The Ruby Ride and Run will take place in Franklin on May 12, offering various distance options to both bikers and runners.

The rides and the runs start and end at Franklin High School. A 5k and 10k run begin at 8:30 a.m. For those looking to test their bike legs after winter, there will be a 24-mile, 40-mile and 63-mile bike rides starting at 9 a.m.

• The 24-mile bike ride will traverse the Burningtown Community with 2,200 feet of climbing.   

• The 40-mile option includes roughly 3,500 feet of climbing and partially follows the 63-mile route.  

• The 63-mile option offers 4,000 feet of climbing through the Cowee Community following the Little Tennessee River into the Burningtown area.

The ride and run is sponsored by the Franklin Daybreak Rotary with benefits supporting several local charities, including CareNet and the Community Care Clinic.

Cost of the bicycle ride is $30 before May 1 and $40 after. The cost of the run is $20 for the 5k and $25 for the 10k until May 1 and $5 more after that date.   

www.therubyride.com or call Smoky Mountain Bicycles at 828.369.2881 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The popular annual Ducks on the Tuck, with little yellow rubber ducks racing down the Tuckasegee River, will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 29. The ducks will be dropped into Scotts Creek at the train depot bridge in Dillsboro.  

A racing duck can be “adopted” at the Greening Up the Mountains festival this Saturday or at the race for $5. This year’s grand prize is a 40-inch flat screen television. Ducks will also be racing for more than 70 other prizes, which will be awarded at the finish line.  

The money raised goes to support New Century Scholars, a community initiative to provide programming and opportunities for youth. Students who successfully complete the program have the opportunity to attend Southwestern Community College for five semesters without the cost of tuition and fees. After earning a degree at SCC, Western Carolina University has partnered with the program to provide an additional two years with this same guarantee.

828.339.4477 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Haywood Community College has been recognized for its cutting-edge work in promoting environmental sustainability by the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

“Haywood Community College has a robust history, dating back to 2006, of demonstrating sustainable technologies in the classroom, college operations, and community initiatives — and these relationships elevate sustainable practices on campus and in the greater community,” said Rose Johnson, president of Haywood Community College.

Haywood earned the distinction in large part through its public/private-sector and community partnerships — and for allowing those partnerships to influence students’ coursework.

The college’s partnership with private developers, for instance, led to the creation of an associate’s degree in low-impact environmental development. Another partnership with U.S. Forest Service Wood Products Laboratory researchers allowed the college to construct the area’s first Habitat for Humanity green home. The construction of a sustainably-built home by construction students on campus underscored Haywood’s commitment to green construction practices and technologies.

Other examples include: wetlands and native grass reclamation projects on campus and in the community; biofuel production using recycled oil from the local public schools; installation of solar panels on campus and in the community; and training workers from a community action agency to retrofit homes of low-income residents to make them more energy efficient.

“The way that Haywood puts its students to work on projects that will both improve the community and augment their classroom education should serve as a model for every other institution of higher learning in the country,” said Anthony D. Cortese, president of Second Nature, the lead supporting organization of the group. “One central goal of the ACUPCC is to get everyone to think systemically about the relationship between sustainability and education. Haywood is doing a remarkable job.”

A Mothers Day Celebration 5K walk and run in Cherokee that also functions as a dialysis patient fundraiser will be held on Saturday, May 12, at Acquoni Expo Center, or the old Cherokee High School.

Registration starts at 11 a.m., the walk and run is at noon. There will be a silent auction from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Registration is $10 for adults and $5 for elders and children ages 12 and under. The money raised goes directly to the Dialysis Support Group in Cherokee.

828. 497.1976.

City Lights Bookstore will celebrate the launch of Harvey K. Littleton’s A Life in Glass with Western Carolina University’s ceramics instructor Joan Byrd at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 27.

Byrd was a member of Littleton’s first glassblowing class at the University of Wisconsin.  Benefiting from close access to the artist and his personal archives, the book is illuminated by many unpublished archival photographs and a detailed chronology.

828.586.9499.

Merritt Moseley, a professor at University of Carolina-Asheville, will lead a series of discussions surrounding the works of beloved author Jane Austen at the Waynesville library.

A novelist whose reputation has never declined, critic Brooke Allen called Austen “a woman …for every decade.  Though her books are almost two hundred years old, they gleam with an immediate freshness.”

The series will cover three Austen favorites: Sense and Sensibility on May 17; Pride and Prejudice on June 14; and Persuasion on July 19. The discussions will be held from 4-6 p.m.

The books are free and will be available April 30 at the Waynesville branch. Contact the library office to sign out a book. There is no charge for a book, but the three book series can be purchased for $10. Refreshments will be served.

“Let’s Talk About It” is made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in partnership with the North Carolina Center for the Book, a program of the State Library of North Carolina.

828.456.5311 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Thomas Thibeault will be at City Lights Bookstore to read from his historical thriller, Balto’s Nose, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 28.

Glenn Carnehan, a WWII veteran, spent the war tracking down treasures looted by the Nazis and in a deadly race across Europe discovered the masterpieces of a ruined civilization. Now he must take his grandson, Michael on the same journey.

“This historical novel examines the themes of character and courage, and like the dog Balto, affirms endurance, fidelity and intelligence,” said Thibeault. “George Stout, Robert Posey, Walter Farmer, Edith Standen, Rose Valland, and Balto the Dog show us that manliness is not restricted to one sex or even to one species.”

The Teen Advisory Group will meet at 3:30 p.m. on April 30 at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Teens are invited to come share their ideas about materials of interest to them, including what sort of programming they’d like to see at the library. There will be food, crafts, games and more at the meeting.

Teen volunteers are also needed for the upcoming summer reading program, “Dream Big — Read.” Teens can earn community service hours for school by volunteering at the library. The teen theme for summer reading program is called, “Own the Night.”

To the Editor:

I agree with the opinion expressed by several of those interviewed for a recent article that the increase in gambling cafes is good for business and is a welcomed option for increasing city revenues.

Each person who shows up to use an Internet gambling café is there because she or he has elected to be there. I believe this is a significantly improved choice when compared to floating casinos. I think the winnings and chance to return home with money in my pocket is higher with North Carolina’s “sweepstakes cafeterias.”

That means I hope to spend more time in North Carolina than I have in the past. Thank you for your coverage on this story.

Robert Karhutt

Charleston, S.C.

To The Editor:

I find Cecil Bothwell’s preoccupation with Heath Shuler odd and slightly disturbing. Although Shuler announced months ago that he would not be running for re-election, Bothwell has continued to attack him online and in public forums across the 11th Congressional District. Bothwell’s website still features a page entitled “Vs. Shuler” where he contrasts his views against what he claims to be Shuler’s views. Nearly all of Bothwell’s information on Shuler’s record is false or misleading.

Heath Shuler isn’t running for Congress. His name won’t be on the ticket in May or November. While Bothwell focuses his campaign on attacking someone who isn’t in the race, Hayden Rogers has been getting his positive message out to voters across Western North Carolina. I have been impressed by Rogers’ work ethic and his extensive knowledge of the issues facing our area. He is down-to-earth, relatable, thoughtful, sharp, and focused. There’s a lot to like about Rogers. Unlike Bothwell, he is focused on making positive changes in Western North Carolina, not tearing down other congressional candidates.  Rogers has a promising future in public service and I look forward to voting for him on May 8.

David Wijewickrama

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Do you remember “hanging-chads? Those were the tiny little punch-out holes on Florida ballots that gave George Bush the presidency in 2001 and made Florida the land of bad elections. As a direct result of that fiasco, Congress passed the “Help America Vote Act” or HAVA, which gave money to the states to improve their election systems. Over $4 million of that money is still in North Carolina banks ready to be spent on the 2012 election process.

In cash-strapped counties across the state, election boards are trying to find the money to conduct fair and efficient elections come November. That $4 million would go a long way to expand early voting, to ease access for the disabled, and ensure that everybody who wants to vote can vote. It would also expand computerized voter registration and record systems, and would greatly reduce the possibility of voter fraud.

But there is a problem.The Republican legislature is blocking the release of this money to the counties and state boards of elections. For the $4 million to be released, the legislature must provide about $660,000 to the state election boards. And, if they don’t, the money goes back to Washington. It is clear to many knowledgeable observers that the Republican legislature has purposely under-funded the State Board of Elections to prevent the release of the $4 million.

A letter signed by 85 members of local boards of elections, including 40 Republicans, was just sent to the legislature pleading for the release of the money. Many are concerned that chaos will ensue in the November General Election unless those funds are released.

Here is what I don’t understand: This is the same Republican legislature that has just passed a $500 million dollar tax relief bill for corporations. So, apparently it is easy to find $500 million for corporations but $660,000 to insure a fair vote is out of the question.

Talk to any Republican legislator about voting and he will cite the potential for rampant voter fraud. Therefore, they argue, there stands a crying need for voter ID bills and all sorts of restrictions on voters. Yet, the money to help solve this alleged problem sits unused.

It appears the Republicans have taken voter suppression to a new level.    

Louis Vitale

Franklin

To the Editor:

I want to share with you three times in my life that made me appreciate how important our Democratic vision is to the people of this state and this country.

First, it is clear to me the Republican Party sees women as second-class citizens. I attended a public meeting last year where our state senator said poor women have no business having children. I was appalled that he had the audacity to tell women who should and should not have children. If this outrageous Republican view had prevailed at the time and my mother had been influenced by it, I would never have been born. Democrats, as opposed to Republicans, believe all people whether rich or poor, male or female, black or white have the right to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings.

Second, my parents started out with little money, but they worked hard started a business and were doing well. But when I was just 9 years old my father died suddenly from a heart attack. Thank goodness for Democrats who believe our government should be concerned with the welfare of all citizens and had provided a safety net. The Social Security program the Democrats had passed and funded helped my mother provide for me and my brothers and sisters at this crucial time in my life.  

Third, thanks to the strong public education system that Democrats have supported for decades in North Carolina, I was able to get an outstanding education through the public school system that allowed me to get into and succeed in college. My college and medical school education was made affordable through publicly funded scholarships and loan money. Emphasis by Democrats on public education for all our citizens has made a real difference in the quality of my life.  

The Republicans in our state legislature have made drastic cuts in every single level of public education. Huge cuts in funding for pre-school education for disadvantaged children, to K-12 education, to the community college system, and to our N.C. public universities. Republican Sen. Jim Davis falsely wrote that teaching jobs had been fully funded, when in fact as a result of budget cuts by the Republicans thousand of teaching jobs and teaching assistants jobs have been eliminated in North Carolina. These cuts may not affect you and me too much, but will play havoc in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

We Democrats stand for women’s rights, we stand for increased opportunities for poor and middle class citizens, we stand for a strong public education system that serves all of our citizens, we stand for affordable health care for everyone whether rich or poor, we stand to support Medicare and Social Security that has been so valuable in the lives of our citizens. Democrats’ vision of the future will give our children and grandchildren a better life in Macon County, in the state of North Carolina, and in these United States of America.  

Ed Morris

Chairman Macon County Democratic Party

To the Editor:

In 1993, I knew I wanted to be a registered nurse (RN) and my health occupations teacher, Mrs. Hess, encouraged me to go to C.J. Harris Hospital and become a junior volunteer. That is where my story begins. I volunteered until I left for college. Since the junior volunteer days, I have worked here, for the federal government and Vanderbilt Medical Center. Harris has always been my home. I have been honored to serve my community as a junior volunteer, nurse aid 1, nurse extern, nurse aid 2, LPN, RN, clinical coordinator, house supervisor, and currently as the director of the Intensive Care Unit and Medical-Surgical Unit.

I speak for my staff and myself when I say to you that you can trust me with your life. I care for every single patient with every ounce of my being. I truly believe that you do not become a nurse, you are called to be a nurse. There is no greater honor than to serve your church, family, extended family and neighbors in their time of need. My family receives its medical care at Harris. I prefer to have care delivered to my family by people that live in my community and understand who we are. I stand by the care that we deliver to every single patient at Harris. I plan to raise my family in this community, send my kids to school in this community, receive our healthcare here, and I plan to work at Harris until I retire in many years to come.

Thank you to every patient I have had the honor and privilege of caring for. Without you there would be a hole in my soul. It warms my soul to hold your hand, give you a hug and manage your electrolytes. Thank you, Jackson County.

Heather Sheppard, RN

Director, ICU and Medical-Surgical Unit

MedWest-Harris

To the Editor:

To us, this is more than just a hospital because it is part of our community, and it’s where our friends, relatives and neighbors work and so many people’s livelihoods depend on the hospital being here. We need to look out for each other and support each other and support our hospital so that it’s still here down the road when it’s inevitable that each of us will need it.

I’ve only been here for a few years, and already this is the hospital that I’ve chosen to have my baby in, and where my two nieces have been born, where my nephew has had surgery, and my baby niece was hospitalized. It is where I chose to bring my brother when he was critically ill and was hospitalized for over a week, and then came back for two different surgeries. That’s how much I believe in this place.

This isn’t just a hospital, but part of our community. When you come to us, you won’t be treated as just another faceless patient or another number. You will be treated with that extra special touch that only your own community hospital can give you.

None of us know what’s going to happen a year, two years, or five or more years from now. But I do know that if people don’t support the hospital now, what we’re afraid of happening will happen. But it doesn’t have to be like that, because there’s a great hospital right here in our community that wants to take care of its people and will provide the best care possible, just like a family provides for its own. We just need to stick together and support each other.

This hospital is an important part of the community and the local economy. If we don’t support it, it will hurt the entire community. It is unfortunate that we’re losing some great doctors, but at the same time physicians, nurses, and other staff are staying because we truly want to be here and because we believe in this place and how important it is to have a local hospital. The hard decision is the one to stay here and fight for this place to succeed.

Now, more than ever, we all need to support each other. We believe in our hospital and our community and it is our privilege to take care of you. Thanks for your support.

Casey Prenger, MD

Medical Director

WNC Hospitalist Service

MedWest-Harris

To the Editor:

The Physician Leadership Council, the governing body of the employed physicians of MedWest Health System, is saddened to see the recent media coverage surrounding MedWest-Harris. We understand the concerns that have been voiced by several doctors, as well as the community in recent months, but feel that this is the time to look into our future instead of dwelling on the issues of the past. In recent months the administration of MedWest has changed dramatically; so that we the physicians can better serve all of our communities. We work closely with all three of the hospitals that make up MedWest and are committed to giving the best medical care possible. Our council strives to create avenues of communication for the patients, for the providers and for the communities as a whole. We welcome input from our patients, so that we can serve each and every patient in the best possible way.

All of the members of the Physician Leadership Council have worked with the physicians who are leaving and hold them in high regard. Their expertise and caring will be missed. However, we must not forget that we still have an extremely skilled and dedicated medical staff of nearly 230 physicians who are choosing to stay in our communities and work in our hospitals to take care of our patients. And that number is growing! Ten new doctors in a variety of specialties are joining the medical staff this summer.

We realize that our system faces many challenges, as reflected in the healthcare industry as a whole. Yet as we look to the future, the Physician Leadership Council supports the administration of MedWest and the affiliation with Carolinas HealthCare System. With the relationships that we are nurturing between the MedWest campuses, we are working to build an even better healthcare system so that we can help you and your family when you need to call on us. We thank you for your past, present and future support.

Robin Matthews, MD

Chairpeson, Physician Leadership Council

Haywood Women’s Medical Center

Charles Toledo, MD

Vice Chair, Physician Leadership Council

WNC Pediatric and Adolescent Care

MedWest-Haywood will hold an open house from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, at the newly constructed MedWest Urgent Care Center in Canton.

The community can get a preview of the new facility during the open house. MedWest Urgent Care Center-Canton is expanding services provided at MedWest-Haywood with an additional location for the MedWest Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine clinic.

Haywood Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine also will have space in the MedWest Urgent Care Center-Canton facility and will provide car seat checks and children’s activities such as face-painting, inflatables and balloon twisters at the open house.

Staff and physicians at the facility will begin seeing patients     May 3.

MedWest Urgent Care Center-Canton will provide walk-in examinations seven days a week to people with non-emergency illnesses or injuries. The new facility is replacing the Urgent Care Center on the MedWest-Haywood campus.

Once open, MedWest Urgent Care Center-Canton will be open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day.

828.648.0282.

Residents and business owners of Cullowhee and Jackson County are invited to attend a community meeting from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1, at the Cullowhee Valley School library. This is a follow-up to the March 13 meeting when community members discussed Cullowhee’s future.

Participants will be asked to take part in developing project ideas to contribute to the revitalization and improvement of Cullowhee. The Jackson County Planning Department and the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor (CuRvE) will facilitated the meeting.

A $3.4-million contract to replace the T. Walter Middleton Bridge on N.C. 107 over the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County has been awarded to a Whittier company.

Owle Construction Co. will build a new bridge that will be widened from 20 feet to 50 feet with three lanes, shoulders and a sidewalk to reduce costs, improve safety and cut down congestion.

Work will begin as early as April 30, with final completion scheduled for no later than Jan. 11, 2015. An on-site detour will be in place during the project.

Last March, the state department of transportation decided to postpone the replacement of the bridge to allow for more time to consult with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to study and document Native American archaeological findings uncovered at the project site.

Children’s choir, Voices in the Laurel, will perform in its 16th annual spring concert at 2:30 p.m., May 6, at Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Voices in the Laurel is a Haywood County-based non-profit choir for young people in grades 1-12 from Haywood, Buncombe, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.

Voices in the Laurel provides choristers the opportunity to participate in performance tours all over the world. Voices in the Laurel has performed with the Asheville Lyric Opera, opened for Dolly Parton in her Christmas show at Dollywood, with Ronnie Milsap at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Westminster Abbey in London, Chartres Cathedral in France and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Voices in the Laurel is planning for a summer 2012 performance tour in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain.

Tickets are $10 each.

www.greatmountainmusic.com/buy-tickets.asp or 828.524.1598.

Macon County youth will take the stage in Showcase of Talent 2012, a non-competitive talent show for third- to 12th-graders, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 28.

The annual event is held in the Franklin High School Fine Arts Center and features talented students chosen from the county’s public, private, and home schools performing a variety of entertaining acts, from vocal and instrumental numbers to dance, gymnastics, and comedy routines.

Admission is $5 adult and $2 youth age 16 and under.  Proceeds support the Arts Council’s Artists-in-the-Schools Program, which brings diverse interactive, instructive arts programs to Macon County Public Schools.

Showcase of Talent is a joint project of the Arts Council and the Macon County Board of Education. It is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.  For information visit www.artscouncilofmacon.org or phone the Arts Council at 828.524.7683.

Two Western Carolina University student disc jockeys committed to offering “smashing good fun” on their morning radio show have been recognized by an international media association.

Fern Lulham and David Rose have been co-hosts of “Fern and David in the Morning” on Power 90.5 WWCU-FM since September. They earned second place as air personalities in a national competition with nearly 900 entries sponsored by the Broadcast Education Association.

“All of the comments from judges were similar – ‘original sound’ or ‘quick wit’ – but my favorite was ‘(this show is) designed to hit you over the head and show you how good these two are,’” said Michael Huntsberger, the student radio competition chair for the BEA.

Fast-talking Lulham and Rose incorporate a range of sound clips and effects, as well as a studiocam, as part of the news, information, fun and games show.

Both from the United Kingdom, Rose and Lulham were enrolled at the same time at the University of Glamorgan in Wales but first met at WCU.

“I’ve always loved radio. I remember interviewing my family with a cucumber at the tea table – things like, ‘So Mum, what do you think of Dad’s new haircut?’ So when I came to WCU, I knew straightaway that I wanted to get involved with the station, and the radio station was one of the major reasons why I transferred,” Lulham said.

www.wwcufm.com.

The library in Sylva will host a free energy healing workshop with Laura Elliott at 7 p.m. on May 1.

Elliott is an artist, a healing touch therapist and an expressive art facilitator in Sylva.

Healing Touch is a holistic energy therapy that restores balance and harmony to the body, mind and spirit. In her workshop, Elliott will teach how to master your own energy using your body and voice to release stress, restore balance, strengthen vitality, and gain peace of mind.

Elliott’s technique integrates Healing Touch with the ancient wisdoms of qigong and toning. Qigong (chee-gong) is an ancient oriental form of movement designed to enhance health by releasing stress and increasing vitality.

Registration is not necessary and the workshop is free.

828.586.2016.

The Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts at historic Shelton House will open on May 1 for the 2012 season.

In addition to Tuesday through Saturday tours conducted by Curator Jackie Stephens, the museum will offer a series of special events and Friday night lectures and demonstrations throughout the May-October season.  

A kick-off celebration will be held on May 4 for members and sponsors. Shelton House is striving for growth in membership to inspire a broader appreciation of the extensive collection of crafts on display at the facility. Membership entitles cardholders to visitation privileges at the museum as well as to its numerous events.

www.sheltonhouse.org.

A new ‘Art + Energy’ gallery will have its grand opening from 5-7 p.m., April 26, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park.

The gallery will feature of blown glass, forge-hammered metals, and wood-fired kiln ceramics by local artists, including Tadashi Torii, Aaron Shufelt, Judy McManus, Tracy Kirchman, Clayton Hufford, John Burtner, Brock Martin and Preston Tolbert.

“Our new gallery is special and unique because all of the work displayed has been made using renewable energy. We pay great attention to what our artists produce and ask them to exhibit only the finest pieces,” said Nicole DuPont-Strub, gallery manager.

The Jackson County Green Energy Park is an award winning, community-scale landfill gas project located in Dillsboro.

www.jcgep.org or 828.631.0271.

The winning art pieces from the 2012 Southwestern Community College Student Art Show will be exhibited at the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts until April 30 and at SCC for the remainder of the year.

Best of Show went to Jessica Gagne for her sculpture “Lochness Wear and Tear.” Honorable mentions went to Robert Beck Jr. for his letterpress-printed book “Robert’s Fish Tales,” Joy Hutcher for her ceramic “Cat Effigy,” and Carrie Atkinson for her book and sculpture titled “Uktena.”

Each of the four winners will have their artwork on display at the college during 2012 and will then be entered in the statewide community college art exhibition in Raleigh for 2013.

828.497.3945 or www.southwesterncc.edu/finearts.

Singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett will take the stage at 7:30 p.m., May 5, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel.

Lovett is one of the most distinctive and original singer/songwriters to emerge during the ‘80s. He combines a talent for incisive, witty lyrical detail with an eclectic array of music, ranging from country and folk to big-band swing and traditional pop. Lovett has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album. Hits include “Cowboy Man,” “Give Back My Heart,” and “She’s No Lady.”

828.497.8815 or www.ticketmaster.com.

The Haywood Arts Regional Theater will exhibit a collection of antique quilts during the production of “Look Homeward Angel,” scheduled from April 27-May 6.

The quilts will be hung on April 16 and may be viewed while purchasing or picking up tickets prior to attending the play. Brief wall labels will accompany the quilts, and a booklet will be available in HART lobby for more complete data on each piece. A total of nine quilts will be featured during the HART/Shelton House exhibit.

One of the prized quilts on display is Gladys Lett’s appliqued Flower Garden pattern, one of the most popular bed covers in the Shelton House collection. The 1930 quilt won third place in the Indianapolis Star quilt contest that year and features 25 different floral patterns.

www.sheltonhouse.org.

The Macon County Public Library will host a talk by local author Dennis Murphy at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 3.

The subject will be “Near-Death Experiences: Evidence of Heaven or Last Gasps of Dying Brains.” Following the talk and a brief discussion period, the author will read excerpts from his novel, Brain Waves, and answer questions. He’ll then be available to autograph copies of the book, which will be for sale.

The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre will open its 2012 season on April 27 with “Look Homeward Angel,” a Pulitzer Prize winning drama based on Thomas Wolfe’s novel.

HART will perform the play at 7:30 p.m., April 27-28 and May 3-5. Sunday matinees will start at 3 p.m., April 29 and May 6.

Ketti Frings wrote “Look Homeward Angel,” which tells the story of the Gant family, living in the fictional Altamont, and the Dixieland Boarding House, operated by a domineering matriarch who used her children as free labor. A “parade of pimps, prostitutes and ne’er-do-wells” populated the rambling barn of a house.

The play and book are a thinly veiled autobiography by Wolfe, a 20th century writer and Asheville native. The play opened on Broadway at the Barrymore Theater in 1957.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $8 for students/teachers. A special $5 discount tickets for students and teachers is also available on for Thursdays and Sundays.

The box office will open two weeks before each show to the general public this season.

828.456.6322 or www.harttheatre.com.

The North Carolina Symphony will perform its “Beethoven and Beyond” at Cherokee Central Schools and Haywood Community College.

The symphony will perform select work by Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner and Liszt. The concert in Cherokee will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Chief Joyce Dugan Cultural Arts Center at Cherokee Central Schools. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for seniors and enrolled members and $5 ages 6 to 16.

The following day, the symphony will perform a free concert at 10:45 a.m., April 27 for Haywood County School students in the Haywood Community College’s auditorium.

The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra will play the final concert of its season at 7:30 p.m. on April 28 in the Coulter Building Recital Hall on the WCU campus.

The soloists will be the students who won the 22nd annual Student Solo Competition in January. This competition is sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council, which funds the awards. This year the winners are Samuel McQuitty, Ryan Wall and Ashley Setzer.

McQuitty is a home-schooled 10th-grade student from Franklin and studies violin. He will play the first movement of the “Viotti Violin Concerto No. 22 in A Minor.” Wall is a WCU senior from Kenly and studies flute. He will play the “Bach Flute Concerto in G Minor.” Setzer, soprano, is a graduate student from Hickory, studying voice. She will sing the aria “Tornami a Vagheggiar” from Alcina by G.F. Handel.

The full orchestra will perform Mozart’s Overture to The Impresario, Vocalise by Rachmaninoff, and the “Triumphal March” from “Sigurd Jorsalfar” by Edvard Grieg. Members of the orchestra are student and faculty musicians from WCU, and students and adults from Jackson, Macon, Haywood, Swain, Cherokee and Buncombe counties.

The Haywood-Junaluska Community Chorus’ spring concert will be held at 4 p.m., April 29, at The First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

The 70-voice choir will present familiar works by Beethoven, Faure, Gounod, Haydn, Mozart and Pergolesi. The chorus will also perform a recent arrangement of “A Choral Quilt” with music by Leonard Bernstein, and concept and arrangement by Jack Gottlieb, who designed the arrangement of six songs stitched together to bring a sense of warmth and protection just as a quilt or comforter does.

The Signature Winds and guest soloist Lee Thomas of Asheville will also appear at the show. Admission is free.

Western Carolina University’s Catamount Singers and Electric Soul instrumental group will present its spring showcase “Rhythm and Rhymes” at 7:30 p.m., April 26, in WCU’s John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center.

Admission is free for the program, which will feature hits from artists such as Aretha Franklin, Beyonce, Lou Rawls, Tower of Power and Whitney Houston.

The Catamount Singers comprises 12 student voices, and Electric Soul features 14 student instrumentalists, including a lively horn section.

828.227.7242.

Folkmoot USA will host a luau from 5 to 8 p.m., May 11, at the Haywood Regional Arts Theater in Waynesville.

Enjoy a spread of Hawaiian food, hula demonstration and a raffle. Tickets are $25 and include a chance at winning one of 15 raffle items, including a Samsung laptop; Sanyo 42-inch HDTV; gas grill; fly fishing trip; and gardening package. Additional raffle tickets to increase your chances of winning can be purchased before and during the event for $5 each.

The 29th Folkmoot Festival will take place from July 18-29, and events feature dancers and musicians from New Zealand, France, Belgium, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, Serbia, Puerto Rico, Ukraine and Hawaii. The festival attracts 100,000 visitors to Western North Carolina, helping local communities receive more than 4 million tourism dollars each year.

Hawaiian Luau tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.

877.365.5872 or 828.452.2997 or www.FolkmootUSA.org.

A backcountry fee rally will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., April 21, at the Sugarlands Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to heighten awareness and provide information about the proposed backcountry fee that will be imposed starting next year.

Backcountry camping is currently free in the Smokies, but the park will impose a $4 per person per day fee next year to fund backcountry rangers and information desk.

Southern Forest Watch will be at the Sugarlands Visitor Center through 3 p.m. As part of this informational session, a drawing will be held for an autographed copy of Jim Casada’s book, Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There also will be a fly fishing and backcountry gear demonstration, and information obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests that address the process to implement the first-ever user fee in the Smokies. www.southernforestwatch.org.

The 40th annual Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage will be held April 27-29, with registration at 6:30 p.m., April 27, in the lobby of UNC Asheville’s Robinson Hall.

There will be 14 events, including talks and guided tours, focused on local flora and fauna. All are open to the public. The pilgrimage is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Biology Department and the Botanical Gardens at Asheville. The registration fee is $5 for adults and $1 for students and covers all events.

The keynote speech will be delivered by David McAdoo, co-founder of the Native Orchid Conference, will present “Native Orchids of North Carolina,” at 7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Robinson Hall Auditorium. North Carolina has about 70 different native species; McAdoo’s presentation will include photos of the state’s orchids along with information on their distribution, bloom times and conservation status

Events on Saturday, April 28, will conclude with a presentation by The Smoky Mountain News nature columnist George Ellison, at 7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Robinson Hall Auditorium. Ellison will present a talk, “Edible, Medicinal, and Utilitarian Plants Used by the Cherokees and Early White Settlers,” including discussion of ginseng, poison ivy, bloodroot, mushrooms and spring greens.

There will also be a two-day celebration that includes plant and craft vendors, food and entertainment from 1-6 p.m. Friday, April 27, and from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, April 28, in the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., adjacent to campus.

828.232.5151.

The Greening up the Mountains 5k Run & Walk will be held in downtown Sylva at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, in conjunction with the annual street festival of the same name.

The race is organized by the Jackson County Recreation/Parks Department. The cost is $15 through April 26; race day registration is $20.  A limited number of shirts will be available at the race for $10.  Registration can be completed online at www.imathlete.com.  Registration forms are available at the recreation department in Cullowhee.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.293.3053.

Haywood Community College’s fifth-annual Earth Day Celebration will focus on renewable energies, clean transportation and getting in touch with your surroundings and will run from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. April 24.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. to celebrate Haywood County’s first and only public electric vehicle charging station. In addition, the current electric vehicles on the market will be on display, including the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf and the just released Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which will be available for a test drive.

A nature walk and stream cleanup will be held at 1:30 p.m. There will also be several speakers throughout the day covering topics

www.haywood.edu/sustainability or 828.565.4033.

Christine Kelly of Asheville, a wildlife diversity biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, has been awarded the 2011 Recovery Champion Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The award, which was given to nine individuals across the country, honors U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees and partners for outstanding efforts to conserve and protect threatened species of fish, wildlife and plants. Kelly was honored for her work with the Carolina northern flying squirrel, an endangered species found isolated in small populations in only the highest mountains in North Carolina.

In addition to monitoring and surveying populations of the species, Kelly’s work includes designing launch poles in Western North Carolina. They were installed along the Cherohala Skyway to allow the flying squirrel to glide across the road, making up for gaps where there are no trees to launch from. The crossing structures, installed by Duke Energy in 2008, give the small mammals access to more foraging habitat, den sites and mates.

As part of Kelly’s work, she identifies, examines and weighs the squirrels, and places ear tags on them.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service award also honored Kelly for a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Appalachian Mountain Joint Ventures to plant red spruce, an important habitat for the squirrel. The balsam woolly adelgid has ravaged Fraser fir forests, and the hemlock woolly adelgid is reducing high elevation Eastern hemlocks, both important conifers for the squirrel.

Kelly is also working with Virginia Tech on a vocalization study of the squirrels using acoustic detectors to help locate the species. This could be used for rapid surveys and long-term monitoring of the squirrel.

Kelly has worked for the state since 2005. Before that, she worked for the U.S. Forest Service.

There’s now a local outlet to authenticate and check the purity of botanical ingredients via the U.S. Botanical Safety Laboratory through the N.C. Arboretum and Bent Creek Institute.

A nonprofit quality testing services network, the laboratory will begin offering routine botanical identity, purity, and phytochemical composition testing of botanical ingredients.   

This will be part of a network of nonprofit testing laboratories in North Carolina.

The network will serve a variety of clients in academia, public non-governmental organizations and private industry supply chains seeking to verify the integrity of their botanical ingredients.

Bent Creek Institute will receive, qualify and blind all botanical samples using a secure and private Internet-based sample submission and tracking system and issue all final certificates of analysis to clients.

www.usbsl.org.

Attend a stargazing event at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, at one of Haywood County’s clearest views of the sky  — Purchase Knob, home to the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Astronomy Club of Asheville will lead an exploration of the night sky at this high elevation site with its 260-degree unobstructed view of the sky. Visitors can expect to see the first quarter moon and the planets Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. The Learning Center is located at 5,000 feet in elevation so please bring warm layers of clothing.

Purchase Knob is located off U.S. 276 near Maggie Valley. Free, but reservations are required.

828.926.6251.

Discover the very best trails out of the 800 miles of them in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Friends of the Smokes and a panel of experienced hikers at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, at REI in Asheville.

The panel will include Peter Barr, author of “Hiking North Carolina’s Lookout Towers,” Gracia Slater of Sylva, who has hiked every trail in the Great  Smoky Mountain National Park, and Danny Bernstein, author of “Hiking North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Heritage,” who will facilitate the evening.

Pre-register for “Favorite Hikes of the Smokies” at www.rei.com/asheville.

An outdoor photography workshop that includes field shoots and classroom critique sessions will be during the month of May in the Haywood County area.

The outdoor photography program includes four field shoots held on Wednesdays, departing from the Old Armory Recreation Center in Waynesville, and classroom sessions held Tuesday evenings.

“Shooting sessions will be hands-on in a natural setting,” said group leader Bob Grytten. “This comprehensive program will include landscape opportunities, macro, wildlife and waterfalls in the field, with special emphasis on light and how it can turn ordinary images into award winners.”

The skills and techniques learned are applicable to other photography endeavors as well, such as travel photography, photojournalism or general family photography.

Evening sessions will include discussions on composition, exposure and accessories, and participants will have an opportunity to see what others have photographed as well.  

The four field shoots are $45 each. Evening programs are $10 each. A 20 percent discount is offered if taking the entire program.

828.627.0245, lensluggerworld.com or e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A special program on Birds of Prey including live birds will be held on at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 26, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Michael Skinner, Executive Director of the Balsam Mountain Trust, will share an up-close glimpse of some of the planet’s most recognized and revered wild animals such as the tiny eastern screech owl and northern bald eagle.

“This is an opportunity for park visitors to see and learn about these beautiful birds first hand,” said Park Ranger Lynda Doucette.

Balsam Mountain Trust is a non-profit based at Balsam Mountain Preserve in Jackson County where orphaned or injured birds of prey are taken in, cared for, and then utilized as educational ambassadors.

828.497.1904 or www.nps.gov/grsm.

A $22,200 grant will fund a Farm to School program at five Haywood County Schools designed to address concerns about nutrition and health and the disappearance of small farms.

The money comes from funding from The Community Foundation and its affiliate Fund for Haywood County.

The Farm-to-School program will support farmers by increasing sales and expanding markets, while providing better nutrition and food awareness for students, teachers and staff at Bethel Elementary, Jonathan Valley Elementary, North Canton Elementary, Riverbend Elementary and Waynesville Middle School. In addition to local healthy food served in cafeterias, the program includes farm field trips, cooking demonstrations, nutrition education and school gardens.

Collaborators are the N.C. Center for Health & Wellness at UNC Asheville, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, Haywood County Schools, Buy Haywood, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the UNC Asheville Foundation. Other funders include the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The Farm-to-School project will serve approximately 3,000 students and staff at the five school sites, comprising nearly 40 percent of Haywood County Schools’ enrollment. There are more than 700 farms in the county that could potentially participate. www.cfwnc.org.

A new forest supervisor, Kristin Bail, has been selected to head the national forests in North Carolina.

Bail brings a wealth of experience gleaned from more than 27 years of federal service with the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in Oregon, Arizona and Washington, D.C. She has previously served in the Bureau of Land Management’s national business and fiscal resources section and as the agency’s national policy and program lead for the 37 national monuments and national conservation areas.

Bail starts her new job May 21.

To the Editor:

There has been too much name-calling in the media lately criticizing the way in which some of our local elected officials do their job, the most recent being the angry response by Brad Seagle in the Friday, April 6, edition of The Franklin Press.

The writer assailed votes by two county commissioners, calling them “Republicrats” because they chose to represent all the people in the county and voted in the manner which to them seemed to benefit the majority of the citizens. Mr. Seagle believes the two commissioners should be thrown out of office because they did not side with Republican Commissioner Ron Haven.

Isn’t it curious how people see the same event differently? Having voted Republican all of my adult life, I thought that when all of the members of one party and two-thirds of the other party voted together it is the best decision for all. Could it be that Mr. Haven voting against all four Republicans and Democrats is the one politician that is out of step with the citizens of Macon County and his own party?

After the election is over, the winner becomes everyone’s commissioner, and he or she is obligated to represent the citizens in their district and the county. I was brought up with the belief and understanding that an elected official who worked with members of both parties and voted for the benefit of all the populace was to be considered a statesman, a term far more fitting to describe the characters and high standards of the two commissioners who were maligned in last week’s letter. They were not elected just to be a mouthpiece for their political party.

Frankly, I have to applaud Kevin Corbin and Jim Tate for having the integrity and political courage to vote for the best alternatives for Macon County instead of simply voting with Mr. Haven because they are all Republicans. Isn’t that exactly the kind of thinking that the whole country is disgusted with?

I am glad to find at least one thing upon which I agree with the writer. The coming May 8 primaries are critically important to Macon County and our state representation. It is our opportunities as voters to silence those that call themselves “the real conservatives.” It is our opportunity to decide if Macon County moves forward in a positive direction or backwards.

Our votes on May 8 will decide the candidates we get to vote for in the general election in November. Now is the time to let persons of integrity like Kevin Corbin, Jim Tate,  Bobby Kuppers, and Ronnie Beale know that we appreciate their personal dedication and that we agree with the way they are doing their jobs. Don’t let the naysayers make your decision for you.

Bob Wright

Highlands

To the Editor:

Old Cullowhee Road in Cullowhee is a beautiful route for viewing land, homes, water and sky. Lately though, there have been dilapidated mobile homes popping up for rent along both sides of the road.

When traveling from Sylva southward on Old Cullowhee there is a recently placed, and extremely sub-standard, mobile home on the left with a green, smiley face sign on the front that says “Now Leasing.”

I cannot believe in any way that this “home” is within HUD standards. Are Jackson County HUD requirements so low that a lower-income person (such as myself) would be forced into this type of  housing?

Not only these, other mobile homes in Cullowhee are in disrepair and offer poorer quality housing than one would like. To the contrary, there are plenty of examples of well-maintained and comfortable mobile homes in Jackson County that accommodate residents well.

I also am aware that in such low economic times we do not, as a capitalist society, need to have some business owners acting with disregard to the economic vitality of the whole area. That is to say all of our property values suffer, and tourist-based businesses lose customers, if the area looks decrepit.  

Can and will someone who works for the county, or an elected official, please address this?

Curt Collins

Cullowhee