The next public meeting in the forest plan revision process for Pisgah and Nantahala national forests is planned for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 10 in Asheville. Wildlife habitat and managing for ecosystem integrity and diversity will be the main topics of discussion, and a comment station for Wild and Scenic Rivers will also be available. 

The meeting is just the next installment in a series of public forums leading up to development of a final management plan in August 2016. The new management plan will guide the ecological, recreational and economic management of the forest for the next two decades. 

The meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Resort Drive in Asheville. Complete information on the planning process is available at www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/home/?cid=stelprdb5397660. 

A new app for iPhone and Android will give hikers a guide to more than 300 hikes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Georgia and upstate South Carolina.

The Hemlock Restoration Initiative is seeking proposals to turn $50,000 worth of grant funding into a win in the battle to save hemlocks from the wooly adelgid.

Part contest, part festival, part education and part science, the 2014 Discover Life in America BioBlitz will bring citizens and scientists from across the country together in a race against time to see how many fungal species they can count in 24 hours in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

To the Editor:

I am writing today with a heavy heart. I am saddened, frustrated and embarrassed. We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and the fact that I have to pick up garbage everywhere I go has become nauseating.

I am a firm believer in the motto “bring back more that you take” when going into our forests — or anywhere for that matter. However, it has gotten to the point that I have to bring gloves and take hefty bags with me every time I visit the Sunburst area.

I am from the mountains and Sunburst has always been one of my favorite places to visit. This past weekend, my fiancée and I decided to take some out-of-town guests for an adventure. Our adventure quickly turned into a litter-collecting extravaganza. Dirty diapers, broken glass, plastic, bottles full of tobacco spit, old clothes, cigarette butts and fastfood bags were all over. We were humiliated to tell our friends not to let their children go barefoot for fear of getting cut. 

I won’t be going back to Sunburst for a while. And, if I go back again and see that much trash, I’ll break down in tears.

We need to respect Mother Nature. Let’s try and keep North Carolina beautiful.

Michelle and Robby Railey

Haywood County

To the Editor:

I am a politician — a local one — and while I make jokes about politics, I take the work seriously because it’s an opportunity to make changes that benefit people. To get elected, I talked about ideas and walked all over my community, knocking on doors and dodging the occasional dog that figured I was invading its territory. Four other people were in the race with me. Not once did I say anything negative about them. They were all good people and had their own ideas. What we had was a contest of ideas.

That’s what politics should be. But the political landscape in Western North Carolina has turned nasty. To get elected, a few candidates are willing to say almost anything about their opponent. Truth has become a victim, and in that way so are voters who are often forced to hold their nose and choose between candidates who would prefer to slam each other with personal attacks rather than be responsible for their own ideas.

Those of us who live in the N.C. 50th Senatorial District, however, have a much clearer choice this year. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, the incumbent, got elected with outsider’s money paying for literature that said that his last opponent, John Snow, favored abortion. John Snow did not favor abortion, but the truth got smothered with last-minute mailings and we got Jim Davis in Raleigh.

This year, Davis is at it again. This time he’s even sneakier. His outside money is paying for a telephone “political survey” that is designed to paint a negative picture about his opponent, Jane Hipps. If you get a call from these people, they will ask you if you would vote for someone who is quoted as saying that she will raise taxes and cut funding to schools.

Saying that Jane Hipps will raise taxes and cut funding to schools is about like saying Thomas Wolfe couldn’t write. This absurdity is mind numbing. Jane has spent almost 40 years as an educator in North Carolina. The absurdity becomes ridiculous when we know that it was Jim Davis who raised taxes (on 137 items and services that we use) and cut the school budget to where it is one of the lowest in the nation.                 

Should you get a call from Jim Davis’ bogus pollsters, be prepared to tell them that you won’t be led by lies and half-truths. Tell them that when Jim Davis learns to tell the truth and talk about ideas, then you will listen … but by then the election will be over.

Rick Bryson

Bryson City

To the Editor:

Actions speak louder than words. North Carolina residents need to pay attention. The loud, false, words of the Republican legislators in Raleigh attempt to drown out the truth. Republicans claim to be the party of less big government and more local control. Their actions tell a different story. The Republican dominated legislative seized power from local governments to regulate environmental issues. Now, local municipalities’ environmental ordinances are void. State law dominates.

Big government in Raleigh attempted to take over both the Asheville water system and the Charlotte airport. Who benefits if the state takes over locally controlled facilities? Republicans would turn these facilities over to private corporate ownership to be run for a profit. In truth, residents would pay more for these services. The Republican led legislature has repealed the franchise tax. This profits corporations and big businesses that support legislators’ election campaigns. The loss of this revenue, and other state tax dollars, is forcing local municipalities to increase local taxes, cut local services and funding for public schools.

Who benefits from big government’s power grab? Not local municipalities and North Carolina citizens. Our Republican-dominated state government serves for the benefit of private corporations and big businesses. Gas companies will make millions from fracking North Carolina as a result of a new state law. State Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, supports fracking, claiming it will create jobs, benefitting the economy without harming the environment. In truth few local jobs would be created. Gas companies employ their own trained people and move them from job to job. Gas removed from North Carolina will not benefit our state. 

Have you noticed prices for movies, live performances, shows, guided tours, etc., have increased? Beginning Jan. 1, the state imposed a 4.75 percent “privilege” tax on most entertainment activities. Are you pleased to know Raleigh has reduced taxes on the purchase of corporate yachts and private jets?

State government is shifting the tax burden to North Carolina’s citizens while creating greater profits for corporations and big businesses. Republicans claim that providing added profit incentives will lure business to North Carolina and create jobs. What corporations would be attracted to our state where public education ranks near the bottom and North Carolina’s beautiful treasured environment is endangered?

Margery Abel

Franklin

Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Fiber students and recent graduates recently won awards in the national juried student fiber exhibition Spotlight on Student Fiber Trends 2014 at the Lamar Dodd School of Art Galleries at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Student Clara Schulte and 2014 graduates Dana Claire and Deanna Lynch were each recipients of awards. Entrants included students in leading four-year universities and private art schools. 

Schulte was the recipient of the Edwina Bringle Award for her work titled “Wrapped in Smiles.” Schulte was also awarded Merit Prize for her piece called “Winter Trail.” “Spring Kimono” by Lynch was also awarded Merit Prize. The prize sponsor for both Merit Prizes was Georgia Yarn Company. 

Appalachian Art Glass will teach the Tiffany method of making stained glass through August at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.

Acclaimed musicians Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth will open the Songcatchers Music Series at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 6, at the Cradle of Forestry in America.

The Summer Jazz Series returns for the month of July at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. The series takes place at 7 p.m. July 5, 12, 19 and 26. 

Biologists will get a boost in monitoring Smokies elk populations, thanks to a $13,720 grant Friends of the Smokies received from Charter Communications, Inc. The grant money purchased 15 radio collars and two receivers to track and monitor the large mammals. 

A horse exhibition hosted by Friends of Panthertown from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 28, will raise money for conservation and trail maintenance in Panthertown Valley, a national forest recreation area near Cashiers.

Visitors are invited to check on the progress of the American chestnut restoration effort at Cataloochee Ranch in Haywood County with self-guided and guided tours this summer.

Franklin has a hall-of-famer following the induction of Rev. Rufus Morgan into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame earlier this month. 

To the Editor:

We continually hear the myth about how the rich are greedy, but what we don’t hear is how greedy a high school dropout can be or the union workers who want more money or even those on welfare who want more benefits. In reality, they are all driven by greed.

Our rich buy and build all those things that provide jobs. The rich invest their money, which allows industry and manufacturing to grow. Confiscate more money from the rich and it goes into a government hopper where it inevitably disappears in wasteful and massive government bureaucracies. Government does not create jobs, only a free market does.

And the rich don’t keep their money under a mattress; they invest it to help our country grow.

Borrowing from an article by Michael Shermer in Scientific American who makes the point, confirmed by the federal government and economists, that the pie we all take a portion from is actually a much larger pie, so the relative size of our portion has actually grown.

For example, a report by the Federal Reserve showed that during 2013 the net worth of American households actually grew 14 percent with an increase of $10 trillion to an astounding $80.7 trillion; one huge pie indeed.

President Obama’s comments about lack of economic mobility were incorrect because in fact during the period between 1987 and 2005 almost half of the public moved into a higher income tax bracket.  However, of those in the top income tax brackets, almost 60 percent moved into a lower tax bracket.

We are faced with a number of other myths and one is that the rich are extremely rich, but when this myth was examined it was found that while most believed the rich had annual incomes of $2 million, it was found that the rich have incomes of only $169,000.

All in all, the American dream is still alive and we are doing quite well thank you, regardless of the envy we hear from people who quit high school and blame the rich. While we do have our share of poverty and we certainly need to help those who cannot help themselves, the vast majority of those so-called poverty-stricken people still manage to own a huge flat screen television and expensive cell phones.

In final analysis, the liberal view of taking from the rich to give to the poor only results in destroying the work ethic of many who then become dependent, while those with political connections just get fatter off the backs of the workers. Remember when Hillary Clinton complained that they were flat broke when Bill left office, having only $12 million income?

The people who we really need to be worrying about now are the retired folks who built this country and worked hard to put money away for their retirement but now see their savings wiped out by inflation. With every minimum wage increase, we have another round of inflation.

Bob Wilson

Franklin

To the Editor:

Thank you for Holly Kays’ excellent article covering the recent shooting of a bear in Maggie Valley, leaving behind three orphaned cubs.

This was a needless tragedy, and I fear that others may feel emboldened to take things into their own hands and kill bears that they consider to be problematic instead of taking the proper steps to prevent such problems.

Bears are intelligent wild animals. They live to eat, and they won’t pass up a free meal if people provide one. Such meals come in the form of garbage, birdfeeders (including suet and hummingbird feeders), grills, pet food, etc.

The man in this story had a birdfeeder that had brought the bear onto his porch twice during the night before he killed her. If he had only removed the feeder, it may have ended right there, but he didn’t. That is beyond irresponsible. It is reckless and selfish.

He is not the only one — I’ve heard plenty of other people say something to the effect that “I love my birds, so don’t tell me to put away my birdfeeder.” One couple that disregarded such advice ended up with the bear invading their house on two separate occasions, doing considerable damage to the kitchen. Had they been home, they might have shot the bear like the man in this story did. So whose fault is it?

I’m sorry that this man won’t be prosecuted, as he deliberately left a bear attractant out in a potentially dangerous situation. 

A bear is just going to be a bear. As our members tell many people, it is up to us humans to change our behavior in order to peacefully coexist with the bears and other wild animals with whom we share our mountains. I hope people will follow the advice included in Holly’s article in order to prevent similar problems and tragedies in the future.

Cynthia Strain

Highlands

Chairwoman of the B.E.A.R. (Bear Education and Resources) Task Force

To the Editor:

Having lived in North Carolina for a year, I’ve noticed that low teacher salaries are a hot topic. (For the record, I teach in a private school where we earn even less than the public sector). But I follow the debate with interest because the rhetoric is flung around thickly.

Here’s a quote that was highlighted in an article in the June 18 issue of The Smoky Mountain News: 

“If given the choice, would you enroll your child in a state that is 48th in per pupil spending?”

What is implied by that question (Which is actually NOT a question but an assertion masquerading as a question)?

You have to spend a lot of money to educate a child well? Money is the number one predictor of good education? 

What don’t we know?

• Whether all 50 states actually spend close to the same. What if N.C. truly is 48th in spending but the variance among state budgets is pretty narrow?

• Whether the quality of students graduating from secondary schools and universities is a problem.

• What the end product (i.e., students) is like in states that spend the most.

• What the difference in dollars goes to in states that spend more.

• What ‘per pupil spending’ actually includes. What goes into that figure? Does more money go directly to teacher salaries? And if so, is there a correlation between better-paid teachers and quality education as measured again by the end product?

Here are some facts to consider:

• The city of Washington, D.C., spent an average of $29,349 per student in 2010-11, and 81 percent were not proficient in either reading nor math.

• North Carolina spent $8,433 per pupil during the 2012-2013 school year.

• The average among all 50 states was $11,068 for the same 2012-2013 window.

Here’s what I would ask those making the case that we are in trouble in N.C.:

• What does the average home-schooling family spend per pupil?

• How much is the average private school tuition?

• What about online schools that are growing in both accessibility and quality?

Here’s the bottom line for any issue: You can’t have a useful discussion without taking time to flesh out hidden assumptions and facts!

Thanks for your paper. We read it each week and enjoy keeping up with local issues.

Maria Cochrane

Balsam

The nonprofit community group known as the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor (CuRvE) has been awarded an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant from the Southwest Commission to fund ongoing efforts for improved recreational amenities along the Tuckaseegee River where it passes through the Cullowhee community.  

CuRvE’s projects focus on a 3.5-mile portion of the river from the Lena Davis Landing upstream to the newly constructed Locust Creek River Access Area close to N.C. 107.

The grant will provide funds for CuRvE to hire a river consultant to create a plan for in-stream water activities and a landscape architect to create a series of drawings to help visualize the possibilities for a riverpark and completed greenway. The organization has also been working closely with N.C. DOT on an improved design for the new bridge that will constructed over the Tuckaseegee River this fall.

CuRvE is currently finishing up work on a previous grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.

A tribal elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians delivered the opening prayer in the Cherokee language at the N.C. Senate session June 19. Jerry Wolfe, was a natural choice to deliver the prayer.

Widely recognized for his service to the Eastern Band, Wolfe is a Navy veteran who was aboard a ship both during the D-Day invasion at Normandy and the Japanese surrender that ended World War II. The 89-year-old is also a fluent speaker of the Cherokee language and a tribal traditionalist steeped in the knowledge of tribal history and culture.

Wolfe was named a Beloved Man by the tribal council in April 2013, an honor which has not been bestowed by the Eastern Band in more than 200 years. He has received numerous honors over the years for his cultural knowledge including the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 2003 and the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society in 2010.

“Jerry Wolfe is a well-respected and tremendous leader for our people, which he has demonstrated through his life’s work,” commented Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band. “It is a great honor for him, and for our tribe, to open a session of the North Carolina Senate in the Cherokee language.”

Swain County Hospital offers Senior Life Solutions, a program that facilitates intensive outpatient psychiatric care for adults and seniors with Medicare. The program, which is located inside Swain County Hospital, is available to individuals through physician or self referral. 

Patients experiencing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, suicidal thoughts, social withdrawal, disorientation, hallucinations, feelings of worthlessness, interpersonal conflicts, deterioration of daily living skills, and other psychiatric symptoms that disrupt daily life could benefit from participating in the program. 

Individuals in the program have access to psychiatric appointments with licensed clinical social workers as well as monthly appointments with psychiatrist Dr. James Greene, who also serves as medical director of the program. 

“This program is truly a resource for the community that cannot be found elsewhere,” said Lacy Webster, RN, program director. 

The program begins with three-hour treatment sessions up to three days per week, with treatment time lessening as symptoms improve. Follow-up care is provided. Free transportation is also available to program participants dependent upon location and appointment times. 

828.488.4044.

Kelly Donaldson, 42, of Cullowhee, began work June 9 as the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center new assistant director.

Donaldson’s addition is a part of a restructuring plan by the Jackson chamber ‘s board of directors to plot a fresh new path for future growth in the area.

“Kelly will bring a new skill set and level of professionalism that our merchants, citizens and visitors will adore,” said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julie Spiro. “We’re excited about the potential for growth within our chamber and community. Kelly will provide an invigorating level of staff support, event planning, growth of commerce, and visitor and community service to the chamber.”

Donaldson comes from serving seven years as editor at the Crossroads Chronicle in Cashiers. Previously, he worked seven years as a sports editor in Gainesville, Ga., Morganton, and Brevard. He also has experience in marketing, public relations, photography, fundraising and graphic design. 

Donaldson has been a member of the board of directors for the Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce, (2010-12); the Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association (2012-present); the Fishes and Loaves Food Pantry (2012-present); the Cashiers Preservation Foundation (2011-12); and several others, including Relay for Life and Make-A-Wish. 

“We as a board decided to make an aggressive and proactive move to increase our value and presence in the community,” said Jackson Chamber Board President Thom Brooks, of Southwestern Community College. “We are proud to have one of the best Chamber Executive Directors in the state in Julie Spiro. Kelly will give her the assistance and support she needs to fully execute the goals of the chamber, our citizens and our visitors. This is a move to propel ourselves into the future with a level of stability and vision unlike anything we’ve planned before.”

An initiative to educate first-time, low-income mothers in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties on how to raise healthy, school-ready children with a focus on the critical first two years of the child’s life is being launched by the Southwestern Child Development Commission.

The Nurse Family Partnership will employ four nurses with B.S. degrees, one Masters level nursing supervisor and administrative support staff.  Each nurse will provide home visits to approximately 25 mothers throughout pregnancy and through their child’s second birthday.  

The new initiative is being funded by a $150,000 grant from the Community Foundation from WNC. The Brown Family Fund, the Wasson-Stowe Charitable Fund and the MAC Mountain Fund partnered with CFWNC to fund this grant.  Significant funding is also being provided by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, The Evergreen Foundation and the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

Jeanette White, coordinator of Southwestern Community College’s Civil Engineering Technology program, keeps getting calls from employers looking for graduates who are ready to work. There’s just one issue: all of White’s graduates already have jobs or are continuing their education at a four-year school.

“Our program still has a 100-percent employment rate,” White said. “We are very fortunate that a lot of employers are looking for us to produce more graduates. It’s a wonderful field with a wide range of employment possibilities. We just need more students.”

White’s graduates are currently employed with the North Carolina Department of Transportation as well as private civil engineering, surveying and construction firms throughout the area. According to U.S. Labor Department figures, Civil engineering technicians’ median annual wage was $47,560 in May 2012.

In SCC’s program, students become proficient in surveying technology using the latest surveying instrumentations, including the use of a robotic total station. 

828.339.4427.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Pow Wow will be held July 4-6 at the Acquoni Expo Center.

There will be a handful of youth arts programs held throughout July as part of the Cullowhee Mountain ARTS summer series. Held in the School of Art and Design on the Western Carolina University Campus, these camps allow young artists to explore a multitude of media and techniques while working toward an overall goal.

The Haywood County Arts Council recently hired Jodi John Pippin as their new part-time executive director as of June 2014. 

The Singing In The Smokies Independence Weekend Festival will run from July 3-5 at Inspiration Park in Bryson City. 

By Chris Cooper

Silly, psychedelic and monstrously musical, the teaming of Keller Williams with Larry and Jenny Keel on Grass is sure to produce something that’s out there, to say the least. As well, it’s an opportunity to hear Williams in a much simpler format without the loops and percussion and one-man-band shtick.

The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism

Haynes Johnson’s 2005 book isn’t frightening, but it should at least make thinking people think about some fundamental issues facing Americans. How, he asks, can we “safeguard the nation’s security without jeopardizing its liberties.” The parallels between the Red scare of the 1950s and now are a “... terrible, and terribly familiar, story: how fear can produce abuses that damage individuals and dishonor America in the name of making both safer.” The majority of the book — more than 400 of its 600 pages — are dedicated to a re-telling of McCarthy’s quick rise and fall and how he mastered the politics of scare tactics, secrecy and outright deception to get what he wanted.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

History books and literature long have recounted and regaled the Civil War, examined its long-lasting effects in determining who “we” are as a great and unified South, and how “we” are not yet ready to lay down arms between victor and vanquished.

Author, storyteller and playwright Gary Carden of Sylva has been awarded the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award presented by the North Carolina Folklore Society.

By Michael Beadle

The North Carolina Education Lottery might be seen by state officials as a boon for public education, but it’s already becoming a frustration for some school officials in Western North Carolina.

According to provisions in the state’s lottery law, about a third of the money raised in the lottery (35 percent) would go toward education programs — an estimated $425 million, according to state figures. Half of this money will go to pay for more classroom teachers in early elementary grades and pre-kindergarten programs. Of the remaining portion, 40 percent would go toward school construction projects and 10 percent would go to college scholarships based on a student’s financial need.

By Michael Beadle

As the opening date approaches for the North Carolina Education Lottery, local retailers in Western North Carolina are gearing up to sell the first batch of tickets.

At the Cullasaja Exxon outside of Franklin, owner Ronnie Setzer is ready.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Macon County Planning Board members will continue their first discussion of a draft subdivision ordinance set to potentially include steep slope development regulations at a meeting held at 5 p.m. today (Wednesday, March 29) at the Environmental Resource Center.

By Sarah Kucharski * Staff Writer

Is there enough affordable housing in Sylva? Do you feel safe in your neighborhood? Are you satisfied with street repair? How often do you go to Poteet Park?

Town leaders are looking for answers to these questions and others in a new citizen satisfaction survey designed to solicit public opinion from homeowners about the town’s current services and future improvements.

There’s no more pressing issue in this region than enacting ordinances to control steep slope development. If we snooze on this one, then everyone from town dwellers to those living in the rural countryside will suffer the consequences for years to come.

By Stephanie Wampler

I didn’t know her. I never met her. I haven’t even read that much about her. I saw lots of pictures of her husband, but not so many of her. The pictures of her were always with her husband. She apparently had a career of her own and was both a singer and an actress.

But that’s not why I know about her.

By Sarah Kucharski

Standing in the shallows of the Tuckasegee River between Webster and Dillsboro, cold water flowing around the ankles of his waders, longtime fisherman Steve Henson asked fly-fishing guide Roger Lowe what they could expect from the day’s upcoming fishing trip.

For the first time in more than 30 years, fishermen in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be allowed to catch and keep brook trout under new experimental Park fishing regulations starting April 15.

It’s past time to keep rehashing the same old arguments about whether having a state lottery is a good idea. It’s on the books and operating now, and it’s impossible to imagine ever going backward.

A new breed of predator beetles that could help fight the hemlock wooly adelgid were released in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park two weeks ago.

The hemlock wooly adelgid is a bug from Asia that has invaded the Southern Appalachian Mountains and is rapidly infesting hemlock trees. Without action, the region could lose nearly all of its hemlock trees within five to 10 years, leaving a gaping hole in the forest ecosystem and the landscape.

By Ed Kelley

Tiptoeing quickly across the Toxaway River, my ankle gaiters did the job and kept the cold water out of my boots. With higher water, fording the river could be dicey. I had chosen the Auger Hole trail in Gorges State Park because I thought it would give me a nice overview of the park and get me deep into the gorges. The trail is a well-maintained road that is driven regularly by Park Rangers.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials say they have been erroneously blamed by some residents for introducing large, black and orange ladybeetles that congregate en masse in residential areas.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

There are two things Arthel Watson fans are sure to mention when asked about the folk musician — his voice and his character.

They say his voice channels everything that is true Americana. They say his character is one bearing a great sense of honesty and professionalism.

As part of an innovative fundraising effort called “Doctors for Doc,” Haywood County physicians affiliated with Haywood Regional Medical Center are helping fund an upcoming concert featuring Grammy Award-winning musicians Doc Watson and David Holt.

By Chris Cooper

The name Radney Foster takes me back to the earlier days of home satellite dishes and music television. It was still a novelty to have access to so many things to watch, and in an effort not to be totally biased musically, I perused the music channels regardless of “stylistic format.”

National Poetry Month

April may have been “the cruelest month” for poet T.S. Eliot, but for me it is truly a gift, a time of budding flowers and warming weather. April is also National Poetry Month, a time to honor what Percy Shelley once called “the best and happiest moments by the happiest and best minds.”

North Carolina is blessed with some wonderful poets — Fred Chappell, Jim Applewhite, Robert Morgan, Reynolds Price, Betty Adcock, Gerald Barrax, Ron Rash (just to name a few) — so if you’re interested in some fine new poetry collections, I strongly suggest Kay Byer’s Coming to Rest, Michael McFee’s Shinemaster and Mark Smith-Soto’s Any Second Now. (Check your local independent bookstore for these treasures and many others.)

In Kay Byer’s Coming to Rest, the North Carolina Poet Laureate is a master of verse crafting complex forms such as the sestina, villanelle and ghazal — even the paradelle (a parody of the villanelle). Byer speaks of travels all over the United States and the world, the journeys we take through a daunting emotional landscape, the still moments we capture in the viewfinder of our mind’s eye. Byer sends the reader lyrical postcards of the American West (“Zuni”), poignant perspectives as a mother (“Pneumonia”), a tribute to her college days at UNC-Greensboro (“The Exotics”), and clues into her new role as laureate — “I’ve already answered my e-mail, my voice / mail, my snail mail. My real work? To take hold.” I love the way she’s able to weave a reference from Edith Piaf in with Wal-Mart sunglasses. There’s a balance between the sublime and the mundane, a reverence for languages of different cultures, an insatiable curiosity wherever she goes, a vulnerability that she wrestles with and embraces.

Michael McFee, an Asheville native and professor of English at UNC-Chapel Hill, has worked as a poet and anthologizer, compiling North Carolina poets and short story writers in wonderful collections. McFee’s latest poetry book, Shinemaster, is a tribute to bygone days, childhood memories of baseball and Bible School, recollections of going to the old gas station, swimming at Lake Junaluska, and going through the cafeteria line at the S & W in downtown Asheville. But McFee does not intend to squeeze a sentimental tear out of every page. On the contrary, he uses his playful gift of language to wax on the subjects of belching, spitting, sneezing, making spitwads, kissing and having sex. There are odes to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and meteor showers, a lost Valentine’s Day balloon and a fascinating history lesson on sweet potatoes. McFee is a delight to read, graceful, witty and wise.

Finally, there’s Mark Smith-Soto’s new collection, Any Second Now. Smith-Soto is a professor of Romance languages and director of the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts at UNC-Greensboro. As a Costa Rican-American, Smith-Soto carries the lush landscape of Central America into breathtaking imagery. Many of the poems in Any Second Now are sonnets, but he takes the form and softens the rhymes so you may not at first recognize these poems as sonnets. In a modern world full of paradox and bizarre juxtaposition, Smith-Soto is able to capture beauty in seemingly insignificant moments of everyday life — channel-surfing, grocery shopping, someone taking off a sweater in a café. In “Ambulance,” he writes, “I’ve just cut the mower off, and now / a siren uncoils in the still air ... The wail deepens, and I am then afraid / as if I could be hurt / without knowing it. ...And still I stand in my yard, watching / color pool into the orange tulips, thinking: / nothing is wrong, not here, not now.” Particularly appealing are his political poems — “President In My Heart” (a satirical twist on a fairy tale and a smart bomb war), “See It On Video” (a tribute to Rodney King) and “Manhattan Buddha” (a tribute to 9/11).

Enjoy National Poetry Month this year by curling up with some of “the happiest and best minds” this earth has to offer.

— By Michael Beadle

April may have been “the cruelest month” for poet T.S. Eliot, but for me it is truly a gift, a time of budding flowers and warming weather. April is also National Poetry Month, a time to honor what Percy Shelley once called “the best and happiest moments by the happiest and best minds.”