Owls, falcons and other birds of prey will make an appearance at the Haywood Historic Farmers Market in Waynesville from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29.

Doris Mager, known as the eagle lady, has dedicated her life to rehabilitating and caring for orphaned and injured birds of prey. Mager, who works with the organization Save Our American Raptors, will give people a chance to get up-close and personal with some of her birds, as well as learn about these amazing species. T-shirts will be available for sale depicting some of the North American Birds of Prey. You can also have your picture taken with one of the birds. A $5 donation is requested.

Also featured at the farmers market will be Jim Rigg & the Coffee Branch Band on stage playing some of the finest toe-tapping gospel, old standards and original songs in the area. 828.456.1793

In honor of National Banned Books Week and to celebrate the freedom to read, the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City is challenging patrons to read a challenged book.

From now until Oct. 5, the Marianna Black Library will have a display of books wrapped in plain paper with only an explanation of why the book has been challenged in the past. This will allow patrons to only guess the title of the book they’re about to check out. If you decide to check out a challenged book.

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week attempts to draws national attention to the harms of censorship.

828.488.3030.

The “tween” writing group “Write On!” for 8- to 12-year-olds will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

The group will meet twice a month in the conference room of the library. A similar program for older teens, aged 13-16, will be called “WORD” and will begin meeting on Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the same location. “Write On!” began last year and was a success, with 20 regular attendees. At the end of last year’s workshop, the children submitted stories and poems for a book that was published and put in the library’s catalog. “Write On!” will meet twice monthly through December. A spring schedule will be decided upon at a later date. Like the group for younger writers, WORD will also meet twice monthly through December. No sign-up is required for either of these programs.

828.586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org

To the Editor:

I just don’t get it.

Many Republicans think that Obama is a Kenyan socialist out to destroy the country by creating a permanent welfare state with money stolen from rich people. But why would they not believe that since most Republicans live in a fact-free Fox News bubble. What I don’t get, though, is independent voters, people who still believe in provable facts who continue to believe in that extreme Republican narrative.

 Take for example the Romney-Ryan budget. They claim that it will benefit the middle class and create jobs. Yet, what it actually does, is create new tax breaks for the wealthy; tax cuts which will be added to the already budget busting Bush tax cuts. By their own figures the top 1 percent would get more than $155,000 in tax breaks. This budget also calls for almost no taxes on investment income, which is most of their income.  Mitt Romney’s own taxes rate would be about 1 percent. No that is not a misprint but a provable fact.

So if under the Romney-Ryan plan, the wealthy pay almost no taxes on invested wealth, who do you think will be paying for the government services we all depend on? Answer — the middle class. The poor have little to give. As for creating jobs, their budget  depends only on trickle down money from the top, an idea that was thoroughly disproved during the Bush years.

If you listen to their billionaire paid for ads, you would think that the national debt was the worst crisis facing this country. But the Romney-Ryan budget would not balance the budget for nearly 30 years, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. And during that time, it would add $4 trillion more to the national debt.

 Republicans accuse Obama of removing the work requirement for welfare. It is an unmistakable attempt to anger white voters using the tried and true “welfare queen” stereotype. Every credible news organization has characterized the ad as outright lies. Yet they continue to run the ad because they believe emotions are more powerful than facts.

On a local level we have only to look at what the N.C.  Republican legislature has done to education funding in to see the disconnect between what they say and what they do. There have been a billion dollars in education cuts in the current budget according to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. But Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, says that the legislature “continues to fully fund at the state level all classroom teachers and teaching assistants.” That statement would probably come as a surprise to the Macon County Board of Education, which is facing a $550,000 deficit at the end of this year.

If facts don’t matter and emotions rule, then billions in false advertising will work. If you still believe in the truth and provable facts, then make your vote count. 

Louis Vitale

Franklin

To the Editor:

Webster’s dictionary defines the following terms as stated below:

• Conservative: “of or relating to a philosophy of conservatism,” “tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions.”

• Conservatism: “disposition in politics to preserve what is established,” “a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change.”

• Liberal: “of or befitting a man of free birth,” “marked by generosity,” “given or provided in a generous and openhanded way,” “of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism.”

• Liberalism: “a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity,” “a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market,” “a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties.”

According to the definitions above, Jesus Christ was a liberal, George Washington was a liberal, Abraham Lincoln was a liberal, and Martin Luther King was a liberal. If any of the above mentioned were conservatives, we would all be Jews, we would still be subjects of England and a king, we would still have slavery, and there would be no civil rights.

So, if you call yourself an American, a Christian, or a patriot, the next time you here someone call their self a conservative, you should be appalled, be afraid, and be enraged because they are what this nation left behind in 1776, 1861, 1964, and finally in 2008. We can’t continue to be a free country if we are controlled by conservatives who would keep us from the very freedom that our forefathers fought and died for.

Stephen White

Franklin

To the Editor:

Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, is apparently living in a world in where up is down, less is more, and the truth in our world is the opposite in his. In a recent “Senate Update” (Aug. 17), he is talking about his accomplishments since he took office and wrote that the legislature “cut the gas tax.” The month before he took office in December 2010, the N.C. gas tax was 31.9 cents per gallon. The gasoline tax today is 37.5 cents per gallon. Maybe in Davis’ world 37.5 cents is less than 31.9 cents. This increase represents approximately $300 million more per year or almost $600 million since Davis took office. The vast majority of this increase is paid by average, middle-class citizens like you and me. I’m sure Davis will probably say he actually did cut the gas tax after he raised it.

Davis wrote himself in the Asheville Citizens-Times on Sept. 18, 2011, that, “It is a fact that teachers and teacher assistants were fully funded in the new state budget.” The N.C. Department of Public Instruction in a news release on Aug. 31, 2011, writes, “This is the first time since the Great Depression in the 1930s that North Carolina public schools have decreased the number of teacher positions during a time of student growth.” Lost educator jobs (both vacant and filled) during the 2011-12 school year that Davis is responsible for were 1,723 teachers and 2,282 teacher assistants. A total of 4,005 educator positions were eliminated that were not available to our students. Clearly the state could have budgeted and funded every one of these lost positions but chose not to, and clearly these jobs were not “fully funded in the new state budget” as Davis wrote on Sept.18.

Davis writes in Macon County News on Sept. 6 that “the facts have not fared well in Ed Morris’ hands.” He is complaining about a quote from the Department of Public Instruction website (www.ncpublicschools.org/budget) that reads, “The 2011-13 biennial state budget that was passed by the General Assembly in June 2011 contained more than $1 billion in cuts to public school funding.” He attacks me for quoting the Department of Public Instruction, but never denies that the quote from the Department of Public Instruction is factually true.

In 2008, because of eight years of disastrous policies by George Bush and the Republican Congress, the United States entered the greatest recession in the last 50 years. When President Obama came into office, the state was facing huge budget deficits because of the economic downturn. Obama was able to pass the Economic Recovery Act that allowed N.C. to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal economic aid that helped keep thousands of educator jobs funded until the economy improved and we could again fund these jobs with our own revenues.

Davis apparently would not have taken this federal aid and just eliminated all the teaching jobs this money funded. He and his Republican state legislature did not provide the state funds to replace the temporary federal funds when they took control in 2011. Davis apparently blames loss of education money on federal and local governments, and does not realize that it is our state government that is primarily responsible for funding public education for our children and grandchildren in our great state.

Perhaps the make believe world of Davis’ Wonderland is pleasant place to visit, but the citizens of Western North Carolina cannot afford to have a state senator who lives in “Wonderland” and does not tell the citizens the truth. Let Davis stay in Wonderland, but send John Snow to represent the 50th District on Nov. 6.

Ed Morris, MD

Franklin

To the Editor:

From U.S. media coverage we get the impression that the Muslim world is burning with anti-Western anger over an Islamophobic film, with hordes of violent protesters on the streets threatening us all. Actually, however, most Muslims have found that video as trashy and offensive as we have.

To be sure, the protests have tapped into understandable and lasting grievances over racist, neocolonialist U.S. policy in the Middle East, as well as religious sensitivities about depictions of the prophet Muhammad. But our media have mostly ignored the following facts:

• Early estimates put participation in anti-film protests at between 0.001 and 0.007 percent of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims – a tiny fraction of those who marched for democracy in the Arab spring.

• The vast majority of protesters have been peaceful. The breaches of foreign embassies were almost all organized by the Salafist movement, a radical Islamist group that seeks to undermine more popular moderate Islamist groups. It was the Salafists that distributed the film far and wide to instigate the rage. Their tactics resemble those of anti-Muslim U.S. pastor Terry Jones (who first promoted the film in the West) and other Western (often Christian) extremists. 

• Libyan and U.S. officials disagree as to whether the killing of the four Americans was pre-planned to coincide with 9/11, and therefore not connected to the film. 

• Apart from Libya and Afghanistan, up to Sept. 20 the protesters had killed no one. The deaths cited by media were protesters killed by police.

• Nearly every major leader, both Muslim and Western, has condemned both the film and the succeeding violence.

• When the pope visited Lebanon at the height of the tension, Hezbollah leaders attended his sermon, refrained from protesting the film until he left, and called for religious tolerance.

• After the attack in Benghazi, ordinary people turned out on the streets with signs, many in English, grieving and apologizing for the ambassador’s murder and saying the violence did not represent them or their religion.

• A leading figure in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood wrote in the New York Times: “We do not hold the American government or its citizens responsible for the acts of the few that abuse the laws protecting freedom of expression.”

We must be careful not to view the Muslim world as an homogenous unit. In both Western and Muslim worlds moderates far outnumber extremists. The Muslims I’ve known — as a missionary in Malaysia and Singapore, and as a peacekeeper in Palestine — were all among the vast majority who are moderate, friendly, gentle, courteous, generous, hospitable and respectful of me and my faith.

Uninformed, one-sided anti-Muslim comments — whether in pulpit, pew, or private conversation — only serve to perpetuate (and heighten) the us vs. them, good guys vs. bad guys, Christian vs. Muslim climate that legitimates the hate and violence on both sides that we are now seeing.

 Doug Wingeier

Waynesville

To The Editor:

In Carol Adams’ reply to my column (“Proud to be an American … sort of,” SMN Sept. 5, 2012) she asks “Where have you been been these nearly four years, sir?” I would answer that I’ve been closely watching our government and Congress waste time in gridlock, while the president has been trying to clean up the mess G.W. Bush left this nation. Almost from the day Obama took office, the Republican members of Congress signed a pledge to stall any and everything he tried to accomplish in an effort to make him appear as a “do-nothing” leader.

She decries the efforts of the president’s campaign and PACs that have “thrown everything they can conjure up at Mitt Romney,” conveniently forgetting that Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson’s PACs have spent many millions of dollars smearing the president and his efforts, while offering little in substance and few details as to how they would fix things.

She goes on to present her statistics of how much worse off people are, forgetting that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy have served to increase the national debt, how deregulation of banks and Wall Street has served to increase poverty and trash many people’s retirements, destroyed home values and sent many families to the financial brink — and shaken Americans’ confidence in our government. Does she really think the president controls the price of gasoline?

As a GOP communications chairman, she has an obligation to promote the party’s message, so rather than an opinion of her own we got a regurgitation of the party line which appears to center around “trash and deride the president, without presenting anything substantive or specific about our candidates.”

I also notice the Bushes are somehow missing throughout this campaign, and I can only wonder why.

I thank Ms. Adams for her comments since I feel it only adds to my position that re-election of our president and dumping the Washington do-nothings is the best choice for America.

John Beckman

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

I noticed that last week some of Mitt Romney’s defenders tried to claim that the video from the May fundraising event was “deceptively edited” to make it look like Romney demeaned 47 percent of the electorate.

I find this a very amusing defense considering the ads run by the Romney campaign and supporting Super PACs. Apparently no amount of “deceptive editing” of Obama statements is too egregious for them to try to use against Obama. I guess the Romney camp assumes that if they do it all the time, everyone else does too.

Several fact checking sources have documented numerous lies created by deceptive editing in campaign ads, stump speeches and statements to the press, but they keep repeating the lies anyway. One staff member even said they were not going to let fact checkers dictate the campaign.

Let me suggest two more plausible statements supporters could use in defense of that May speech. One might say, “You can’t believe any other thing Romney has said in this campaign. Why would you think that what he said about 47 percent of the voters was true either?’’  

Or another response might be, “You should know by now that Romney says whatever he thinks his audience wants to hear. Why do you think those remarks at that fundraiser were any different? After all, he is now telling audiences in public speeches that he is for the 100 percent.”

I guess the wonderful editing technology available today has made the ninth commandment obsolete for today’s politics. Thank goodness for video tape archives.

Jane Harrison

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Throughout America’s history courageous women have struggled to achieve social and political freedom and equality. They have fought against laws and cultural and religious traditions assigning them subservient roles in American society. This long struggle has produced many heroines.

Colonial American Anne Hutchinson defied laws forbidding women to speak publicly and interpret the word of God. Forbidden the right to defend herself, she was tried and convicted of heresy, and banished from Massachusetts Colony. Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, over her frustration regarding the inferior role of women in America. This meeting, attended by 68 women and 32 men, marks the birth of the women’s rights movement.

In 19th century America, women were not allowed to inherit property, sue for divorce or retain custody of their children. Brave women who spoke publicly against cultural and legal restrictions on their freedom were persecuted and labeled unfeminine. Gradually, their cause gained support from mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. Women exerted pressure on male lawmakers and by the end of the century these legal restrictions were eliminated.

Another heroine, Susan B. Anthony, began working for women’s rights in mid-1800. Her struggle to gain the vote for women continued until her death in 1906. The 70-year-long crusade for women’s suffrage became a reality with the passage of the 19th Amendment. No political party can take credit for this victory. It came about because dedicated women worked tirelessly, putting pressure on male legislators and vigorously campaigning against elected officials who opposed women’s right to vote.

Women have struggled for centuries for equality in the workplace. The Lilly Ledbetter Act was passed in 2009, guaranteeing women equal pay for equal work. Responding to corporate lobbyists, Congress later rejected legislation requiring disclosure of workers’ pay by business owners. Inequality continues when women can’t know if their pay equals that of their male counterparts.

Today women are fighting for the right to control decisions regarding their own bodies. Male-dominated legislators pass laws restricting women’s right to choose. Lingering cultural and religious attitudes view women as being emotionally and intellectually inferior, not to be trusted with their own reproductive decisions. Introduction of the “pill” freed women to make choices about family planning. Middle and upper class women can afford good medical care. Many poor and often single women cannot afford this. Planned Parenthood fills this need providing many services including reproductive counseling and cancer screening.

Most women and men understand women are capable of making responsible choices regarding their bodies without government intervention. Some current legislators, including Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, hold contradictory attitudes about a woman’s right to affordable health care. They argue poor women shouldn’t have children while opposing funding for Planned Parenthood providing women access to responsible health care. Concerned voters must examine the position on women’s rights of candidates running for elective office. Today’s women owe a great debt to the courageous heroines from our past. We must carry their torch to the finish line.

Margery Abel

Franklin

Haywood County Chamber of Commerce is launching its 2012 Business Academy from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 4 at The Gateway Club in Waynesville.

The Business Academy is a free seven-session program from October through May that will address and assist business owners with overcoming and identifying the challenges of sustaining and growing a business. Advanced registration required.

www.Haywood-NC.com or 828.456.3021.

•••

Haywood County Fitness Challenge, which aims to help people get and stay in shape, will take place Oct. 1-Nov. 11.

Cost is $10 to visit a variety of local gyms and private classes 24 times. Registration locations include Urban Athletic on Oct. 1, Waynesville Rec Center Oct. 2, MedWest Fitness Center Oct. 3, the Cooperative Extension office Oct. 4 and The Fitness Connection Oct. 5.

Healthy Haywood is a program of the Haywood County Health Department and certified Healthy Carolinians Partnership.

www.healthyhaywood.org.

•••

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership (BRNHA) is accepting grant applications for 2013.

BRNHA grants are investments in collaborative efforts that preserve the character of our landscapes, small towns, farms and historic sites; that nurture and share our distinctive craft, music and Cherokee traditions; and that let the world know about the natural wonders and rich cultural heritage of Western North Carolina.

www.blueridgeheritage.com.

Maggie Valley has hired an outside consultant to help the once-bustling and now-struggling tourist town overcome an ongoing identity crisis.

The consultant is now ready to move from business to business talking to people about what they want for the valley.

During the past two years, several keystone issues regarding abortion and women’s reproductive health have been debated at the state level.

The Republican-led General Assembly has attempted to cut funding for Planned Parenthood and passed the Women’s Right to Know Act, which dictates new regulations for receiving an abortion.

Daydreamz Project is partnering with several local entities to display artistic expressions that promote healing of domestic violence, sexual assault and dating.

Those who want to take part are encouraged to submit poetry, prose, drawings, paintings or decorations of any type (which can be anonymous). These will then be placed on posters and displayed at various galleries and venues throughout Haywood County during the month of October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The deadline for the “Ripples of Hope” collaboration is Oct. 1.

The teardrop blanks can be picked up from Daydreamz Project, by calling 828.476.4231 or at Earthworks Frame Gallery on 21 North Main Street in Waynesville or at the REACH of Haywood office on 1085 North Main Street in Waynesville. Earthworks Frame Gallery is donating the teardrop blanks.

828.456.7898.

Craft demonstrations at Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro this week include Susie Ray, Susan Lingg, Claudia Lampley and Mary Ethel Prater. Crafters will demonstrate their work and discuss their craft in the Gallery Room.

• Sept. 27 from 2-3 p.m. — Susie Ray will demonstrate how to make felted purses.

• Sept. 29 from 1-3 p.m. — Susan Lingg will do a watercolor demonstration.

• Sept. 30 from 2-5 p.m. — Claudia Lampley will demonstrate rook hooking.

• Oct. 2 from 2-4 p.m. — Mary Ethel Prather return to demonstrate how she creates delicate hummingbirds using hawthorn spikes, maple wings and other materials from nature.

Dogwood Crafters is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with evening hours until 9 p.m. in October.

828.586.2248.

“American Craft Today” opened on Sept. 22 and will run through Dec. 29 in the Bunzl Gallery at The Bascom in Highlands.

Fifty-seven craftspeople from across the nation have been chosen to exhibit baskets, ceramics, decorative and wearable fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper and woodcraft objects at “American Craft Today”, a prestigious, juried exhibition of fine craft.

Ticket are still available for Celebration!, a weekend event at The Bascom in Highlands on Sept. 28-29. The itinerary will include a patrons-only cocktail reception; artists’ demonstrations, such as woodturning and ceramics making; a panel on “Collecting Craft: A Love Affair”; a silent auction and cocktail buffet. The festivities will culminate in a live auction of select craft by major American artists.

To purchase tickets, call 828.787.2896 or www.TheBascom.org/celebration. The Bascom is open year-round, Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.

Professional potters Susan Phillips and Velda Davis will hold a special kiln opening and pottery sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 29 and 30 and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday at their studio located in the Utah Mountain Estates.

Both artists’ work is available in local galleries, but this event allows their new work to be seen as soon as it is unloaded from the kiln, and is also a celebration of the “Buy Local” and “Handmade in America” movements.

Everyone who attends the kiln opening will receive a free piece of pottery, while supplies last. Take Interstate 40 to Exit 20 on US 276 (Jonathan Creek) for three miles, turn left onto Utah Mountain Road, then left at Windy Hill. The studio is on the right.

828.507.1305 or 828.400.5494.

The inaugural “SK8 Jam” will take place at noon Oct. 6 on the SK8 Park in Cherokee, with registration available before the start of the competition.

Besides the street comp/open bowl comp, there will also be food and live music by Vic Crown at the park. Entry fee is $20 per skater. There is a $500 cash purse for the advanced/sponsored division. Prizes will also be awarded in other divisions. The event is sponsored by Push, Skis and Tees and the Cataloochee Ski Area.

For more information, go to Facebook and search “WNC SK8 Shop.”

828.400.1252 or 828.452.4040.

A historian and author from the University of Georgia who specializes in Native American history will speak at 7 p.m., Sept. 27, at Western Carolina University in Room 130 of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center.

Claudio Saunt will address the topic “Beyond the Revolution: North America in 1776” during his presentation. Saunt is associate director of the Institute of Native American Studies at the Georgia campus in Athens. A focus of his work is the indigenous peoples of the Southeast and is the author of two award-winning books. Saunt’s talk at WCU will be based on his forthcoming book, America in 1776, which examines the history of eight communities outside the 13 Anglo-American colonies in the year of American independence. WCU’s Department of History and Cherokee Studies Program are sponsoring the program.

828.227.3867 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The scarecrows are coming to Bryson City from Oct. 6 through Oct. 20.

Western Carolina University brings magician Jason Bishop to the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 7.

The Rooted in the Mountains symposium — designed to raise awareness of the intersection of health, language, environmental and indigenous issues with the stewardship of Appalachia and its resources — will be held Oct. 4 and 5 in the A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University.

The Cherokee Indian Fair will mark its 100th year Oct. 2-6 with a five-day celebration of great music and traditional games, dancing, music, crafts, displays and food.

Music acts include Sawyer Brown on Oct. 4 at 9:30 p.m. and Lonestar on Oct. 6 at 8:30 p.m.

Each day is themed to an important part of the Cherokee culture. Parade day, Tuesday, kicks off with the Chief’s Challenge run through downtown Cherokee at 2 p.m. Wednesday is Children’s Day, with special activities and attractions. Thursday, the Cherokee Indian Fair honors the elders with a special meal. Friday, Cherokee salutes the armed forces. This year, the Cherokee Indian Fair is honored to host the traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall, which will be on exhibit at the Cherokee Expo Center. Saturday’s Community Day completes the celebration.

The fair also includes a carnival featuring games and high-tech rides. Admission to the fair is $10 and tickets are available in advance at www.visitcherokeenc.com.

The Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival will include everything from concerts to crafts during its three-day run Oct. 5-7.

The Lovin’ Spoonful will appear “On the Slope” in Sapphire on Oct. 5. Gates open at 5 p.m. General admission is $25 and VIP tickets are $50.

Glenville Village, about five miles north of the Cashiers Crossroads on Lake Glenville, will have crafters and artists ranging from potters to woodworkers. Also, beginning at 10 a.m. each day Signal Ridge Marina launches pontoon boat cruises to view Lake Glenville’s wooded shoreline and hear a bit of lake lore.

Moving east from the Cashiers Crossroads on N.C. 64, attendees will find a variety of shops and eateries at Sapphire Village.

828.743.8428 or www.visitcashiersvalley.com.

The “Cruisin’ in the Mountains” car, truck and bike show will be held Oct. 5 and 6 at Southwestern Community College’s Driving Course on Industrial Park Loop. Registration is now being accepted at the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. Registration forms can be downloaded from the Chamber’s website or can be picked up at the Chamber Visitor Center.

Friday will kick off with a Cruise In and show pre-registration. The Cruise In is free. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and close at 8 p.m. Saturday’s gate admission will be $5 for adults, while children 12 and under are free.

Saturday will also feature a Cornhole Tournament at 10 a.m. Registration is open with forms available at the Franklin Chamber.

www.VisitFranklinNC.com or 828.524.3161.

Western Carolina University will celebrate Homecoming 2012 — whose theme is “Tradition Long, Catamount Strong — with a host of activities Oct. 4-7.

Mountain Heritage Day gets under way Sept. 29 at Western Carolina University with a variety of arts and crafts, music, clogging, folk arts, contests and other activities.

Celebrate Oktoberfest with the Haywood County Arts Council from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 on the patio at the Classic Wineseller in downtown Waynesville.

The event includes a traditional Bavarian meal of bratwurst, potato salad, sauerkraut and tea or soda. From the start, beer was an important part of Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest beers, a wide variety of craft beers and a large selection of wine are available for purchase. Proceeds from food and drink sales are to benefit the Haywood County Arts Council.

Tickets are $12 per person and can be purchased by calling the Arts Council office at 828.452.0593 or by visiting 86 North Main Street or the Classic Wineseller at 20 Church Street. In case of inclement weather, the celebration will continue inside the Classic Wineseller.

www.HaywoodArts.org.

Western Carolina University School of Music will present “British Invasion,” an evening of 20th century music for clarinet and piano, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2, in the Coulter Building recital hall on the Western Carolina University campus.

Shannon Thompson, on clarinet, and Bradley Martin, on piano, will perform a sonata by Arnold Bax; Paul Reade’s “Suite from the Victorian Kitchen Garden,” a 1980s television series from the BBC2; Alec Templeton’s jazz-influenced “Pocket Size Sonata No. 1”; and Geoffrey Bush’s “Tributes” to musicians Artie Shaw, Darius Milhaud, Erik Satie, Harold Arlen and Joseph Horovitz. The program also will feature soprano Susan Belcher joining Thompson and Martin in “A Garden of Weeds” by Terence Greaves.

Thompson heads the clarinet studio at WCU and Martin teaches a variety of music courses. The duo has performed together in North Carolina, Tennessee and Oregon. They’re planning future concerts at the South Carolina Governor’s School and the University of North Carolina School for the Arts.

828.227.7242.

“Hymns We Know By Heart,” a sacred music songfest, will be held at 4 p.m. Sept. 30 on Franklin’s Town Square gazebo.

The event is a front porch-style sing-along of familiar hymns and spirituals, from “Amazing Grace” and “In The Garden”, to “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “This Little Light.” Cindy Miles and Bobbie Contino will lead the singing, with Lionel Caynon playing keyboard. Bring a

The gazebo is on the corner of Main and Iotla Streets, across from the Macon County Courthouse. Attendees should bring a lawn chair. In case of rain, the audience will sit under the gazebo cover. The program is sponsored by the Arts Council of Macon County, with support from the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. The final event of the fall “Sundays On The Square” series is a concert by Remnants Classic Rock Band at 4 p.m. Oct. 7.

828.524.7683 or www.artscouncilofmacon.org.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will perform all 10 Beethoven violin sonatas during a series of five concerts this fall and spring at Western Carolina University.

“The Beethoven Project” will feature concerts of two Beethoven sonatas, plus a significant work for violin and piano from the 20th century. Bradley Martin, WCU associate professor of piano, will perform along with Justin Bruns on violin.

The recitals all are free and open to the public and will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the recital hall of WCU’s Coulter Building. The first performance is Oct. 8 and will feature Beethoven Sonata Nos. 1 and 6 and Stravinsky’s Duo Concertante for Violin and Piano. Dates for the other “Beethoven Project” concerts are Nov. 5, Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 18. Asheville radio station WCQS-FM will broadcast a recording of the concerts at later dates. The WCU College of Music, WCQS and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra are event sponsors.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.3726.

Stayin’ Alive Canada, the world’s number one tribute to The Bee Gees, will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

It was The Bee Gees contribution to the soundtrack album for 1977’s “Saturday Night Fever” that took the trio to the ultimate limits of fame and fortune. This double album set, featuring three #1 American singles by The Bee Gees (“How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’Alive” and “Night Fever”) went on to sell 30 million copies worldwide. Now you can relive the uncanny live performance of The Bee Gees as meticulously recreated and performed by Stayin’ Alive Canada.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online or stop by the theatre’s box office at 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin.

www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.

Haywood Arts Regional Theater’s regional talent show finals played to a standing room only on Sept. 22 at the HART Theatre in Waynesville, with 16 acts competing for a top prize of $1,000.

The Overlook Theatre Company will present “Smoke on the Mountain: A Rip-Roaring Musical Comedy Revival” at 7:30 p.m. throughout the month of October at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Show dates are Oct. 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19 and 23.

“Smoke on the Mountain” is full of laughs and bluegrass and traditional gospel music. It’s set in the 1930s in Mount Pleasant and revolves around the Sanders family of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, who sing in celebration of their new electric light bulb.

Tickets may be purchased online or at the theatre’s box office located at 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students.

www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.

The Haywood Arts Regional Theater will stage the musical “The Light in the Piazza” Oct. 5 through Oct. 21 at the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville.

The musical tells the story of a woman from Winston-Salem whose husband, a tobacco executive, sends her off on holiday with their daughter. Margaret Johnson takes her daughter Clara to Florence, a city Margaret once visited with her husband in happier times. Clara is learning impaired, having suffered a head injury as a child. Now 26, her mother has sheltered her from harm and reconciled her to a life without romance. But Florence has other ideas. The city is alive with love and Clara is not immune.

The show is based on a 1960 novel by Elizabeth Spencer, a native of Mississippi who met her husband in Italy. She would go on to teach in Canada and finally at UNC-Chapel Hill where she still lives. A 1962 film version of the story stared Olivia de Havilland as Margaret, Yvette Mimieux as Clara and George Hamilton as Fabrizio, the young man she meets. The musical was created by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas who is best known for his play “Prelude to a Kiss.”

www.harttheatre.com or 828.456.6322.

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation’s 4th Annual Furry Friends Benefit Bash will be held on Oct. 4 at the Cork and Cleaver in the Waynesville Inn on Country Club Drive in Waynesville.

The event will be a sit-down dinner, with four entrees from which to choose. The Cork & Cleaver is offering roasted New York strip steak, mushroom stuffed chicken breast, grilled mahi mahi or wild mushroom ravioli.

There will be a cash bar and live and silent auctions. Travis Royston returns as the auctioneer for the live auction that will include signature jewelry by Jeannie Tracy of the Jeweler’s Workbench, art and vacation packages, plus special dinners for eight, an art workshop and cooking class/tasting party. In addition, the silent auction will have golf, dining, and spa packages as well as unique items for you and your pets.

Tickets may be purchased for $50 per person at Sarge’s Adoption Center at 256 Industrial Park Drive in Waynesville and at the Earthworks Frame Gallery located at 21 North Main Street in Waynesville. There is also a link at Sarge’s website www.sargeandfriends.org for the registration form. Table sponsorships are available for $450, which will reserve a table for eight guests.

828.450.9797.

The WestCare Hospital Board voted 13-1 Tuesday night to dissolve its affiliation with Haywood Regional Medical Center.

WestCare, which includes both Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva and Swain County Hospital, partnered with Haywood Regional in early 2010 under the
MedWest banner. However, the partnership has not been beneficial to WestCare, the board decided.

Tuesday night's decision has been several months in the making, and comes with the support of physicians and hospital employees, who had been pushing for the partnership to dissolve.

While WestCare will now formally ask MedWest to dissolve the partnership, the MedWest board of directors — which includes an equal number of board members from both Haywood and WestCare — must agree to let WestCare out. The timetable for a vote is not yet known.

The Highlands-Cashiers Hospital Foundation will hold a breast cancer benefit 5K run/walk at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, in Highlands.

The event will begin and end on the hospital campus. Pour Le Pink 5k will provide support for maintaining the hospital’s breast imaging equipment as well as financial aid for patients. The race is being organized with assistance by Highlands Roadrunners Club.  

Registration is $20 by Sept. 21, and $30 thereafter. To register, become a sponsor, or for additional race details visit www.highlandscashiershospital.org or call 828.526.1313.

The annual Smoky Streak run will be held Saturday, Oct. 6, along the Tuckasegee River in Sylva to raise money for mammograms for women who otherwise couldn’t afford them.

Both the 5K and 10K run will start and finish at Webster Baptist Church. Both races are out-and-back courses, starting and finishing at the church. A short, sharp ascent and then descent will begin and end the race course. The middle section is a gentle, rolling course along the river. The bridge over the Tuckasegee River near the start line provides a great view of the race for spectators.

This race will raise funds to pay for mammograms for underserved, qualifying women. It is put on by MedWest-Harris, MedWest-Swain, the MedWest-Harris & Swain Foundation, and the Jackson County Department of Public Health. The funds the 2011 Smoky Streak run generated helped pay for 86 mammograms for local women in need, but those funds ran out in February. The Jackson County Department of Public Health has since then been able to help more than 80 additional women get mammograms.

The 5K will begin at 9 a.m. and the 10K will begin at 9:30 a.m. 828.586.8994 or www.haymed.org/smoky_streak.aspx.

Discover the world of herbs, from cooking to healing to the best ways to grow them, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Jackson County Library in downtown Sylva.

At this “make and take” workshop, local herbalist Becky Lipkin will share fresh herbs, seeds, cuttings and handouts on growing tips and herb recipes. Participants will learn which herbs grow best in their own backyards and what to do with them.

Lipkin is a certified aroma therapist and is known as the “Herb Lady of Cedar Creek Farms.” She is a graduate of Western Carolina University with a degree in Environmental Health Science and travels throughout the Southeast conducting seminars about how herbs can be used for medicinal purposes, in cooking and in aromatic products. 828.586.2016.

The Macon County Public Library will present “Hiking Through History” with Leanna Joyner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the library’s meeting room.

The presentation will cover the history of Civil War events in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and along the Appalachian Trail. Hear stories of tenuous mountain battles, the division of families and learn where to hike through history along the Appalachian Trail.

The program is part of the Thursdays at the Library series, an eclectic mix of programs by authors, musicians, and educators on topics designed for enjoyment and learning. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

www.leannajoyner.com.

A film about three Appalachian Trail thru-hikers will be shown 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the REI in Asheville.

The movie “Beauty Beneath the Dirt” follows the story of three young urbanites as they attempt to balance family, friendship, and personal happiness while hiking from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. Thru-hiker Katherine Imp, the director, executive producer and cast member, will be present for a post-screening question and answer. $5. Registration is required. www.rei.com/event/43769/session/56473 or 828.687.0918.

The North Carolina Bartram Trail Society will celebrate its 35th anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 29, in Franklin with a program on “The Natural History of the Southern Appalachians” and a guided hike to the Cowee Mound.

State wildlife officials have gone too far in their goal of putting a dent in the coyote population, particularly when it comes to allowing the practice of nighttime spotlight hunting, according to a federal lawsuit filed by several environmental groups.

The Nantahala Hiking Club, along with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, is holding a free “Family Hiking Day” on Saturday, Sept. 29, in the Nantahala National Forest outside Franklin.

The event will introduce families to the outdoors and the fun of hiking together. There will be a hiking lecture, organized hikes from one to four miles and a cookout lunch.

Registration will be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Standing Indian Campground family pavilion. Standing Indian is located off N.C. 64 west of Franklin. From N.C. 64 past Winding Stair Gap, take a left on West Old Murphy Road on the left, go 1.9 miles and turn right at the Standing Indian Campground sign.

Bring appropriate shoes and clothing, including rain gear. www.nantahalahikingclub.org.

In an unprecedented move, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation has declined to honor a Legislator of the Year for the first time in the history of the organization’s 49-year-old Conservation Achievement Awards program.

These awards are the highest conservation honors in North Carolina, yet in the wake of one of the most wildlife and environmentally hostile General Assembly sessions of the last half-century, no legislator was singled out for heroic effort.

Politicians rolled back or severely weakened protections, and undertook policies that ran counter to science and economics, according to Tim Gestwicki, executive director of the Wildlife Commission.

“Under the cloak of a recession, many lawmakers gutted conservation protections that hunters, anglers and other citizens value and treasure,” Gestwicki said. “This is a very poor, short-sighted subterfuge that is a dark blight on our state’s history.”

The indictment is not a reflection of all state legislators, however.

“While there are certainly some elected officials trying to make intelligent decisions as to how our natural resources are best managed for the citizenry, it is undeniable that, as a whole, the N.C. Legislature took many steps backwards in conservation matters,” said awards committee chairman Edward Nickens.

At its awards banquet last week, the N.C. Wildlife Federation honored conservation accomplishments in other categories, including individuals, businesses, nonprofits, scientists, journalists, volunteers, teachers and government agencies.

As for a conservation hero in the lawmaker category, there was a missing spot on the award program with the words “keeping fingers crossed for 2013.”

Visitors to Western North Carolina’s mountains can look forward to a good display of color this autumn, although some areas will enjoy brighter hues than others, predicts Kathy Mathews, Western Carolina University’s fall foliage forecaster and biology professor.

A program called “Bring Back the Monarchs” will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Cradle of Forestry Discovery Center in the Pisgah National Forest.       

The program, given by conservation specialists with the Monarch Watch program, will cover biology basics of the monarch’s life cycle and annual migration. The event offers information on threats these butterflies face in central Mexico in the winter as well as in their summer breeding habitat in the United States. Additionally, the program will cover the importance of their sole larval food source, milkweeds. Discussions will include the technique of tagging monarchs, sharing ideas for raising monarchs in the classroom and at home, and ways to grow native milkweeds and other native nectar-rich plant species for establishing Monarch way stations vital to monarch survival. Free samples of native milkweed seeds will be provided.

Admission to the Cradle of Forestry is $5 for adults; free under the age of 16 and for America the Beautiful and Golden Age passes. Located on U.S. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest four miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway. 828.877.3130 or www.cradleofforestry.org

A free program titled “Hummingbirds: Delicate Gems or Sky Kings?” will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Cashiers Library as part of the Village Nature Series.

The presenter, Romney Bathurst, has traveled extensively throughout Central and South America and has personally seen more than 5,800 species of birds, 220 of them hummingbirds. The talk will cover the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and other species found in countries across the world. The Village Nature Series, now in its fifth year, is a collaboration of the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust and Village Green. 828.526.1111. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Katherine Soniat will discuss her new collection, A Raft, A Boat, A Bridge, at City Lights Bookstore’s Coffee with the Poet Series continues at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20.

This collection marks Soniat’s sixth book of poetry. Originally from New Orleans, Soniat has taught at the University of New Orleans, Hollins University and for 20 years was on the faculty at Virginia Tech.

Soniat now lives on in Asheville and teaches in the Great Smokies Writers’ Program at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The series is co-sponsored by the NetWest chapter of the North Carolina Writers’ Network and meets every third Thursday of each month.

828.586.9499.