The North Carolina Arboretum will host two events to end the summer and kick off fall — the 26th annual Carolinas Dahlia Society Show will take place Sept. 8 and 9, and Carolina Craft Day will be held on Sept. 22.

The Dahlia Show is from 1 until 5 p.m. on Sept. 8 and 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 9. Hundreds of dahlias in every shape, size and color will be on display. Exhibitors from four states, including commercial and amateur growers from North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama will participate. This year’s theme, Power of Pink, was chosen to bring increased awareness to the fight against cancer. 

The shows are free for Arboretum Society members or with the standard parking fee ($8 per personal motor vehicle). 828.665.2492 or visit www.ncarboretum.org.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking volunteers to assist rangers during the increased fall visitation period in Cataloochee Valley from mid-September until Oct. 31.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hosting a stargazing event Sept. 7 at one of Haywood County’s clearest views of the sky - Purchase Knob, located off U.S. 276 near Maggie Valley.

The Astronomy Club of Asheville will lead the exploration of the night sky at this high elevation site with a 260-degree unobstructed view of the sky. Visitors can expect to see the planets Neptune and Uranus; the wonderful starry glow of our Milky Way Galaxy stretching across Purchase Knob’s dark skies; the beautiful spiral disk of the Andromeda Galaxy; the numerous star clusters of late summer and early fall; as well as several binary star systems.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. with an indoor orientation, which will be held rain or shine. The program is limited to 60 people. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the park directly at 828.926.6251.

The fourth annual Old Cullowhee Canoe Slalom is scheduled to begin Sept. 8 at 9 a.m., just upstream from the bridge in Old Cullowhee. This is a family-friendly competition for amateur paddlers on a calm section of the Tuckasegee River. The course includes negotiating nine gates on flat, moving water.

Public access to the popular Tuckasegee River will improve when Duke Energy opens the new Whittier Access Area Sept. 1.  

The site is located at River Mile 20.6 or 120 Church St. in Whittier. This new public boat access area is the second of six planned new or improved Tuckasegee River main stem access sites by Duke Energy in Jackson County. The C.J. Harris Access Area in Dillsboro opened last year above the former Dillsboro Dam site.

“The need for this access area and others is a fruit of the thousands of person-hours devoted by the Tuckasegee Cooperative Stakeholder Team in relicensing Duke Energy hydroelectric projects in the county. The team’s settlement agreement and subsequent new federal licenses support that need,” said Fred Alexander, Duke Energy district manager.

The Whittier Access Area, designed for launching and retrieving canoes, kayaks and drift boats, includes one boat launch ramp with a paved turn-around area, a gravel parking lot for 11 vehicles with trailers, an information kiosk and security lights.

The site also includes an Americans with Disabilities Act parking space with an accessible sidewalk leading to the boat ramp.

The first-ever scheduled recreational whitewater releases on the upper Nantahala River — scheduled for Sept. 29-30 — will offer advanced and expert paddlers the opportunity to experience Class IV and V rapids in two separate runs.

The uppermost section — known locally as the Cascades — will let advanced and expert paddlers navigate a relatively short Class IV/V descent over numerous waterfalls and slides. The highly technical river run is not suitable for those without the prerequisite skills and equipment.

The section from the base of the Cascades to the powerhouse is generally referred to as the Upper Nantahala and offers intermediate to advanced paddlers a longer Class III/IV descent.

The releases were negotiated to mitigate the recreational impacts of flow reductions associated with Duke Energy’s operation of the powerhouse on the Nantahala and other rivers in the region.

Beginning in 2013 there will be eight annual release days on the Upper Nantahala: one weekend in late April, four summer evenings, and one late September weekend.

Parking, access to be improved

The new whitewater releases on the Upper Nantahala will also lead to new parking and river access areas along the upper reach of the Nantahala.

Duke will put in six parking and access areas to accommodate paddlers on the Upper Nanty. They will be built on U.S. Forest Service land. Public comments on the parking and access areas are being accepted by the forest service.

To comment on the areas or for more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., send by regular mail to: Nantahala Ranger District, 90 Sloan Road, Franklin, N.C., 28734; or fax to 828.479.6592.

For this first weekend of releases, however, the forest service has designated several pull-offs for boat loading and unloading only, and the Nantahala Outdoor Center and Endless River Adventures will provide shuttles.  

Haywood Community College will hold a sawmill operation auction at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the college.

The auction will include the sale of a complete band sawmill, circular sawmill, and planer operation. Thad Woods Auction is handling the sale. Pictures are available at http://thadwoodsauction.com/. Preview day to view available equipment will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sept. 21.

For information, call Thad Woods Auction at 828.421.4174.

Carnivorous plants will be highlighted at the annual Native Plant Symposium at the Highlands Botanical Garden Sept. 13-15.

The nocturnal adaptations of plants and animals will be the subject of the final Zahner series lecture at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30 at the Highlands Nature Center.

The discussions will be led by Dr. Jennifer Frick-Ruppert from Brevard College.

Ever notice that the fragrance of flowers blooming at dusk is particularly perfumed, that the crack of a twig from an unknown quarter is especially loud when it occurs outside your tent at night, or that the sounds of a mosquito is noisy enough to wake you from an evening’s sleep?

All Zahner Conservation Lectures are free and open to the public. For information about the Highlands Biological Foundation visit www.highlandsbiological.org or call 828.526.2221.

Pre-school storytime resumes in Bryson City

Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will begin its pre-school storytime program at 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays starting Sept. 5 in the auditorium.

Visit the library every Wednesday for a variety of fun activities, arts and crafts, songs and stories for ages 2-5. The pre-literacy skill focus for the fall storytime session will include becoming familiar with the names of the parts of the book.

Kids on Main offers fun for families

The popular Downtown Waynesville Block Party is adding a new attraction to this year’s gathering on Saturday, Sept. 1. From 6-7 p.m., Kids on Main will provide art and craft projects and more focusing on families with young children.

Families are encouraged to visit Gallery 86 on Main Street, where they’ll be given a map of participating businesses and activities as well as a bag for the goodies they’ll be collecting.

The official Block Party kicks off at 7 p.m. with three live bands, dancing, restaurants and many shops open late.

www.downtownwaynesville.com or 828.456.3517.

An exhibition featuring The Women of NoHa called “piercing the mundane” will go on display Aug. 29 at Gallery 86 in downtown Waynesville, with an artist’s reception from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 7.

Six women artists, all of who reside in Haywood County, have joined together to explore the reinterpretation of ordinary objects within their mediums of textiles, clay, wood, jewelry, and mixed media. 

Caryl Brt, Suzanne Gernandt, Susan Livengood, Sheree White Sorrells, Kaaren Stoner and Kim Thompson — all career professional artists — are taking a stab at the word ‘mundane.’ Their individual works are each a statement in mindfulness of the ordinary. A stone can be more than a random rock on the ground; a chair can be a character statement; and a blank wall doesn’t need to be.

Gallery 86 is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday thru Saturday, and “piercing the mundane” will be on display until Sept. 22.

828.452.0593 or 828.400.1040.

An iconic figure of Western North Carolina history and culture who penned the classic “Our Southern Highlanders” and helped spearhead the movement to establish Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the focus of a new exhibit at Western Carolina University.

Art Rosenbaum: Voices, featuring a small collection of monumental paintings of American folk musicians, opens in the Loft Gallery at The Bascom in Highlands on Sept. 1, with a reception from 5-7 p.m.

Rosenbaum’s works depicting rural Southern life are combinations of both real and imagined people, places and events. Ethnographer as well as artist, he brings storytelling to view in the form of folktale paintings full of vibrant, sweeping color. The exhibition runs through Nov.10.

On Sept. 2, Art and Margo Rosenbaum will present an artist talk at The Bascom from 2-3 p.m. Margo Rosenbaum’s black and white photographs of the folk musicians in Rosenbaum’s paintings will be on display in the permanent collection space.

The Bascom is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m., Sundays.

www.TheBascom.org or 828.526.4949.

Dierks Bentley will play his country music hits at 9 p.m. Sept. 21 at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.

Western Carolina University’s 38th annual Mountain Heritage Day Local is set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 29 on the campus in Cullowhee.

The foods competition will include divisions for canned goods, baked goods, extracted honey and “heritage foods,” plus the “Best in the West” whole grain recipe contest.

The foods contest is coordinated jointly by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service’s Jackson County Center and the Mountain Heritage Center. Ribbons will be awarded to the top three entries in youth and adult divisions, and a grand champion will be selected from each of the divisions.

Canned goods, honey and heritage foods can be dropped off at the museum between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sept. 25. Baked goods and whole grain recipe contest entries should be brought to the Mountain Heritage Center between 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 28.

Winners will be announced from the Balsam Stage at Mountain Heritage Day at 12:15 p.m.

A 5-kilometer foot race and other competitions will take place on the day of the festival. Full race details are available at www.claws.wcu.edu/sma/5K.

Other competitions scheduled for Mountain Heritage Day include a chain saw contest, with registration beginning at 9 a.m. and competition starting at 10 a.m.; and an old-fashioned attire contest for children and adults, and a beard and moustache contest for men at 12:15 p.m. on the Balsam Stage.

For more information, 828.586.4009 or 828.227.7129 or www.mountainheritageday.com.

The first leg of this year’s Haywood’s Got Talent comes this weekend when 25 acts show off their abilities in two nights of semi-finals on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at Haywood Arts Regional Theater on Pigeon Street in Waynesville.

The adjudicators for the semi-finals include percussionist Dave Bruce, choreographer Cord Scott and musician/conductor Ann Rhymer Schwabland.

From the two nights, a dozen will go forward to compete in the finals on Sept. 22.

Tickets to the each night of the semi-finals are $12 for adults and $8 for students. The event is a fundraiser for HART.

www.harttheater.com or 828.456.6322.

Craft demonstrations will begin in September at Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro.

Mary Ethel Prather will make her delicate hummingbirds from some of nature’s more durable materials like the silver maple wings and hawthorn spikes from 2 to 4 p.m., Sept. 4. Delores Haun will demonstrate colorful vintage embroidery on kitchen towels from 10 a.m. to noon, Sept. 5. Betsey Sloan will weave baskets and answer questions about this mountain craft from noon until 3 p.m., Sept. 7.

These demonstrators are Dogwood Crafters and have their works for sale at the shop in Dillsboro. 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.

Southwestern Community College will offer three clay classes beginning in September.

• Hand building: 2-6 p.m., Mondays from Sept. 10-Nov. 26, in room 123. This course provides a focus on hand building a variety of forms. Students will experiment with a slab construction, coil and pinch methods, as well as slump molds and stamping. Students will also work on surface decorations, glazing and firing. Prerequisites: None. Cost: $125.

• Holiday Decorations: 1-5 p.m., Wednesdays from Sept. 12-Dec. 5, in room 123. Students will learn how to use clay to create a variety of holiday-themed decorations. Projects in the class will be hand building based and focus on upcoming holidays during the semester. Prerequisites: None. Cost: $125

• Lidded Forms: 2-5 p.m., Wednesdays from Sept. 12-Nov. 7, in room 125. Students will concentrate on lidded vessels, such as butter dishes and teapots. The use of the extruder and slab roller will be incorporated into the design. Students will have enhanced their glazing techniques. Prerequisites: Beginning wheel or instructor’s permission. Cost: $65

The SCC Swain Center located at 60 Almond School Road in Bryson City. Space is limited. Supplies not included for classes.

828.366.2000 or www.southwesterncc.edu/finearts.

A selection of rare Pontiac automobiles will be on display during a vintage car show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 8 in downtown Sylva.

The upcoming Village Square Art & Craft Show on Sept. 1-2 at Kelsey Hutchinson Park and Highlands Village Square in Highlands will feature more than 70 artists from the region, including Marcus Thomas of Weaverville.

Thomas’ work is created with intricate, life-like details and extraordinary composition and creativity. As a quadriplegic, Marcus paints all his works by holding a paintbrush in his mouth.

At the age of 26, a snow skiing accident broke his neck and left him paralyzed below his neck.

At the arts and crafts show, Marcus will demonstrate his painting techniques.

Visitors will find traditional mountain crafts as well as fine art/photography, folk art, yard art and everything in between. Fressers will be open for breakfast and lunch in the square, and there will be face painting and live music both days.

www.cystrainphotos.com or 828.787.2021.

The Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual will host an open-air native art market on Sept. 1 on Tsali Boulevard in Cherokee.

The free daylong event will offer traditional Cherokee food and displays of beadwork, basket weaving, sculpture and woodworking crafted by Cherokee artisans practicing hundreds-of-years-old art techniques.

The Open-Air Indian Art Market provides a great opportunity to ask questions of traditional and contemporary Cherokee artists. Artwork will be available for purchase.

828.497.3103 or www.cherokee-nc.com.

A senior project film created by Western Carolina University students last year has been accepted into the third annual Atlanta Shortsfest.

“Moses Cove” will be screened at the festival, which will be held Sept. 14-16, at the Goat Farm Arts Center in Atlanta. The event showcases more than 300 films from around the world.

Set in the Appalachian Mountains, “Moses Cove” conveys the struggle of a drug addict grappling with whether to risk his life to help a lost newcomer who has fallen prey to drug dealers.

Recent graduates of the Western Carolina University Motion Picture and Television Production Program Zach Heaton and Chris Read produced the film. Heaton, the film’s writer and cinematographer, and Read, the director, created the film on an approximately $5,000 budget. “Moses Cove” was the first student production to build a set on the new film stage in Ramsey Regional Activity Center.

Others who worked on the film include Christy Conyers as editor; Chris McAllister as music composer; and Joseph Callahan, Tommy Cooley, Andrew Drake and Madeline Seagle as members of the cast.

828.227.2324 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Landscape artist and instructor in watercolor painting and drawing Sandra Brugh Moore of Asheville will demonstrate watercolor techniques in a mountain landscape for Art League of the Smokies at 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 6 at Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City. The event is free and open to the public.

Master photographer Ed Kelley is teaching a four-week course in “Taking Control of Your Digital Photography” from 6:30-9 p.m., beginning Sept. 11, at First Baptist Church in Waynesville.

The Haywood County Arts Council will hold registration for students wishing to enroll in the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program from 3:30-5 p.m. on Sept. 18 at Canton Middle School.

JAM instructors will be on hand to assist beginning students with their choice of instrument study. Instruments are available for rental from Strains of Music in Waynesville. Classes meet on Tuesdays from 3:30-5 p.m. beginning Sept. 25 at Canton Middle School.

The JAM program is designed for children in 4th grade and higher who want to learn old-time mountain music. Students will be taught banjo, fiddle, or guitar. A string band class is offered to advanced students by instructor referral only. Students in adjoining counties may participate on a space available basis.

Lessons are $90 per child for the school year and fees must be paid in advance.

The North Carolina Arts Council, a division or the Department of Cultural Resources, supports this project with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

828.452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org or www.facebook.com/haywoodarts.

The music of The Stone Mountain Wobblers, a traditional old time string band, will highlight the Bascom Barn Dance from 7-10 p.m. Sept. 1.

With fiddle, banjo and guitar, brothers Evan, Mickey and Moses of The Stone Mountain Wobblers energetically recreate this vintage country music of the South. They have ranked in the top three at the Gordon County Fiddler’s Convention string band competition two years in a row.

The barn dances are sponsored by The Custom House, Young Restoration, The Ugly Dog Pub and the Highlands Historical Society.

The Bascom is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m., Sundays.

www.TheBascom.org or 828.526.4949.

As part of the summer music series, the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will present “The Future of Mountain Music” with Larry Barnett and his students at 7 p.m. Aug. 30.

Barnett, owner of Grandpa’s Music in Bryson City, has been teaching are children and adults for more than 10 years. Some of his current students will perform in the showcase at the library.

The Friends of the Marianna Black Library will also be there with refreshments and cookies. This program is free and open to area residents and visitors. The library is located in downtown Bryson City at the corner of Academy and Rector.

828.488.3030 or www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

Western Carolina University will receive a five-year grant of $642,960 to continue operation of the Center for Rapid Product Realization, which works to accelerate job creation and retention among existing businesses and emerging entrepreneurial enterprises in Western North Carolina. The funding has come from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

WCU’s Center for Rapid Product Realization collaborates with the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and its Small Business and Technology Development Center to help companies develop and market new products and inventions, and to help develop the regional workforce through industry-sponsored faculty/student projects.

Services include three-dimensional design and scanning, reverse engineering, rapid prototyping and mechanical and electrical testing at the Rapid Center; business assistance; and consulting and entrepreneurial mentoring.

828.227.2159 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Catamount Pump & Go in Sylva is now offering biodiesel from the Asheville-based Blue Ridge Biofuels for use in vehicles.

Blue Ridge Biofuels uses recycled, used cooking oil from area restaurants to produce the sustainable, renewable biodiesel that meets the highest fuel quality standards.

Catamount Pump and Go offers a high-blend of biodiesel (B99 in summer, B50 in winter) for on-road vehicles as well as B20 year-round. The biodiesel pump is located next to a petroleum diesel pump allowing customers to create any custom blend directly in their vehicle’s fuel tank.

Catamount Pump & Go is located at near the Sylva exit off U.S. 23/74.

828.253.1034, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.blueridgebiofuels.com.

Smoky Mountain Sk8way outside Waynesville plans to add an additional 10,000 square feet to its existing facility, which will allow it to offer a much larger skating surface, a cafe, a climbing wall, a toddler area, mini-golf and a pro shop along with an arcade. First, however, the business must install a state-required $50,000 fire protection sprinkler system.

The Sk8way is targeting local businesses to buy ads on the outside or inside of the rink, on the Smoky Mountain Sk8way website and be eligible for membership benefits. The rink is also willing to barter or make in-kind trades for building materials, carpet, paint, plumbing, electrical and carpenter services just to name a few.

The rink is located on U.S. 23-74 between Waynesville and Sylva.

828.246.9124 or www.SmokyMountainSk8way.com.

REACH of Haywood County has opened the Within REACH Home Store doors down from their popular Within REACH resale store on Hazelwood Avenue in Sylva. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. It features previously owned furniture, appliances and home decorations for sale. Proceeds go to support the services that REACH of Haywood provide and clients they assist, including survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse. 828.456.7898 or www.reachofhaywood.com.

Harmony House Foods, a leading provider of dehydrated foods to backpackers, will open a new facility at the Macon County Business Development Center.

Founded in 2005 in Eastern North Carolina, the company markets dehydrated meals primarily to outdoor adventurers with a strong on-line business and as a supplier to major outdoor retailers like REI. In 2007, Backpacker Magazine awarded Harmony House with its “Editors’ Choice” award, gaining the company national recognition.

Harmony House will occupy approximately 7,500 square feet of the county’s Business Development Center and is expected to initially employ between five and seven employees. Operations are scheduled to begin in September. Macon County Commissioners approved the lease agreement Tuesday evening.

“With their ties to the outdoor recreation industry, we think they are perfect fit for our area,” said County Commissioner Chairman Kevin Corbin.

A public lecture on Indian health by a leading international epidemiologist will be held at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 5 at Western Carolina University’s new Health and Human Sciences Building.

Epidemiologist Richard Wilkinson will perform the lecture from England via a videoconferencing system and discuss the topics of life expectancy, mental health, levels of violence, teen birth rates, drug abuse, child wellbeing, obesity rates, levels of trust and educational performance. After the presentation, the audience will hear from a panel of experts from local and distance sites.

The Third Annual Bogey Fore Golf Tournament will tee off Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. at Maggie Valley Club. The tournament will benefit the Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center. The fee to enter is $160 for a two-man team.

The Volunteer Center recruits and places volunteers to help serve over 60 organizations in the counties of Haywood and Jackson. Its programs also help seniors with prescription costs. Sponsored by First Citizens Bank. 828.356.2833.

Angel Medical Center will hold a Radiothon Sept. 8th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to raise funds for an Outpatient Medicine Expansion project. Pledges can be placed in person or by phone at 828.349.8200 during the event.

A goal of $300,000 has been set for donations and pledges. The outpatient medicine department has grown to see more than 19,000 patients each year.

The Haywood County Democratic Party Headquarters, located at 286 Haywood Square in Waynesville, has expanded Saturday hours to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Normal hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. 828.452.9607 or haywooddemocrats.org.

•••

A post convention wrap-up at the Highlands headquarters of the Macon County Democratic Party will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 7. Deputy National Finance Chair for the Democratic Party Mark Gilbert and his wife Nancy will share some of their experiences as insiders at the convention and on the campaign trail with President Barack Obama. Gilbert currently chairs the “Swing State Victory Fund” for Obama’s reelection campaign. Located on the lower level of the Peggy Crosby Center on Fifth Street.

Byron Ballard will discuss her book, Staubs and Ditchwater, at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 31, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Part memoir, part instructional primer, Staubs and Ditchwater is an entertaining introduction to Appalachian folk magic. This knowledge encompasses planting by the signs, healing with herbs divination. Ballard leads local and regional workshops on these traditional practices and after much thought and many conversations decided to share fading aspect of traditional culture from the southern highlands.

828.586.9499.

Two award-winning authors, Dawn Gilchrist-Young and Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, who are also English teachers at Swain County High School, will each read from their novels, which are currently in progress, at 7 p.m. on Aug. 28 at the Jackson County Library.

Gilchrist-Young will read from a draft novel that is based on her prize-winning short story, “The Tender Branch.” That story won Gilchrist-Young the 2011 High School Teachers Writing Award from the Norman Mailer Center, co-sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Clapsaddle will read from her novel-in-progress, Sololoneet, which won the 2012 Morning Star Award for Creative Fiction from the Native American Literature Symposium and the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies.   

828.586.2016.

Blue Ridge Books will host Margaret Dunbar Cutright, the co-author of A Case for Soloman: Bobby Dunbar and the Kidnapping that Haunted a Nation, at 3 p.m. Aug. 25, and a separate private reception will be held later that day.

In 1912, four year-old Bobby Dunbar, the son of an upper middle-class Louisiana family, went missing in the swamps. Eight months later, he was found in the company of a wandering piano-tuner, who was arrested and tried for kidnapping.

But, when a destitute single mother came forward to claim the boy as her son, not Bobby Dunbar, the case exploded. For two years, courts probed and newspapers sensationalized every aspect of the story. But it took nearly a full century for the real identity of the child to be known.

The Inn at Iris Meadows on Love Lane in Waynesville will host a reception at 6 p.m. Aug. 25. RSVP for the event at 828.456.3877 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Commission for a Clean County debuted its new project called KEEP IT CLEAN! at Riverbend Elementary School in Haywood County last week.

The “Litter Troll,” dressed in white with a mop on her head and litter pinned all over her clothing, rode into the classroom in her midget car and entertained the entire first grade by throwing litter debris all over the room. When invited to help pick up the debris, the students rushed to do so and to deposit it in a large container. Many of them even knew the difference between “garbage” and “recyclables.”

The troll will be making rounds to more of the county’s elementary schools over the next few weeks.

“These assemblies are a great opportunity for students, even very young ones, to realize the role they play in keeping our county and the overall environment clean and productive,” said Ron Moss, Elementary Supervisor for Haywood County Schools. “Environmental education, such as programs taught by The Commission For a Clean County, serves a vital objective in teaching students the importance of being responsible stewards of nature.”

Youth with the 4-H Livestock Club in Haywood County will be front and center at the county fair this weekend in the numerous livestock shows held over the fair’s four-day run.

In addition to showing their own goats, sheep and cattle at the county fair, members of the 4-H livestock club also learn how to judge animals — and actually have judging contests where they have to rank several animals based on several qualities, including calculating an animal’s overall rate of gain for market purposes.

Along with the Haywood County Fair, they compete in several regional, state and national competitions throughout the year.

Members of Future Farmers of America from Tuscola and Pisgah High Schools also participate in the many livestock shows held at the Haywood County fair this week at the fairgrounds on N.C. 209. The schedule for livestock shows include:

• Sheep Show: 6:30 p.m. Fri., Aug. 24, Barn

• Goat Show: 9 a.m. Sat., Aug. 25, Barn     

• Horse Show : 9:30 a.m. Sat., Aug. 25, Arena 

• Beef Show: 12 p.m. Sat., Aug. 25, Barn   

• Dairy Show: 4 p.m. Sat., Aug. 25, Barn      

• Swine show: 2 p.m. Sun., Aug. 26, Barn

Chef Chris Dole will be creating dishes to sample using farm fresh, in-season foods from vendors at the Jackson County Farmers Market this Saturday, Aug. 25, for the annual “Taste of the Market” celebration.

Growers will also be serving up samples and recipe cards throughout the market this weekend. There will also be live music from Whimzik.

The Jackson County Farmers Market is held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Bridge Park Parking Lot in downtown Sylva.

As usual, Family Art at the Market hosted by the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University will have craft time with children under the pavilion from 10 a.m. to noon. Story time by City Lights will be held at 11:30 a.m.

828.631.3033.

Runners will kick up their heels down the main drag of Maggie Valley this Saturday evening in the annual night-time Maggie Valley Moonlight Run.

Volunteers are needed to lend a hand this Saturday, August 25, for the trails of Panthertown Valley, a popular and scenic area of the Nantahala National Forest near Cashiers.

Friends of Panthertown is sponsoring the workday to prune back overgrowth encroaching on trails. The work days are a great way to give back while enjoying our national public lands. Volunteers will enjoy commraderis with other outdoors enthusiasts and do a little hiking in conjunction with the work.

Panthertown Valle is a 6,200-acre recreation prized for its waterfalls, granite domes, hiking and mountain biking trails.

No experience is necessary. Hand tools and instruction are provided. Meet at the Salt Rock Gap trail-head at 9:30 a.m. and finish up by 2:30 p.m. 828.269.4453 or visit www.panthertown.org.

A nature discovery trail along Scott’s Creek in Dillsboro has been two years in the making and the Watershed Association of the Tuckaseigee River is now urging the public to come see the fruits of their labor.

The life and contributions of Horace Kephart, an outdoor writer, folklorist and founder of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will be remembered and celebrated with the annual Kephart Days in Bryson City Sept. 7-9.

A 2.5-mile bird walk around Fairfield Lake in Sapphire will be led by two expert birders with the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society chapter on Saturday, August 25.

Meet at the Highlands Town Hall parking lot near the public restrooms at 7:30 a.m. to carpool, or the Wendy’s in Cashiers at 8 a.m. 828.787.1387.

A Western Carolina University professor studying social behavior of birds will present findings of his latest research at 7:30 p.m. Monday, August 27, at the Highlands Civic Center.

The program is being hosted by Highlands Plateau Audubon Society chapter.

Dr. Jeremy Hyman has been studying aggression, personality, and urbanization in song sparrows, with some of his research subjects being the bird colonies on and around WCU’s campus.

These amazing little birds give us a joyful song for many months during the year. Come find out more about them.

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park raised $192,157 last week during the annual “Friends Across the Mountains” telethon broadcast on WLOS locally as well as stations in Tennessee.

“As far as I am aware, the Smokies is the only national park that is fortunate enough to have its own two-state telethon. Over the years telethon funding has helped us to significantly increase our ability to protect the Park’s flora and fauna and to improve services and facilities for our millions of visitors,” said Dale Ditmanson, Superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Mast General Store was among the telethon sponsors.

To the Editor:

I have always had a problem with numbers, I joke that numbers traumatized me at an early age.

One number that baffles me is the unemployment numbers. See if you can figure this out: using a low figure, we have had 300,000 new unemployment claims per week for months. So this would give us 1.2 million newly unemployed people per month-right? For the month of July the economy created 160,000 jobs, the best since February. Everyone was excited. How is that good news?

Now not being good with numbers, I am going to just say that leaves 800,000 people without jobs. This gets even more puzzling to me. After months of unemployment staying steady at 8.2 percent, we get an increase in jobs and unemployment climbs to 8.3 percent. Do you think maybe there is no truth in any of the numbers being told to the American people?

Here is another mystery, according to new data that came out this week from the U.S. Census’s Survey of Income and Program Participation. Nearly 110,000 million individuals received a welfare benefit in 2011.On the campaign trail the president tells us the economy is getting better. If so, why are more people receiving welfare benefits than any time in history? Meanwhile, our president hangs out with Hollywood stars.

When you head to the voting booth, do you want to vote for someone who talks about the economy or vote for someone who has a plan?

A. Young

Otto