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The Liars Bench will present its third annual show of “Appalachian Spook Tales” at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18 at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center auditorium.
The Liars Bench is a southern Appalachian variety show started by writer and storyteller Gary Carden, and the Oct. 18 cast includes Lloyd Arneach, Paul Iarussi, guest storyteller Dot Jackson, and the Tuckaseegee Boys — Ethan Fortner, Russel Messer, and Wyatt Messer — who perform Southern Appalachian scary in story and song on stage.
“The outside world stereotypes us as an ignorant, violent culture, and that’s not true,” said Carden. “Yet at the same time, we’ve had our share of murder and violence. Sometimes it’s been quite dark. This Liars Bench won’t be a ‘funny-face,’ jack-o-lantern type of Halloween show. You need to be ready for Southern Appalachian ‘scary,’” Carden said.
“I know that the audience will be very impressed with the stories of both Lloyd Arneach and Dot Jackson” said Carden.
The Liars Bench is a blend of culturally accurate mountain Americana with traditional Southern Appalachian entertainment for everyone, according to Carden.
“We attempt to treat Appalachian culture with integrity and authenticity and to be an accurate reflection of the Southern Highlanders and their ways,” said Carden. “No matter how successful the show becomes I want people to know that The Liars Bench is an honest rendering of Appalachian culture and tradition.”
The next presentation of The Liars Bench at WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15 with a special production of one of Carden’s plays, “Birdell,” the story of a defiant mountain woman forced off her land by the rising waters of Fontana Lake.
A candidate forum will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, at the Jackson County Public Library.
Candidates attending are: Republican Jim Davis and Democrat John Snow, candidates for the N.C. Senate’s 50th District; Republican Mike Clampitt and Democrat Joe Sam Queen, candidates for the N.C. House’s 119th District; and Republican Marty Jones and Democrat Mark Jones, candidates for Jackson County commissioner. Candidates for the U.S House, Republican Mark Meadows and Democrat Hayden Rogers, could not attend because of a conflict.
Forum sponsors include Macon County League of Women Voters, Canary Coalition, OccupyWNC and Smoky Mountain News. Audience members will be able to submit questions as they arrive.
The Lens Luggers outdoor photography group will host two excursions, Oct. 20 and 21, to give visual enthusiasts the opportunity to hone their wildlife photography skills. The group will meet at 6:30 a.m. at Maggie Valley Inn and carpool to Cataloochee Valley for the elk in rut. Male elk are particularly active during the fall mating season as they fight over the females. The group will stop at several destinations on each day, including scenic routes along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
All camera levels and experience are welcome. Space is limited. Cost is $75 per day or $125 for both days.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.627.0245.
The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy is leading a hike to Hemphill Bald at Cataloochee Ranch at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13.
The moderate 5-mile roundtrip hike with an elevation change of 900 feet begins on a road used for hiking and horseback riding, marked by fall flowers, mountain streams, and cove hardwood forest mixed at times with hemlock stands and the rhododendron and mountain laurel.
As the trail reaches the ridge top, woods are replaced by open high altitude pastureland and with the chance for views of four counties and a number of mountaintops under clear conditions. The preserved tract is adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The cost is free for SAHC members and $10 for non-SAHC members. This moderate 5-mile roundtrip hike with an elevation change of 900 feet begins on a road used for hiking and horseback riding.
828.253.0095 ext. 205 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A free workshop for landowners interested in learning more about conservtion agreements with a land trust will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m Oct. 8 at the Jackson County Library.
Landowners can learn more about their options for preserving special areas, keeping forests and farms in production and leaving a legacy for future generations.
The event is hosted by Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and the Conservation Trust for North Carolina. The workshops will provide information on conservation options and resources, including maintaining working forests and farms, tax breaks available through conservation agreements and testimonials from other landowners.
919.828.4199 ext. 17
Historical and outdoor enthusiasts can go watch a small group of re-enactors in a reconstructed campsite of the early 1900’s from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 13 at the Cradle of Forestry in the Pisgah National Forest.
The delayed harvest section of the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County, one of 15 spots on the Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail, will receive an infusion of 19,600 trout this fall. The stocking will be conducted by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in two segments — 9,800 trout the first week of October and another 9,800 trout the first week of November.
Brook and rainbow trout will account for 80 percent of the fish placed in the river, with brown trout making up the remaining 20 percent. Anglers are allowed to fish the delayed harvest section of the Tuckasegee River year-round. However, any fish caught between Oct. 1 and the first Saturday in June must be released immediately. The delayed harvest section of the river runs from the N.C. 107 bridge in the Lovesfield community to Dillsboro.
Boat access to the delayed harvest section of the Tuck has also been improved. A new boat ramp recently opened in Dillsboro, while a second one is set to open later this year off Old Cullowhee Highway, just upstream from the N.C. 107 bridge.
Other good autumn places to fish along the WNC Fly Fishing Trail are: Scott Creek, Panthertown Creek, Savannah Creek and the Chattooga River. Scott Creek, which flows through Sylva and Dillsboro, was stocked with 1,500 trout in July and additional 1,500 trout in August.
800.962.1911 or www.FlyFishingTrail.com
The U.S. Forest Service will close the Massey Branch Boat Ramp on Lake Santeetlah beginning Oct. 15 so that improvements can be made to the boating access area. The Forest Service estimates that the boat ramp will reopen in April. The work will create an additional entrance to the area, a new double lane boat access with a dock and improve parking for boat trailers. The project will also improve accessibility at the site and protect water quality through drainage control measures.
Alternative public boat ramps are located at Cheoah Point Boat Ramp and Avey Creek Boat Ramp.
A guided hike in the Cataloochee Valley area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be held Thursday, Oct. 18.
Biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission have launched a captive breeding program for the giant, odd-looking Hellbender salamander, also called water dogs or snot otters. If successful, the program could be a first.
The U.S. Forest Service has launched a web site for “Leaf Viewing in Western North Carolina.” The site features scenic drives and areas in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests for enjoying fall foliage. The site describes the types of mountain plants that visitors will see during peak season at high, middle and low elevations — including what weeks are best for the different elevations.
Jackson County Public Library in Sylva will host a book talk with Barbara Taylor Woodall on at 7 p.m. Oct. 16.
Woodall will discuss her memoir, It’s Not My Mountain Anymore, which describes more than 50 years of memories of mountain life and mountain changes.
828.586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.
Jackson County Public Library will host a book talk with Emily Cooper, author of Queen of the Lost, a fictionalized account of former First Lady of South Carolina Lucy Pickens, at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 in downtown Sylva.
Cooper’s book focuses on the life of Pickens, the legendary “Queen of the Confederacy” and wife of South Carolina Gov. Francis Pickens. A fictionalized historical saga spanning 150 years, the book traces Pickens from her origins in Tennessee and Texas to the tsar’s palace in St. Petersburg with her then-ambassador husband. Following Pickens’ election to the governorship and South Carolina’s subsequent secession, she became the first and only woman to be pictured on Confederate currency.
828.586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.
Two authors will present their latest works on Oct. 13 at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. Ava Lindsey Chambers will speak at 2 p.m., with Amy Cortese at 5 p.m.
Chambers will present her novel No Reservations, which tells the story of Mary, a young woman who thought she knew who she was. She lived in a happy home with two loving parents but soon finds out they are not her natural parents. The revelation sets her off on a journey to find out just where it is she came from and who she truly is.
Cortese will discusses her book, Locavesting, which looks behind the scenes of the local investing movement, where, in dozens of towns and cities across the country, a vast experiment in citizen finance is taking place. From Brooklyn, N.Y. to Port Townsend, Wa., residents are banding together to save their small businesses and Main Streets from extinction.
828.586.9499.
The School of Music at Western Carolina University will present a guest artist recital featuring saxophonist Allison Dromgold Adams with pianist Liz Ames at 5 p.m. Oct. 23 in the recital hall of the Coulter Building.
Adams is a member of the Estrella Consort, a saxophone quartet in Phoenix. With this ensemble, she has performed and presented master classes across Ecuador and competed as a semifinalist at the 2012 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
Ames recently performed at the 2011 International Double Reed Society Conference and was the piano coordinator for the North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference.
828.227.7242.
Two weeks before the football teams from Western Carolina University and Appalachian State University tangle in their traditional rivalry game, students and faculty members from WCU athletic training program will embark on the Mountain Jug Run for Research Oct. 12 and 13.
Named in honor of the football matchup known as “The Battle for the Old Mountain Jug,” the Run for Research will take the WCU athletic training group on a 175-mile course that begins at the ASU football stadium in Boone and ends at E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee. The course will be run as a continuous relay, with each of the 19 runners completing five legs in five-mile increments and with two or three runners on the road at any given time.
The relay is organized to raise funds for the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Research and Education Foundation, which awards research grants and academic scholarships in the field of sports medicine. The group hopes to raise more than $4,000 this year. Donations are still being accepted and may be made in the form of checks, made payable to the NATA-REF, and sent to Jill Manners, WCU Health and Human Sciences Building, Office 362, 4121 Little Savannah Road, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723. All donations to the foundation are tax-deductible.
The Classic Wine Seller and Satin Steel Jazz will host a fall jazz festival on four consecutive Saturdays, Oct. 13 through Nov. 3.
Eve Haslam, Brian Felix and Zack Page will kick off the fest on Oct. 13; Oct. 20, the Pavel Wlosok Duo will play; Oct. 27 will feature Michael Jefry Stevens Duo; and Nov. 3 will be the Steve Davidowski Duo.
Tickets include dinner from Angelino’s Piattino Ristorante in the Wineseller and a three-hour show. Reservations are $25 in advance, by either calling or visiting the Classic Wineseller, 20 Church Street, Waynesville. At the door, admission price is $30 per person. Dinner and music begin at 7 p.m.
As well, the Classic Wine Seller’s Friday Night Live series will introduce the Indian Fusion group Shantavaani in an album release concert from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 12.
828.452.6000.
Smoky Mountain Sk8way is looking for a naming rights partner to rename the soon-to-be expanded Smoky Mountain Sk8way Sports and Entertainment Arena, in exchange for revenue to help expand. The partnership is not just about a name change but comes with a list of other marketing benefits.
Smoky Mountain Sk8way, the local roller skating rink located on the bypass, has been providing fun and family entertainment to Western North Carolina since 2010 and is the home to two female flat track derby teams: Balsam Mountain Roller Girls and the Balsam Mountain Junior Roller Girls. The Sk8way plans to become a 20,000-square-foot arena as well as a skating rink and family entertainment center, which will be able to accommodate up to 2,500 people and host community events like concerts, dances and haunted houses along with sporting events like roller derby bouts and roller hockey matches. The facility will offer regular weekly roller skating sessions, a cafe with outside accessibility, a climbing wall, a toddler area, mini golf, pro shop, arcade and ticket redemption counter.
Proposals must be submitted by Oct. 31.
828.246.9124 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (HART) will hold auditions for its December production of “A Christmas Carol” at 1 p.m. Oct. 13 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Feichter Studio of the HART Theatre on 250 Pigeon Street in Waynesville. Callbacks will be held at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15, and anyone unable to make the weekend times can also come by then.
The show features a variety of characters. This is a play with a musical score, so there will be roles for carolers in the ensemble. The production is being directed by Mark Jones, with music composed and conducted by Ann Rhymer Schwabland. It will run two weekends beginning Dec. 7 and is expected to be an annual HART event. No roles have been precast.
Though this is not a musical, actors should come prepared to sing, preferably with sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. Anyone auditioning will be given scenes to read from the script. Actors auditioning as professionals will be expected to have a prepared monologue, headshot and resume. Anyone interested in working backstage on the production is also encouraged to come by during auditions to sign up.
More than 20 top high school marching bands will assemble for Western Carolina University’s 12th annual Tournament of Champions at 8 a.m. Oct. 20 at E.J. Whitmire Stadium on campus.
Elementary school-aged children and their families are invited to a free ARTSaturday arts and crafts workshop from 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 13 in the children’s area of the Macon County Public Library.
Children will create take-home projects made from natural materials. Keyboardist Lionel Caynon provides live music. There’s no pre-registration. Children should wear play clothes and come for any part of the session. Adults must stay and work with their younger children. The Arts Council presents ARTSaturday workshops at the library the second Saturday of each month. The series is supported by the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
www.artscouncilofmacon.org or 828.524.7683.
The High Country Quilters 22nd Annual Quilt Show, “Bear Foot In the Mountains,” will take place daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 11-13 at the Maggie Valley Town Hall and Pavilion/Civic Center.
This year’s theme quilt is a bear paw design of fall colors. Tickets for the quilt are available from every member of the guild and will also be for sale at the show. The drawing will take place at 4 p.m. Oct. 13, and the winner does not have to be present.
The food court and bake sale will be held in the pavilion. In addition, several local vendors will be on hand, including J. Creek Fabrics, Sister’s Quilts Fabrics, Sew New Again Sewing Machines, Lisa’s Quilting Shed, Elaine’s Attic, Little Blessings Quilt Shop and Pappy’s Quilting Place.
High Country Quilters is a nonprofit organization and funds collected from the sale of the theme quilt, and the show are used for local scholarships and charities. The event is free and open to the public.
828.926.3169 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Great Pumpkin Patch Express is returning throughout October to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. As the leaves begin to fade and pumpkins are ready to be carved, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Snoopy make their way to the GSMR Pumpkin Patch.
The Dillsboro Community Drum Circle will hold their monthly show from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 13 at the old train depot. All are welcome, with instruments available to share. Bring your own instrument if you’d like. Dancers and hula hoopers are also encouraged to attend.
Canton Branch Library will transform into a spooky storytelling arena from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 11 in the meeting room. Jane Shipman, known as “Miss Jane” for many years when she worked as a children’s librarian in Waynesville, will tell Halloween stories appropriate for both children and adults. Some stories may be a bit frightening; some may be funny, but all are sure to enchant. Shipman tailors her performances based on the audience, choosing from a large repertoire of both original stories and tales based on books.
The event is free and open to the public. Children are encouraged to try out their Halloween costumes. Treats, generously provided by the Friends of the Library, will be served.
828.648.2924.
Friends of the Smokies will host nationally acclaimed storyteller and Haywood County native Donald Davis at 3 p.m. Oct. 14 in Lake Junaluska’s Harrell Center.
Davis is donating his performance to benefit Friends of the Smokies, a non-profit organization that supports conservation, education, historic preservation and other priorities benefiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Tickets are $15 per person. Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park memberships will be offered at a special discount for $20 with purchase of ticket. Tickets may be purchased at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville or by mailing checks to Friends of the Smokies, 160 South Main Street, Waynesville, N.C. 28786 or at www.friendsofthesmokies.org.
828.452.0720.
Two art classes will be held at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro on Oct. 13. A glassblowing seminar will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with 45-minute time slots available) while a blacksmithing class will run from noon to 3 p.m.
With the assistance of a resident professional artist, participants will work with their chosen medium to create a unique piece of functional art. In both programs, you will learn the basics of the medium you are working in, along with important safety guidelines.
Space is limited. Pre-registration is strongly suggested. No experience necessary and ages 13-18 may participate with parent present. Dress in cotton clothing (no polyester). Wear closed shoes and long pants. Glass artwork available for pickup 48 hours after class. A $50 payment is due at registration.
828.631.0271 or www.jcgep.org/classes.php.
A recent donation of Horace Kephart’s personal correspondence, photographs and other belongings will become part of the new “Horace Kephart and Laura Mack Kephart Family Collection” at Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library.
An iconic figure of Western North Carolina history and culture, Kephart penned Our Southern Highlanders and helped spearhead the movement to establish Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The bulk of the 700 new materials are personal letters, including those Kephart exchanged with his wife and his children who he lived apart from after coming to Western North Carolina.
The Horace Kephart and Laura Mack Kephart Family Collection is in the process of being catalogued and placed in protective enclosures. The materials are expected to be accessible to the public in early 2013. WCU will explore digitizing the collection, which could include around 2,500 images, to build on Kephart materials already available online at www.wcu.edu/library/digitalcollections/kephart.
828.227.7474 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Church Street Art and Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 13 in downtown Waynesville.
Haywood Community College’s Jammin’ at the Millpond will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 13 on the college campus in Clyde. The day showcases the college, its programs and alumni, and the Appalachian heritage of Western North Carolina.
Regional Artist Project grant of Western North Carolina (RAP go WNC) is available for the 2012-2013 year. RAP go WNC is a partnership between the arts councils of Cherokee, Haywood and Jackson counties, Stecoah Valley Arts Center and the North Carolina Arts Council.
RAP go WNC provides financial support to developing professionals by funding a project that is pivotal to the advancement of their careers as artists. Regional artist applicants are talented individuals pursuing careers in the arts who have completed the basic education in their respective art forms.
Eligible artists must be at least 18 years of age, cannot be currently enrolled in a degree or certificate program, must be a current resident of one of the participating counties and must have maintained residency there for one year immediately preceding the application. Previous award winners are ineligible to apply in consecutive years. Grant awards generally range from $250-$500 and may be used by artists for a variety of purposes including cost of presenting work for exhibits and/or auditions, training costs or tuition, travel, promotional materials, work facilities/equipment and the production of new work.
Applications and appropriate documentation material must be mailed to RAP go WNC, PO Box 2212, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723 by Nov. 1. For an application or more information, call your county’s arts organization.
The October Leaves Craft Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 13 and 14 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.
Quality artists and crafters will sell their handmade products and some will even demonstrate. Works of art will include deerskin clothing, pottery, photographers, stained glass, multiple kinds of jewelry from gemstones to polymer clay bead art, dichroic glass designers, floral arrangements, wood turners, wood crafter products, crocheted and knitted items, homemade jams/jellies, artful clothing, leather, kitchen accessories, quilts, soy candles and soaps.
In addition to crafts, the event will feature music and food vendors each day. The event is free and open to the public.
828.497.9425 or www.maggievalleycraftshows.com.
Jackson County Visual Arts Association and the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce will host the “Sylva Art Stroll” starting at 5 p.m. Oct. 12 with merchants staying open later to welcome visitors, shoppers and diners.
To the Editor:
So, here we had it. Live TV for all the world to see. In one corner was a man vilified by MSNBC, the editorial staff at The New York Times, the main stream media and, of course, the president of the United States. A man who was called a felon by Harry Reid. A man accused by the Obama campaign of causing cancer to the wife of a laid off steelworker while he was governor of Massachusetts. A man who gave away his inheritance, held a double major at Harvard (business statistics and law), was one of three hires of the Boston Consulting Group at age 28, hired away by Bain at age 30 and went on to earn his own fortune in the financial world. His firm, which he owned, raised $37 million in private funds and went on to build companies like Staples, Toys R Us, Dominoes Pizza and many others. A man who then left that world to salvage the Salt Lake City Summer Olympics, followed by a governship as a Republican in the most liberal state in the U.S. — Massachusetts. A man who passed a 200-page healthcare law against his wishes but did so as he governed a state that overwhelmingly wanted it. Yes, he governed!
In the other corner was a man whose biggest claim to fame at age 37 was to have written two, yes two, autobiographies. A man who since age 18 was immersed in the lecture halls and faculty lounges of Columbia, Harvard and University of Chicago. A man who studied and taught the teachings of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals.” A man who took advantage of white liberal guilt and never faced a serious debate in his academic life. A man who surrounded himself with yes men and a few really competent Chicago pols. A man who created a story about himself, and believed it. A man who as president didn’t need to attend many security briefings — he knew more about that stuff than anyone.
Obama signed a 2,400-page health law that is costing way more than he said, was partly unconstitutional, will reduce choice and, by the way, will still leave 12 million people uninsured. He signed a 2,700-page finance reform bill that left out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from supervision. He’s tripled the money supply, ruined retiree savings accounts, blown $90 billion on green energy, refused to include the chamber of commerce in his Jobs Council and is in bed with the big banks. The labor participation rate is at an all-time low, the debt an all-time high, trillion dollar deficits the new normal and our embassies in flames all across the Arab world.
He’s run guns across the Mexican border which have killed thousands of Mexicans, authorized drone bombings in Pakistan which mistakenly have killed dozens of school kids. His last budget proposal failed 414-0 in the House and 99-0 in the Senate. He’s removed from his staff and prefers to read briefings late at night, alone, make notes and passing them back to staff. Ever the lecturer.
And lecture us he does indeed do. We don’t pay enough in taxes, don’t work together as a community, can't eat right and pay way too much attention to that damn Constitution, which those old rich white guys rigged to give too much power to the states and not to his central planners.
With all that going for him, why bother to prepare for a debate? As the greatest orator ever seen, he will just clean that rich white guy’s clock. His problem was he was facing a man who, whether you like him or not, had to have something on the debate ball to graduate Harvard with a 3.97 GPA and a rare double major, at age 28 be hired by the most prestigious consulting group in the country, at 37 to form Bain Capital with his own money and retire from there 15 years later to go into public service and win as a Republican in Massachusetts. Of course he has to be quick on his feet, have personality and persuasive skills. Only a fool would think otherwise.
They went into the debating ring. In one corner stood the challenger, pretty much written off as a low-level snob. In the other corner was the president, unquestioned by his fans as the world heavyweight champion of the debating world. The result, best put by a commentator was “Down Goes Frazier!” Couldn’t have said it better.
The next day the best his handlers could say was that his opponent lied. Joe Frazier had way too much class to say Foreman just landed a few lucky punches. We have one month left. Exit 2012 can’t come soon enough.
Pat Denzer
Waynesville
To the Editor:
I am concerned about North Carolina’s unemployment rate of 9.7 percent and the country as a whole. We, the citizens of North Carolina, have a wonderful team of conservative candidates who are real leaders.
Firstly, we need positive financial leadership to help get our state back on track, and after watching Pat McCrory’s entire campaign and the gubernatorial debate last week, I believe he is our man as the next governor. Mark Meadows can take a fresh, strong message to Washington as our congressman with his succinct three step focus on life, liberty and less government intrusion in our lives. Mike Clampitt, a plain-spoken individual and clearly not a career politician, has been a dedicated public servant for over 30 years in fire services. Having dealt with emergencies of all kinds, I believe he would bring common sense to the N.C. General Assembly.
Having worked with McCrory for 14 years in Charlotte, Mike could work effectively between the General Assembly and the governor’s office. Jim Davis, our proven incumbent state senator, has worked with other conservatives across the state creating a sound fiscal budget. Marty Jones would be a true representative from Cashiers as the commissioner from the 4th District.
With real leadership from Romney/Ryan at the top and Pat McCrory as governor, our local team of conservative candidates has the opportunity to really focus on the needs of North Carolinians as well as the course of our country. Liberty and freedom are the keystones of our America, and it is the maintaining of these core principles that will bring America and our state back from the brink.
Our current president and administration have done much to weaken our country while at the same time giving the office of the presidency extreme power through unbelievably dictatorial executive orders and czars. I pray Romney will defeat this president for the sake of our future freedoms. Mitt Romney will have quite a job to do due to the damage the current unqualified president has done to our country; however, he is a fierce businessman with proven experience and ethics as his qualifications to put America back on the track of what our real America is — home of the free, land of the brave, and respected leader of the free world.
Trish Chambers
Sapphire
To the Editor:
We in the mountains are known to be suspicious of outsiders who want to tell us how we should live. Mark Meadows, a native Floridian, moved into our area and has made millions buying and selling Highlands area mountaintops to summertime residents. He has no real “small business” experience, as he implies in his ads, doesn’t have any experience in politics, and knows no movers and shakers in Washington. But he knows how to tell us what to believe.
In looking at his campaign ads, it’s difficult to tell if he is running for Congress or running against President Obama. He wants to repeal Obamacare? Really? Replacing it with what? The candidates running against Obama never seem to get to the meat of what they would do to replace this legislation, which is a great benefit to us common folk. Mr. Meadows has made enough money building country clubs and millionaire homes to not have to worry about that. He wants to lower taxes and reward his golf buddies with millions in tax cuts. He is cut straight out of the playbook of political games and obstructionism in Washington.
He certainly has no interest in supporting local issues like the Corridor K project, nor has a clue as to how to help Swain County get its settlement money. He’s not one of us, and is more interested in political tricks as practiced by our current Congress than in representing you and mr.
On the other hand, we have Hayden Rogers, a local boy, born and raised in Western North Carolina. He is a fiscal conservative and an avid fisher and hunter. He loves these mountains just the way they are. He has been Heath Shuler’s right-hand man with years of experience of constituent service. Folks around here know him as a conservative with common sense. He knows how to get things done and who to talk with in D.C. He is well respected by leaders of both parties. He will work with Congress to get money for Swain County, promote Corridor K, and fully represent all the people in his district, not just the country-club fat-cats. He will be a highly moral, intelligent, and conservative voice for you and me.
We don’t often get to make such a clear-cut choice on who will represent us in Congress. Do we need another politician more concerned with his party than with his country, or do we elect one of our own to represent us? Make the right choice and vote for Hayden Rogers on Nov. 6.
Russell Breedlove
Bryson City
To the Editor:
The inflexibility of the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission (NCWRC) is alarming. The killing of a three-legged yearling bear in Western North Carolina without following up on the accredited sanctuary the community had found to accept this bear is inexcusable. This was not a case of asking NCWRC to save every habituated bear as the ranger, Mike Carraway, had indicated on a television interview. Members of this community had done the work to save this bear by finding an accredited facility to take the bear. NCWRC should have honored the research and work the community had accomplished. All they had to do was trap this yearling to transport it to the sanctuary. NCWRC even denied the request from Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, who personally called and asked the local wildlife biologist in charge to work on behalf of the three-legged bear in allowing him to be moved to a permanent sanctuary.
Having lived in Tennessee for 25 years working for the Tennessee Valley Authority, I was appalled to find out the shoot first and think later policies of NCWRC. There are other alternatives. The Appalachian Bear Rescue (ARB) located in Townsend, Tenn., has saved over 185 bears since 1996 when it opened. Now that’s being stewards of our wildlife resources. Officially under the auspices of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA), it has established working relationships with many states including Virginia, Arkansas, Georgia and Louisiana. Most of the ABR bears have been returned to the wild but under special circumstances bears have also been placed in sanctuaries or zoos.
I personally asked Mike Carraway to talk with ABR and TWRA years ago and he refused to do so. He told me North Carolina knows how to handle their bears. I believe they can learn from others and it would benefit all for them to develop working relationships with other state’s wildlife resource agencies. A spirit of cooperation with others is needed. The culture of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission needs to change, and we the citizens of North Carolina can make a difference. Now is the time to vote for those who will change NCWRC into real stewards of our wildlife!
Cheryl V. Ward
Swannanoa
Editor’s note: According to The Asheville Citizen-Times Oct. 9 edition, the three-legged bear was shot and killed by a staff member of the community where it had become a nuisance, not by Wildlife Resources officers. However, state wildlife officers said it was their policy not to trap and relocate wild, nuisance bears.
SEE ALSO: N.C. Wildlife Commission sets the record straight on euthanization as last resort
To the Editor:
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park plans to begin charging fees for backcountry camping and implement a new reservation and permitting process soon. For the past 80 years, backpacking and backcountry camping has been free in the Park. The proposed fee of $4 per person per night is set to be implemented by Park Service officials in early 2013. This fee goes against the spirit of the Park, which is one of the only national parks that does not charge an entrance fee, living up to its nickname “the people’s park.”
According to the National Park Service GSMNP website: “The reasons for free entry to the national park date back at least to the 1930s. The land that is today Great Smoky Mountains National Park was once privately owned. The states of Tennessee and North Carolina, as well as local communities, paid to construct Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441). When the state of Tennessee transferred ownership of Newfound Gap Road to the federal government, it stipulated that ‘no toll or license fee shall ever be imposed …’ to travel the road.”
Currently the only fee charged in the Park is for overnight camping at campgrounds. These have improvements such as roads, parking places, running water, flush toilets, garbage removal, firepits and some even have amenities for horses and riders. By contrast, backcountry camping is free. Backcountry sites offer bear cables to keep food out of the reach of bears. And out of approximately 113 backcountry campsites, 15 have shelters. Backcountry campers pack out all their own trash and often trash left by others they find along the trail.
The reason for the proposed fee is to cover the expense of managing the new reservation system, which will be necessary for implementing the new fee. The Park Service maintains that the new system would be more convenient and offer improved customer service, since it could be accessed online instead of calling the Park during normal business hours. However, the new system would require a three-day advance reservations for all campsites, while currently only the most popular backcountry sites require reservations. This would limit spontaneity and prohibit a change in plans once on the trail. Currently, backpackers avoiding the most popular campsites can drive to the trailhead, fill out a form, leave it in a dropbox and hit the trail. The fee will also cover the salaries of two additional backcountry rangers who will enforce the new system.
During the public comment period last year, the ratio of opposition to support of the proposed fee was 20 to 1. The Park Service initially tried to hide the public comments until a coalition of concerned hikers — Southern Forest Watch — filed a Freedom of Information Act Request. This group is currently trying to block the fee implementation through a lawsuit filed last month. Through this lawsuit, SFW hopes to maintain the original spirit of “the People’s Park” by keeping its access free to everyone who wants to enjoy the splendor of our public land.
For more information, and to join the network of concerned citizens, check out the group’s website: www.southernforestwatch.org.
Julie Van Leuven
Webster
Like the Roach Motel of commercial fame, synthetic scents have crept into our homes and lives and are not going away anytime soon. They are found in perfumes, laundry detergents, air fresheners, fabric softeners, soaps, and magazines to name a few. We are being deodorized from our clothes, to garbage bags to paper towels — where will it end?
According to the dictionary the definition of synthetic is: noting or pertaining to compounds formed through a chemical process by human agency, as opposed to those of natural origin: synthetic vitamins; synthetic fiber.
An age-old question has emerged in the raging debate over the Chattooga River wilderness: how many people is too many in the woods.
Paddlers have demanded the U.S. Forest Service lift a long-time ban on the upper Chattooga River outside Cashiers. Meanwhile, hikers, fishermen, backpackers and the like are fighting to defend the river’s sense of solitude from a perceived invasion of paddlers.
Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska
Oh, he’s the boss alright. But sometime around ’82 he holed up in a friend’s studio, with nothing but a Tascam 4-track recorder, and decided to let everybody in on a little secret- Springsteen ain’t all “Born To Run” and “Glory Days,” even if those tunes themselves are quite thoroughly misunderstood by the majority of “fans.” He can be as dark and nihilistic as anyone out there, as evidenced by this sleeper of an album.
Nebraska is lonely, it doesn’t offer much in the way of hope, and it’s one of the most gut-wrenchingly candid depictions of, well, to paraphrase the last line in the title track, the “... meanness in this world” you’ll ever find. It could be the meanness we show to one another, or just the way things never seem to work out for some people, but all through Nebraska you get the picture that the world isn’t fair, and expecting it to be is your first mistake.
Whether it’s the poor folks living vicariously through the goings on at the “Mansion On The Hill,” the late-night internal monologue of “State Trooper” or the circumstances that drove otherwise normal people to crime in “Johnny 99” and “Atlantic City,” by the album’s end it’s clear that Springsteen tapped into something while writing Nebraska that he was never really able to achieve again later in his career, prickly and painful as it may have been at the time.
Music In The Streets
Just a little while back it seemed that there were only a few times a year that you might wander down Main Street in Sylva and find people picking on the sidewalk. With the advent of the Play For Peace concerts, the newly added Gallery Strolls downtown and the regularity of live music at Spring Street, Guadalupe Café and 553, it seems I can now count on looking out the store window to find someone partaking in the time-honored tradition of busking. It might be local solo jazz guitar cat Chad Hallyburton working his chord melody thing out in front of Black Rock, sometimes trading solos with WCU guitar professor Stephen Wohlrab, or today when a violinist and banjo player plopped down on a bench on the corner and commenced to picking for the passers by. What’s it all mean? Not sure, but it can’t possibly be anything but good for all of us.
Living Simply
Moved into a new apartment at the beginning of June, and I’ve yet to hook up the television. In fact, it wasn’t until last weekend that I even got my stereo up and running. With a minimum of furniture, a sleeping bag and a bunch of guitars, I’ve felt a whole new set of priorities arise, like the fact that as I go to sleep I find myself looking forward to getting up in the morning and making coffee, simple a thing as it may be. Or the joy of freshly dried laundry, and the way it makes the whole place smell. The killer thus far has been when I found a Star Wars calendar that I got as a child back in 1979, opened it up to June and found that it was accurate again — yeah, it makes me feel a bit old, but that feeling is far outweighed by the fact that I know I’ve got the coolest calendar in the world ... again.
— By Chris Cooper
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
Two newly licensed teachers with ties to Western North Carolina offered a very different perspective on the recruitment process, including why they chose to either stay in the region or relocate elsewhere.
When Blue Ridge Paper employees voted to accept the recent buyout offer from the Rank group of New Zealand, union leaders were divided on whether to accept the offer. Union representatives from New York urged workers to vote yes, while the union leader in Canton thought employees could hold out for a better deal.
By Chris Cooper
Up for review this week is a live set of inspiring music from an incredibly influential musician in his genre: a burning birthday celebration from one of jazz guitar’s brightest and most enduring lights, the inimitable Kenny Burrell, flanked here by a host of remarkable musicians from the cream of the jazz crop.
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
The surprisingly large crowd at a presentation on Maggie Valley’s proposed land-use plan seemed impressed with the details but questioned how applicable it was.
The land-use plan, created by Kannapolis-based firm Benchmark, would divide the town into districts where certain types of development will be encouraged. Residents got their first look at the proposal during a public hearing at town hall last Tuesday (June26).
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
Paula Ledford is getting worried.
With a little over a month to go before school starts in Macon County, the school human resources director still has to find 15 people to fill vacant positions. The list includes assistant principals, elementary school faculty, teachers of exceptional children, and more. She’s digging deep — calling universities to ask about recent graduates that still might be looking for jobs, posting notices on as many Web sites as she can think of, even calling retired teachers to see if they’ll come back as a sub on a short-term basis. After all, Ledford says, “sometimes people will graduate in December,” which means she might be able to lure someone to Macon County by the winter.
By Michael Beadle
Painter Susan Lanier remembers how she used to get in trouble as a young artist.
In first grade, she was drawing a princess for her cousin, who could only do stick figures. The teacher grabbed the paper out of Lanier’s hand and instructed her in no uncertain terms that students are to do their own work.
A new exhibit at The North Carolina Arboretum, After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals and Ice, unlocks the mysteries of the Ice Age with creatures that roamed the earth more than 20,000 years ago.
Real fossils and teeth from ancient animals like the sabertooth cat and short-faced bear provide hands-on experiences, and robotic replicas of the woolly mammoth, giant sloth, and giant beaver make the Ice Age come alive like never before. Focused on the flora and fauna of North America, the exhibit tells compelling, educational stories, and piques the curiosity of visitors to learn more about this fascinating time in history.
Interactive displays make the drama of the gigantic titans that dominated the age accessible to all. Visitors can take a look at a baby mammoth tusk and see woolly mammoth hair with bits of plant material still imbedded from when the animal lived. The smooth, hard ivory of a big woolly mammoth tusk will prompt children and adults alike to explore the similarities between the prehistoric creature and the modern-day elephant.
Visitors will learn how glaciers formed and how they moved. Graphic displays illustrate the glacial size and ice depth in North America, allowing children to discover if where they live now was at one time covered in ice. A 3-D mastodon puzzle introduces students to ancient animal anatomy, and those who are truly brave can attempt to put together the sabertooth cat.
To broaden the visitor experience, an exhibit called On the Edge of the Great Ice will be featured in the Baker Exhibit Center Greenhouse. Designed and produced by Arboretum staff, the exhibit offers an intriguing glimpse into ancient plant life that once lived throughout North America and the Appalachian region.
After the Dinosaurs will be on display at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville through Jan. 6. 828.665.2492 or www.ncarboretum.org
A pesticide collection day for unwanted pesticides will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, at the recycling center in Bryson City. Pesticides that will be accepted include the following: insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, fumigants, rodenticides and growth regulators. Please save any portion of the label to help identify the material so you can be assisted with disposal. Unknown materials cannot be accepted. Other hazardous materials, such as paint, antifreeze, solvents, etc., will not be accepted at this collection day.
828.586.4009 or 828.488.3848.
A guided hike to the summit of Rock Mountain in the Highlands area will be held from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, led by Dr. Gary Wein, the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust Executive Director and a botanist.
