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To the Editor:
One of the more interesting races in the May 8 Democratic primary is the race for U.S. Congress (the N.C. 11th Congressional District) between Cecil Bothwell, a progressive Asheville City councilman, and Hayden Rogers, a “blue dog” Democrat who resembles his former boss Rep. Heath Shuler both fiscally and physically.
Blue Dogs have not fared well recently: their members in Congress dropped from 54 to 26 after the 2010 election. Today there are only 19 remaining in Congress due to “early retirement,” etc. Some even say the Blue Dog is a dying breed.
Yet conventional wisdom continues to tell us a liberal Democrat is unelectable in the now more conservative and Republican 11th District — after it was redistricted by the Republican majority in Raleigh.
Conventional wisdom doesn’t quite know what to do with the growing significance of the Independent/ Unaffiliated voter: more than 30 percent of voters are now in this category. These voters are mainly dissatisfied with “politics as usual” and have a low opinion of Congress, whose national approval rating is around 9 percent. A Democrat can win the 11th, but only by appealing to the Independent voter.
I believe Bothwell is the more appealing candidate: from his website (www.bothwell2012.com) one learns he accepts no PAC or corporate funding. His campaign is grassroots, sustained by small donations and over 1,000 volunteers. Rogers’ campaign is corporate driven and managed from Washington by the national Blue Dog Coalition.
Clearly one of the great differences between Bothwell and Rogers is defining the role government will play in job creation. Despite corporate tax rates at historic lows (15 percent) and absolutely no evidence that tax breaks = job creation, Rogers argued in a recent (and rare) debate appearance at Haywood Community College that government should “simplify and lower the corporate tax rate to make the nation more competitive…” In the same debate Bothwell argued for “shovel ready projects” to repair our aging infrastructure, investing in green energy, and putting cash into the economy NOW.
What I do not want from a Democratic congressman is somebody fixated on deficit reduction by “reforming” Medicare through vouchers or other privatization schemes, somebody who buys into Congressman [R] Paul Ryan’s budget resolution for “Repairing the Social Safety Net” through huge cuts in spending on Medicaid, food stamps, Pell Grants, and so on — all of which will unquestionably damage the social safety net and make life harder for millions of Americans.
What I ultimately want is a congressman with a Democratic “heart,” not the soul of a future lobbyist; a congressman who is more comfortable in a street festival than in a board room. Cecil Bothwell is that candidate.
Roger Turner
Sylva
To the Editor:
I’m going to be as “tacky” in my public response to Mr. Swanson as he was in his response to Ms. Abel.
This gentleman, in his attempt to kill a message, kills the messenger. This is not the first time, and seems his usual method. Confusing the issue is his forté. But, to give credit where credit is due, he does respond quickly. Perhaps that’s why his diatribe shows little thought and clearly misunderstands the point of Ms. Abel’s message.
She does not advocate, nor hint that she advocates for “Higher Taxes, More Government, OR Less Freedom”.
He fails to address the correct message, and instead invents his own scenario in his typical knee-jerk response. He chooses to defend his local Freedom Works group and goes on to detail his views. One can only conclude that Mr. Swanson is either willfully ignorant, or woefully lacking in simple comprehension. It’s most likely a combination of both, and seems to be a malady that infects the Far(out) Right.
Regarding the Freedom Works group visit to N.C. Sen. Johns Snow’s office and the alluded to statement, I can’t comment since I wasn’t there. However, having heard the senator’s opinions on the importance of education and funding required, the reportage seems, at best, incomplete.
Ms. Abel’s letter was not “about” Sen. Snow or his loss in the 2010 election. That issue was used as an example.
And why would Mr. Swanson even address “2012 rules,” if he thinks her letter was about a past (2010) event?
She apparently forgot to add the designation “PAC” or “Super PAC” to one paragraph lamenting the power of corporate funding in campaigns, but he should have realized she was referencing the Supreme Court “Citizens United v. FEC” decision. That decision allows unlimited and hidden contributions from billionaires and corporations whose sole purpose is to create a beneficial outcome for themselves.
Their behind-the-scenes efforts manipulate elections. The influx of their dollars is used to persuade the easily led, low information persons who vote just by name recognition — names only recognized simply because those less informed have received a daily dose of bad information, deceitful innuendo, and outright false statements in their mailbox and television, as well as rabid, unauthored internet emails, and malarkey-drivel on drive-time radio.
Heavy mailings in particular have happened here in Macon County. Ms. Abel’s letter asks that we all be aware of what we know occurred in the past because it will very likely happen again.
Funds from national organizations and their PACs, funneled through a local group, create an unfair advantage when their message is heavily weighted with misinformation.
That said, the Freedom Works group does deserve kudos for giving Macon Sheriff Holland contributions, and participating in patriotic events. Let me note, they are not alone. Many support the sheriff’s efforts, and many other groups hold and support patriotic events. Freedom Works does not hold a corner on this market.
It is also very noble to educate your membership, but many find your resource speakers and “trainers” views to contain twisted, missed or mixed factual data and therefore are considered biased and irrelevant.
As to the remark that a person who resorts to subterfuge should be “outed” — we are in agreement.
I do not represent a group, only me. My opinion is that Mr. Swanson should tone down his diatribes, and should only address what he sees as the stated issues, not the person making the statements. Gee, even John Hood recently said as much.
Sure, disagree, and make your points. Leave the personally disagreeable behind....
Tackily (as said in my first statement), but fervently sincere,
Esbie Tarr
Franklin
To the Editor:
I have been reading the news regarding the Jackson County Occupancy Tax and the discussion around the Travel and Tourism Association (TTA) versus a Tourism Development Authority (TDA). I cannot help but look at the abbreviation TTA as Taxing Tourists Aggressively and TDA as Taxing to Death our Assets.
For too long county commissioners of all stripes have looked to sources of tax revenue within their counties that they could sell as effecting only people conveniently outside their voting base.
Here’s a novel idea: instead of taxing and spending more, I’d like to see our county live within its means. We may initiate expansion under the premise of a tourist tax but delays, cost overruns and other factors invariably feed the tax-and-spend death spiral for which we the residents will ultimately pay for in one fashion or another.
Our environment has produced a thriving tourist industry. Our county’s hotels, restaurants, gift shops and construction industry rely heavily on these persons. Why bite the hand that feeds us? We should instead hold to a competitive edge that encourages these tourists to spend their money here in Jackson County.
Ginny Jahrmarkt
Sapphire
To the Editor:
Recently there were two letters to the editor locally by Shirley Ches and Marge Abel which expressed the exact issues that many women in Macon County are very concerned about. I couldn’t have proclaimed the issues any better. Thanks to these intelligent, caring individuals.
There is a very important primary election coming up on May 8 in Macon County, with early voting April 19 through May 5. I urge all women and their caring menfolk of Macon County to become aware of the issues and turn out to vote.
Bobby Kuppers needs to be returned to his seat, period! His opponent, Rick Snyder, is an unknown with no legislative experience.
Heath Shuler’s seat is up for grabs. One of those vying for that position is Hayden Rodgers, a true clone of Shuler. Do we need more votes geared toward the Republican agenda? Cecil Bothwell, also running for that seat, is a true progressive and would certainly serve Western North Carolina wisely, taking into account what is truly best for his constituents.
Also on this ballot is an amendment on the issue of marriage, making it only legal for a man and woman in North Carolina to be married. No town, county, state or the country should stand in the way of the civil rights of any consensual union between any couple! Vote NO to this ban! Hurray for the states who are forward thinking enough that this is not an issue.
There is a great statement that has gone viral on the internet which sums this election year up: “Women bring all politicians into this world. In 2012 women can also take them out.”
Step up and be counted this election year. You must not sit home and think that other people will take care of the issues.
Joan Palmroos
Otto
The Haywood County Board of Commissioners will hold a work session at 4 p.m., Thursday, April 19, at the Bethea Welcome Center at Lake Junaluska.
The purpose of the work session is to conduct a roundtable discussion with community leaders about economic development, the second home market and construction industry in Haywood County. Participating agencies include municipal mayors and aldermen, the Economic Development Commission, the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, and representatives from the banking industry, construction and real estate.
828.452.6625 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The N.C. ABC Commission is holding a series of free Responsible Alcohol Seller/Server Program classes to educate businesses with alcohol permits and their employees about the responsible sales and service of alcoholic beverages. This is part of a region wide campaign to highlight April as Alcohol Awareness Month.
Businesses or organizations with alcohol permits, applicants seeking alcohol permits, bartenders, servers, employees or festival volunteers who serve alcoholic beverages and members of the general public are welcome to attend. This is a free program.
Here is the class lineup:
• 9-11 a.m., Wednesday, April 25, courtroom in Canton Town Hall.
• 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, United Community Bank, Bryson City.
• 9-11 a.m., Thursday, April 26, Highlands Recreation Park, Highlands.
• 2-4 p.m., Thursday, April 26, community room Clay County Health Department, Hayesville.
The Judy Moore Memorial Scholarship Endowment Committee is accepting scholarship applications for 2012.
The scholarship program for nurses was established in 1997 as a memorial to Judy Moore, a registered nurse who was killed in a car accident. At least $1,000 in scholarship funds will be made available for the 2012 year. The application deadline is June 13.
828.524.6564.
Go online and vote for Waynesville as your favorite Main Street in the contest “Great Places in North Carolina.”
A panel of experts chose six “People’s Choice” award finalists from the more than 40 nominations submitted by North Carolina residents. Including Waynesville, the other finalists are Mount Airy from the mountains; Davidson and Salisbury from the Piedmont; and Roseboro and Southport from the coast.
“Through this program, we hope to celebrate the great places that make North Carolina special,” said Fleming El-Amin, president of APA-NC. “We invite
As Lake Junaluska weighs whether to become part of the town of Waynesville or form its own town, a public forum for residents to ask questions or share comments will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26, at Bethea Welcome Center.
At stake is Lake Junaluska’s identity and the fate of a community made up of 800 homes. A task force has been formed to study the issue. The mission of the task force includes gathering public opinion, reporting findings to the Junaluska Assembly Community Council and possibly making recommendations.
The taskforce will be made up of three representatives from the community council, three from the Lake Junaluska Assembly Property Owners Organization, three members from the community and one member representing the United Methodist Church.
While Lake Junaluska is not an official town, the community already looks and acts like one. It has its own trash pick-up, water and sewer system, street maintenance and even security force. The homes that make up Lake Junaluska’s residential community pay a yearly fee for those services.
But, an aging water and sewer system and other infrastructure issues have led the community to consider joining Waynesville instead of bearing the expense alone. If the community joins Waynesville, it would see an increase to its property-tax base but would also incur the Lake’s aging infrastructure.
Seniors around the county are gearing up for the 2012 Haywood County Senior Games from May 7-22.
For just $10, seniors can participate in as many events as they choose in both athletic events such as shuffleboard, tennis and pickleball, and SilverArts, such as photography, painting, pottery and poetry.
Only a couple of events have an additional fee such as golf ($36) and bowling ($8.25 per competition). Each participant also receives a t-shirt and access to food at the Opening Ceremony on May 7, Ice Cream Social on May 16 and a dinner at the closing ceremony on May 22.
Registration will be April 16-20 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.
828.452.6789 or visit www.haywoodnc.net.
For the month of April K.A.R.E in Haywood County, Kids Advocacy Resource Effort, will join thousands of communities throughout North Carolina and the nation in recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month with a pinwheel garden. The pinwheel is the new symbol of child abuse prevention, representing community efforts to provide children with the safe, stable relationships they need. You can help KARE’s garden grow with a $5 donation.
828.456-8995.
The fourth-annual “Take A Walk In Her Shoes” sexual assault awareness event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, in front of the historic Haywood County Court House. The walk will be around the perimeter of the courthouse lawn on the sidewalk. Detective Jeff Haynes of the Waynesville Police Department will be the keynote speaker and music will be supplied by Jimmy Arrington and Carol Baker of Twilight Karaoke. This event is sponsored by the Haywood County Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault/Elder Abuse Task Force.
828.456.7898.
The Jackson County Public Library in Sylva will host Mindy Guillama-Ridriquez and Raul Rodriquez for a discussion of Cuban culture and food at 7 p.m. on April 26.
Mindy will demonstrate making picadillo, a traditional dish in Cuba and many other Latin American countries. It features ground meat (usually beef or pork) and vegetables.
Raul will discuss the rich history and culture of his native Cuba.
Mindy was born in Havana but moved with her family to South Florida at the age of 4 to escape political persecution. She owns Mindy’s Bakery in Sylva and is also a full-time student at WCU.
Raul was also born in Cuba but did not come to the United States until he was 18, planning to return to Cuba after completing his education. However, political turmoil in Cuba prevented his return, and he met Mindy while in Miami. He is also a full-time student at WCU.
828.586.2016.
The next installment of Cooperative Extension’s “Good Cooks Series” will be held at 5:30 p.m. on April 26 in the conference room of the Community Services Center in Sylva.
Local “Good Cook” Josh Wilkey will demonstrate the steps in baking salmon and making your own fresh asparagus with homemade Hollandaise sauce.
Wilkey is a native of Jackson County. Although he has had no formal culinary training, he is passionate about food and cooking.
“If friends are looking for a good steakhouse in Reno or a great burger joint along Route 66, I’m the guy they call for a recommendation,” Wilkey said.
His passion began at an early age, watching his great-grandmother Elizabeth Clayton cook and make candy.
Space is limited so please call early to reserve a seat by April 23. Cost for the program is $3.
828.586.4009.
Map designer Bruce Daniel will speak at 4 p.m., April 19, in the atrium of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University.
The talk, “Sensing Place: New Ways to Look at Maps,” is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception from 5-7 p.m.
Daniel is the executive vice president and director of Cartifact Labs, a cartographic design firm based in Los Angeles. An advocate of high-quality design, Daniel has practiced his craft through informational graphics and maps.
Daniel offers an excellent perspective on the topic because he has been involved in the design of maps from their existence almost exclusively on paper to their more contemporary digital presence, said Matt Liddle, professor of print and book arts in the WCU School of Art and Design.
828-227-3594 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Students from Mountain Heritage High School in Burnsville will perform the play “Applaching” at 7:30 p.m., April 20, at the Haywood Regional Arts Theater in Waynesville.
“Applaching” was created by Alesa Bryant Laws, the drama teacher at Mountain Heritage, and is based on family stories.
The play was a winner at the Western North Carolina Regional high school play festival at Western Carolina University.
Tickets for the event are $12 for adults and $6 for students and teachers. Funds from the event will be split between HART and the drama program at Mountain Heritage.
The HART Theater is located at 250 Pigeon St. in Waynesville.
www.harttheatre.com or 828.456.6322.
Maggie Valley Festival Grounds will host a combination of the Great Smoky Mountain Trout & Heritage Festival and PlottFest this year from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 21.
The PlottFest is a fundraiser for Head Start Mountain Projects.
The event will feature archery by Bowed Up Archery, a blacksmith demonstration, a Kids Zone sponsored by Fun Things, Etc., food vendors, a few local crafters, strawberries and ramps. Attendees can also watch chain saw carver Mitchell Phillips will create a piece of art to raffle. Music will include The Darren Nicholson Band, Mark and Aimee Bumgarner, Milan Miller and Balsam Range. The WCU Heritage Center is bringing the Plott display and Bob Plott will be on hand to sign books.
Other activities include:
• Youth fishing clinics from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Pre-registration is required.
• A free Kindermusik mini classes will be offered at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• A gunfight by the Ghost Town Gunfighters at 12:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.
• Balsam Range will kick off their show at 4 p.m.
• A trout race, where wooden replicas are tossed into a creek, and the first five fish to cross the finish line get a prize, will start at 5 p.m.
Multi-Grammy and Dove award winning recording artist Bill Gaither will perform with his Gaither Vocal Band at 3:30 p.m., April 29, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.
Gaither has been writing songs for many years — some of which were sung by artists such as Sandi Patty, The Statler Brothers, and Elvis Presley. They’ve collected over a dozen Dove awards, including the 2011 Southern Gospel Song of the Year award for “Better Day,” and two Grammy awards.
Ticket prices start at $45 each.
866.273.4615 or www.GreatMountainMusic.com.
Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters and The Crystals will take the stage at The Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m., April 20.
Both groups climbed the charts with hits in the 1950s. Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters has welcomed several new members throughout the years, but they’ve always maintained their original sound. Their list of hits include, “Under the Boardwalk,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Save the Last Dance for Me.” In 1988, the Rock and Roll Hall of fame inducted the seven members of The Drifter’s: Bill Pinkney, Clyde McPhatter, Gerhart Thrasher, Ben E. King, Charlie Thomas, Rudy Lewis, and Johnny Moore.
The Crystals, who were discovered before they were out of high school, are best known for musical hits such as, “Da Doo Run Run” and “Then He Kissed Me.” The group was once a five-member sensation but has scaled down to three: Dee Dee Kennibrew, who has been with the group since its first recording, Patricia Pritchett-Lewis, and Melissa Antoinette Grant.
Tickets start at $14 each.
866.273.4615 or www.GreatMountainMusic.com.
The acclaimed trombone ensemble Quaternity will visit Western Carolina University for a day of master classes followed by a public performance on April 23.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the recital hall of the Coulter Building on the WCU campus. It is open to the public free of charge.
The quartet also will lead master classes beginning at 11:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at various locations in the Coulter Building. The morning session is designed especially for members of the WCU Trombone Ensemble, while the afternoon session is open to all music students, faculty and staff, as well as brass enthusiasts from the surrounding community.
The ensemble features Lee K. Blakeman, principal trombonist for the Evansville (Ind.) Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Kentucky of Bowling Green; Steven Brown, who joined the Nashville Symphony in 1998; J. Bryan Heath, bass trombonist with the Owensboro Symphony, the Illinois Symphony and Orchestra Kentucky of Bowling Green; and Australian trombonist Donna Parkes, who plays second trombone with the Virginia Symphony.
828.227.7242.
The Jackson County Public Library in Sylva will host live bluegrass and gospel music provided by local band Joshua’s Tree at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24 in the community room.
Joshua’s Tree is a Christian singing group that formed around a campfire in June 2010. The five members are Twila Campbell, Darin and Anesa Brooks, Will Howell and David Crisp. The group is currently recording their first CD, entitled “In The Beginning” and performs Southern gospel and bluegrass music.
828.586.2016.
“That Mancini Magic,” the final installment of Western Carolina University’s 2011-12 Galaxy of Stars Series, will stage at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center.
“That Mancini Magic” performs songs of renowned composer Henry Mancini. Led by pianist Mac Hampton and Cecil Welch, who was Mancini’s trumpet player for more than 20 years, the show also is supported by “The Moon River Orchestra,” an ensemble of violins, saxophone and rhythm.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for WCU faculty and staff, $10 for groups of 20 or more and $5 for students.
828.227.2479 or www.wcu.edu/fapac.
The Grace Church Episcopal in Waynesville will host a noon concert by Signature Winds on April 19.
Signature Winds was formed in 2005 and retains all of its original members: Kathy Alley, Flute; Pat Stone, Oboe; Charles Alley, Clarinet; Stephanie Lyon, French Horn and Mary Thomas, Bassoon. The quintet is based in Haywood County, and all members have played professionally and continue to perform with various organizations throughout the Western North Carolina area.
The program will include music written or arranged for woodwind quintet: Movements from “La Chimney of King Rene” by Darius Milhaud; two selections from “West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein; “Pavanne” by Morton Gould; “Obangiji” by Fela Sowande and “Three Trios for Piano, Horn, and Basoon/Oboe/Clarinet.”
Those in attendance are invited to bring and enjoy their lunch during the program.
828.926.8721.
Three Jackson County teachers — Jennifer Dall at Smokey Mountain Elementary, Kansas Heiskell at the HUB, and Gayle Woody at Smoky Mountain High School — were awarded a Learning Links grant this year to support art workshops in the schools.
Metalworker William Rogers taught the workshops, which showed students how to handwork metal. During the series of three workshops, students as young as ten years old hammered metal into whimsical shapes and then suspended those shapes along a wire framework to create a kinetic sculpture.
Learning Links projects involve students in “hands-on” projects to support innovative, imaginative and creative approaches to teaching.
The Haywood County Arts Council will host its annual “Birding for the Arts” event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 28 as part of the 2012 FUNd Party Series.
The series offers an eclectic array of social events featuring delicious food, unique experiences and entertainment to benefit the arts in our community.
“Birding for the Arts” party sponsors and guides for the day are naturalist Don Hendershot, former state Sen. Joe Sam Queen and Dr. Kate Queen.
Tickets are $25 per person, and participation is limited to 35 partygoers. The registration deadline is April 26. A gourmet boxed lunch will be provided, and attendees should meet at the Performing Arts Center on Pigeon Street in Waynesville no later than 8 a.m.
Bring binoculars and rain poncho. Light hiking is involved.
828.452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org.
The Small Business Center of Haywood Community College will offer a free seminar, entitled “Marketing for the Craftsperson & Artist…Part II,” from 6-9 p.m., April 24, at HCC’s Student Center Building, first floor.
The workshop will detail how to best market a business’s image on a low or no-budget plan, including designing a logo and discussing customer service and identify 10 “no cost” ways to effectively advertise.
The workshop will focus on:
• Selling through craft fairs; includes how to find out about available shows and all those little things about shows you may not know
• Selling through trade shows
• Designing your booth at shows and why presentation is so important
• Successful marketing tips, including press releases, business cards and gift tags
• Designing your own logo, business card, flyer or brochure.
• Exploring the very essence of exactly what your marketing story needs to say.
The presenter is Linda Rozelle, who has a diverse background in commercial art. She has designed hundreds of corporate identity programs nationwide and has been nationally recognized for excellence in advertising.
828.627.4512.
The voices of two Western Carolina University choirs – the University Chorus and the Concert Choir – will be featured at the WCU School of Music’s Spring Choral Concert at 7:30 p.m., April 19.
Admission is free and the performance will be held in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center.
The University Chorus will sing a variety of compositions, including a folk song arrangement featuring WCU music faculty members Linda Lancaster on flute and Michael Schallock on tuba, and a folk hymn arrangement featuring music faculty members Terri Armfield on oboe and Lancaster on flute.
The Concert Choir will sing “Liebeslieder Waltzer (Lovesong Waltzes)” by Johannes Brahms and “Three Scottish Folk Songs” arranged by Mack Wilberg.
Music faculty members Andrew Adams and Brad Martin will serve as guest pianists.
828.227.7242.
Western Carolina University dance students matched with faculty and staff members will compete in a “Dancing with the Stars”-style event called “Dancing with the Catamounts” at 7 p.m. on April 20 in Hoey Auditorium.
The event costs $5 and will be accepted in cash only at the door.
The groups had 10 weeks to rehearse routines representing a range of dance styles, including hip-hop, jazz and cha-cha, for the competition. Audience members will be able to vote for their favorite performers for Audience Choice awards.
Competition judges include Amy Dowling, a dance instructor in the School of Stage and Screen; Heidi Turlington, a lecturer in the School of Teaching and Learning who also teaches ballroom dance; and Mary Six Rupert, a former Rockette.
828.227.3672 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Jackson County Public Library in Sylva will host weaver Susan Leveille of The Oaks Gallery in Dillsboro for a children’s weaving class at 6 p.m. on April 26.
Participants will weave a colorful bookmark. The class is appropriate for children ages 7 to 12 and is limited to 10 participants. Pre-register.
828.586.2016.
The 15th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival will take place April 28 on Main and Mill streets in historic downtown Sylva.
The event begins with a 5K run at 9 a.m., while festival hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The free festival celebrates the arrival of spring in the mountains, when the greening leaves work their way up the Great Smoky Mountains. It also celebrates the greening of the environment, with info about sustainable living and presentations by environmental groups.
Traditional heritage crafts will be featured throughout the festival, while three music stages feature local bands, heritage dancers and a youth talent show. Musical acts set to perform include: The Freight Hoppers, John-Luke Carter, Tennessee Jed, The Suite C, Marshall Ballew, Sugar Barnes and Dave Magill, Positive Mental Attitude, Ian Moore & the Moolah Temple Men’s Auxiliary, Total War, Dan River Drifters and Noonday Sun.
Greening Up the Mountains is one of Jackson County’s largest annual events, drawing more than 10,000 visitors each year.
828.586.2719 or www.downtownsylva.org.
The Liars Bench will tell the story of the hanging of Jack Lambert and other murder/execution stories in “Hangman, hangman slack your rope” at 7 p.m., April 19, at WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center.
The event will feature the compelling story of Jack Lambert being ‘framed’ for the murder of Dick Wilson, convicted and unjustly executed in the last legal hanging in Swain County in 1886.
The performance will also include stories about John Hardy, Tom Dula and Cherokee myths and legends of figures who sacrificed themselves for the Cherokee people. Descendants of both Dick Wilson and Jack Lambert will talk at the event, in addition to Liars Bench regulars Gary Carden, host and storyteller; Lloyd Arneach, the Cherokee storyteller; Paul Iarussi, claw-hammer guitar specialist; William Ritter, vocalist and musician; and Karen Barnes.
The Liars Bench is a two-year old program featuring authentic traditional Southern Appalachian storytelling, music, poetry, and drama. Admission is free for all.
828.227.7129.
Franklin High School will hold auditions at noon, April 21, in its fine arts center, for home school and private school students wishing to perform in Showcase of Talent 2012.
Participation is open to actors, dancers, gymnasts, instrumentalists and vocalists in the third thru 12th grades. Solo, duo, and ensemble acts are welcome, and a piano and CD player will be provided.
Students should arrive between noon and 1 p.m. and will perform on a first-come basis; there is no pre-registration.
The Showcase of Talent is an annual non-competitive, countywide student talent show, held at 7p.m., April 28, in the fine arts center. Each student selected for the Showcase receives a complimentary adult ticket for a parent or guardian.
Proceeds support the Artists-in-the-Schools Program.
828.524.7683 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The memories and lore surrounding a white flower with six petals — once so common in the Cullowhee valley that it was called the Cullowhee lily — have inspired Western Carolina University alumni and community members to bring the flower back.
“Cullowhee” is a Cherokee word that some believe translates to mean “valley of the lilies” and hearkens back to a time when the flower populated the area. To celebrate the Cullowhee community and sense of place, Susan Belcher, wife of Chancellor David Belcher, had hoped WCU could incorporate the lilies into her husband’s installation décor, only to learn the plant was no longer common in the area.
Today, the lily, which usually flowers in late April or early May, grows in only a few spots on campus, said Roger Turk, grounds superintendent.
“We started wondering what happened to the Cullowhee lily,” said Belcher. “David and I fell in love with Cullowhee and the area, and we both are dedicated to preserving and deepening the sense of place here.”
The WCU Alumni Association, the Office of the Chancellor and WCU Facilities Management grounds crews are partnering to re-establish the Cullowhee lily in the community, starting with the WCU campus. Organizers of the initiative, which is still in early planning stages, are seeking additional partners and supporters, and plan to link the effort to the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund.
828.227.7335 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A gardening basics 101 class for beginner gardeners or gardeners who are new to this region will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, at the Swain Extension Center and from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Jackson Extension Center in Sylva.
Topics covered included keeping vegetables free of disease and insects, tamping down weeds, spacing, when and what to plant and more.
The class is free and is sponsored by the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.
828.586.4009 or 828.488.3848.
Farmers markets in both Jackson and Haywood counties have opened for the regular growing season.
The Jackson County Farmers Market opened earlier this month and operates from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturdays in the large parking lot on Mill Street in Sylva.
Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market opens from 8 a.m. until noon for the first time this season Saturday, April 14, and will be open every Wednesday and Saturday through October.
“This is our fourth year of coming together in the small town spirit to offer the citizens and visitors of our mountains the fruit and produce of our area farms and gardens; arts and crafts that have proven to be sustainable and useful in the home, and music that highlights mountain life,” said Elizabeth Ur, a grower involved in the Haywood market.
The market has a full-range of locally raised meat, eggs, baked goods, and chees, as well as early spring produce.
The Haywood Farmers Market is located in the HART Theatre parking lot two blocks off Main Street on 276 south Pigeon Street in Waynesville.
The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is coming from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, at Western Carolina University.
The festival is part of a national tour of award-winning films that take audiences to some of the most remote and beautiful places on the planet to highlight community activism and the power of people to make a difference in their communities.
“The tour is part of a network of grassroots organizations using the power of film to inspire environmental activism,” said Ken Brown with the Tuckasegee Community Alliance.
The short films explore a wide range of issues, including communities involved with saving their “home places” in the Appalachian mountains from mountaintop removal and hydro-fracking, a controversial extraction technique that fractures rock to release natural gas; the impact of “plastic” on our lives and landscapes; and “new environmentalists” who offer solutions for preserving natural resources, such as a citizens group that created Germany’s first successful cooperatively owned renewable power company.
The Western North Carolina Alliance and Western Carolina University’s Sustainability Council and Eco CATS student group are co-sponsoring the festival. The event will be held in A.K. Hinds University Center theater.
The April 18 program at WCU will include a keynote address from Tom Belt, coordinator of the Cherokee language program at WCU; a welcome from Julie Mayfield, executive director of WNCA; live music; and the Smoky Mountain Roller Derby Girls.
General admission to the festival at WCU will be $6 for students and $10 for the general public. Attendees who join the WNCA – $10 for students and $25 for the general public – will be admitted free.
Advance tickets are available online at www.wnca.org.
828.258.8737.
The fun and free-spirited Nantahala Open will take place from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at Nantahala Falls. Nantahala Open is billed at a laid-back competition open to all boaters no matter the experience or ability.
Categories include Best Freestyle through the Falls, Best Top Hole Move, Most Creative Eddy Catching, Best Self-Rescue, Best Carnage, Cutest Run—and anything that comes to mind as the day unfolds
The event is being put together by Endless River Adventures and Team Wave Sport.
This is not a “sponsored” event; the participants are typically Nantahala boaters and those who just enjoy a great day of fun on the river.
The Endless River team will be joined by Nantahala Open veteran and team wave sport leader Bryan Kirk and others. The group will coordinate the event from the launching pad at Nantahala Falls, with video cameras arranged to film open participants.
There will be music, food and beer at Endless River Adventures afterwards, including video highlights from the day.
828.488.6199 or www.facebook.com/NantahalaOpen.
The 28th annual Tuckasegee River Clean Up will be held on Saturday, April 21, and is looking for volunteers to help remove trash from part of the Jackson County river.
The clean up is organized by Western Carolina University.
Most of the work is conducted from rafts, making it a great chance to get a free float trip down the river in exchange for helping scoop up trash.
Volunteers will be issued a life jacket, paddle and trash bags and placed in a raft with other participants after getting a safety talk. Base Camp Cullowhee (WCU’s outdoor program organization) will provide transportation to the river from campus. Volunteers should anticipate two to three hours of work.
Walking trails are an option for volunteers who do not want to raft. Organizers suggest eating lunch before arriving and wearing shoes that won’t come off in the water (such as tennis shoes or sandals with a back strap).
Registration for the event will be on the A.K. Hinds University Center lawn from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the first 500 to register receiving a free T-shirt. There is no early registration for the event.
828.227.3625 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A free youth fishing clinic will be held on Saturday, April 21, as part of the 23rd-annual Great Smoky Mountain Trout & Heritage Festival. This year there will be two CATCH clinics at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds, one from 9 a.m. until noon and the other from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
The events are sponsored by the Natural Resources Management Department of Haywood Community College, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the Town of Maggie Valley and Haywood Waterways Association The CATCH (Caring For Aquatics Through Conservation Habits) program is designed to teach young people “how”, “when”, and “where” to fish as well as to introduce lessons in aquatic ecology, water safety, fishing ethics, and respect for the outdoors.
The CATCH Clinic is open to youth between the ages of 6 and 15. Necessary equipment will be furnished. A parent or guardian must register and attend with the youth.
Pre-registration is required.
828.926.0866 Ext. 117.
The 28th annual Tuckasegee River Clean Up will be held on Saturday, April 21, and is looking for volunteers to help remove trash from part of the Jackson County river.
The clean up is organized by Western Carolina University.
Most of the work is conducted from rafts, making it a great chance to get a free float trip down the river in exchange for helping scoop up trash.
Volunteers will be issued a life jacket, paddle and trash bags and placed in a raft with other participants after getting a safety talk. Base Camp Cullowhee (WCU’s outdoor program organization) will provide transportation to the river from campus. Volunteers should anticipate two to three hours of work.
Walking trails are an option for volunteers who do not want to raft. Organizers suggest eating lunch before arriving and wearing shoes that won’t come off in the water (such as tennis shoes or sandals with a back strap).
Registration for the event will be on the A.K. Hinds University Center lawn from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the first 500 to register receiving a free T-shirt. There is no early registration for the event.
828.227.3625 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Macon Your Heart Beat one-mile and 5K run/walk will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 14, on the Franklin Greenway. The race is sponsored by Angel Medical Center Cardiac Rehab. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
Proceeds will benefit cardiac patients who would not otherwise be able to complete the rehabilitation program that assists them in leading a healthier life after having a heart episode. 828.349.8290.
A pair of 5K races will be held at Western Carolina University in coming weeks to raise money to build a well in Kenya and to benefit Full Spectrum Farms, a Cullowhee residential facility for adults with autism.
The Kenya Water Initiative, a local organization founded by WCU junior Katie Salmons, is sponsoring a 5K that will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 14, near the campus fountain. Salmons said the organization is raising money to build a well in Kenya to help reduce deaths that occur because of dirty drinking water.
Registration is available at active.com through Wednesday, April 11. The fee is $25. On-site registration will be available the morning of the race for the same price, but late registrants will not be guaranteed a water bottle or T-shirt.
The Full Spectrum Farms 5-K Walk/Run will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 21, from a location near Courtyard Dining Hall on WCU’s campus. The event is sponsored by the WCU chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association and WCU’s Department of Campus Recreation and Wellness.
Registration is available at active.com through Wednesday, April 18. Race fees are $20 for students and seniors age 55 and older, $25 for nonstudents, and $15 for children age 12 and under. Registration on race morning will open at 8 a.m.
The Mountain Madness duathalon in Franklin will be held starting at 9 a.m. April 28 along the Little Tennessee River. This is a benefit for the Shriners Hospital in Greenville, S.C. There will be a four-mile run, 14-mile-bike and two-mile run. The fee is $50 per individual and $70 for each two-person team. The first 125 registered racers will receive T-shirts. The race starts at the Tassee Greenway at the corner of Depot and Wells Grove Road.
828.421.7637.
If you think you’ve got a winning photograph, consider submitting it to the Land Trust For the Little Tennessee for its annual calendar for 2013.
Photos can include scenic landscapes, rivers, farms and farm-related activities or structures, restoration activities, wild plants or fungi. LTLT also encourages images that show people interacting with nature through activities such as hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking or fishing.
The photographs must have been taken in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. Amateur and professional photographers alike are encouraged to participate.
The photographs selected for the calendar will include photographer credit. The photographer will receive a free calendar and LTLT family membership for one year.
Only high-resolution JPEG files will be considered.
Submissions, no more than five photographs, will be accepted through June 15.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.524.2711 ext. 209.
An Arbor Day planting will be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Island Park in downtown Bryson City.
A wide variety of plants have been selected to add color to the island, with an emphasis on native species and wildlife-supporting plants. The extension service will offer a free seedling to anyone participating in the project.
This event is sponsored by the Swain County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development Authority in conjunction with N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.
828.488.3681 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ron Rash will read from his new novel, The Cove, at 2 p.m., April 15 in the community room of the Jackson County Library.
Laurel Shelton and her brother live in a cove considered by many to be cursed. Crops fail, untimely deaths occur and little light ever trickles down into their plot of land. Their lives are largely isolated until Laurel discovers a mysterious and mute stranger playing the flute in the nearby woods.
For more information call 828.586.949.
Rash will also be reading at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville at 2 p.m. on April 14.
Blue Ridge Books will host Jenny Bennett, author of Murder at the Jumpoff, at 3 p.m. on April 21.
Bennett’s book tells the story of Donald MacIntyre, an avid off-trail hiker, who fails to return from a quest to bushwhack through difficult terrain to the top of the Jumpoff, a dramatic cliff in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Good-natured backcountry ranger Hector Jones leads a search-and-rescue team into the remotest depths of the Greenbrier section of the park and discovers MacIntyre’s body.
Blue Ridge Books is located at 152 South Main Street in Waynesville. 828.456.6000.
City Lights Bookstore in Sylva is hosting an event at 6:30 p.m., April 17, for local volunteers the week before World Book Night, in preparation for the givers going out into the community.
On April 23, volunteers will give away half a million free books in undeserved areas and places such as VA hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, ballparks, mass transit stations and diners.
828.586.9499 or www.worldbooknight.org.
Micheal Rivers of Whittier will be at the Jackson County Public Library at 7 p.m. on April 17 to read from his newest paranormal novel, The Black Witch.
The Black Witch is an adventure tale of a ghost ship and is Rivers’ third book. He is also author of the novel Moonlight on the Nantahala, and Ghosts of the North Carolina Shores.
In addition to his books, he will discuss ghosts and the paranormal.
An avid ghost hunter, Rivers is a Vietnam veteran who served in the Marines. He has spent the last 30 years investigating and collecting stories of the paranormal. As a writer, his genres include horror and thriller, with an element of the paranormal in all of his works. He is founder of The Smokey Mountain Ghost Trackers of Western North Carolina and serves as the group’s lead investigator.
828.586.2016.
To the Editor:
Norman Hoffman has his facts wrong about the Trayvon Martin shooting.
Based on my experience, and what I read in the news, here is my opinion on what happened. Zimmerman had a legal right to be where he was. He wasn’t on a hunt but was out to observe. There is no obligation to comply with a 911 operator’s suggestion not to follow someone.
Trayvon spoke to his girlfriend on the phone about how annoyed he was that Zimmerman was following him. She will never tell us the truth about what Trayvon really said in his moment of bravado. But we do know that Trayvon decided to beat the living **** out of Zimmerman. He beat him with his fists to the ground.
I believe he wanted to knock him out so he wouldn’t be able to call the police or follow him home. When he couldn’t knock him out he took Zimmerman’s head and smashed it against the concrete in an attempt to render him unconscious. This was witnessed!
And this is when Trayvon used deadly physical force and Zimmerman was forced to terminate the attack. Zimmerman didn’t pull his pistol until the end.
Now they assigned a bulldog prosecutor to go after Zimmerman, and she will certainly get him before a grand jury and indict him. People who see the photo of the nice young Trayvon are calling for blood and she will give it to them. An unbiased jury will never find him guilty. It was just a terribly unfortunate incident.
Jim Sottile
Franklin
