing the program.

Ending HOP doesn’t just impact its recipients. A total of 458 WNC farms and growers depend on routine HOP customers — 59 of whom are in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.

Permanently cutting HOP means its former recipients, unable to access preventative care, will be visiting the emergency room more often.

“And that means that you, with your private insurance, are also sitting in that emergency room waiting for care that might be lifesaving … while someone else has a gallbladder issue that could have been addressed,” Caldwell said.

But even if HOP does continue, it’s fundamentally tied to Medicaid, so what happens when federal Medicaid cuts go into effect after the 2026 midterm elections?

According to Caldwell, it’s all in the paperwork.

“[The] administrative burden … will knock people off Medicaid, not being qualified for Medicaid,” she said. “So I would expect to see a lot more grassroots efforts to have Medicaid navigators and ombudsman who just make sure folks get supported in staying enrolled.”

Macon County to hear public comments on health department takeover

BY KYLE PERROTTI N EWS E DITOR

Macon County Commissioners will gather public comments on Tuesday, Sept. 9, ahead of a potential decision to take over the county health department.

In North Carolina, county health departments are tasked with acting in residents’ best interest to promote good public health, including environmental health, personal health, vaccinations and disease tracking.

The health department board is made up of 11 total members, including designated experts like a pharmacist, an engineer and a veterinarian, as well as four members of the general public. Commissioners Barry Breeden and John Shearl are also both liaisons between the commission and the health department board.

On July 8, a joint meeting was held between the commissioners and the board of health, where commissioners voiced concerns, saying that they’ve heard complaints from residents and even health department employees. Health Department Board Chair Jerry Hermanson said he’d only heard one complaint, but Shearl said that hasn’t been the case with him.

“People, especially employees, they’ll come to us in fear of retaliation,” Shearl said.

for that,” Jones said.

While the commissioners will have the final say, public comments have swayed leaders in other counties when considering this exact decision. In July, Madison County’s commissioners voted not to take control of the health board after floating the idea in May. At the June meeting where the public had the chance to weigh in on the proposal, 20 people spoke strongly in support of the independent health board, and a Asheville Citizen-Times story claimed that 850 people had signed a petition in support of the Madison County Public Health Board.

“This is generally regarded by the public as a terrible and illogical idea,” Jim Baker, a former Madison County commissioner and retired judge, said at that meeting. Baker added that without the expertise that health board members have, commissioners will take longer to make decisions, and they won’t be as informed.

One matter discussed was wait times for certain permits, which Shearl said could be upward of seven weeks, but Public Health Director Kathy McGaha said is now less than two weeks.

On July 17, the public health board held a special meeting. According to reporting from the Franklin Press, at that meeting, there were 15 members of the public who offered comment. That story notes that none of those comments endorsed the commissioners’ proposal, but some regarded leadership concerns and personnel issues.

For example, Jessica Jones, a nurse for the health department, said that there was only her and one other nurse on staff, not the five allotted. But that was just the beginning. Jones also noted a lack of supervisory presence and the fact that several employees left due to the “poor supervision” and “toxic workplace.”

“I’m tired of the toxicity, poor management and it’s time for a change … In the last week, there have been discussions, meetings and promises and changes that I feel that would never have happened without the commissioners stepping in and I am grateful

“The majority of the Board of Health is composed of health care professionals with years of training in a variety of health fields,” Baker said. There are three ways this can go. First, things could be left the way they are, in which case the health board will remain its own governing entity able to hire a director to serve at its pleasure, as well as employees.

A second option is for the Department of Social Services and the Health Department to merge and serve under one director. This has happened in other counties over the years, including Haywood and Swain counties.

Under the third option, the one that seems to be favored by at least Breeden and Shearl, commissioners would assume control of the board. Were this to happen, commissioners would have the power to appoint a director and staff and would also set policy. If the county assumed control of the board, current board members would stay in their basic roles, but instead of having a vote on setting policy, members will be reduced to an advisory role.

According to the UNC School of Government, 21 counties have the county commissioners acting as the public health governing board and 32 counties have public health and social services under the same department.

The public hearing is part of the regularly scheduled monthly meeting and will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 9 on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse.

Sylva candidates stake out contrasts in forum

Acandidates in Sylva’s upcoming municipal election painted a broad portrait of a community wrestling with growth, values and limited resources, but it also revealed a few stark differences that could prove critical when voters begin going to the polls in November.

“It’s really encouraging just to see the number of people that decided to run this time around,” said event host Lauren Baxley, of Indivisible CommonGround WNC. “I just I love that there’s so many people that are so committed to their communities and wanting to serve.”

Sylva’s election can be broken down into two separate races. In a one-on-one matchup, incumbent Commissioner Jon Brown will face culinary instructor Perry Matthews; Sarah Hirsch has dropped out.

The other race pits six candidates against each other for two seats. Commissioner Joe Waldrum is seeking to hold onto his, while the other will be claimed by Calvin Autrey, Jr., Brooklyn Joan Brownie, Taylor Horne, Sam McGuire or Dwight McMahan. Voters may choose any two candidates.

Mayor Johnny Phillips is running for reelection unopposed but still showed up to make an opening statement and share his answers to six simple questions, drawn from the community and presented by Baxley.

Absent were Autrey and Horne, leaving Phillips, Brownie, Waldrum, McGuire, McMahan, Brown and Matthews to answer — but the lineup would quickly change; Brownie, clad in sunglasses, clutching a crystal and fanning herself with a handful of hawk feathers, gave her opening remarks,

safety, economic stagnation, disruptions due to the N.C. 107 highway project and budgetary pressures.

“The town has seen very little economic growth in recent years,” Horne, county liaison to the Jackson County Farm Bureau, wrote. “We need to build the economic future for our town so that young families and talented individuals can live and work in Sylva and build a life here.”

Phillips used his opening to underscore the fiscal challenges that have defined his tenure. The widening of N.C. 107 will ultimately result in the removal of 42 buildings from the town’s tax rolls. Sylva has spent years preparing for the project, and will spend years digging out from the loss.

“Now we got to try to start working on trying to redevelop it,” Phillips said. “I’d like to be a part of that. I spent my career with DOT, so I think I can do some negotiating on the town’s behalf with the DOT. And I’m here to serve you.”

Waldrum traced his career from commercial banking to state government, where he rose to assistant director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Office. Now overseeing facilities and budgets across three counties for Southwestern Community College, he said his campaign wasn’t built on a formal agenda. Instead, he promised to hold listening sessions around town.

McMahan introduced himself as a career sheriff’s office employee, fire department volunteer, former planning board member and food pantry board member. He admitted he was new to the political arena but emphasized that he loved listening to people and solving problems face-to-face.

generations. His great-grandfather, Wayne, was Sylva mayor in 1913, and his great-grandmother Daisy was the first licensed female dentist in North Carolina. He stressed that he was not running for attention or partisanship, but to continue that legacy.

Brown, a physical therapist, recalled his own leadership path from school teams to national professional associations. Like others, he recognizes the economic challenges ahead and like Horne, focused on improving the overall quality of life so Sylva can remain a place where children and families grow and thrive.

Matthews, a member of the Eastern band of Cherokee Indians, a chef and a professor at SCC, reminded the audience that Main Street had been his workplace for two decades and that he’d built lasting relationships with business owners, employees and residents, calling his candidacy an extension of that service.

The first question of the forum, held appropriately enough in the community room at the embattled Jackson County Public Library, was a subject that has dominated county debate for more than a year. In June, Jackson County commissioners voted 4-1 to withdraw from an eight-decade regional library partnership over LGBTQ content despite overwhelming public opposition and significant cost to taxpayers.

Although county commissioners alone hold the power withdraw from the Fontana Regional Library system, the town adopted a resolution — after a false start — in July, signaling opposition to the withdrawal. Candidates were asked whether they would support another such resolution.

brought my son here. I’ve been coming here for years.”

His opponent, Brown, reminded voters that the town had already passed a resolution supporting membership after he’d asked for a previous version to be removed from the board’s agenda because it didn’t include a clause highlighting the ability of residents to challenge books through an established process. To some at the time, it may have appeared Brown supported commissioners’ decision to withdraw, but that’s not the case.

“I want to do whatever we can as a town board to keep the doors of this library open, whatever the commissioners in the county decide,” he said. “We’ve got to fight for this library.”

McGuire, complaining of censorship, criticized the county’s withdrawal process and the extra spending it would involve.

“It sounds like we’re going to pay $50,000 to figure out a plan,” he said of the hiring of outside library consultants to help the county with the disentanglement process, which will last nearly a year. “That seems like putting the plow in front of the mule.”

McMahan admitted he had not been following the issue closely and had not been to the library in years, although when his son was young, they were regular visitors. He called for common sense on the issue but didn’t elaborate and ultimately didn’t say whether he’d support a resolution or not.

Waldrum, who voted to support both versions of the resolution, also brought up the consultants and the $500,000 price tag but attacked commissioners’ rationale for withdrawal, saying

it was based on fear.

“There’s a lot of bias, particularly [against] the LGBTQ community, that is scaring folks off, and it’s one book that’s pushing some of the county commissioners to back away from that,” he said. “Pulling out of this is economically just irresponsible and is kind of right on the backs of everybody in this room.”

Phillips closed with principle and patriotism.

“I’m firmly opposed to censoring books. We have many veterans that have fought wars to not censor books in our country,” he said. He added that Sylva’s library was a destination, recalling that tourists had even asked him for directions to it.

The second question asked candidates to define good governance and explain how their experience could benefit the town.

“It’s really about listening to people and finding out what they want you to do, not what you come in with an agenda to do,” Waldrum said. He pointed to his experience in state government and with capital projects at SCC.

McMahan said his idea of good governance is a government that works with people as best it can. Focusing on process, he cautioned against knee-jerk reactions.

“Take time, look at it, study it, try for the best outcome,” he said.

Describing himself as a professional learner, McGuire pointed to his training in research, critical thinking and communication, adding that historical context gave him perspective.

“Good government is being a problem solver, not proclaiming you know everything,” he said.

Brown tied the issue to his faith.

“For me, good government starts with prayer. I believe in God, my relationship with God. That guides governance and also admitting when you know I don’t have all the answers, but I am willing to go to people for guidance,” he said.

Matthews compared governance to restaurant work, namely in the need to plan for the future and to react to unexpected circumstances.

“Any moment, something can break, someone can chop off a finger,” he said. “You have to be able to handle these issues as they come.”

Phillips closed by pointing out that good governance includes being honest about stark realities facing the town.

“We just barely balanced the budget,” he said. “Right now, we’re in survival mode, and we need to maintain what we have, encourage tourism, try to redevelop one of seven as quickly as we can, and listen to the true government here, which is you.”

The third question turned to Sylva’s unhoused population.

Brown opened by praising the Community Care program, which embeds social work within policing. The program has been both lauded and emulated, even garnering coverage from PBS. Although the Sylva Police Department’s social worker, Galadriel LaVere, isn’t running for anything right now, she received more praise from candidates than any other figure that evening.

“I’m very proud of the fact that our board has made some huge gains in this area with supporting those who are unhoused,” Brown said. “We’ve just recently made permanent the position with the police department’s Community Care program, which has been incredible, meeting these people where they’re at, folks who have different needs, maybe they’re mental health needs, maybe they’re jobs [or] need housing. And that program has been incredible.”

Phillips said he was proud of the previous board that established the Community Care program and that LaVere had been able to get 23 of an estimated 150 unhoused people the help they need rather than lock them up in a jail. Now that the town has hired LaVere full time, another intern funded by Western Carolina University has taken her temporary position. Phillips hopes to grow the program so that at least one social worker is available on every shift.

Matthews called for establishing a volunteer homeless shelter similar to the Community Table food bank, which is also volunteer-led, while Waldrum called for a public-private partnership to provide a multi-faceted approach.

As a law enforcement officer, McMahan probably has more experience with the issue than anyone other than Matthews, whose late-night working hours expose him to vulnerable populations regularly. McMahan admitted the complexity of the problem.

“I think the steps have been taken to do what we can for now anyway, the public bathhouse, things like that I’m okay looking into, I don’t know logistics of that, but it’s certainly something to look into, other types of programs,” he said. “It’s certainly a challenging issue for whatever reasons or circumstances regarding where they’re at. it’s

be patrons of our wonderful businesses downtown,” he said. “Developing that, I just think it just requires the will, and placement of having a bus stop downtown for that.”

McMahan supported the idea of a loop system in conjunction with either the county or WCU and said it was feasible for town government to contribute to such a system in some way.

Delivering one of the most unique ideas of the evening, McGuire addressed transportation infrastructure generally, lamented the town’s tight budget and suggested the town should hire a grant writer to help find and procure funding for projects that would serve pedestrians and cyclists.

“I see this as a revenue-generating position in the long term,” he said.

Brown embraced the loop system idea but also acknowledged challenges with public infrastructure and urged greater attention to the town’s outdoor recreational offerings.

“I’m always advocating for kids getting outside, away from their screens,” he said.

Matthews bridged the gap between recreation and transportation with another unique idea: a youth day camp linked to transit. Like much of the region, state and nation, parents are finding reliable child care exorbitantly expensive — when they can find it at all.

The fifth question asked what candidates saw as Sylva’s greatest needs and how they would meet them.

McGuire emphasized child care. Brown focused on the budget. McMahan called for the expansion of Sylva’s Main Street Association to continue with business revitalization. Waldrum pointed to communication gaps, while Matthews said he would keep listening to residents. Phillips mentioned taking advantage of economic devel-

“Everybody’s welcome and everybody should have equal rights and be represented in the town of Sylva.”

— Joe Waldrum

Saying he would support revisiting Sylva’s Pride parade policy to make it clear, consistent and fair, McGuire framed the issue as one of community values, noting that many parade participants and supporters are neighbors and family members he has known all his life. He described “oldtime mountain values” of looking out for one another while acknowledging concerns about logistics, admitting that shutting down Main Street is difficult, but suggested using common sense by scheduling around busy hours and keeping businesses informed.

McGuire also addressed fears that a Pride march might attract hate groups and argued that policy could be written with guardrails that allow celebrations while denying platforms to groups advocating intimidation or violence, citing what he understood to be legal precedent against permitting imminent threats.

Brown focused on the $7,500 cost in town labor to shut down Main Street for a parade.

“If we open the door to parade for the Pride group, we open it to, I think, a lot of people, and where do you draw that line? I think fiscally, it’s not a great move. That’s not a wise use of our resources,” Brown said, without addressing whether Sylva’s other parades should be discontinued. “Having said that, I don’t have anything against anybody, where they stand with their lifestyle, but I think for me, it’ll probably be a ‘no’ vote for the parade. And so all respect to those who would be in favor of that.”

Matthews expressed immediate support and seemed to hit back at Brown’s fiscal argument.

“I’m sure we can figure out something to give, in 365 days, to give one hour to walk down Main Street so they can feel represented and feel seen. I’m in full support of a Pride parade, and for any of those who want to go with it,” Matthews said. “And if it comes back, I’ll see you there.”

Waldrum, too, was unequivocal about his support.

hard to tailor anything [for] each individual.”

McGuire said he was worried about food insecurity and housing insecurity among some of his children’s classmates, and that he was a strong supporter of the Community Care program.

“We need to help folks get back on their feet and try to provide a hand up,” he said.

The fourth question asked how Sylva should develop infrastructure with an emphasis on recreation for children and on transportation between Western Carolina University and downtown.

Phillips pointed to the skate park planned for Mark Watson Park and suggested that once the N.C. 107 project is complete, county transit could eventually link the park, downtown and the university. Waldrum noted that the transit issue could be solved by piggybacking on existing service.

“I think there’s transportation from WCU to Walmart. It’s not a far stretch to bring it on down to Sylva, maybe have them kind of

opment opportunities provided by the N.C. 107 rebuild.

“We’re going to have a nicer road. We’re going to have a safer road,” he said. “We’re going to have a road that will handle the water, and then we’ve got a corridor that we can redevelop to our liking.”

The final question — the only one showing any major division of opinion — was whether candidates would support resuming the Sylva Pride parade on Main Street.

“That’s a touchy subject too,” McMahan said. “Over the years, everybody’s always loved Sylva for what it is, and people have always been cordial here for the most part. It’s just a beautiful place to be and live. I’m more traditional on things. Always watching the Christmas parade, Western’s homecoming parade, the veterans walk, [there’s] always been great things, great memories from those. I’ll say it — as far as the Pride Parade, that’s something I don’t support. I don’t have a particularly bias or anything like that, it’s just is not what I think of when I think of Sylva.”

“Everybody’s welcome, and everybody should have equal rights and be represented in the town of Sylva,” he said. “Basically, fear and bias is what’s driving anything to the contrary. So my neighbor is my neighbor, and I see nothing wrong with the Sylva Pride parade.”

Phillips said that Main Street events cost $2,000 for insurance alone and that he’d like to push more events to Bridge Park and the adjacent Railroad Avenue, which is only lightly traveled and doesn’t present the negative impact to businesses some shopkeepers say Main Street parades do.

“There’s pros and cons to all of it. I want everyone here to feel represented, but we also have a fiscal responsibility with the taxpayer’s money,” he said. “Everybody’s welcome and everybody should have equal rights and be represented in the town of Sylva,” Waldrum said.

Early voting in the Sylva municipal election begins Oct. 16. Check back with The Smoky Mountain News for more coverage of these and other Western North Carolina municipal election races later this month.

Shining Rock charter school singles out media with restrictive new policy

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT

P OLITICS E DITOR

Shining Rock Classical Academy’s taxpayer-funded, unelected governing board pledged “a new direction” on transparency and accountability after a June court ruling dismissed its claims of defamation against a parent and found the school had improperly used government authority to impede public records requests, but that pledge appears to have been short-lived with the recent passage of a media policy in direct response to a forthcoming story by The Smoky Mountain News.

Board Chair Alyson Weimar mentioned the policy at the outset of the Aug. 27 meeting, saying board members had received an Aug. 21 email from SMN sharing transcripts from the five-day trial and the intention to “reach out to board members for comment or public statement” for the story beginning Sept. 3.

Weimar previously told SMN she didn’t attend a single minute of the trial proceedings and hadn’t read any of the transcripts, which contain disturbing allegations about SCRA’s Head of School Joshua Morgan. Weimar also said it has been a board protocol not to make individual comments to the media.

The policy requires that all inquiries “by the media and outside agencies” be directed exclusively to the head of school or the board chair, who alone are empowered to issue or approve public statements with the stated goal of conveying “a consistent message.”

Staff, teachers and even other board members are prohibited from speaking publicly on behalf of the school unless specifically authorized.

“This is congruent with board practices from other areas, from charter schools and other public systems in our area, and our process to constantly improve transparency and communication,” Weimar said.

Except it’s not — officials serving on public bodies cannot be compelled to speak with the media or the public; however, officials from other public bodies and public school systems regularly make individual comments to members of the media, including to SMN, on a variety of issues.

By contrast, Haywood County Schools’ policies are far less restrictive and encourage community dialogue. Chuck Francis, chair of the Haywood County Schools board for the past two decades, said that to his knowledge HCS does not have a policy prohibiting board members from speaking.

As with SRCA, HCS policy 2220 designates the board chair and superintendent as official spokespersons when speaking on behalf of the system, but unlike SRCA, the HCS policy doesn’t say that “Only the Head of School, and/or Board Chair, or a person designated by the Head of School or Board Chair” can make public statements, like the SRCA policy does.

On

block individuals from school-affiliated platforms, or even pursue legal remedies.

HCS has a social media policy, but it’s directed solely at employees, not students or parents.

The document also extends into publications, mandating prior approval before any employee writes or publishes an article or paper that references the school. HCS has no such policy.

“We could have adopted a policy on parents and social media,” Putnam said, “but we don’t want to be in the business of managing social media.”

While SRCA’s policy includes boilerplate language disclaiming any intent to infringe

“Our general practice is that the chair speaks on behalf of the board, but I’ve never been a chair that has tried to stop people [from speaking out],” Francis said. “I think it’s important that everyone has the chance to express their opinion on matters before the board.”

HCS Superintendent Trevor Putnam said that oftentimes, administrators will defer to board members or teachers better equipped to answer questions from the media or the public.

HCS policy 5040, meanwhile, emphasizes cooperation with the press, noting that the superintendent should cultivate strong relationships with media outlets and keep them informed about closings, educational goals and student achievement.

The HCS policy is designed to ensure accurate information flows to the public and that there’s no attempt to silence other officials or punish parents, students or employees for engaging with journalists.

Shining Rock’s policy goes much further. It not only consolidates communications into the hands of two officials, it also threatens parents and students with disciplinary action for social media criticism, labeling such speech as “misuse of the brand.” It empowers administrators to report posts,

on free speech, the policy doesn’t provide much cover for board members to avoid questions from the media or the public — critically, no school board policy can override the First Amendment.

Officials serving on public bodies retain the right, as individual citizens, to speak with the media. Courts have consistently held that the government cannot impose prior restraints on speech or retaliate against officials for expressing their views. In practice, SRCA’s new media policy may chill participation and deter open dialogue, but it cannot lawfully silence board members who wish to communicate with the press.

For a school already under scrutiny for transparency concerns, the attempt to codify such restrictions raises deeper questions about whether its leaders are committed to the public’s right to know. Larry Davis, an SCRA board member and chair of the policy committee, introduced the policy by framing it as an empowering step.

“Basically, [the policy is] just giving the right to the media. They are able to ask us for information,” Davis said.

When asked for comment on the policy by SMN Aug. 28, Weimar refused.

Tsion by nature.

With environmental permitting process over, real work begins

swamped the whole region, the river, now low and calm, was force-fed by its tributaries and swelled to the point it carried away 10 sections of I-40’s eastbound lanes over about a five-mile stretch near the Tennessee border. Following a year of seemingly slow progress and few details about efforts to restore the vital stretch of highway, the public now has more information than ever about not only how the highway will be rebuilt, but also how engineers are planning for the highway to stand firm against the next big flood.

Last Thursday, engineers from the North Carolina Department of Transportation spoke to a gaggle of reporters from around the state, East Tennessee and Upstate South Carolina, providing some of the details people in Haywood County and beyond have sought for the better part of a year. The most notable facts: the project will cost an estimated $1.4 billion and is forecasted to be finished in 2028.

whether there are any imminent safety hazards are assessed.

Wesley Grindstaff has been involved in this project’s planning since the floodwaters receded the afternoon of Sept. 27, 2024 and in March, NCDOT announced that he’d been promoted to the Division 14 engineer, meaning he oversees the state’s 10 westernmost counties. There are many ongoing projects Grindstaff must attend to as part of the larger Helene recovery, but none are quite like I-40. Grindstaff, a Cherokee County resident, never thought he’d see such destruction in his own backyard. He compared encountering the breathtaking immensity of the damage on I-40 to “seeing the ocean for the first time.”

“[The project] is beyond the scope of anything we have

For the first phase of repairs, Wright Brothers Construction and GeoStabilization International shored up what was left of the eastbound lanes and created the temporary safe passage motorists are using now. To stabilize the land under the road, crews installed 128,000 square feet of soil-nail walls, which anchor the slopes and are covered with a thick layer of shotcrete, which is basically concrete applied using a high-velocity sprayer. Sensors were installed in the 10 affected areas to detect soil movement under the road. If

“If we get that local rock, it’s going to mean this project happens much more cost effectively, and probably in a third of the amount of time,” Duffy said in February.

“So the Forest Service has been willing to streamline, fast track the process, and we’re hopeful that we get a positive answer, which means we get the I-40 open that much quicker.”

While Duffy didn’t offer many details during his visit, the plan has become clearer over the course of the summer.

The first step happened on March 25, when the U.S. Forest Service conveyed a temporary federal land transfer to Federal Highway Administration. On March 28, the FHWA conveyed a Temporary Construction Easement in the Forest to the NCDOT for the borrow material.

In June, NCDOT announced that out of seven potential spots to dig into the earth, it had selected a 33-acre site from which to draw the rock and a nearby 11.5-acre site where overburden material will be stored. The overburden material — rocks, sand and dirt hauled out of the construction site during the project — can be stored and reused in other phases later on.

On Aug. 1, NCDOT announced that it had received the required permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to begin sourcing rock. This allowed for what NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins called the “most significant phase” of construction.

As the permitting processes played out, workers constructed a causeway that runs along the river below I-40 for about five miles. Wide enough to accommodate the passage of one large construction vehicle in each direction, the causeway will be used to move material, equipment and personnel as needed. Even construction of the causeway required a significant effort, including bridging across large boulders that couldn’t be moved to create a level surface.

Harmon Den Road, referred in planning and permitting documents as Buzzard Roost Road, running right through the middle. That road has been temporarily closed.

The next step is to construct a pair of temporary steel truss bridges, prefabricated by Acrow, a New Jersey company that specializes in such projects. At the east end of the causeway where the haul road now cross-

“So our whole goal with building our causeway and all road is to stay out of traffic, for not to impede traffic, and for traffic not to impede us,” Blake Soblesky, an engineer and project manager for design subcontractor RS&H, said.

When the project is complete, the causeway will be removed.

More recently, workers built a narrow haul road across the river on top of large culverts to ideally allow for minimal disturbance to the river and surrounding land. The haul road disappears into the dense woods of the Pisgah National Forest, currently allowing the transportation of overburden materials and personnel to prepare the 33-acre site for mining.

The borrow site is only about 1,000 feet from the south bank of Pigeon River with

struction equipment, the temporary base for the workforce that will swell to 500 during the busiest construction phases. This is also where the concrete will be mixed using rock harvested from the borrow site. Engineers refer to it as “rock crusher city.”

Soblesky echoed what Duffy had previously said, telling reporters that sourcing materials across the river will save time by making the transit shorter, and everyday drivers will see fewer dump trucks on the highways, which improves overall commute times and safety. According to NCDOT’s 169-page application for the DEQ permit to establish the borrow site, the 3 million cubic yards of rock needed for the project would have come from 20 to 50 miles away and

S EE I-40, PAGE 12

Redmond

required 1,200 daily trips. By using the borrow site, that drive becomes much shorter and will only require 500 daily trips.

From the time Duffy made his announcement almost seven months ago, there have been questions surrounding the permitting process to create what’s legally a mine in the national forest, especially regarding potential environmental impacts to the river and national forest. Although the creation of a borrow site in the Pisgah National Forest felt like a foregone conclusion, publicly available documents and emails created during the permitting process show that the review and implementation of follow-up actions was thorough — even cumbersome — and included a good deal of back and forth between regulators and engineers. It appears that thousands of working hours were spent to ensure that the borrow site would have the least impact possible to the surrounding forest.

preservation of native brook trout and bat habitats.

“The Pigeon River is bounded by extensive USFS holdings that support abundant and diverse terrestrial wildlife,” one North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission memo notes.

When it comes to the public-facing campaign, NCDOT has gone above and beyond to address the environmental concern in its press releases, saying in one that evaluations included “extensive” field surveys and review with numerous state and federal agencies.

“The efforts to rebuild I-40 are critical to the long-term recovery of Western North Carolina, and when looking at the time and resources needed to get this work complete, sourcing material from the Pisgah makes the most sense,” Forest Supervisor James Melonas with the National Forests in North Carolina said in one release. “Once this critical work is complete, we will have the opportunity to improve ecological resiliency through forest restoration, as well as improve game and aquatic habitats.”

Adam Bigelow

Offers

Attached to the application is a series of documents noting that no potential archeological sites are expected to be encountered, but that if something of potential cultural significance is found, work must stop right away. It notes that engineers sent two letters each to the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Muscogee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. Only the Muscogee Nation replied, saying its leaders weren’t aware of any areas of concern near the borrow or waste sites.

After the application was submitted, NCDEQ’s Department of Water Resources sent along a list of questions that challenged several of the stated plans, including the location of the haul road, potential of storm runoff from the borrow site into surface water and the footprint of a proposed retaining wall.

Some potential borrow sites were rejected because they were too close to crucial infrastructure tied to the Waterville Dam and also Mt. Sterling Creek; others were rejected because they presented other logistical challenges that would cost more money or take more time. One site had too much sensitive old growth forests and was a peregrine falcon habitat. Throughout the process, along with considering damage to falcon nesting sites, most attention was paid to

After some back and forth, the plan was refined to consider how to best protect the river and woods, and on July 24 it was approved by NCDEQ.

Soblesky said the rock drawn from the borrow site meets all staterequired specifications and posited that by drawing materials from across the river, the cost savings will be “tremendous.”

“It would cost probably a third to get materials on site, and it would probably cut the time in half,” he said.

Over the last 11 months, a whole host of state and federal officials have visited the spot around mile marker 3 where the eastbound lanes of I-40 disappear entirely, leaving a sharp chasm that has served as the backdrop for pictures seen across state and national media outlets. Those officials, including former Gov. Roy Cooper, current Gov. Josh Stein, Rep. Chuck Edwards, Sen. Thom Tillis, Duffey and Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg each made a visit. All pledged that not only will I-40 be rebuilt — it’ll be stronger than ever.

“I’d say it’s clear that to do right for the 2030s and 40s and 50s, we can’t have the same assumptions that led us in the 1950s,” Buttigieg said during his visit in October of last

year, about a month after the storm. “I hope and pray that nothing like this is visited upon this community ever again. But the reality is, the United States is in for more frequent and extreme weather events.”

“We may need to rethink how we build those back for more resiliency in the future, versus just assuming we’re pushing dirt back into the existing roadbeds and putting bridge structures back where they once were if it no longer makes sense and it’s not in the long-term best interest of the communities,” Tillis said during the same visit.

At the media visit on Aug. 28, engineers explained exactly how they intend to build a more resilient stretch of highway through the Pigeon River Gorge. The new fix will combine two methods to shore up the embankment on which the highway sits, which previously had no form of additional support or protection from the river, which hadn’t raged as it did during Helene as long as the road had been there.

This is the first time NCDOT has ever used these methods in a road construction project.

Some sections of the embankment will be fortified using use rolled concrete, which NCDOT Division 14 Construction Engineer Josh Deyton described as “very stiff” with “zero slump.”

“Basically, it’s very hard to work with,” Deyton said.

Rolled concrete is a dryer, denser material with a higher load-bearing capacity and greater resistance to thermal-stress cracking than its run-of-the mill cousin. Not typically used in road construction, rolled concrete is more commonly seen in dams. Deyton expects that in some areas, the “very massive” rolled concrete retaining walls will be up to 70 feet tall and 30 feet thick.

The other innovative method will be the use of interlocking pipe pile walls, which are secured into bedrock horizontally and vertically using large sacrificial drill bits. These are typically used in cofferdams and drydocks, where it’s essential to keep construction sites dry.

According to the website for ApexRoc, which manufactures such products, the drill bits “are essential cutting tools designed to create holes while installing self-drilling anchors or hollow bars.” The pipe piles themselves are large steel casings that will be anchored into bedrock all the way down close to the elevation of the river and filled with concrete. Because these pipe piles are connected to each other using watertight ball-and-socket connections, when the river again rises, it ideally won’t get behind the wall and undermine the roadway.

Soblesky said that determinations whether to use the pipe pile walls or the rolled concrete depend on the height of the wall and proximity to the water, among other factors. Retaining walls will be built up over the water level seen during Helene and are designed to withstand an even greater flow rate.

As the retaining walls are constructed, crews will use material removed from other parts of the construction site and the quarry

and will backfill behind the wall.

NCDOT has spent a total of about $600 million on repair projects following storms over the last 23 years, according to Grindstaff, the division 14 engineer. It’s estimated that the total price tag of such repairs due to Helene will be $5 billion. Even I-40 alone will dwarf previous numbers, costing about $1.4 billion.

There has been much debate in state and federal legislatures over how much government funding should be used to put a dent in the $60 billion in total damage.

Some legislators approached the crisis response with a great sense of urgency in the beginning. On Oct. 16 of last year, Tillis, along with fellow North Carolina Republican Sen. Tedd Budd; Georgia Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof; and Virgina Democratic Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, wrote a letter to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget urging it to submit a detailed supplemental appropriations request that considers the full cost of recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton so Congress could expedite the supplemental appropriations needed.

resources it needs for Hurricane Helene and Milton recovery, and additional federal funding will be required to support states and federal agencies’ emergency response efforts,” the letter read.

While some needs, such as small business support, have been unmet, the effort to procure funding to repair the

May, Duffy announced that the USDOT was providing an addition $400 million for North Carolina Helene-related road repairs. When asked by a reporter last week who’s footing the bill for repairs to I-40 as they continue, Deyton said it’ll be the federal government.

Sen. Thom Tillis (right) takes a look over the sharp chasm where I-40 eastbound lanes washed away.

Kyle Perrotti photo

“The Federal Emergency Management Agency will require significant additional funding to ensure it has the

Administration released $167 million, and in January the department sent $352 million for infrastructure repairs in North Carolina and Tennessee, with $250 million going to NCDOT to fund repairs, including those needed on I-40. In

“We work with the Federal Highway Administration,” Deyton said. “The money is allocated by Congress for emergency relief funds, and those have to be approved as we go on through the project.”

Now that the project has firm direction and the promise of funding to keep the ball rolling forward on the I-40 repairs, work continues at rock crusher city. Grindstaff said he’s happy to see the project moving forward and that he’s proud of how hard everyone has labored to even get to this point, like the teams of workers who came out in subfreezing temperatures to operate the equipment that pounded the soil nails into the earth over and over again, day in and day out. Grindstaff also said it’s hard for people to have an understanding of just what goes into such a large project,

“I’m so proud,” he said. “What people don’t realize is the amount of work that takes place behind the scenes that nobody sees. You’ve got all of your design, thousands and thousands of man hours that aren’t even accounted for until you see the final construction.”

Trouble brewing

Trump’s tariffs drive up coffee costs

steam locomotive, its polished steel drum gleaming under fluorescent light, a hulking American-made machine with heat coursing through its belly. Bins of

machine hisses and grumbles, the real heat is coming from elsewhere.

Far from this small Western North Carolina town, a series of tariffs announced

Y S

THE RISE OF THE ROASTERS

Tice, who moved to Waynesville in 2017, opened Orchard Coffee six years ago and got into roasting a year later.

“We started roasting coffee as Steamline Coffee Co., kind of a sister company of Orchard,” said Tice. “So from the beginning, the goal was to eventually start a roasting company that could do kind of a little bit more of this ‘third wave’ approach west of Asheville.”

“Third-wave” is coffee-speak for a more artisanal, craft-like outlook on roasting and brewing one of the world’s most popular beverages — with high-quality, ethically sourced beans prepared with precision.

According to the National Coffee Association, two-thirds of all Americans drink coffee every day. The industry supports more than 2 million jobs and has an economic impact of $340 billion annually.

Tice’s gamble has paid off. Steamline’s wholesale accounts now range from the Times Bar & Coffee in Asheville’s historic S & W building to the Swag and Cataloochee Ranch in Haywood County, along with other high-end boutique spots in Jackson County and Black Mountain. In an average month, Tice roasts more than 3,000 pounds of coffee. It’s a modest amount by industry standards, but in Haywood County it makes him part of a small group that includes Panacea Coffee and Smoky Mountain Coffee Roasters.

Behind each bean is a complex supply chain stretching from mountain farms in Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico to warehouses in the United States, where little coffee can be grown due to largely unsuitable climates.

Often on plots smaller than 10 acres, foreign farmers sell the beans to local mills or coopera-

tives. Importers consolidate those lots and move

across the United States, including Tice’s own Blue Ridge Blend, which relies on Brazil for twothirds of its flavor profile.

As of Aug. 6, Trump’s tariff schedule imposes a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, along with lower tariffs on goods from other major coffeeproducing countries — 25% for Mexico, 20% for Vietnam and 10% for Columbia, Ethiopia, Guatemala and Honduras.

Those distinctions are already forcing roasters to rethink their blends, substituting other origins, absorbing higher costs or, as has been the case with companies large and small, passing them on to consumers.

On June 10, J.M. Smucker, which owns the Folgers brand, said in an earnings call that the company would again raise prices for the fourth time in a year. In early August, social media reports from customers began to show that the shelf price of one of those big red tubs of ground coffee had nearly doubled in a month, from $13 to $20. On Aug. 27, the Wall Street Journal reported that Smucker, which also owns Café Bustelo, had seen its retail coffee division profit drop 22% and that it would continue to raise prices.

Smucker is only the 10th-largest coffee company in the world, with annual revenue around $1.1 billion. Starbucks, with $32 billion in revenue, is the largest but has seen its stock price decline 24% over the past six months due to rising costs and could implement price adjustments for consumers — but hasn’t so far.

Technically, tariffs are paid to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol by importers, which in Tice’s case is Wes Tirey, director of sales with Holly Springs-based De La Finca Coffee Importers.

“We’re a small green coffee importer as well as coffee traders,” Tirey said. “We’re bringing in our own containers of coffee with relationships that we’ve cultivated, F

and then based on what a client might need, if it’s not coffee that we’re actively buying on our own, we have relationships with other with other green coffee traders, so we do trader-totrader business.”

The company was founded by fifth-generation Honduran coffee farmer Nelson Amador in 2013. Tirey’s been in the coffee industry for 20 years and thinks the tariffs have been a disruption.

over another $81,698 to get the $163,395 worth of coffee they ordered.

“What if this is a trader who’s got 10 containers committed to for three months? What if they’ve got 100? What If they’ve got 500?” he said.

The answer is millions in tariffs paid with the cost spread out all along the way, from the container to the cup — but mostly to the person who ends up holding that cup.

per month 25 pounds at a time.

“The daily effects of it are that it just makes it really hard to plan,” he said. “Everything is so touch-and-go, volatile, unpredictable. It makes it hard to plan as traders. It makes it hard to pursue relationships with producers and exporters that otherwise we would be interested in because of the tariffs, having to pass that on to our clientele.”

Tirey presented a radically simplified model of how it all works at scale — without profits, price adjustments or other costs included.

On Aug. 29, the price of a pound of Brazilian coffee beans was $3.86. The beans come in big burlap sacks weighing 132 pounds, so a whole sack costs $511. The containers carrying the sacks across the sea can hold 320 sacks, so a full container would cost $163,395. Once the container hits U.S. shores, the importer has to fork

Even before Trump’s tariffs, the underlying commodity price of coffee had doubled in the past five years. Throughout 2025, prices have lingered near historic highs. Tirey said De La Finca has “paused” its Brazil business until market conditions improve.

“We can’t move forward with any new contracts because 50% is staggering,” he said. “I’m having conversations with clients about replacing their Brazil positions with different coffees that don’t have a 50% tariff on them.”

Making things more difficult is the fact that there’s no way to make up for the immense volume of coffee shipped to the U.S. by Brazil if importers theoretically stopped buying it altogether.

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Sylva slightly expands social district hours

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT

OLITICS E DITOR

Sylva’s popular downtown social district will now stay open an hour later each evening after town commissioners approved a modest expansion meant to accommodate one of the community’s best-loved events.

time to continue enjoying alcoholic beverages responsibly without running afoul of town law.

The move was prompted by a recommendation from the Main Street Sylva Association made by its board last month. Representing

drunkenness to litter and safety issues. Bryson said none of those problems have materialized.

ordinance specified hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

cussion Aug. 28 to extend the district’s hours from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. The change gives concertgoers at the long-running “Concerts on the Creek” series

C OFFEE, CONTINUED FROM 17

“Historically, I believe it’s about 8 million [132-pound] bags [from Brazil],” Tirey said. “The challenge is that places like Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Honduras, all of those places combined won’t even get close to that. It’s maybe 5 million between all of them, give or take.”

As a small business, De La Finca isn’t in a position to absorb the tariffs.

“Ultimately, the last person in the chain of all of this is the consumer,” said Tirey. “In order for roasters to survive the situation themselves, they have to raise their prices, and they have to pass on the cost to the consumer.”

Last year, Tice raised wholesale prices about 15%, the first increase in five years, yet even those adjustments lag behind costs.

“Coffee roasters have been eating the cost of rising coffee just to not pass it on to our cus-

Concerns at the time ranged from public

tomers,” he said. “I think it’s partially because we’re afraid of losing customers, losing our wholesale accounts to a larger company that can say, ‘I’ll eat the loss more than you could.’”

The challenge is psychological as much as financial. Customers see a $4 cup of drip and assume the shop is raking in huge profits.

In 2022, six months after the resolution was passed, Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton told The Smoky Mountain News there had at 9 p.m.

“We have seen instances where people would get a glass of something to drink, to go. We can’t allow that because they would be violating the social district ordinance,” he said. “We don’t want to encourage irresponsible drinking, which, if we serve someone a beer or wine at 8:58, they’re going to have to drink it in two minutes. That’s just not responsible.” By moving the closing time to 10 p.m., cant adjustment. The later hour still ends alco-

beans. Energy costs, shipping fees and inflation in everyday goods like milk and flavored syrups add further strain.

For now, some importers may be absorbing some part of the tariff hit, especially on beans already warehoused in the U.S. But once those stocks run out, higher prices will almost certain-

“Tariffs are a tax on the American people. It’s not being paid by the other countries.”

— Cabell Tice

beverages must be disposed of before leaving the district.

“Coffee has always been seen as recessionproof, but the margins aren’t what people think,” said Tice. “Coffee shop owners aren’t driving Ferraris.”

The tariff conversation doesn’t stop at coffee

ly pass down the line. Large brands like Folgers can hedge futures and buy lower-quality beans at scale. Independent roasters can’t.

“The full impact hasn’t hit yet,” Tice acknowledged. “We might have to raise prices a

little bit, but it’s hard. Thankfully, people know coffee prices are going up, so they won’t be surprised.”

For Tice, survival hinges on more than spreadsheets. After a terrible fall 2024 tourist season following Hurricane Helene, he hopes fall visitors will bring renewed business. And in the roastery, the steel drum keeps turning, roasting batch after batch against the backdrop of geopolitics and global economics. Each pound represents a fragile balance — between farmer and importer, policy and palate, livelihood and luxury. If tariffs tighten further, the cost of that balance won’t be measured in future contracts or customs receipts. It will be measured in the rising price of a that warm, inviting morning cup.

“Tariffs are a tax on the American people,” Tice said. “It’s not being paid by the other countries.”

‘High vibe’ is the truest way forward

There are people who elevate the energy in a room and those who deflate it. Some folks radiate joy and positivity while others seem to always emit negativity or bitterness. The magical part is that we all have the free will to change, to completely shift our vibration from low to high, and by doing that, we not only impact our own lives, but also those around us.

The idea of humans being a collective set of energetic atoms and the ensuing power of this fact has only become mainstream in modern history. Until the past couple of decades, there wasn’t a lot of talk about human “energy” and “vibration.” There may have been a sect of folks who dabbled in the metaphysical, but without the internet, it wasn’t common knowledge.

Growing up, I watched my parents, teachers and other adults follow the tried-and-true trajectory of life (go to college, get a job, find a spouse, have kids, work hard, retire) only to end up unsettled or restless once all the milestones were checked off, as if they were forced into this plan with no power to pave a new path. The pendulum is swinging and younger generations are questioning if this status quo is truly the best way to lean into the highest versions of ourselves. Considering that humans emit energy, both good and bad, we have the capacity to heal and uplift one another, but also the capacity to hurt and wound one another. There’s the old adage, “Happy people heal faster.” I know this to be true because I’ve seen it play out in my own sphere. When people

Helping those still struggling

To the Editor:

Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina is still in the thick of a housing crisis. Families who once had steady jobs are now living paycheck to paycheck, one unexpected setback away from losing their homes.

At the Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS® (LOTSAR), we know housing is more than a roof and four walls — it’s the foundation of a community. That’s why we stepped in after the storm, helping neighbors secure more than $1.2 million in recovery funds, sharing critical rebuilding resources, partnering with a local developer to provide temporary cottages, and more.

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church has been another lifeline for our community, distributing more than $5.5 million in rent, mortgage and utility assistance to over 2,500 people since the storm. This support has reached families all across Western North Carolina, including those in hard-hit Haywood County. But long-term recovery takes more than emergency relief. That’s why LOTSAR teamed up with Grace Covenant to launch the Grace in Action Fund, a new initiative that provides ongoing rent, mortgage and utility assistance to families still struggling. The need is undeniable. When the fund launched on July 22, 110 people arrived at Grace Covenant Church in search of help. By the end of that day, the church had provided

are surrounded by love, family, prayer and good energy, they heal faster than if they’re lonely, negative or around people with a doomsday mentality. Similarly, not only can humans absorb and heal through other humans and animals, but we can also heal by being around nature. Ponder how much better you feel when you are outside among the trees and birds or near water like a river or ocean, as opposed to being inside a stuffy, cluttered house.

All of this brings me to the concept of frequency and vibration. We’re each operating from an energetic frequency. Much like a radio, it’s easier to tune into people on the same frequency, and it feels discordant when trying to tune into someone on a different frequency. Similarly, functioning from a high vibration is an actual state of being and one that brings about the fullest, most enjoyable life. What exactly is a high vibe person? It would be someone who exudes positivity, empathy, compassion, emotional resilience, vibrant health, gratitude, authenticity and creativity. These individuals routinely work on self improvement and spiritual growth. They radiate joy, have a sense of humor and experience harmonious relationships. The good news is if you feel irritable, negative, victimized or bitter, you may simply need to increase your vibration or

LETTERS

$67,000 in housing support.

Among those helped by the church is Micah Hayes, a father and veteran from Asheville. When an unexpected car repair pushed his finances to the breaking point, Grace Covenant’s support kept him from losing his home. “I could have easily foreclosed on my mortgage or just given up,” he said.

Your donation to the Grace in Action Fund helps neighbors like Micah hold on to safe, stable housing. Visit lotsar.org/grace to rebuild hope for WNC.

Bonnie Gilbert

Member of the Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS® Barnardsville

Ethics training can be worthwhile

To the Editor: It was reported in The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 5 that Jackson County Commissioner John Smith’s completion of a statutorily required ethics training within a year of being elected was in question. A reporter’s public record records request showed that he had not registered with any of the four entities with whom he could have taken the course.

Smith claimed that he recalled taking it but couldn’t find the certificate. He is required to give it to the county clerk to be filed; neither of them had it. Because the cer-

tune into a different frequency, which is easier than you think. Strategies include connecting with nature, journaling and other spiritual practices, focusing on physical health by eating real food and moving the body, sound healing (listening to relaxing, meditative music instead of loud, aggressive music), nurturing your relationships, giving back to others and your communities, reading inspirational books and poetry, being an active listener and curious about others, living compassionately, incorporating deep breathing into your daily routine and making choices based on core values.

An incredible effect of high vibration people is that they tend to come out on top. Even if they don’t get what they want all of the time, their emotional resilience and calm nervous system allow them to take things in stride.

A number of our elected officials are functioning at a low frequency, those who try to coerce change instead of inspire forward progress. The results they seek will never come when operating from this space. Reflecting upon the past and the many figures who have positively influenced history, they were all functioning from an elevated frequency.

I encourage all of us to go out into the world this week and act in one or more ways to increase our own energetic field. In doing so, we will unknowingly motivate those around us. Gandhi operated from a significantly high frequency, and like he said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

(Susanna Shetley is a writer and editor who lives in Haywood County. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com.)

tificate was being asked for, Smith immediately took a two-hour course (the minimum amount required but at least eight hours less than the other commissioners took) and provided the county clerk with a certificate dated July 15, 2025.

Since the public records request showed a training date of 11/1/2025, I wrote the county clerk and Smith asking Smith to do the following:

• Clear up why there is no record of you

taking the ethics course by the date it was due (on or about Nov. 8, 2023).

• Explain why the attendance certificate you provided is different than those provided by the other commissioners (“The certificate provided by Smith looks nothing like the certificates provided by other commissioners”).

• Explain why the formal Public Records reply from UNC School of Government is dated 11/01/2025.

Commissioner Smith did not

reply. However, the county clerk immediately provided the certificate in question, explaining that “Commissioner Smith took an ‘on-demand webinar,’ which is available online until 11/01/2025. That is why it shows this date.”

I have compared the certificate with one that a member of the public took for the same course and they do indeed match. So, questions two and three are answered. What is not answered is why there is no record of Commissioner Smith taking the course within the legally proscribed time frame. So, I called the UNC School of Government to see if there was any chance that the public records request that asked if Smith had “registered for or has completed the required ethics training stipulated in G[eneral] S[tatute] 160a87(a)” could have missed something. Brian Newport, in charge of the school’s registration, recalled the request and said that while they cannot provide the certificate of completion (the onus of that is on the commissioner to provide to the county clerk) he could verify that Commissioner Smith had definitely not registered for any ethics courses previous to the one in July of this year — over a year and a half late.

This may seem a minor point. However, the fact that a newly elected commissioner failed to spend a paltry two hours fulfilling one of the first requirements of becoming a commissioner does make me question what other rules and regulations he is willing to bypass. One example that immediately comes to mind is his participation in skirting public meeting rules with a telephone tag game that ended in the removal of the plaque the last commissioner board voted (and I emphasize voted) to have installed on the Sylva Sam Confederate statue. So far Commissioner Smith refuses to answer either my or the reporter’s questions himself. I believe that Commissioner Smith should be censured by the remaining board members and should make a public statement in regard to this issue.

Teri Cole-Smith Whittier

We have to fix Social Security

To the Editor:

AARP recently sent out an email with this message:

“Social Security will continue to give people the full amount of money they’ve earned in the next several years. However, payments may be reduced by about 20% if Congress doesn’t act by 2034, according to the Social Security Board of Trustees’ latest report.

That’s why we’d like you to answer this quick question: Would you be alright with Social Security payments reduced by 20%? I guess so… Heck no!”

You can imagine the response. I realize AARP is an interest group and like any interest group they exist for a specific reason, and that’s to keep benefits rolling for the oldsters, but by posing lopsided options like this, they’re not doing their constituents a favor. There should be another option reading something like this: Would you be alright with a compromise that would require some sacrifice by those that pay into the fund and those that receive benefits? Both recipients and payers into the system should have to sacrifice something for the fund to remain solvent. I think a reasonable plan should not penalize those that primarily or completely rely on Social Security and should only require those that can reasonably afford it to contribute more to the fund. And it should not tinker with age or any other eligibility requirements. I’m not an actuary, but I believe there are ways to do this.

Without a more robust legal immigration policy, our demographics are working against us. So, there will have to be a compromise for the Social Security fund to remain solvent. It was the same thing back in 1986, and Congress figured out a way to keep this fund solvent for 50 years. But we need to do it again. The Big Billionaire Bill is yet another budget busting giveaway to those who do not need it while stealing from those who do. It primarily benefits businesses and the very wealthy, neither of whom need the help. It also panders to those over 65 who mostly collect Social Security by offering an additional $6,000 individual tax deduction for three years. Of course, AARP cheered it. A nice sop to the oldsters! But, like the rest of the Big Billionaire Bill, it hands out money we don’t have instead of asking folks to give a little.

In 1961 John F. Kennedy made this famous ask: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” It seems like light years since Congress has had the guts to accept Kennedy’s challenge. This is one reason we’re in a gigantic black hole of debt that keeps getting deeper. But Congress will have to figure out how to do this, at least for the Social Security fund to remain solvent. By the way, I’m old enough to remember JFK’s speech. I’m 73 and think that, sometimes, we need to put country above a few extra dollars in our tax returns and Social Security benefits.

Glenn Duerr Waynesville

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR

When it comes to songs immortal, 311 has them in spades. From “Amber” to “All Mixed Up,” “I’ll Be Here Awhile” to “Beautiful Disaster,” “Down” to “Love Song,” the band is regarded as one of America’s most successful and enduring rock groups since its formation in 1988.

Bubbling up from their native Omaha only to head to Los Angeles and seek their destiny, the legendary ensemble has garnered an incredibly loyal audience, one which still packs out amphitheaters and festivals from coast-to-coast and beyond.

At the helm of 311 is lead singer Nick Hexum. A dynamic vocalist who radiates this genuine stage presence of positivity and connectivity, Hexum is a musical sponge, constantly seeking and absorbing sonic tones and spiritual undertones.

Which is why Hexum’s latest solo project finds him diving deep into the realms of Americana, bluegrass and folk music. Backed by rising indie-folk quintet Water Tower, Hexum is finding great pleasure and continued curiosity through these new avenues of musical possibility. To note, the Hexum-led acoustic showcase will perform at Eulogy in Asheville on Sept. 10.

Speaking to The Smoky Mountain News while on tour with 311, Hexum talked atlength about the origins of the rock outfit, what the mindset was (and remains) at the core of the music, and why those songs are just as relevant and awe-inspiring today as ever before.

Smoky Mountain News: With 311, it seems you guys are always on tour, always working hard. Where does work ethic come from?

Nick Hexum: Nebraska. There’s absolutely no nepotism, no entitlement, no expectation that “all this” is just going to come to us. We expected to work hard, and that’s what’s informed our whole lives. So, we’re not going to change that now. You can take the boy out of Omaha, but not take Omaha out of the boy.

SMN: And, in my opinion, that’s a big part of 311’s music — the idea of gratitude and how you interact with other people.

NH: Yeah. We’re on a constant journey to find our sense of purpose, sense of usefulness, building karma, making sure we’re contributing with the time that we have. In 311, hearing from the fans about how much [the music] means to them really fulfills a sense of purpose.

SMN: I was telling my best friend I was interview-

ing you. We both were teenagers in the 1990s and 311 was a big band for us. He said, “They taught me how to rage. They taught me how to chill. When someone asks me ‘What’s your favorite 311 song?’ I say, ‘What mood am I in?’”

NH: Oh, I love that. And that was something that we took a lot of pride in, [which] is having a full-range of emotions expressed. Because a lot of our peers [in the 1990s] were so into the anger things [with grunge and altrock]. And we were like, “Yeah, it’s okay to be mad, but is that your one trick, pony?”

Because I also feel some joy, melancholy, yearning, peace and comfort.

And I wanted to make sure that we were not just pigeonholed into the deep fashion of the day, which a lot of it in the [1990s] was just being really angry. And it was mostly very privileged kids who were very angry. And it’s like, “I’m not sure I relate to all these privileged white males that are so angry about their lot in life.”

SMN: And by putting a full-range of emotions out there, I would think that plays into why 311 is still around today, while a lot of your contemporaries have been long gone.

NH: Yeah. I think we’ve made an indelible connection with our fans. And it’s something that I observe a lot. Like what you just quoted

Want to go?

Lead singer of 311, rock legend Nick Hexum will host an intimate solo acoustic show at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, at Eulogy in the South Slope district of Asheville. Americana group Water Tower will open the show, with the band then providing backing for Hexum during his set. Tickets are $48.28 per person (tax included). Doors open at 7 p.m. The concert is all ages. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit burialbeer.com/pages/eulogy.

your friend saying. He was probably listening to us at a very important time in his life when his brain had the plasticity to really absorb stuff. If you get somebody in junior high or high school listening to your band, you will have a special place in their hearts and brains forever.

It’s the same way that The Clash was for me in junior high, and I became absolutely obsessed with them. When you make a connection with somebody during that time, it lasts forever, and we’re grateful for that.

SMN: What resonated with me [with 311] was that full-range of what it means to be human — that it’s okay to sad, but happiness is another thing, too.

NH: I just naturally gravitated towards songs that would elevate me. I like happy songs. I like songs in the major key, it just takes me somewhere, a little vacation. And that’s not all of 311, but a lot of our songs are like, “Let’s go explore joy.”

And let’s take a look at the positive side of things because we have the magnifying mind and whatever we focus on is going to become bigger. Look at what you’re focusing on, is that really what you want to focus on? Because there’s also a lot of good in life, then you can decide to focus more on the optimistic side of things — it’s positive psychology.

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

‘It was all completely serious, all completely hallucinated, all completely happy’

It was nearing lunchtime. In the midst of putting out the newspaper last Tuesday, I was getting hungry when I realized it was almost noon. I hadn’t eaten breakfast and was still craving eggs, sausage, toast, hashbrowns (with onions) and strong coffee (at least two cups worth).

Onward to the Main Street Diner here in Waynesville. It was a casual, devil-may-care stroll from The Smoky Mountain News office on Montgomery Street, up the hill along Church Street to Main. Down the shaded sidewalk in the midday sunshine. Wander into the diner and take my usual seat at the counter, back to the wall like a poker player.

Right before I arrived to consume my meal with gusto, I realized that I had left the new book I’d recently cracked open back at my apartment across town. No matter, there’s always a few dog-eared novels stashed away in my truck in the newspaper parking lot. Opening the center console, I came across a beatup copy of Jack Kerouac’s seminal 1958 work “The Dharma Bums” — a literary pillar of my absolute being. I first bought the book during my junior year of college in Connecticut. It was the spring of 2006, and I’d just returned from semester abroad in Ireland the previous fall. That summer leading up to the European excursion, I’d discovered Kerouac’s 1957 opus “On the Road,” which sparked the fire within to someday becoming a writer.

appearing in front of my hungry eyes. Hold a fork full of food in one hand, “The Dharma Bums” in the other.

Finish the last of the hashbrowns (with onions). Chug the last of the coffee. Pay your bill and leave a nice tip for the even nicer server. Grab your book and your wallet. A genuine smile to the staff on your way out the door. Stroll down the sidewalk of Main Street Waynesville at a leisurely pace, slowly making the return trek to the bustling newsroom and incessant deadlines.

But, not before finding yourself standing at the street corner, waiting to cross the busy

Where “On the Road” encouraged me to seek adventure, “The Dharma Bums” provoked my heart and soul to dig below the surface of everyday life — to retain a deep sense of gratitude for all things in your existence, and to always remain curious and conscious of everything around you. If anything, “The Dharma Bums” became a sacred text to me. Still is.

So much so, I find constant enjoyment by just flipping to whatever chapter I want whenever I grab a seat at a diner and carry “The Dharma Bums” along with me. Pick a random page and see how whatever you scroll might serendipitously align with your current circumstance or situation or lack thereof in the midst of transition.

“Let the mind beware, that though the flesh be bugged, the circumstances of existence are pretty glorious,” the sentence stated on the by-chance choice of pages during this sacred text session. The caffeine from the coffee now working its way through my veins, the smell of a hot breakfast soon

HOT PICKS

1

Appalachian Women’s Museum (Sylva) will host “Music on the Porch” 2-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, in Dillsboro.

2

Popular rock/soul act The Paper Crowns will hit the stage at 8 p.m. Friday, March 10, at The Scotsman in Waynesville.

3

Jam-rock ensemble Prophets of Time will hit the stage at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva.

4

“Thunder in the Smokies” fall motorcycle rally will be held Sept. 5-7 at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds.

5

A special stage production of “A Little Night Music” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5-6, 12, 1920, 25-27 and 2 p.m. Sept. 7, 1314, 21 and 28 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

write poem on-the-fly hits me from seemingly out of nowhere. Words conjured wildly in the silence of a night, all while the rest of downtown Waynesville is asleep.

The poem emerges, as seen below:

“I’ve slept in the front seat

Of an old Dodge Ram

At a rest area in the Nevada desert

Right as the first light of the day awoke me

I’ve disappeared into the Montana backcountry

When a slight rain turned into afternoon sunshine

I’ve sat at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean

And wondered how many fish were nearby

I’ve walked down quiet streets in Charleston

Looking up at the old trees with ancient moss

I’ve let the waves of a lake in Kansas

Overtake my toes, happily, then my hands

When I reach down to check the water temperature

I’ve gazed across a river at the Statue of Liberty

And wondered where I might find dinner tonight

street. Not before noticing the Wyoming license plate that cruises by, visions of this fleeting summer and the sounds of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys echoing out of the truck speakers as I rocketed through Buffalo, Sheridan, Pinedale and Laramie in July.

Not before seeing another car soon pass by, the license plate stating Oklahoma. A slew of mental images of that beautiful woman you met along the way while recently wandering the Rocky Mountains, how she’d get excited when telling you all about what it was like growing up on a ranch somewhere out there on the prairie of the Sooner State, and how sad you each were to say goodbye and head your separate ways — her trajectory heading to the West Coast, mine back to Carolina.

It’s now evening and the first sign of the impending fall is felt. The air is chilly, at least enough for a sweatshirt when walking outside to grab something from my truck. And yet, the mind continues to reflect, even when it’s a little past 2 a.m. and the urge to

I’ve rolled the windows down in my trusty Tacoma

Right when the sunset overtook the Adirondacks

I’ve walked into a dive bar ‘round midnight

Only to walk out at closing time with new friends

I’ve watched a sandstorm overtake the landscape

Only to hunker down, a smile ear-to-ear on my face

I’ve shook hands with leaders of our world

And also with people who have no home to call their own

I’ve watched the power of music happen in real time

Tears down my cheeks thinking of those I miss (in real time)

I’ve thought of my grandparents, now long gone and buried

While observing passerby couples during my second cup of coffee

I’ve grabbed a seat at a restaurant that was vibrant with chatter

Only to soon order the house special, the finest steak will do

I’ve thought of you and yours (and mine, too).

I continue this path, only with gratitude in my back pocket…”

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

On the beat

Oak Ridge Boys return to Franklin

• 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.

ALSO:

• American Legion Post 47 (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic” 3 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.456.8691.

• 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 an “Open Jam” 6 p.m. Tuesdays, “Trivia Night” 7 p.m. Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.283.0145 / thebalsammountaininn.com.

828.452.2997 / folkmoot.org.

• Friday Night Live Concert Series (Highlands) will host Silly Ridge Sept. 5 and Johnny Webb Band Sept. 12. 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 and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.454.5664 / froglevelbrewing.com.

• Happ’s Place (Glenville) will host Kody Paul (singer-songwriter) Sept. 4, Dillon & Company Sept. 5, Rock Holler Sept. 6, Blue Jazz (blues/jazz) 4 p.m. Sept. 12 and Young Mountain Magic Sept. 13. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.742.5700 / happsplace.com.

Country legends The Oak Ridge Boys will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

The group is one of the most distinctive and recognizable sounds in the music industry. The four-part harmonies and upbeat songs of The Oak Ridge Boys have spawned dozens of country hits and a number one pop smash, earned them Grammy, Dove, CMA and ACM awards and garnered a host of other industry and fan accolades.

The string of hits includes the the number one hit “Elvira,” as well as “Bobbie Sue,” “Dream On,” “Thank God For Kids,” “American Made,” “I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes,” “Fancy Free,” “Gonna Take A Lot Of River” and many others.

Tickets start at $39 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit greatmountainmusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

Bryson City community jam

A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, on the front patio of the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

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

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

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

Rock, jam at Lazy Hiker

Jam-rock ensemble Prophets of Time will hit the stage at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva. A multi-genre blending rock band hailing from the mountains of Western North Carolina, the Prophets of Time are composed of six freewheeling spirits, the culmination of which being an energetic live show built around dance-able rock-n-roll music.

The show is free and open to the public. For more information, call 828.349.2337 or visit lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 5 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.246.9320 / blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host “Karaoke Night” 9 p.m. Wednesdays, “Trivia” 7 p.m. Thursdays, “Open Jam” 10 p.m. Thursdays and Carolina Drifters Sept. 6. 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 first Thursday of the month and semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.307.2160 / breadheadstikishak.com.

• Bryson City Brewing (Bryson City) will host Freight Shakers (classic rock/country gold) Sept. 5, Blackwater Station Sept. 6, Tricia Ann Band (rock/country) Sept. 12 and Whiskey Envy Sept. 13. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0085 / brysoncitybrewing.com.

• Cataloochee Ranch (Maggie Valley) will host Brian Ashley Jones & Melanie Jean (Americana) Sept. 3, “Mountain Square Dance” (live music/clogging) Sept. 6 and Kelly Morris (singersongwriter) Sept. 10. All shows begin at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For tickets and reservations, visit cataloocheeranch.com/ranchevents/live-music.

• Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Bob Zullo (guitar/vocals) 7:15 p.m. Sept. 19 ($10 cover). The kitchen and wine bar open at 4 p.m. 828.452.6000 or classicwineseller.com.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Orchard Sessions” with Martin & Kelly Sept. 10. 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/orchard-sessions.

• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host “World Drum Classes” every Friday at 2:30 p.m. (adults) and 4 p.m. (family friendly, all ages) and “Waynesville Acoustic Guitar Group” 2-4 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Free and open to the public.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host Jamey Johnson Sept. 5-6 and Halestorm & Lindsey Stirling Sept. 12. For tickets, visit caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• High Country Wine & Provisions (Highlands) will host Zorki (singer-songwriter) 6 p.m. Sept. 5 and Scott Low (folk/blues) 6 p.m. Sept. 12. Free and open to the public. 828.482.4502 / highcountrywineandprovisions.com.

• Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host “Blues & Brews” with Scott Low 6-9 p.m. Thursdays ($5 cover), Zorki (singer-songwriter) 1-3 p.m. Saturdays, “Bluegrass Brunch” 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sundays (free) and the “Salon Series” on select dates. 828.526.2590 / highlandermountainhouse.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Monday Night Trivia” every week, “Open Mic with Phil” on Wednesdays, Mike Hollon (singer-songwriter) Sept. 6 and The Fuzzy Peppers (rock/jam) Sept. 13. All shows and events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.586.9678/ innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.226.0262 / 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.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Seth & Sara (Americana) Sept. 5, Troy Underwood (singer-songwriter) Sept. 6 and Woolybooger (blues/folk) Sept. 13. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 / lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host “Music Bingo” 6:30 p.m. Mondays, Prophets of Time (rock/jam) Sept. 5 and Woolybooger (blues/folk) Sept. 12. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 828.349.2337 / lazyhikerbrewing.com.

Ready for Mountain West Brewfest?

Featuring some of the finest craft ales in Western North Carolina, the Mountain West Brewfest will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva.

Onsite, there will be six local breweries pouring fine ales. Live music will be provided by The Fuzzy Peppers (1-2:30 p.m.) and Positive Mental Attitude (3-5 p.m.). There will also be kids’ activities, lawn games and more. As well, you can bring your social district cup or

purchase one onsite.

Admission is free, with $5 armbands required to drink. For more information, visit mainstreetsylva.org/mountain-westbrewfest.

On the street

‘Music on the Porch’

• Legends Sports Bar & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host an “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.

• 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.

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host a “Community Jam” from 6-7:30 p.m. each first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. 828.488.3030 / fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host a “Bluegrass Jam” 5-7 p.m. Sundays, Tricia Ann Band (rock/country) Sept. 4, Adrian Warwick (singer-songwriter) Sept. 6, Paddle Faster (bluegrass) Sept. 10 and Susie Copeland (singer-songwriter) Sept. 11. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.1717 / meadowlarkmotel.com.

A benefit for the Appalachian Women’s Museum, the “Music on the Porch” farmstead festival will be held from 2-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Monteith Farmstead Park in Dillsboro. Live music, craft/artisan demonstrations, nature activities, vendors, food and more. Bring your own lawn chair and/or blanket. Performers include the Jackson County Junior Appalachian Musicians, Advanced Show Choir of Smoky Mountain High School, Lee Knight, Anna Lee, Susan Pepper and Savannah Page.

Admission is by donation. For more information, visit appwomen.org.

‘Thunder in the Smokies’

The annual “Thunder in the Smokies” fall motorcycle rally will be held Sept. 5-7 at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds.

The oldest and largest event of its kind in the Great Smoky Mountains, the weekend celebration will feature live music, dozens of vendors, motorcycle shows/games, prizes and much more. For more information, a full schedule of events and/or to purchase tickets, visit thunderinthesmokies.com.

‘Thunder in the Smokies’ returns to Maggie Valley.

• Old Edwards Inn (Highlands) will host live music in the Hummingbird Lounge at 5:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday. Free and open to the public. 866.526.8008 / oldedwardshospitality.com.

• Orchard Coffee (Waynesville) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.246.9264 / orchardcoffeeroasters.com.

• Otto Community Center (Otto) will host James Thompson (Americana) 5 p.m. Sept. 5. Bring a beverage and snack of your choice. Free and open to the public. 770.335.0967 / go2ottonc.com.

• Peacock Performing Arts Center (Hayesville) will host Firecracker Jazz Band (jazz/swing) Sept. 6 and “Songwriters Showcase 56” Sept. 13. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. For tickets, 828.389.ARTS / thepeacocknc.org.

• Pickin’ On The Square (Franklin) will host Paradise 56 (oldies) Sept. 13. All shows begin at 6 p.m. at the Gazebo in downtown. Free and open to the public. franklinnc.com/pickin-onthe-square.html.

• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 / facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host “Karaoke” 7 p.m. Wednesdays, “Trivia Night” 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, “Open Mic” 6:30 p.m. Fridays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.369.6796 / facebook.com/rathskellercoffeebarandpub.

• Saturdays On Pine Concert Series (Highlands) will host The Parks Brothers Sept. 6 and Continental Divide Sept. 13. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• Scotsman (Waynesville) will host Shane Meade (indie/folk) Sept. 4, Bear Creek String Bandits (Americana) Sept. 5, Celtic Road (Celtic/world) 4 p.m. Sept. 6, Ten Pennie Annie (Celtic) 2 p.m. Sept. 7, Rene Russell (singer-songwriter) Sept. 11, Transcend (rock/pop) 9 p.m. Sept. 13 and Holler & Crow (Celtic/folk) 2 p.m. Sept. 14. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 / scotsmanpublic.com.

• Slanted Window Tasting Station (Franklin) will host Blue Jazz (blues/jazz) 6 p.m. Sept. 5, R.A. Nightingale (singer-songwriter) 5 p.m. Sept. 6 and Gregg Erwin (singer-songwriter) 4 p.m. Sept. 7. 828.276.9463 / slantedwindow.com.

• 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.

• Trailborn (Highlands) will host its “Carolina Concert Series” with David Cheatham (Americana/ folk) Sept. 4 and Juan (singersongwriter) Sept. 11. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.482.1581 or trailborn.com/highlands.

• Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 5202 (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.456.9356 / vfw5202.org.

• Vineyard At High Holly (Scaly Mountain) will host Breeze Cable (singer-songwriter) 3 p.m. Sept. 5, Monica Spears (singer-songwriter) Sept. 7, R.A. Nightingale (singer-songwriter) 3 p.m. Sept. 12 and Tim Austin (singer-songwriter) Sept. 14. All shows begin at 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.482.5573 / thevineyardathighholly.com.

• Wells Events & Reception Center (Waynesville) will host Brent Thompson (jazz) 6 p.m. Sept. 7 and Darren Nicholson (Americana/ bluegrass) 7 p.m. Sept. 18. 828.476.5070 / wellseventcenter.simpletix.com.

• Western Carolina Brew & Wine (Highlands) will host live music 4-6 p.m. Saturdays, “Music Bingo” 6-8 p.m. Saturdays, Christian Jones (singer-songwriter) 1 p.m. Sept. 7 and Katie & Ezra (Americana) 4:30 p.m. Sept. 12. Free and open to the public. 828.342.6707 / wcbrewandwine.com.

• Yonder Community Market (Franklin) will host “Country Thursdays” (Americana/country) 6 p.m. Thursdays and Nicholas Edward Williams (singer-songwriter) Sept. 28. Family/dog friendly. 828.200.2169 / eatrealfoodinc.com.

• Find more at smokymountainnews.com/arts

On the stage

HART presents ‘A Little Night Music’

A special stage production of “A Little Night Music” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5-6, 12, 19-20, 25-27 and 2 p.m. Sept. 7, 13-14, 21 and 28 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Set in Sweden at the turn of the century, Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” follows a tangled web of romantic entanglements over one magical summer evening, brought to life at HART with a live orchestra.

Tickets start at $19 with seating upgrades and discounts for seniors/students available. For more information, call the box office at 828.456.6322 or visit harttheatre.org.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host semi-regular stage productions on the weekends. For tickets, click on caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• Highlands Performing Arts Center (Highlands) will host semi-regular stage productions on the weekends. mountaintheatre.com / 828.526.9047.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host a stage production of “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe” 7

On the table

• Balsam Mountain Inn (Balsam) will host “Wind Down Wine Flight” 6 p.m. Thursdays. 828.283.0145 / thebalsammountaininn.com.

• Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will have its wine bar open 4-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. 828.452.6000 / classicwineseller.com.

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. 828.452.0120 / waynesvillewine.com.

p.m. Sept. 5-6, 2 p.m. Sept. 6 and 3 p.m. Sept. 7. smokymountainarts.com / 866.273.4615.

• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Franklin) will host semi-regular stage productions on the weekends. 828.369.4080 / coweeschool.org/music.

• Peacock Performing Arts Center (Hayesville) will host semi-regular stage productions on the weekends. thepeacocknc.org / 828.389.ARTS.

• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. 828.538.0420.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. There will also be a special “Beer Train” on select dates. 800.872.4681 / gsmr.com.

On the wall

Abstract art, surrealism showcase

With the exhibit dubbed “Faces of the Unseen,” artwork by Ralph Verano will be on display through the month of September at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

Verano was born in a small town in Southern Central New York State. He became fascinated with art at a very early age when his grandfather would draw comic characters for him.

He graduated from Buffalo State College with a degree in graphic design. After living and working in Florida for 30 years, Verano’s love of the mountains eventually brought him to settle in Franklin.

Verano’s character-driven art represents his love of abstract art and surrealism with a desire to create something unique and original. His work has evolved over time because of his willingness to experiment with different techniques, ideas and styles. Verano has always felt that discovery is the most important element in his work and the need to challenge himself is what maintains his interest in the thing that has been his passion since he was a child.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, visit rverano.blogspot.com.

Waynesville art walk, live music

A cherished gathering of locals and visitors alike, “Art After Dark” will continue its 2025 season from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, in downtown Waynesville. Each first Friday of the month (May-December), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, live music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors alike.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit downtownwaynesville.com.

Laura Talbert is a featured artisan at ‘Art After Dark.’ File photo

• “Didanisisgi Gadagwatli: A Showcase of Pottery from the Mud Dauber Community Workshop,” is now on display at the Museum of the Cherokee People in Cherokee. On view through May 2026. For more information, visit motcp.org.

• “Art After Dark” will be held from 6-9 p.m. each first Friday of the month (May-December) in downtown Waynesville. Main Street transforms into an evening of art, live music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors alike. The event is free and open to the public. downtownwaynesville.com.

• 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 “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. 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. Workshops will include art journaling, watercoloring, mixed media, acrylic painting and more. 828.283.0523 / cre828.com.

• Gallery Zella (Bryson City) will be hosting an array of artist receptions, exhibits and showcases. 517.881.0959 / galleryzella.com.

• Waynesville Photography Club meets at 7 p.m. every third Monday each month on the second floor of the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Clyde. The club welcomes photographers of all skill levels to share ideas and images at the monthly meetings. waynesvillephotoclub@charter.net.

• Haywood County Arts Council (Waynesville) will offer a wide range of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. 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.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. 828.339.4000 / southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.

• Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro will offer a selection of upcoming art classes and workshops. 828.586.2248 / dogwoodcrafters.com.

• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Franklin) will host semi-regular arts and crafts workshops. 828.369.4080 / coweeschool.org.

Hunter in the hills: on safari in WNC

Several years had passed since I’d last hunted with any enthusiasm. I’d go out into the field, find some game, and take home a few trophies, but the old thrill, that sense of anticipation and joy, had gone missing in action. I began to suspect my days of excitement and pleasure while on the hunt were at an end.

And then, on a recent jaunt through Weaverville, Mars Hill and Waynesville, the hunting instinct, and the thrill that accompanied it, swept through me. Without explanation or cause, the ennui of the last few years fell away like weights, and the kick was back.

And so, so armed with two pair of glasses and a wallet stuffed with cash, I set out to buy some books.

The first safari brought us — my son and several grandkids came along — to the Friends of the Library store in the basement of the Weaverville library. After tossing all the kids a few bucks — old hunters like me delight in creating new ones — that sense of fun I’d mourned as gone and dead surged in me, and I scooped up a dozen books or so I could use for work and for personal pleasure.

Two days later, a Monday, found me in Camden’s Coffeehouse in Mars Hill. Here I wrote for a good while — the place is a delight, and the coffee, delicious — and then learned that the public library was directly behind the coffee shop. Here, too, was a Friend’s bookstore, much smaller than the one in Weaverville, a medium-sized room with little of interest to me, and yet here it was that I bagged the greatest trophy of my print-and-paper safari.

Fewer than a dozen books stood side by side on a shelf with a pink notecard announcing “Old Books $1.” Unbelievably, an 1825 edition of Daniel Webster’s “Orations” stood in this motley crew. The cover was a little wobbly, the spine was worn almost away, and some of the pages were mottled with brown spots, a common phenomenon known in the used book trade as foxing, and I was swept away from the moment I first opened it.

Over the years, I’ve written two or three pieces about this great New England orator and legislator, and Stephen Vincent Benet’s “The Devil and Daniel Webster” remains, in my opinion, one of the finest of American

short stories. Now, for less than the price of a cup of coffee, this piece of history could be mine.

At the desk, the librarian nearly charged me two dollars — I would gladly have paid 20 — but she then remembered the sale price. So, one dollar it was for a book that exhales the American past every time I touch it.

What I thought would be my last adven-

ture occurred in the Friends’ store in Waynesville, an establishment located on the other side of town from the library. Here again, I hit paydirt. Among my other purchases that day, I acquired a copy of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s “Quo Vadis,” Mark Helprin’s collection of short stories “The Pacific and Other Stories,” and M.J. Cohen’s and John Major’s thousand page tome, “History in Quotations.” Here, too, I picked up Charlie Lovett’s “The Bookman’s Tale,” which I’ve just downed with great enjoyment, and some more books for that part of my collection set aside for the grandkids.

But best of all was a 1970 collection of poetry, quotes, excerpts from speeches, and more, all housed together in the handsome “Our American Heritage.” It’s bound scrapbook-style in blue with pink string holding it together, and like a grand lady, has retained its beauty for 55 years.

Upcoming readings at City Lights

The following events will be held at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Thinking that the safari had ended, I returned to Virginia with a couple of boxes of books in the trunk of my car, 30-some new additions to my home library. The next day, Monday, required a trip to the library to track down a biography of Ben Franklin I needed for work. On my way through the vestibule, I passed the sale cart for our library’s tiny store, and there, for ten cents apiece, were nine volumes of the 1962 Collier’s Junior Classics, collectively called “The Young Folks Shelf of Books,” along with an older copy of Kipling’s “Just So Stories.” My book lust sprang into action, and five minutes later I had bagged 10 excellent hard-cover kids’ books, all for a buck.

My reason for describing these adventures with print and paper is simple: I hope to motivate you to buy books, real books. I want to encourage you to visit bookshops, new and secondhand, library sales, and yard sales. Digital books have their place. They’re convenient, and if you’re going on a vacation, you can literally take a library with you on your electronic devices.

But for me, and I suspect, for many others, nothing compares to real books. There’s the feel of the pages between the fingers, for instance, the notes one sometimes find from previous owners or gift-givers, and often the book’s particular perfume, whether new or aged. These are the books that live in our homes, the books become dear friends.

In her book about the books in her life, “Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader,” Anne Fadiman wisely noted, “Books wrote our life story, and as they accumulated on our shelves (and on our windowsills, and underneath our sofa, and on top of our refrigerator), they became chapters in it themselves.”

Buy and read a book, and you may have the very good fortune of finding a mentor and a friend for life.

(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.)

• Saturday, Sept. 9, 3 p.m. — Scott Gould in conversation with Brian Railsback on Gould’s new novel “Peace Like a River.”

• Sunday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m. — Asheville author Emma Ensley presents her debut story collection “The Computer Room.”

• Thursday, Sept. 11, 6 p.m. — Jim and Nancy Staggers share “Ride With Us! 15,642 Miles, Seventy Nights Camping.”

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 828.586.9499 or visit citylightsnc.com.

BY NANCY LOCKLIN-SOFER FOR S MOKIES LIFE

Iwas at least an hour and a half into my conversation with June Goforth when I joked that she hadn’t given me a chance to ask any questions. She paused a moment before laughing and said, “Oh, I didn’t know you had questions.”

I had sat down with Goforth to talk about Camp Margaret Townsend, a Girl Scout camp that was a summer home away from home for hundreds of girls between 1925 and 1959. Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont now occupies the site in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Townsend. Goforth, one of those people whom former campers recall with great fondness, had no shortage of memories to share. She started attending the camp as a child in “1943-ish,” working her way up to be a counselor-in-training and eventually a counselor. As a college student, Goforth was a swim instructor and “Director of the Waterfront.”

The camp that would come to mean so much to Goforth and countless others like her was founded through the efforts of Mabel Ijams, a Knoxville Girl Scout Council member and daughter of Little River Lumber Company President “Colonel” W. B. Townsend. Mabel fell in love with the site, convinced her father to donate it to the Girl Scouts and named the camp for her mother, Margaret Townsend, who had died two years earlier.

The camp ran from late June through the middle of August, with many girls staying for as long as a month. They hiked, played games, rode horses and made crafts, but they also had to haul wood, water and supplies for cooking and cleaning. Goforth and others I interviewed also told of using pickaxes to cut trails and local timber to build platforms and other camp features.

The “swimming pool,” a section of the

beloved memory for many former campers. A cement dam with a removable board allowed the river to flow freely when summer ended. A wooden platform forming a “crib” around the pool gave swimmers a diving board and a place to stand in the deep end.

As one of my interviewees, Carol Ware (née Goodwin), said, the water was “cold as whiz.” Still, many a girl learned to swim in those frigid waters. Margaret Weirich (née Mann), who attended camp for several years in the 1950s and credits Goforth with teaching her how to swim, would go on to participate in a synchronized swimming club during her college years at University of Tennessee.

“Forever after, the cold water of the Smoky Mountains has been imbedded in my fondest memories,” she said.

Not everyone, alas, learned how to swim. In a written account of his time working as a handyman at the camp, Ted Witt detailed how Goforth had once assured him that anyone could float. She instructed him to enter the water and float face-down, grasping his knees. Well, the poor young man sank like a stone. As he sputtered back to the surface,

Goforth shrugged and said, “You don’t float.”

While feelings about the frigid swimming pool are mixed, most former campers fondly remember gathering around the campfire at night for songs and stories. Weirich recalls “wonderful summer nights” spent singing “completely a cappella, with harmony we newcomers picked up by just participating as we sat on the floor, with only Coleman lanterns for lighting.”

Most of the former campers and staff I spoke with remain in contact with lifelong friends they met at camp.

“The friendship aspect of Girl Scouting in general, and specifically in our camp, was very special,” said Elizabeth French. “We had no electricity, no plumbing, no telephones. We were out there just having the most wonderful time, in the most simple environment.”

The camp years live on as beloved memories in the women’s minds but also brought their share of harrowing experiences.

Anne Lacava (née Loftis) described an overnight camping excursion next to Laurel Lake in Townsend that was interrupted by heavy rains. The campers had pitched their tents on a hillside and were initially miserable because it was too wet to get a good fire going for s’mores. As the lake rose, the bottom set of tents began to float away, and the girls in those tents joined campers further up the hill. Then the middle set of tents was also lost, and the girls moved to higher ground once more. Lacava said no one was scared.

“All of us apparently spent the night until they did come and evacuate us eating Hershey’s bars and graham crackers and marshmallows, and that kind of takes the fear away when you know you’ve got enough of those to last you,” Lacava said.

Witt had dropped the campers off earlier in the evening and then, seeing that he wasn’t needed, left them to their adventure. Around midnight, Camp Director Judy Nickerson roused him, worried about the rain. As the two adults approached the campsite, the light from their headlights revealed “several drenched campers standing in water and mud.”

“The tent pegs had come loose, so no tent was left standing,” Witt told me. “Sleeping bags were on the verge of floating!”

He helped load the campers into the truck and got them back to camp to warm up, returning in the morning to gather the sodden gear.

Lacava remembers that rainy night mostly for the camaraderie she felt with the other girls. Later, as an adult, she realized how scared the staff must have been for the girls in their charge.

“If you think about it,” she mused, “the fact that they could maintain their fear and not feed it to us is another pretty neat thing; we were just clueless.”

Animal encounters could also inject moments of fright into camp life. Witt remembered hearing a noise in the camp as he prepared for bed one F

muggy August night and realized it was a bear. He put down his lantern, got out a powerful flashlight and shined it right in the bear’s eyes. It growled, so Witt started clapping his hands. Joined by Margaret “Cookie” Cook, he chased the bear away from the sleeping campers. The next morning, several campers sheepishly relinquished contraband snacks they had been keeping in their units.

The Tanasi Girl Scout Council opened a new camp more than 60 miles away on the shores of Norris Lake. Though some campers did move on to Camp Tanasi, those who spoke with me said it was never the same. Jean Dysart and Marty Marsh summed up their feelings succinctly, agreeing that, “There never has been, and there never will be again, a camp like Camp Margaret Townsend.”

Upcoming closures of Kuwohi Road

educational programs for students from Swain County and Qualla Boundary schools. The park will close the road at midnight the night before each event and will reopen it by 2 p.m.

During these closures, the 7-mile roadway is closed to all pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Visitors should consider alternative destinations. Look Rock Tower along the Foothills Parkway in Tennessee offers great scenic mountain views. Newfound Gap, currently accessible from the North Carolina side, also offers great views.

These closures support Kuwohi Connection Days, a cultural initiative in partnership with The Center for Native Health, which provide students the opportunity to visit Kuwohi and learn about its historical and spiritual significance. During these visits, Cherokee elders, language speakers, culture bearers and community members share stories and teachings about Kuwohi and the Cherokee people.

Visitors are encouraged to check the park website for current road conditions and facility status, which also includes trail and backcountry updates.

NEW MEMBE WELCOME AUG

Other campers weren’t so willing to sacrifice their stash. Penny Cole and Lynn Crowell remembered one night when a mouse ran right across the face of one of their sleeping tentmates. They got scolded for having food in their tent, but rather than give it up, they decided to keep the kerosene lamp lit all night to prevent the mouse from coming back. Their counselor, Mary Stewart Neely, warned them they would use up their kerosene and wouldn’t get any more for the next night. They thought she was bluffing, but she wasn’t. The next night, they suffered through pitch-black darkness.

Camp Margaret Townsend closed in 1959 after the Girl Scouts’ lease with the National Park Service ran out. Everything that couldn’t be salvaged was bulldozed, and the old mess hall was burned to the ground. Many campers remember being devastated. Goforth said the closure was such a “painful experience” that she did not return to the place for years.

Camp Margaret Townsend alumnae and current Girl Scouts are invited to celebrate the camp’s legacy at a reunion Saturday, September 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. For more information and registration links, visit www.GirlScoutCSA.org.

Nancy Locklin-Sofer is a professor of history at Maryville College with a research focus on women’s roles in the family and the economy. This story was originally published in the spring 2025 issue of Smokies Life Journal, a twiceyearly magazine that is the primary benefit of joining for the 29,000-member Smokies Life, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the scientific, historical and interpretive activities of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by providing educational products and services such as this column. To read more stories like this while supporting Great Smoky Mountains National Park, visit SmokiesLife.org/Membership and become a Park Keeper.

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‘Into the Mist’ now available in e-book format

“Into the Mist: Tales of Death and Disaster, Mishaps and Misdeeds, Misfortune and Mayhem in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Volume I” is now available in e-book format on popular electronic reader platforms.

Written by David Brill and published in paperback in 2017, “Into the Mist” contains 13 self-standing narrative chapters, each distinct in its subject matter but unified by the book’s overarching themes of death, disaster, danger, and heroic rescue. Now in its sixth printing, the paperback edition of the book remains one of the best-selling titles in Smokies Life’s 72-year publishing history.

“This was a difficult book to write because it’s about human beings — fathers, mothers, children who suffered untimely deaths and left behind grieving relatives — but these also are stories about human beings locked in a desperate fight for survival,” said Brill, who is currently working on a second volume, “Further Into the Mist.” “It’s not reflective of a macabre interest in seeing how people suffer but instead learning how humans conduct themselves in extreme situations.”

The e-book version of “Into the Mist” is available on popular digital book platforms. Both the paperback and e-book versions include a comprehensive appendix of Great Smoky Mountains National Park deaths up to 2013, listing the leading causes of death and most dangerous places. Learn more at smokieslife.org/into-the-mist.

‘Into the Mist’ was written by David Brill. Donated photo

State begins to send checks for Helene crop losses

The first group of checks have been sent to farmers who applied for disaster assistance through the 2024 Ag Disaster Crop Loss, with more to follow in the coming weeks, said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. The first round of checks was sent to farmers in Western North Carolina.

The payments are part of a total of $478 million in ag disaster assistance crop loss funds appropriated by the General Assembly earlier this year to help farmers statewide who suffered almost $5 billion in ag losses in 2024 from Hurricane Helene, a drought, Tropical Storm Debby and Potential Cyclone 8. This includes an additional $25 million for infrastructure losses the General Assembly approved in a separate bill. Another application period is required for the $25 million in infrastructure funding and information on that will be

announced at a later date.

Checks will be sent out by category, so farmers may receive multiple checks depending on the category their losses fell into.

The categories are aquaculture, program crops, specialty crops, nurseries and infrastructure.

“Nursery crop payments will be made in two installments, with farmers receiving a partial payment in the first check,” Troxler said. “Farmers should look for information on the check stub, which details what category the check covers.”

To calculate the disaster payments, the county the farm is located in, the county average yield, state average price, county loss percentage and reported acreage were among the factors considered. Other known federal payments to farmers in 2024 were also considered.

If farmers have questions, they can contact the department at 866.747.9823, email at agdisaster@ncagr.gov or check for Frequently Asked Questions under the Ag Disaster Crop Loss Program block on the department’s website at ncagr.gov.

Enjoy ‘Music on the Porch’ at farmstead festival

The Appalachian Women’s Museum is hosting a benefit on Saturday, Sept. 6. The event will feature music, demonstrations, nature activities, vendors, food and more. Guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs. The event will run from 2-7 p.m. at Monteith Farmstead Park in Dillsboro.

The Joyful Botanist

BY ADAM B IGELOW

I am Ironflower

There is almost no flower in the Southern Mountains deeper in purple color than the ironflowers (Vernonia spp.) blooming now in unmown ditches and fallow fields all around Western North Carolina and across the Southeast. Often interspersed with other late-summer wildflowers like goldenrods (Solidago spp.) and different asters (Symphyotrichum & Eurybia spp.), ironflowers stand tall in the meadow, dwarfed only by the queen-of-the-meadow herself, Joe-Pye flower (Eutrochium spp.).

Some readers might be thinking, isn’t this plant called ironweed? Yes, while most would use that name, I have shifted to swapping out the word “weed” with the word “flower” on native wildflowers that have the derogatory moniker. I’ve also begun adding the word “weed” to the ends of exotic invasive plants, like privet weed (Ligustrum spp.), multiflora rose weed (Rosa multiflora), and kudzu weed (Pueraria montana). To read more about this movement, see “The Joyful Botanist: Weeds are flowers too” from the Aug. 21 edition of The Smoky Mountain News.

native bees by having large hollow stems that persist through the winter and successive seasons. Many solitary, non-boring bees will use these stems to overwinter in safety and security. They will burrow into the stems after the seeds have been released, and the plant goes dormant for the winter. This is why it is important to reconsider the annual fall cleanup of a native plant garden, as the plant’s usefulness extends way beyond pretty flowers and seeds for the birds.

Ironflowers are among the late summer/early fall flowering plants that provide important nectar and pollen to insects who are migrating south for the winter or preparing to overwinter here in the mountains.

To call such a beautiful and ecologically important native plant a weed is to invite people to kill it and keep it from growing, flowering and spreading. This is not good. Ironflowers are among the late summer/early fall flowering plants that provide important nectar and pollen to insects migrating south or preparing to overwinter here in the mountains. When considered as a weed, they are often chopped down in the name of order and cleanliness. And that’s too bad.

In addition to the many insects supported by its byproducts, ironflowers also provide host plant services to the American painted lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis), who use their leaves as a home and as food for their babies. The butterfly lays her eggs on the leaves of ironweed, and when the caterpillars hatch, they have their favorite food all around them. This and other hostplant relationships in nature like it, are one of the most important roles of native plants. Plants “eat” sunlight, caterpillars eat plant leaves, birds and other critters eat the caterpillars and energy is cycled up and into the ecosystem.

Ironflowers also help support the lives of

Their importance goes beyond these utilitarian functions and interrelated evolutionary connections, however. I love them for their pure, vivid beauty. Roadsides and trails through meadows and forest edges are filled with their purple flowers. As a member of the composite group of the aster family (Asteraceae), many small individual flowers called florets comprise their flower heads. Unlike sunflowers and asters, ironflowers are made up of disc flowers only and do not have ray flowers. If you picture a kid’s drawing of the sun, the disc flowers are where the smile would be, and the ray flowers emanate out from that central disc like the rays of the sun. But ironflowers only have disc florets. These florets each have individual pistils and stamens (sexually reproductive parts of flowers) and provide pollen and nectar to the many bees, butterflies and moths who visit them.

Adam Bigelow photo

And their flowers are purple. They often grow alongside goldenrods, whose flowers bloom a bright and vivid yellow. In her seminal work “Braiding Sweetgrass,” Robin Wall Kimmerer writes about being fascinated with why purple and gold flowers seemed to often grow together. It turns out that being opposite on the color wheel causes both flowers to stand out more to pollinating insects. When grown together, purple and gold flowers get more pollinator visits than research plots grown with just yellow or purple flowers. While this purple and gold display is not the official story for Western Carolina University’s school colors (something about sunsets and majestic mountains), they do begin blooming together just in time for the start of the fall semester. Coincidence? I think not.

(The Joyful Botanist leads weekly wildflower walks most Fridays and offers consultations and private group tours through Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions. bigelownc@gmail.com)

Join HBS for a ‘celebration of place’

Highlands Biological Station is hosting a free “celebration of place” event. The one-day event will feature:

• Rare & unusual native plants for sale, including the beloved Oconee Bells.

• Guided garden tours with local experts at 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

• A captivating talk on the legacy of photographer & Smokies advocate George Masa, featuring Janet McCue and Paul Bonesteel, authors of the award-winning biography “George Masa: A Life Reimagined.”

HCC hosts third-annual

Dahlia Ridge Trail Run

Haywood Community College will hold the third annual Dahlia Ridge Trail Run at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 on campus in Clyde. This 5k is a timed, family-friendly walk/run event open to all levels of runners, walkers and hikers.

Participants will receive a tshirt and enjoy a post-race party with live music and food available for purchase.

Online registration is open through Sept. 11, but racers can also register in person on the day of the event.

such as groceries, rent, childcare, utilities, and more. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, this type of support is needed more than ever as students continue to balance school with everyday life challenges.

• Book signing and reception with refreshments.

Guests can explore the Gardens, take home unique native plants and learn more about an extraordinary figure in Appalachian history. Proceeds from plant sales support the Highlands Biological Station’s South Gateway initiative. The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Highlands Biological Station Ampitheatre at 265 N. 6th St. in Highlands.

Jackson County Parks and Rec youth basketball league registration open Sept. 1

Last year, community partners came together to raise more than $40,000 to support the tools and technology needs of HCC students. This year, funds raised will support the Lavender Fund, which helps students facing unexpected life emergencies

For more information about the trail race on HCC’s main campus or to register, visit gloryhoundevents.com/event/dahlias-ridge5k. For more information about how to give to HCC’s Foundation or support this event, please visit haywood.edu, emai lhebirenbaum@haywood.edu or call 828.627.4544.

The youth basketball program is available to boys and girls in second to eighth grade. Stock photo

This program is available for boys and girls in second to eighth grade. Register participants with the recreation center where they will be practicing, either Cullowhee or Cashiers. For more details, follow the registration link listed below. Additional information for each grade division can be found under “programs” and “youth.”

For questions, call the Cullowhee Rec Center at 828.293.3053, ext. 44, or Cashiers Rec Center at 828.631.2023.

Register at jcprd.recdesk.com/community/program.

Market PLACE WNC

MarketPlace information:

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

Rates:

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

• Free — Lost or found pet ads.

• $6 — Residential yard sale ads.*

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

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

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

• Boost in Print

• Add Photo $6

• Bold ad $2

• Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4

• Border $4

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

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

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

Legals

NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION

Case No.25E000283-490 Randall Dean Penrod, Orville Ray PenrodDec 03 2025, or Executor

705 W Main Street Sylva, NC 28779

NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION

Case No.25E000414-430Charles Ray Blaylock Nov 20 2025, or Co-Executor 375 Robinson Farm Rd Canton, NC 28716

Announcements

DO YOU OWE over

1

50

No Angel"

Siren noise

37-season "Jeopardy!"

Writer -- de Bergerac

1965 Yardbirds hit

Herbivore's meal

Heart parts

Object

Coleridge's "-- Khan"

Wet spots in deserts 112 Frozen dew 113 "To be," to Horace 114 Vinegar, e.g.

115 -- part (role-play)

116 Heavy hitter

121 Viral gene material 122 -- and outs

123 "Hail!," to Horace

124 Vardalos of "Connie and Carla"

ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

SUDOKU

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