Admin
To the Editor:
In response to Dr. Dan Eichenbaum’s announcement that he is running for Congress again in the 11th Congressional District, it is my duty to inform the voters of a few facts that make him unelectable.
First, every candidate in the 2010 primary made the same promise to support the eventual nominee. All four other men kept their promise; but Dr. Eichenbaum never did endorse or support Jeff Miller.
As Jeff Miller said: “Dr. Eichenbaum failed this most basic test of honor and commitment to the voters.”
Second, Dr. Eichenbaum flip-flopped on both abortion and drugs during the primary.
His original abortion position on his website was, “Abortion is not a federal issue and is, therefore, more properly one legislated by the states and their citizens.” But four months in to the campaign it became: “Technically, abortion is not a federal issue for constitutional reasons. I do not, however, agree that it should be legislated by the states and their citizens.”
On drugs, his original position was that the “War on Drugs’ should be ended” and that only “the sale of potentially harmful chemicals to minors should be a criminal offense.” Later this position also pivoted.
The flip-flops on abortion and drugs are not surprising as he only switched his affiliation from Libertarian to Republican six months before the filing deadline.
Robert Danos,
Former spokesman for the 11th District NCGOP
To the Editor:
At the July meeting of the Jackson County Democratic Party Executive Committee, the executive committee voted to officially oppose the proposal of Duke Energy of the Carolinas to seek a rate increase for its electricity consumers in North Carolina.
We recognize the importance of an adequate and reliable supply of electricity at the lowest reasonable cost, however, given the economic conditions that are present in Jackson County and most of North Carolina, we do not believe that this an appropriate time to increase consumer’s rates. It is our understanding that Duke has proposed that the average increase would be approximately 17 percent for residential, 14 percent for general services and industrial, and 8 percent for outdoor lighting. For low-income families and struggling small businesses, even a minimal increases would prove to be devastating, which Duke is already aware of and has publicly acknowledged.
It is our belief that Duke Energy should do more to utilize its current profit margin to help mitigate the costs of these capital improvements.
Many of the improvements have already started or even been completed and any additional revenue generated from a rate increase would only be used to replenish lost profits.
The Jackson County Democratic Party urges the North Carolina Utilities Commission to deny Duke’s request for a rate increase at this time, or at the very least reduce Duke Energy’s rate increase request to the lowest amount reasonable under applicable law, and have the rate increases to be spread out over time to minimize customer impact.
Brian McMahan, Chairman
Jackson County Democratic Party
To the editor:
If mandatory health insurance is unconstitutional, as the Republicans hope the Supreme Court will rule, what about Social Security and Medicare? They’re compulsory also. The health plan is different only in allowing some consumer choice. You’d think the Republicans ought to be in favor of that.
Their hypocrisy makes sense, though, as a cover for their ulterior objectives. The first is to defeat President Obama by wrecking his proudest achievement. Ultimately, they would repeal even Social Security and Medicare.
Their disguise has evaporated with Rick Perry’s meteoric popularity in the Republican presidential polls. The Texas governor, so reactionary as to make the late Barry Goldwater look like a Socialist, openly doubts the constitutionality of Social Security.
And that’s not all. Perry would also repeal the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments, which authorized the income tax and provided for the people rather than the state legislatures to elect U.S. senators. This strange politician mistrusts not only government, but the voters too.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1937, amidst the Great Depression, that Social Security was constitutional under Congress’ power to promote the general welfare. “The hope behind this statute,” wrote Justice Benjamin Cardozo, “is to save men and women from the rigors of the poor house, as well as from the haunting fear that such a lot awaits them when journey’s end is near.” The states individually, he said, could not manage a problem that “is plainly national in area and dimensions.”
The same surely is true, 74 years later, of the fact that more than 40 million Americans lack health insurance.
But the current Supreme Court no longer pays even lip service to precedent. However it rules on the Affordable Health Care Act, it will likely be by a vote of five to four. Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife has campaigned ardently against the legislation, would be eager to write an opinion undercutting Social Security and Medicare as well as the issue at hand.
If they survive, it would be by only a thread — one that the next president might cut with his first appointment to the court. If you want to undo a century of progress, Perry’s your man.
Martin A. Dyckman
Waynesville
To the Editor:
I found it curious that the slew of bills rushed through the first session of our new Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature were reported in the national news as being introduced in other Republican-controlled state legislatures as well. I figured that the national Republican Party was pulling the puppet strings. Then I found about ALEC and got really scared.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a corporate-funded and controlled group of state legislators. Corporations write legislation that will directly benefit their bottom lines, and the participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, bring these proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the country as their own ideas. This is why the bills are so uniform across the country and were ready to be introduced on day one of the legislative sessions.
You will find just about all of the controversial bills from our last N.C. legislative session there – repealing the federal health care law, suppressing voter turnout, privatizing schools, abolishing environmental protections, granting tax breaks to big corporations and crippling the state’s ability to raise revenue. I found under “ALEC Politicians” 35 Republican members of our N.C. House of Representatives listed, including Speaker Thom Tillis who was the 2011 ALEC State Legislator of the Year. To their credit, Republican state senators Jim Davis. R-Franklin, and Ralph Hise, R-Spruce Pine, deny ties to ALEC (and they are not listed), but they voted consistently for ALEC legislation, and Sen. Davis says he supports ALEC’s philosophy.
It is shameful that our N.C. Republican-controlled legislature makes laws which benefit corporate bottom lines at the expense of the economic security of North Carolina families. I understand now why they did nothing to create jobs for our citizens. High unemployment allows corporations to keep wages and benefits low. I fear that the radical Republicans in Raleigh are working for multi-national corporations instead of the people of North Carolina.
Carole Larivee
Waynesville
Maggie Valley will host a craft show this Labor Day weekend from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 3 and 4 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds
Visitors can find handmade crafts of all kinds from local artisans and crafters. Works will include pottery, photographers, hand painted murals, stained glass, jewelry from gemstones to polymer clay bead art, dichroic glass designers, floral arrangements, wood turners and wood crafters, crocheted and knitted items, homemade jams & jellies, artful clothing, leather & deerskin pouches, kitchen accessories, quilts of all sizes, soy candles, soaps and more.
This year’s show will feature more than 100 exhibitors from North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Alabama.
In addition to crafts, there will be piped music throughout the day and festival foods will be prepared by local groups and vendors.
Fireworks sponsored by the Town of Maggie Valley will start at 9:15 p.m. on Sept. 4.
For more information call 828.497.9425 or visit www.maggievalleycraftshows.com.
A LakeAlooza Party is being held from 12 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 3 at Fontana Village Resort. There are scheduled lake games, inner tube races, food and live entertainment provided by Randy Flack from noon until 3 p.m. Fontana Marina offers free launch and trailer parking for guests bringing their own watercraft to the event.
The Wildwood Grill will feature live music by My Highway from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday night. The band plays a mix from the country and southern rock genres.
Fireworks will start at 9:30 p.m. in front of the Wildwood Grill on the Village Green. The resort is also offering free admission to the Stone Creek pool and lazy river on Saturday and Sunday.
The Liars Bench, a Southern Appalachian variety show, will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 1, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The Liars Bench was founded by Sylva writer and storyteller Gary Carden in June 2010, and the show’s cast presented monthly programs at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva during its first year. The ensemble gave its first performance in the Mountain Heritage Center auditorium in July.
With a theme of “Folklore, Lies and Tall Tales,” the upcoming show will feature Carden, voice artist David Hirt and author Curtis Blanton telling tales. Also performing will be show regulars Paul Iarussi, Barbara Duncan and Dave Waldrop.
The presentation is free, but donations will be accepted.
828.227.7129.
The P.A.W.S. Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, the largest fundraiser for the non-profit, no-kill animal shelter, will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, at Lands Creek Log Cabins Harmony Hall in Bryson City.
P.A.W.S. cares for approximately 150 to 180 dogs and cats each year through donations, grants and a thrift store.
Each year the auction features about 250 items ranging from handcrafted jewelry to weekend getaway packages, restaurant gift certificates and more.
Hors d’oeuvres and a selection North Carolina wines will be featured for tasting.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance or at the door. For directions to Lands Creek Log Cabins, call 828.488.9793 or visit www.landscreek.com.
828.333.4267 or www.pawsbrysoncity.org.
Music at the Mill is coming to the Francis Grist Mill in Waynesville from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 10, celebrating the newly restored 124-year-old mill.
It is the only grist mill of its type in Western North Carolina.
Balsam Range and Hill Country Band will entertain visitors with bluegrass favorites. The Frog Level Philharmonic will provide a blend of Dixieland and jazz.
The 1887 timber frame mill operated until 1976. The vast majority of the restoration labor was done by volunteers who contributed over 4,500 hours of their time with more than $56,000 of in-kind donations.
Tickets for the barbecue and an afternoon of music are $10 and are available at Elements Salon in Waynesville or by calling 828.456.6307.
Rock the Square, a Labor Day weekend concert and street dance, will he held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2, in the Town Square gazebo on Main Street in downtown Franklin.
The award-winning C-Square Band will perform 1950s to 70s pop and Motown hits, including “Bye, Bye Love,” “Mustang Sally,” “Stand By Me,” “What’d I Say,” and many more.
Bring a lawn chair, family, and friends. Food vendors will be on site. For more information call the Macon County Arts Council at 828.524.7683 or visit www.artscouncilofmacon.org.
A weekend of gospel music will kick off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, and continue through Sept. 4 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Concerts will begin at 7 p.m. on both days.
Saturday’s concert will feature The Inspirations and The Primitive Quartet, and Sunday brings back The Inspirations and The McKameys.
The Inspirations, based out of Bryson City, have sold more than 1 million records, charted more than 60 hit songs, and have been awarded numerous awards.
The Primitive Quartet has performed together for 38 years. Their old-time Southern Gospel music features four-part harmony and instruments such as the mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and acoustic bass. They are based out of Chandler, but travel 50,000 miles each year spreading the gospel through song.
The McKameys are a professional Southern Gospel group from Clinton, Tenn. They perform 150 days a year and travel all over North American. They have had 24 number one singles and in 1999, were honored by their record label, Horizon, for having the most number one hits in the history of Gospel Music.
Tickets start at $10. 866.273.4615 or greatmountainmusic.com.
A 9/11 Memorial Exhibit containing replica banners sent by school children to the volunteers, police, firefighters and EMS at Ground Zero In New York City will be on display starting with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 2, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.
The banners are on permanent display in St. Paul’s Church, which served as the triage and rest area during the early days of rescue and recovery efforts. Photographer Rick “Sharky” Gorton was the only photographer given permission to record these banners, and he has partnered with the Jackson County Arts Council and Gallery 1 to bring the commemorative exhibit to Sylva.
828.587.2233.
Tim and Beth Thrift will give a presentation on Photographing Your Artwork at 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 8, for the Art League of the Smokies in Bryson City. They own PVP Studio, a full-service videography and photography studio located in Waynesville.
The Thrifts will give simple, step-by-step tips from their years of experience on how to get great results when photographing your artwork or other subjects.
The Thrifts were former educators and have spent many years in their respective crafts. Tim has over 40 years of experience in videography. He started working with educational television in the 70s. In the late 80s he began videotaping weddings and continues to offer this service.
Beth’s interest in photography began as a hobby. When she left education in 2000, she devoted herself to becoming a proficient photographer, first in film and later in digital.
828.488.7843 or www.swain.k12.nc.us.cfta
The Cashiers Arts and Crafts Show will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 3 and 4 at the Village Green in Cashiers.
There will be 57 vendors of fine arts and crafts along with food and fun for people of all ages.
In addition, the Rotary Club will be picking the winner for their annual raffle. The winner of the drawing will receive their choice of a large flat screen TV, a stainless barbecue grill or $2000 dollars cash. Tickets are $10 each and there will be some available at the show.
Admission is $3 and all proceeds from entrance fees will go to the charitable work of the Cashiers Valley Rotary Club. For more information, call David Berger at 407.620.2685.
Penland School of Crafts has open spaces in several of its eight-week fall classes available at half tuition to Western North Carolina residents.
The session runs Sept. 25 through Nov. 18 with openings in drawing, glass, jewelry and letterpress printing. The drawing class, taught by Janet Link, will be an intensive session in observational drawing using graphite, charcoal and other media. Simon Maberley’s glass class will focus on glass sculpture through blowing, hot sculpting, mold making, cold working, kiln forming and mixed media. In the metals studio, C. James Meyer will cover all aspects of designing and making jewelry, including basic fabrication skills, soldering, stone setting and mechanisms. Printer Paul Moxon’s letterpress class will start with hand typesetting and production presswork using Vandercook presses. The class will also cover relief image-making, the fundamentals of book design and basic bookbinding.
Classes are open to students of all levels and beginners are welcome. For more information, call 828.765.2359, ext. 15 or visit www.penland.org.
The Haywood Arts Regional Theater will give area talent a chance to strut their stuff and win prize money in its first “Haywood’s Got Talent” event in September.
Auditions for the contest will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 and beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 12.
HART is offering a $1,000 top prize for the winner and lesser cash prizes for the runners up in two categories, 15 and under, and 16 and over.
Contestants are not limited to Haywood County, there is no age limit or category restrictions but all contestants must first make it past a screening audition. Everyone from musicians to jugglers and dancers to acrobats are encouraged to audition.
Anyone unable to attend auditions may submit a recorded audition via mail to HART at P.O. Box 1024, Waynesville, N.C., 28786, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or YouTube prior to auditions.
Those who get past the initial audition will part of a semifinal round of performances Sept. 16 and 17 which will be presented as full variety shows on the HART main stage. Each night will feature different performers selected from the prior weeks’ auditions.
The finals will be held on Sept. 23, with winners selected by three guest judges and the audience.
The event is a fundraiser for HART, now in its 26th season. The company presents a year-round schedule of plays and musicals.
For more information, visit www.harttheatre.com.
Area outdoor painters will bring their paint boxes and easels to Macon County for Paint the Macon Mountains on Sept. 10 and 11, supported by the International Plein Air Painters.
Artists from Asheville to Atlanta are expected to be outdoors throughout the county, painting the waterfalls and beautiful scenery.
Plein air artists seek the quality of natural light and atmosphere outdoors. They use a variety of media, from oils through watercolors and pastels. The public will be able to join in by watching individual artists work on location throughout the two days.
A list of locations where you can spot artists working will be available online at www.PaintTheMountains.info and submissions of artwork from the artists will be posted on the site after the event.
828.524.8585 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Waynesville’s Labor Day Block Party will run from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, in downtown. Main Street will close at 5 p.m. for setup.
Restaurants will remain open, many with outdoor seating. A kettle corn vendor and homemade baked goods will be offered by the Waynesville Police Department as a fund raiser for their SRT training. Mr. Tom, the balloon man, will return to the children’s area in front of Fun Things.
The 96.5 House Band will play a set spanning nearly four decades of hits. The Josh Fields Band, a mixture of Southern rock, classic and contemporary country, and bluegrass, is back and Rafe Hollister will bring their own brand of roots music with a seasoned and authentic sound.
Many shops and galleries will remain open. Port-a-jons will be in the upper parking lot of the United Community Bank.
The Waynesville Gallery Association will present Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2, in downtown Waynesville.
Art After Dark takes place the first Friday of each month, May through December. Patrons can stroll through working studios and galleries on Main Street, Depot Street and in Historic Frog Level. Art After Dark flags denote participating galleries. Steve Whiddon will provide music on the street.
Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 is hosting its newest exhibition, “Donna Rhodes: All Over The Map” celebrating the wide artistic range and whimsy of artist and Tuscola High art teacher, Donna Rhodes.
Twigs and Leaves Gallery will be featuring clay jewelry artist, Jody Funk. Funk will be demonstrating her work in clay.
Gallery 262 is showing the works of Jere Smith and Dan Wright. Smith is a woodworker and furniture maker and Wright is a stained glass artist.
828.452.9284 or www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.
Artist draws on lifetime of experience for new show
An exhibition of artist Donna Rhodes’ work called All Over the Map will run through Sept. 17 at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 in downtown Waynesville. An opening reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 2.
The show is a visual journey that criss-crosses the multi-media landscape Rhodes’ unique view of the world.
She holds a degree in music in addition to being a professional artist and art instructor at Tuscola High School, a writer and photographer and a staff writer for The Laurel Magazine in Highlands. She is currently working on three children’s books.
For more information, call 828.452.0593 or visit www.haywoodarts.org.
Four decades of tradition have built the foundation for the Smoky Mountain Folk Festival, which will launch into its 41st year on Sept. 2 and 3 at Stuart Auditorium in Lake Junaluska.
More than 200 dancers and musicians grace the shores of Lake Junaluska to entertain spectators over the Labor Day weekend.
Open tent shows will kick off each evening of entertainment at 5 p.m. Shows on the main stage in the 2,000-seat auditorium will start at 6:30 p.m. and end after 11 p.m.
The festival offers the chance to experience a broad range of musical and dance styles. Masters of traditional bluegrass instruments such as the banjo and fiddle will show of their skills, and more unorthodox and unusual instruments such as the dulcimer, harmonica, Native American flute, bagpipes and even spoons and a carpenter’s saw will provide the weekend’s music.
Buck dancers, square dancers, ballad singers and other traditional performers will round out the thoroughly Appalachian lineup.
The festival finds its history in Festival Director Joe Sam Queen, who teamed up with a local fiddler to celebrate the mountain music and dance of his grandfather, who had recently died.
Those first festivals were held in the gym of what is now Waynesville Middle School.
“My grandfather, Sam Queen, made mountain music and dancing such a big part of this community’s life, we wanted to carry on this family tradition and share it with the community just as he had done,” said Queen.
So he gathered local talents to keep the traditions alive, and they proved popular with local crowds.
The audiences began to grow and eventually outpaced the meager space offered by the gym.
Today, the performances garner more than 1,500 visitors each night.
But though the festival has grown in size, the traditions that inspired its inception still inform the festival today. Each festivalgoer, for example, is still given a free slice of watermelon to munch on while enjoying the show.
Tickets are $12 at the door and $10 in advance. Children under 12 are admitted free. For more information, call 828.452.1688.
Performers List — 2011 Smoky Mountain Folk Festival
Senator Joe Sam Queen- Master of Ceremonies
Friday Sept. 2
5:00 Open Tent Show
Stoney Creek Boys
6:30 — Mountain Tradition
Lee Knight
Honey Hollar
7 p.m. — Cole Mountain Cloggers
George & Brook Buckner
Roger Howell
Rodney Sutton
7:30 — UNC A Smooth Dancers
The Trantham Family
Mack Snoderly
8 p.m. — Dixie Darlin’s
Laura Boosinger
Spirit Fiddle/ Robin Warren
8:35 — Green Valley Cloggers
Phil & Gaye Johnson
Cockman Family
9:15 — Southern Mountain Smoke
Ken Harrison
Joe Pendland
9:45 — Bailey Mountain Cloggers
Ross Brothers
Bryan McDowell
Stony Creek Boys
10:15 — J Creek Cloggers
10:30 — Southern Mountain Smoke
Stoney Creek Boys
Also expected to perform: Don Pedi, Karen “Sugar” Barnes, Bobby Hicks
Hazel Creek, and Mike Lowe
Saturday, Sept. 3
5 p.m.— Open Tent Show
Whitewater Bluegrass Co.
6:30 — Fines Creek Flatfooters
Helena Hunt & Tracy Best
Ken Harrison
7 p.m. — Southern Mountain Fire-Smooth
Betty Smith
Mack Snoderly
7:30 — Stoney Creek Cloggers
Phil & Anne Case
Hominy Valley Boys
8 p.m. — Southern Appalachian Cloggers
Trantham Family
The Cockman Family
8:45 — Appalachian Mountaineers
Paul’s Creek
Spirit Fiddle/Robin Warren
9:15 — Smoky Mountain Stompers
Joe Pendland
Whitewater Bluegrass
William Ritter
10 — Southern Mountain Fire Cloggers
Mike Pilgram
Whitewater Bluegrass Co.
*All performers are volunteer; therefore schedule could change without notice.
The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce exceed goals set for its 2011 “Goin’ Coastal” Membership and Sponsorship Campaign.
The campaign teams recruited 68 new members and approximately $61,000 in sponsorship dollars. The original goal was 50 members and $50,000. During May and June, nine teams consisting of employees from area businesses volunteered to recruit new members throughout the campaign.
“The success of the campaign was directly attributed to the teamwork that the volunteers put into helping build value to both the chamber and the new businesses,” said Campaign Chairman Greg Boothroyd of The Smoky Mountain News.
Representatives from Champion Credit Union, Keller Williams Realty, The Smoky Mountain News, Old Town Bank, BB&T, Home Trust Bank, United Community Bank, chamber ambassadors, and the chamber board of directors shared the benefits of chamber membership as they reached out to area businesses that were not yet with the chamber. Chamber membership extends to all the employees of a member business, allowing them to take advantage of seminars, networking opportunities and special events that provide valuable business information and enable employees and business owners to build resourceful contacts. www.haywood-nc.com.
Drake Enterprises CEO Phil Drake, who owns a family of 18 businesses based in Macon County, will give a free seminar called “Guiding Business Expansion: There Is More Than One Way“ from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, in Asheville.
A master of vertical integration, learn how Drake has spawned new revenue through diversified products, services, markets and businesses. He will talk about successful strategies and tactics Drake has used to leverage key company or business assets for more than one operational or revenue purpose, often transforming internal solutions to a business challenge into a new stand alone enterprise.
Learn how to retain customers, stay ahead of competition, and grow brand strength for any business in any industry.
Sponsored by Mountain BizWorks. Held in the Asheville Chamber Conference Room on Montford Avenue.
RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.253.2834 ext. 17.
The 28-year-old co-founder and CEO of a global organization committed to eradicating extreme poverty will visit Western Carolina University on Wednesday, Sept. 7, to inform campus and surrounding community members about the issues and inspire them to take action.
Hugh Evans of the Global Poverty Project will present an interactive multimedia presentation called “1.4 Billion Reasons” at 7 p.m. in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. The event, which kicks off a yearlong, poverty-focused interdisciplinary learning and service initiative at WCU, is free and open to the public.
In the presentation, Evans will discuss simple, everyday changes community members can make in what they learn, say, buy, give and do to be part of the solution. He will explore five questions: What is extreme poverty? Can we do anything about it? What are the barriers to ending extreme poverty? Why should we care? What can I do?
Evans’ presentation kicks off a year-long interdisciplinary learning and service initiative called the WCU Poverty Project. Throughout the 2011-12 academic year, students, faculty and staff from across campus will take part in engaged teaching, learning, service and creative and scholarly opportunities focused on poverty, locally and globally.
For more information contact John Whitmire at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.2636, or Cooper at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.2595.
The Waynesville Recreation Center will close for routine maintenance work from Sept. 12-18. The center will reopen on Sept. 19 at 5 am.
The pool will also be closed from Sept. 10 to Sept. 25. The lap pool will reopen on Sept. 26 at 5:30 am and the water park will reopen at 11 am. Both pools will be resurfaced and a new deck installed during the closing period.
For more information call the center at 828.456.2030 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Laura McCue, district director of N.C. Fair Tax, will be the guest speaker at the Sept. 6 meeting of the Mountain High Republican Women’s Club (MHRWC) luncheon and business meeting at the Wildcatcliff Country Club in Cashiers.
She will discuss bills currently in Congress for abolishing the IRS and eliminating the income tax, which she argues will ensure that everyone pays into the system and allow American businesses to compete fairly.
All MHRWC members, prospective members and anyone in the community interested in learning more about the Fair Tax are encouraged to attend. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. The cost of the lunch is $20 with advance reservations and $25 at the door. Reservations are requested by noon on Sept. 2 online at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone to 828.200.7900.
Maggie Valley will have a free Labor Day weekend fireworks on Sunday, Sept. 4, with viewing from the Festival Grounds.
The fireworks will start at dark. During the day, the Maggie Valley Craft Show will be taking place at the festival grounds. Gates at the festival grounds will open at 7:30 p.m. for those coming to view the fireworks.
No food, beverage or coolers will be allowed. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase inside the venue. Bring blanket or lawn chair.
For information call 828.926.0866, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit www.maggievalleyfestivalgrounds.org.
If you are farming in Haywood County, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service is accepting applications to support efforts that improve water quality.
Cost-share is available for practices include watering tanks, fencing, streambank stabilization, pastureland improvement, sediment control on agriculture lands, agri-chemical buildings, forest stand improvement and more. A percentage for actual costs of installation of projects will be paid through this farm bill program.
Interested farmers should stop by the USDA office at 589 Raccoon Road, Suite 203, in Waynesville by Oct. 14 to submit an application.
828.452.2741 ext. 3 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Learn how to manage forests for wildlife and timber production, plus review tax strategies and estate planning at an upcoming workshop through The North Carolina Tree Farm Program.
The event is set for Thursday, Sept. 15 beginning at 9 a.m. at Brasstown Community Center in Brasstown.
Participants will visit a Cherokee County forest landowner who is actively managing his property using the techniques discussed in the workshop. Transportation will be provided.
The event is being held in cooperation with N.C. Forest Service, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Natural Resource Conservation Service, N.C. Cooperative Extension and the Southern Appalachian Multiple-Use Council.
A free lunch will be served, sponsored by Valwood Forest Products, Evergreen Packaging, Columbia Forest Products and the Cook Brothers Lumber Company. Advance registration is requested. 828.389.6305. Question about the workshop should be directed to Steve Henson, 828.506.4786.
The Jackson County Farmers Market will hold its annual “Taste of the Market” starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, featuring a variety of seasonal vegetables and local products.
A simple solar panel will be on display. There will be kid games and activities, and music. There also will be a Tomato Tasting, giving participants the opportunity to make their own tomato sandwiches using their favorite tomatoes in exchange of donations to The Community Table. A community garden helps The Community Table incorporate fresh produce in the soup kitchen’s meals.
The Farmers Market is located in downtown Sylva every Saturday on Railroad Avenue (in the Bridge Park) from 9 a.m. until noon.
Hal Herzog of Western Carolina University will discuss the complications of human-animal relationships, the focus of his recently published book, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals.
The event is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1 at the Highlands Nature Center, the final installation of the Highlands Biological Foundation’s “Think About Thursdays” summer series.
Herzog, a psychology professor at WCU, has investigated the complex psychology of our interactions with other species for more than 20 years.
828.526.2221 or www.wcu.edu/hbs.
Shutterbug alert: A fall field photography program will run for four weeks starting in September in Haywood County. Class members will meet up Wednesday mornings in Waynesville then head into the field with group leader Bob Grytten, an award-winning photographer. Grytten captured this shot of a Cataloochee elk, a popular subject for his outdoor photography students. Every other Tuesday evening, a classroom session is held to review images, discuss equipment, composition, computers and other photography aspects. Field shoots are $45 each; Tuesday evening programs are $10 each. 828.627,0245 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.lensluggerworld.com.
More than 400 riders participated in the second Blue Ridge Breakaway, held this Saturday (Aug. 20) in Haywood County. The Breakaway, sponsored by the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, has four different rides for cyclists of varying fitness levels, including a 100-miler that takes participants on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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Need help paying for research or educational outreach about the environment, gardening or horticulture?
The Haywood County Master Gardener Volunteer Association has money for either full or partial-matching grants. Deadline for applications is Aug. 31.
Projects must further the association’s and county’s goals, such as gardening projects including demonstration gardens and educational ventures at schools and community workshops.
Grants have been awarded to a Haywood Community College student studying horticulture, a worm bin (vermicomposting system) for a teacher at Hazelwood Elementary, a rain gauge for a teacher at Clyde Elementary, a children’s garden at Pigeon Street Community Center for installation and refurbishing a garden at HCC by a student.
“We encourage county schools that have horticultural classes to apply,” said Tim Mathews, horticultural agent at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Service.
Money for the grants is raised by the association through annual plants sales, sales of the Master Gardener almanac and garden gloves.
828.456.3575.
Young gardeners from Junaluska Elementary School won first place recently in a landscape design competition at the N.C. Master Gardeners conference in Raleigh.
The Junaluska school garden is planted, maintained and harvested by 40 first- and second-graders working with a dozen master gardener volunteers.
Soon after the garden’s modest beginning in 2002, Tim Mathews, horticultural agent at the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, brought a small group of master-gardener volunteers on board. Since then, the garden has grown to 3,000 square feet where more than 30 different vegetables are integrated with annuals, perennials, herbs and blueberries.
“We couldn’t do what we do without the tremendous support and enthusiasm of the teachers and other school staff,” said volunteer Jane Young. “It has been a marvelous undertaking. The kids get so excited participating in this process of nurturing the soil and producing really good, interesting food. The sheer beauty of the garden with so many colors and shapes and fragrances, butterflies, and even a resident tree swallow, makes it a wonderful place for children and adults to work together.”
Mathews said that the success of the program at Junaluska has led to the initiation of similar programs at Hazelwood Elementary School and Riverbend, both in Haywood County.
828.456.3575.
A horse in the eastern part of the state tested positive this month for Easter Equine Encephalomyelitis, a warning to horse owners across North Carolina to keep their animals up-to-date on vaccinations.
Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis is a viral disease that impacts the central nervous system of all members of the equine species. Humans can also contract the disease. Healthy adults who contract encephalomyelitis show flu-like symptoms. The equine mortality rate ranges from 75 to 90 percent.
Infected horses often show signs that include fever, depression, loss of appetite, irritability, weakness, excitability, central nervous system disorders (ie. circling, lack of coordination, head pressing, the tell-tale “saw horse” stance, sensitivity to light, and blindness). Horses should be vaccinated against the disease annually. In addition, measures to limit mosquito populations will help decrease spread of the disease. It is also important that horse owners report to a veterinarian any cases in which signs of encephalomyelitis are observed.
Three local dahlia growers in Haywood County, Jack Leatherwood, Johnny Trantham and Ken Zula, were recently visited by Southern Living Magazine and showcased in the Aug. edition of the magazine.
Haywood County’s secret — the temperate climate of cool nights and warm, sunny days — provides the perfect environment for dahlias. The county also has had a long history with this flower, starting with A.L. Freedlander, who was Dayco president and CEO for many years. When he made a donation to establish Haywood Community College, he stipulated that a dahlia garden be included in the initial funding for the 80-acre arboretum. The garden now has about 400 plants with more than 250 varieties of dahlias, and is open to the public.
The Wayesville Council of Gardens Glubs’ Dahlia Show will have a dahlia show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 25 through the 27 at the Waynesville First Baptist Church on Main Street.
All entries should be brought to the church from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday morning. Judging will be done by viewers and a Viewer’s Choice Award in both the single flower and arrangement category. Free admission. www.carolinasdahliasociety.org or 828.452.2411.
Ron Rash will visit City Lights Bookstore to read from his first poetry book in 10 years, Waking, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 28.
Rooted in places such as Watauga County, Goshen Creek and Dismal Mountain, the poems in Rash’s fourth collection, Waking, electrify dry counties and tobacco fields until they sparkle with the rituals and traditions of Southerners in the stir of their lives.
Rash leads his readers on a Southern odyssey, full of a terse wit and a sense of the narrative so authentic it will dazzle you. As we wake inside these poems, we see rivers wild with trout, lightning storms, and homemade churches, nailed and leaning against the side of a Tennessee mountain.
A two-time PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist, Rash has been compared to writers like John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy. With his eye for the perfect detail and an ear for regional idiom, Rash furthers his claim as the new torchbearer for literature in the American South.
For information call City Lights at 828.586.9499.
Local author Vivian McDarris will read from her recent book, Black Fog, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Blue Ridge Books in downtown Waynesville.
Of her writing, McDarris says, “stories have echoed through generations of my family; from grandfathers to great uncles, they all had a story to tell. Stories related to our family were the favorite ones shared.”
It was these stories that inspired her writing and desire to share those stories. Black Fog is a romantic time-travel novel and is the first of a series of four books which deal with the Clan of Darrock.
For more information call 828.456.6000 or visit blueridgebooksnc.com.
To the Editor:
Thank you for the thoughtful, informative and balanced article on Lake Emory in Franklin. I would like to put my comments in more context. I do this knowing full well that the worst response a biologist can make in discussions of environmental management is “it’s complex.” Sorry, folks, but this is complex.
My concern over the toxic substances which may be contained in deep sediment layers is just that, a concern. As the article points out, studies of some aspects of sediment toxicity are ongoing. I think it would be fair to report that these studies have yet to reach firm conclusions – it’s complex. My point is that, especially given the importance of the river below Porters Bend Dam for a suite of sensitive and in some cases endangered mussel species, the highest possible degree of caution is in order.
There is another Lake Emory pollution issue, which also rates consideration. Franklin’s municipal wastewater treatment system discharges directly into Lake Emory some distance above the dam. Below that point, all the way through the Needmore Game Lands to Fontana, there are no permitted point source discharges – surely a major factor in the persistence of one of the healthiest large river reaches in the Southeast.
Essentially the river benefits from Lake Emory serving as a free tertiary treatment facility. What would be the effect if all the nutrients from treated effluent were passed quickly to the lower river instead of being acted on by the still waters, sediments and myriad critters of Lake Emory?
Shirley Ches’ perception of the sediment buildup is understandable, and certainly downed trees and other debris serve to trap sediment, sometimes in inconvenient places, but sedimentation was a problem in Lake Emory long before 1993. It is a fact that all artificial lakes, absent dredging, have a finite life span. No matter how deep the reservoir at the outset, and even if the upstream watershed is a pristine wilderness, reservoirs will eventually fill up with sediment.
Today, thanks to the combination of a changing economy and the efforts of organizations such as the Macon Soil and Water Conservation District, the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and the Little Tennessee Watershed Association, as well as individual land owners, the situation appears to be much better – Lake Emory is probably filling up more slowly. But we still don’t know how quickly a dredged Lake Emory would fill and without that information the cost-benefit aspect of dredging remains decidedly fuzzy.
I share and applaud Quintin Ellison’s asthetic perception of the islands and hidden channels of Lake Emory – a haven for waterfowl. What has been accomplished there is accidental mitigation for some wetlands lost to “development.” And yet, neither they nor a deeper, “cleaner” Lake Emory are natural or stable.
Here is where the matter gets tricky for me as a conservation biologist. Taking the long view, I consider all dams and the reservoirs they create as environmental insults to rivers. A river achieves its full natural potential only when it is continuous and can serve as a corridor for up and downstream migration of fish and other animals. I cannot help but wonder if some of the fish species which today are found below Porters Bend Dam but not above were present upstream before the river was dammed. I cannot help but imagine how beautiful the Little Tennessee must have been at the natural drop the engineers chose for the dam site.
In my Utopian future, Lake Emory and others of its kind would not exist. People in Minnesota would recreate on lakes, but North Carolinians would swim, fish, hunt ducks and paddle on rivers. And there is a constituency for the removal of Porters Bend Dam, just as there was for the Dillsboro Dam.
On the other hand, my realistic side, based on nearly 30 years of living and working on the Little Tennessee, has always inclined to the opinion that on balance, Lake Emory does more good than harm. If that be the case, then the question becomes “how best to manage Lake Emory” – a question which encompasses dredging and a great deal more. It’s complex.
Bill McLarney
Franklin
I recently wrote in the Swain County newspaper about a singularly misguided proposal by Great Smoky Mountains National Park leadership to transfer their archives and artifacts to Townsend, Tenn. A Swain County site makes more sense, and full marks to county commissioners for becoming actively involved in this issue.
Beyond that, any resident in Swain County who gives a fig for the future or cares about our rich role in the Park’s past should speak out as well. The comment period remains open, and I’d strongly encourage readers to make their feelings known to the Park (www.nps.gov/grsm) and Swain native Rep. Heath Shuler (www.shuler.house.gov).
Incidentally, although I have asked specific questions and offered comments on the issue to Park officials, the only response I have had came in a testy conversation with a spokesman, Bob Miller. When I pointed out, repeatedly, inconsistencies between the comments period cited in his press release and what appeared on the Park’s web site (the latter was changed multiple times, with one comment period closing almost as soon as it opened), he said: “We’ll change it on the web site.”
What I could not get him to understand was that saying one thing in a printed press release and subsequently changing the rules of the game was confusing, and in my view disingenuous.
As if that situation wasn’t vexatious enough, close on the heels of the archives/artifacts proposal comes another which is, if anything, more convoluted and ill-conceived. A recent press release proposes changes in regulations governing backcountry camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Park leadership tells us that backcountry “site capacities are frequently exceeded.” In addition, according to their statement, “once backpackers obtain their reservations and arrive at their campsite, they often find the area filled by people without permits.” In the same release they also complain of lack of staff to patrol the backcountry.
Staff issues are matters for Park management, but they are missing in action in the backcountry. Personally I haven’t seen a ranger in the backcountry for decades, and I’ve only been checked while fishing once in the last quarter century.
The release raises questions. “How, other than hearsay, do officials know capacities are exceeded?” “If there are significant problems, why aren’t they addressing the situation with patrols?” “Does hard statistical evidence support changes?” “If problems exist to such a significant degree, hasn’t the Park been guilty of neglect?”
No doubt Park answers will plead budgetary constraints and more urgent frontcountry needs. There is validity to both, notwithstanding troubling examples of Park employee “do nothingness” alongside stellar work by others.
Or to view matters another way, if plans involve demands on Park staff, let’s handle matters proportionally. Look at the ceaseless “circlers” in Cades Cove, asphalt-bound flocks of buzzards filling the air with exhaust fumes.
Closer to home, what about the unending tube brigade parading up Deep Creek? They degrade banks between trail and stream; leave a noxious, never-ending legacy of litter in their wake; and channel the creek with habitat harming “engineering” projects.
Yet it seems such folks, like those breaking dog walking regulations, picking flowers, and much more, are studiously ignored while Park officials focus their fiscal laser beam on the tiny minority — probably less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all Park visitors — who camp in the backcountry. If they are serious about making folks pay as they go or want a fair distribution of what a friend has nicely styled “ranger impact,” let’s bring some balance to the user equation.
Perhaps more to the point, it seems logical to believe that active backcountry patrolling, along with meaningful fines for angling violations, ginseng poaching, illegal camping, and the like, would accomplish two things. It would provide money to justify the manhours involved and would dramatically curtail such activities.
Interestingly, another recent Park press release says that there has been a steady decline in Park visitation over the past several years. Logically, if that is the case, backcountry usage should also be down. The most recent statistics I could find, from a detailed 2008 study out of the University of Tennessee, bear that out and make Park statements seem ludicrous. According to the study, with the notable exception of the shelters along the Appalachian Trail, campsite usage is anything but heavy.
Take Deep Creek as one example. None of the seven streamside campsites had heavy usage. Only Poke Patch and Bumgardner Branch, the most easily reached of the lot, averaged more than one camper a night for the year (375 and 526 campers, respectively).
Indeed, if you look at campsites from Cataloochee to Twentymile Creek, only two other than Appalachian Trail shelters — Lost Cove on Eagle Creek and Proctor on Hazel Creek — totaled more than a thousand camper nights. That scarcely sounds like overcrowding, when most campsites are suitable for anywhere from 8 to 20 campers per night. Some accommodate appreciably larger numbers.
Additional evidence suggesting misrepresentation of the backcountry situation comes from conversations with hikers and campers as well as my personal observations. My brother, who has hiked thousands of Park miles in recent years, says he has encountered precisely one ranger more than a mile from a trailhead. He also notes, in sharp contradiction to what Park management would have us believe, that he seldom sees backpackers and that most of the campsites he walks by are empty or sparsely populated.
Even easily accessible sites seldom have more than a couple of tents except on weekends and perhaps during peak months (May and October). Take the storied Bryson Place, for example, where you might think crowded conditions often exist. Not so. The 2008 study showed 158 camper nights for the entire year.
A key part of the proposal is that Park management wants to charge a user fee. Putting aside all the considerations addressed above for a moment, I would simply remind Park officials, from Superintendent Dale Ditmanson down, that charging a backcountry fee would break a solemn pledge made at the Park’s founding. Namely, that there would be no access fees for the Smokies. Also, I suspect this is a “foot in the door” kind of thing that could lead to other user and even entrance fees.
As the poet of the Yukon, Robert Service, once wrote, “A promise made is a debt unpaid.” Sadly, Park officials have often broken promises, and here we seem to have a case of where a promise made bids fair to turn into a situation where the Park must be paid. That’s how I see this proposal – as a money grab.
If I believed that there was overcrowding, if I believed that the current reservation system didn’t work, if I believed the fees collected would be used exclusively for backcountry-related matters such as maintenance and a meaningful ranger presence, and if I believed it would stop here, I would tolerate a modest fee. Alas, I think the likelihood of such monies being used exclusively for their proclaimed purposes about the same as thistle seeds being unaffected by dust devils dancing across fields in August.
Even as I urge readers to be heard, I’ll close by confessing cynicism. Past experience suggests that these comment periods and informational sessions are often mere façades, not serious factors in ultimate decisions. Nonetheless, I think anyone who cares should make their voice heard. Sufficient, strident opposition just might have an impact.
(Jim Casada is a writer, an editor and a retired professor from Bryson City. His most recent book is Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insiders Guide to a Pursuit of Passion.)
Comment on Proposals
Send comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mail the Superintendent, GSMNP, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, Tenn., 37738.
Principal chief candidate Patrick Lambert is calling foul after refusing to divulge his pay information to the tribe’s internal auditors. Lambert said they were trying to expose his personal information as a political smear.
The tribe’s internal audit office told Lambert it needed to know his salary at the Tribal Gaming Commission to prepare taxes for the Cherokee Youth Center/Boys & Girls Club. Lambert is a board member. The IRS, it claimed, needed the income paid to any board member of the Boys & Girls club by a related entity.
Both the Boys & Girls Club and gaming commission are tribal operations, so that means related, said the auditor.
Lambert, however, said “no.” Of all the people who sit on that board, why, he asked, was he being singled out?
“Nobody else was contacted to my knowledge,” said Lambert. “I refused to give my W2s. There’s often times people on these volunteer charity boards refuse to give these things, and the IRS accepts that fact if the organization has used reasonable effort.”
Auditor Sharon Blankenship, however, wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. She came to the office of the Tribal Gaming Commission, looking for the documents herself.
She was rebuffed there, as well, and asked to leave after Lambert’s staff put in a call to the Cherokee Police Department. Cherokee Code says that no one but a gaming commissioner can access gaming commission files.
Lambert charges that the effort to uncover his salary is politically motivated, an attempt by the current administration to use it as a smear campaign against him. Blankenship contends that she’s just trying to follow the rules set by the IRS.
The issue came up in a special session of tribal council last Wednesday, where Council Member Teresa McCoy asked why the audit office was going after the papers now.
“I was on that board in 2010 and nobody came to my house and said, ‘I want to look at your tax papers,’” said McCoy.
Blankenship, however, defended her actions. They did, she said, get in touch with everyone and the gaming commission is the only one that didn’t provide salary information.
In the end, Lambert’s attorney turned in an IRS form, but maintained that Lambert is in no way obligated to give out his W2s.
A new motorcoach resort for up to 21 recreation vehicles will be built on N.C. 106 in the Scaly Mountain area of Macon County, a project that developer and owner J.B. Corum is touting as earth friendly and good business.
Corum said he hoped other developers would realize that you could be “good to the environment” and still make money.
“It’s going to be done right, and I’m going to make reasonably good money off of it even then,” the Scaly Mountain resident told the Macon County Planning Board last week. The planning board unanimously approved Corum’s plans on the recommendation of County Planner Derek Roland.
“It’s a nice little place,” Roland said.
Corum has built a previous RV park just outside Dillard, Ga.
His newest project, Wildfower Creek Motor Coach Resort, will be built on 11.6 acres off Brown Lake Road. It will include a wetland area, which is to be donated to a conservation organization, a small pond and a community association building.
— By Quintin Ellison
It’s not too late to register for this year’s Gather ‘Round the Blue Ridge, the fifth-annual meeting of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.
This is a must-attend for those in Western North Carolina’s tourism industry. It takes place Tuesday, Aug. 30, with registration starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Lake Junaluska Conference Center. Highlights include examples of partnerships at work in the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, Heritage Area grants at work, Blue Ridge Music Trails, and more.
Cost is $29 including lunch; reservations are required. 828.298.5330, Ext. 301, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
HandMade in America has spent the past year assessing how to make Bryson City a better place to live, and now the Swain County Chamber of Commerce is calling on citizens to help make their recommendations a reality.
The final results of the study will be presented at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 25, at the Swain County Senior Center.
There are 49 pages of recommendations in the report, which works out to about a dozen projects, said Karen Wilmot, executive director of the chamber. They range from getting wayfaring signs leading to local attractions, Wilmot’s pet project, to historical designations for local buildings and sprucing up the parking lot adjacent to the old courthouse. For that final project, an architect has already drawn up an improvement and landscaping plan, pro bono.
Wilmot said that steering committee members will take charge of one project, but they need residents to really make the projects happen. The executive committee, said Wilmot, is only driving the bus.
At the meeting, residents can learn more about the projects, the report and the next step in the process. For more information, call 828.488.3681 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A new roadside rest area is coming to Balsam, serving westbound travelers on U.S. 23-74. It will sit on seven acres just across the highway from the current rest area on the eastbound side.
One main reason for the new rest area is safety, according to Joel Setzer, head of the Department of Transportation for the 10 western most counties.
The existing rest area serves both sides of the highway, forcing drivers on the far side to make a U-turn across oncoming traffic when pulling in and out, which can be unsafe on such a busy stretch of road, Setzer said.
Plans also call for renovating the existing rest area. Construction is scheduled to begin in August of 2013.
— From staff reports
Investigators are looking for two men who followed a woman to her home in the Cashiers area and sexually assaulted her. They believe there might have been similar incidents involving at least one of the suspects, and are urging any other possible victims to call them.
The sexual assault took place Aug. 14 and involved a 34-year-old woman. She described the primary suspect as about 5-feet, 6-inches tall, Hispanic, with brown eyes and black-spiked hair, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
“There have been statements made by other individuals in the community that similar incidents with similar circumstances have occurred in the past,” a news release stated. “The suspect may live or work in the Cashiers area and may frequent stores and restaurants.”
The sheriff’s office is also seeking possible surveillance video of the primary suspect.
The man might have a scratch from his nose to his cheek, though it might at this point be faded, the victim said. Anyone with information should call 828.586.1391.
In an unrelated sexual assault in neighboring Macon County, investigators there continue searching for a suspect who broke into a woman’s home on Rose Creek Cove Road in the Cowee community. The victim did not know the suspect, described as a white male, approximately 6-feet tall, with short dark brown hair, no facial hair, and blue or green eyes. He has a skinny to medium sized frame and a noticeable tan. Anyone with information regarding this case should call 828.349.2104.
Applications are now available for the Haywood County Arts Council’s Grassroots subgrants. These grants are designed to support arts activities occurring through June 30. Nonprofit arts organizations or nonprofits planning an arts activity may apply. The applicant organization must be based in Haywood County and produce its programming in Haywood County.
Grassroots grants are matching grants that must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the receiving organization. Application is by letter describing the organization and the project, along with a budget for the project, and the signatures of parties responsible for the organization. Each first time applicant organization must discuss their proposal with Arts Council staff before completing the application.
An information session to introduce the program to new applicants is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Haywood County Arts Council’s gallery and offices. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Kay Miller at 828.452.0593 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Old-time musicians Trevor and Travis Stuart, natives of Bethel, will perform at this year’s Gather ‘Round the Blue Ridge, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area annual meeting, which will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 30, at the Lake Junaluska Conference Center.
The Stuart Brothers have been playing as a duo for more than 20 years and have played for dances, festivals, music camps and concerts throughout the United States, as well as in England, Ireland, Germany and Russia. They also participate in the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program, teaching schoolchildren to play traditional mountain music.
The keynote speaker for the event is Gerard Baker, who until his recent retirement was the highest ranking Native American in the National Park Service.
The cost is $29 and includes lunch. Reservations are required. For more information, contact Amy Hollifield at 828.298.5330, ext. 301 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Youth Talent Contest will return to the Great Smoky Mountains Railway Railfest on Sept. 17 in Bryson City.
The contest will give the opportunity for youth up to age 18 to share their talents. Participants in this contest must exhibit a talent that will reflect heritage and old Appalachian ways of our region. Applications are due by Sept. 1.
Categories include poetry/storytelling, vocal performance, instrumentalists and dance.
Trophies are offered for first- second- and third-place winners. First-Place Best of Show winner will have the opportunity of playing on the Heritage Stage at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day.
To register, download the application from www.spirirofappalachia.org and mail to Jackson County 4-H, 538 Scotts Creek Road, Sutie 205, Sylva, N.C., 28779, email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fax to 828.586.5009.
For more information, call 828.586.4009 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
100-plus artists and crafters from all over the Southeast will gather for a craft show from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4 and 5, at Maggie Valley.
The event will feature piped music throughout the day, and festival foods such as kettle corn, hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecue sandwiches with baked beans, cole slaw, sweet tea and turkey legs will be prepared by local groups. The Java Hut will sell specialty coffee drinks, smoothies and more.
Fireworks will be displayed at the fairgrounds on Sunday, starting around 9:15 p.m.
Admission is free. 828.497.9425 or visit www.maggievalleycraftshows.com.
