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The article about the Western Carolina University Strategic Planning Commission caught the attention of the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor (CuRvE), a community organization whose mission is to “facilitate the beautification and revitalization of the downtown Cullowhee area extending along Old Cullowhee Road and leading up to the former main entrance to the campus of Western Carolina University.”
The article refers to a 2008 WCU strategic planning document called SWOT — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats — that identifies, among other things, geography, location and culture as both strengths and threats.
Location is a strength, in that WNC is known for its scenic beauty. At the same time, “Limited off-campus social opportunities/venues decreases satisfaction with college experience and impedes integration of students into the community” is identified as a threat.
CuRvE believes downtown Cullowhee has the potential to be a beautiful and vibrant destination that could expand off-campus social opportunities appealing to students, community members and visitors alike. Several forces may coalesce in the near future to make the winding road framed by the Tuckaseegee River an appealing entrance to Cullowhee and WCU. There are discussions about sidewalks and streetlamps from campus to downtown Cullowhee, the Jackson County Greenway will be adjacent and connected to the area, and the River Park Committee of CuRvE has developed a conceptual drawing of a river park that could be a focal point (http://gocullowhee.org/photos/cullowhee-river-park-concep.html). Such changes can attract local businesses, pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and recreation.
CuRvE’s mission explicitly builds on a recognition of the value of the natural, cultural and human attributes of Cullowhee and the surrounding area. Thus, CuRvE encourages the new Commission to take a different perspective on the final threat identified in the 2008 SWOT document, which reads, “Regional location/culture inhibits recruitment of an ethnically and racially diverse staff and faculty.”
Painting the entire region as one that inhibits the potential for diversity ignores the rich variation in human, economic, religious, cultural and bio-diversity and feeds the old stereotypes. The region where Western Carolina University has its home has a long history of Cherokee and Appalachian mountain culture as well as integration with those from other regions who have chosen western North Carolina as their home.
CuRvE encourages WCU’s Strategic Planning Commission to consider the region’s natural and cultural resources not as a liability but as a framework for developing an authentic identity that will attract students, faculty and staff and contribute significantly to the community and region.
The WCU SWOT document from 2008 can be found on the WCU website at this link: www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/oipe_SWOT_2007-08.pdf.
By Mary Jean Herzog • Guest Columnist
Mary Jean Ronan Herzog is co-Chair of the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor (CuRvE).
To the Editor:
The gangland-style, fist pounding threat to “take out the sons of b_____s shouted by union leader Jimmy Hoffa Jr. is just the latest in a string of name-calling aimed at the Tea Party by Democrat leaders. Mind you not citizens but leaders! Democrat Vice President Joe Biden has called tea partiers “terrorists” and “the barbarians at the door.”
Congresswoman Maxine Waters told her audience that the Tea Party can “go to hell.” Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid makes an amazing claim that Tea Partiers are, “not American people.” In other recent speeches Democrats have claimed Tea Partiers are racists and slave masters. This offensive language, the threats and totally untrue accusations should be condemned by all ordinary citizens.
The Tea Party is not a political party but rather a growing number of mainstream citizens — the silent majority, silent no more — who believe in and are working for the following: a smaller less intrusive government, lower taxes, reduced spending, a continued free enterprise system, state sovereignty and adherence to the U.S. Constitution. These tenets are Tea Party goals for local and the federal government. More and more people agree with these objectives and as a result the Tea Party is attracting countless citizens who enthusiastically support these principles.
The Tea Party was founded as a Taxed Enough Already movement. From those beginnings the movement has grown to include multiple Tea Party groups in every state in the country. My husband and I are active in the Tea Party Patriots of Jackson County group. We attend the monthly meetings and have attended the two massive rallies in Washington, D.C., in 2009 and 2010. At these meetings and rallies actions, statements or speeches were exceptionally civil and in no way terrorizing, barbaric, racist or something that should be sent to hell …. certainly the events are not un-American.
What is the purpose of the Democrat leaders’ disgraceful outbursts and angry rhetoric? Last I heard is that free speech is a standard in the USA, so they are entitled to their opinion albeit inaccurate stated in offensive language. However, it is obvious the impetus for such words is that Democrats loathe not just the Tea Party but more importantly their influence on elections. By the same token, the Tea Party is at liberty to speak, meet and increase in numbers. Anyone who wishes to experience this extraordinary movement is welcome to attend the Tea Party Patriots of Jackson County meetings on the third Thursday each month at Ryan’s in Sylva.
Carol Adams
Glenville
To the Editor:
At the Republican presidential debate on Sept. 12, the moderator posed a hypothetical question to Representative Ron Paul. “What do you tell a guy who is sick, goes into a coma and doesn’t have health insurance? Who pays for his coverage? Are you saying society should just let him die?”
Several audience members enthusiastically yelled out, “Yeah!”
Do we really want the politicians selected by these Republicans to run our national, state, county, or town governments? Please remember this on Election Day.
Carole Larivee
Waynesville
To the Editor:
Last March, I realized everyone’s worst nightmare when a doctor diagnosed my 44-year-old husband, Ben, with a rectal tumor. Ben had no risk factors. We were stunned and heartbroken. Within two weeks of treatment, we had met our $10,000 per year insurance deductible. This could happen to anyone. What if we didn’t have insurance? What will the insurance company do to our already exorbitant insurance rates? The last question keeps us both awake at night.
The Republicans are a heartless bunch when it comes to giving Americans access to universal healthcare. As they fall over themselves giving tax breaks to the very wealthy, the middle class and poor are putting off healthcare, sometimes until it’s too late. Yet our incumbent Congressman, Heath Shuler, so-called Democrat, voted against the health care bill too. He also extended tax cuts to the rich.
Cecil Bothwell is running against Heath Shuler, and he supports a single-payer, universal health insurance, via extension of the Medicare system. He’s good people and will do everything it takes to make sure that we can all afford quality health care.
Heather Rayburn
Asheville
To the Editor:
Last week I had the great misfortune of seeing first-hand the results of wanton destruction of acres of formerly pristine Macon County woodlands all in the name of the Super Wal-Mart now under construction. If this is what bodes for the future of Franklin, our community is indeed the poorer for it.
Shame on the majority of the town’s leaders for allowing this grotesque eyesore to ever see the light of day. Their lack of vision and reverence for Franklin is clearly on display at the construction site.
Ask any full or part-time resident of Macon County if they choose to live here because they want a Super Wal-Mart in their backyard. Ask any tourist if they travel to Macon County for the mountain or the Super Wal-Mart views. Is it big-box Bentonville architecture they want to see or the pastoral vistas and (increasingly compromised) Little Tennessee River?
Instead of town leaders coming up with creative and insightful ways to bring more jobs and tourists to the county, they fell in line with the same banal approaches that have blighted unique communities like ours all across America.
But don’t take my word for it. Instead, take a drive. See for yourself how the town of Franklin is further distancing itself from the real reasons that brought us here in the first place.
Carol Ramsey
Cowee
To the Editor:
It was exciting last week to read of Western Carolina University’s move to re-open its strategic planning process under its new chancellor. The university and the region certainly have an opportunity here. Beginning with an assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) is always a good starting point, and I am glad that SMN included some of the details from this document in Quintin Ellison’s recent article, “WCU task force gets marching orders for strategic plan.”
I was, however, shocked to read that, under the previous university administration, “geographic location” was listed as a “threat” to the university’s prosperity.
Our western Carolina mountains and rivers are some of the most prized and visited landscapes in America. Cherokee has been named “Travel Attraction of the Year” and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracts more visitors than any other park in the country. Do these millions of visitors see something we are missing? I have talked to many students who are pleasantly surprised to find unsurpassed beauty and recreation to be a part of their university experience.
This was an unexpected find for them, since the university did not promote the region as an asset to residential life. I hope that with new leadership, the strategic planning commission can begin to think more positively about the strengths of the region. There are not too many universities in the county that are situated in such a place. With new thinking, our “sense of place” can play a positive role in attracting students, rather than being a “threat” to recruitment and retention.
Anna Fariello
Cullowhee
To the Editor:
Recently my office received more than 125 written requests from Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties requesting that I oppose SB 514, the Defense of Marriage Bill. Because of this large number, it would not be feasible to reply to each person individually so please accept this public notice of acknowledgement of the receipt of your interest and a thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
Since North Carolina’s General Statute 51.1 legislates the status of marriage, to place this issue on the ballot in the form of a Constitutional Amendment is a gross waste of your time and state funds. This is especially true when the papers have articles everyday reporting the loss of state and local jobs.
The sole purpose of bringing this amendment forward at this time was to incite political passion and further lead to more societal division in the state and nation. This we do not need. Without discussing the other negative aspects of the bill, but considering all the three hours of argument on the House floor and my own understanding the consequences, I voted against it.
• “Thou shall not avenge nor bear grudge against the children of thy people but thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” – Leviticus 19:18
• “Honor thy father and thy mother and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” — Matthew 19:18
Rep. Phil Haire
D-Sylva
Interested in saving money? The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department is offering a coupon class.
Nicole Chouinard will teach the class, which will take place at the Old Armory Recreation Center at 44 Boundary St. in Waynesville. The classes will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 27, Oct. 4, Oct. 11 and Nov. 21. Classes will also be offered from 5 - 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 and Nov. 7.
The cost is $10 per person. Bring someone with you and the cost is $5. 407.810.2749, email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or 828.456.9207.
Work on a the exit 33 bridge in Canton on Interstate 40 will cause night lane closures next week from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, to Wednesday, Sept. 28 for westbound lanes.
To follow the alternate route, motorists should get off at Exit 31 and go through Canton on U.S. 19/23 and get back on I-40 at Exit 37.
There are night closures of eastbound lanes for the remainder of this week.
The bridges on I-40 over Beaverdam Road near Exit 33 are being rehabilitated.
A public hearing to discuss the White Oak Landfill’s future In Haywood County was little more than a formality this week, with only one person standing up to question the plan.
Haywood County has been in talks with Tennessee company Santek Environmental for months now, negotiating a contract for the company to take over operations at the landfill.
Opposition to the idea has surfaced in the past, but at Monday’s public hearing, Monroe Miller, a regular critic of county officials, was the only citizen to speak. He provided commissioners with an 18-point question list.
Tax Administrator David Francis, who heads the project, and the vice president of Santek’s marketing department addressed some concerns voiced by commissioners.
Commissioner Michael Sorrells had questioned how the county can be assured the landfill will last 30 years if Santek sells space in the landfill to trash from out of the area. Santek and Francis assured him that, should the landfill appear to be filling too quickly, it would stop taking out-of-county trash.
Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick pointed out that the rising cost of operating the landfill prompted the commissioners to look for cost savings.
A vote on the contract won’t happen until the board’s Oct. 3 meeting, but no commissioner has voiced any opposition.
— By Colby Dunn
The annual Bark in the Park will be held Sunday, Oct. 2, from 1-5 p.m. at the Jackson County Recreation Complex in Cullowhee.
Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association and the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department are sponsoring this event in conjunction with the American Kennel Club’s Responsible Dog Ownership Day.
The event will include demos in agility, obedience, freestyle dance and disc (frisbee) dogs. Carting and gun dog demonstrations are also on the agenda.
The first 75 kids attending will receive free gift bags and all kids will have a chance to sign up to run the agility course with no dog — best time and accuracy will win.
New this year: representatives from the National Canine Cancer Foundation will be present with a great selection of doggie items for sale, all for a good cause.
To encourage all dog owners to clean up after their pets, there will again be a “Poop Bag Raffle.” Sign the pledge to be a “responsible dog owner” and to “Leave Nothing But Paw Prints,” get free poop bags (donated by poopbags.com) and you will be eligible to win a raffle basket.
Admission is free. Bleacher seating is available, or bring a chair.
A motorcycle ride and concert to help benefit Haywood Regional Medical Center Foundation and the Power of Pink is set for Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Festival Grounds in Maggie Valley.
The ride will depart from the Festival Grounds at 10 a.m., and money raised will be used to provide free mammograms and screenings to qualifying underserved women in Haywood County. The cost for riders is $25 per bike and $5 per passenger, and includes a T-shirt entry into the Festival Ground activities.
The Festival Ground gates will open to the public at 10 a.m. at a cost of $10 per. The concert begins at 3 p.m. The Festival Ground will close at 11 p.m.
If you have pets that need a rabies vaccination, mark your calendars for the week of Sept. 26-30.
This has been a busy year for rabies in Haywood County. In June and July, four cases of rabies were reported in the same area of the county, two in skunks and two in raccoons. Prior to this year, there had only been five cases of rabies confirmed in Haywood County since 2006. The outbreak prompted the health department and Haywood County Animal Services to hold special rabies vaccination clinics in early July.
The clinics will be held at the following locations:
• Monday, Sept. 26 - Canton Middle School and Fines Creek Community Center.
• Tuesday, Sept. 27 - Jonathan Valley School bus parking lot.
• Wednesday, Sept. 28 - Hazelwood Elementary School.
• Thursday, Sept. 29 - Bethel Middle School.
• Friday, Sept. 30 - Riverbend School.
The cost per vaccine is $6. The clinics will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
828.456.5338 or 828.452.6682.
A new tri-county Republican’s women’s organization will hold its first meeting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Iron Skillet Restaurant in Bryson City.
Brunch will be at 10 a.m., and the meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Dodie Allen, vice-chairman of the Swain County Republican Party, and a former candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives, District 119, is an organizer of the group. The new group will be made up of conservative women from Swain, Jackson and Graham Counties.
828.226.3921.
Developing empathy and understanding what it’s like for someone to have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia prompted “the virtual dementia tour.”
The tour is for family caregivers and others interested; the multi-sensory experience is free of charge, available by appointment Tuesday, Sept. 27, from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at Haywood Community Connections.
828.586.5501 ext. 1248.
A $250,000 gift from Mission Health System will provide financial assistance to students from Western North Carolina who want to study in health-related programs at Western Carolina University.
Mission Health System will provide $50,000 annually over the next five years to WCU, with the gifts to be used for scholarships for students in WCU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
Mission Health System previously has contributed significant financial support to help establish WCU’s physical therapy program and its program in certified registered nurse anesthesiology, joining other regional hospitals, medical centers and health care organizations comprising the WNC Health Network in efforts to address a shortage in those health care professions.
Raise Your Hand 2011, a fundraiser for the Western North Carolina Aids Project, will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Doubletree Hotel in Biltmore.
From 6 to 8 p.m., a silent and live auction will be accompanied by a cocktail reception. Dinner begins at 8 p.m., while the live auction continues.
Works of Heart, the theme for this year’s auction, pays tribute to those who donate their time, talents, and resources to help those living with HIV/AIDS. This being the 30th anniversary of what we now know as HIV/AIDS, the theme also recognizes the healthcare professionals, and caregivers, who have touched the lives of so many.
WNCAP has a tradition of holding a juried competition each year to select its signature piece of art. This year, the honor goes to Hope Rising, by Constance Vlahoulis. The striking oil on canvas piece will be up for live auction. Bids for 20 pieces of art can also be made online until Sept. 18 at www.wncap.org/ryh.
The cocktail reception will feature food stations offering the specialties of four Asheville chefs. Each chef will also donate a unique food service offering as part of the live auction.
Tickets are $125. For more information, call 828.335.6680 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Care about what new roads should be built or which existing ones should be widened or redesigned? Or perhaps the bigger question when it comes to some of the region’s controversial roads, which ones should be nixed?
Here’s your chance to be heard: A public hearing on road building priorities in the six far western counties will be held 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, at the Chestnut Tree Inn, 37 Tsalagi Road, in Cherokee.
The hearing will help determine which roads land a spot on a bigger to-do list: A Top 25 for the entire 10-county division of the state Department of Transportation. These projects, in turn, eventually vie for funding statewide.
The list is likely to figure heavily in whether the Southern Loop moves forward. The Southern Loop would be a new major highway bisecting Jackson County with the intention of diverting traffic from N.C. 107.
At 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 26, the Technical Coordinating Committee, comprised of local government staff, meets at Southwestern Community College in Franklin. The road-list public hearing takes place before a Transportation Advisory Committee, made up of elected regional leaders. Both meetings are open to the public.
828.586.1962 ext 212, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Editor’s note: North Carolina legislators have voted to place a proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage on the ballot in the May 2012 primary (see related story). The Smoky Mountain News asked Marilyn Jody, a professor emeritus at Western Carolina University and the author of a memoir dealing with her experiences as a lesbian and as a teacher, to write about her feelings on the action by legislators.
By Marilyn Jody
This week I wrote a letter to all the members of my family, telling them that once again it would be necessary for me to speak out in public. And Joanne called her children to ask if they had any reservations about being exposed, once again, as children of a lesbian mother.
We were referring to the simple fact that we had been asked to write a response to the decision of the North Carolina legislature to place an anti-gay amendment on the ballot. Once again we were reminded what it means to live your life in fear. Would our family suffer? Would we suffer because we were speaking out against discrimination, because some people still don’t understand?
It is difficult to say to people I know and respect, people of conscience and good will, that voting to deny the civil rights of any group of people is wrong. The Constitution was written to protect those rights. Most people in this state and in this country already believe that. But when convictions about same-sex marriage, a matter of personal belief, come into conflict with belief in “liberty and justice” for all, the result is a painful conflict of conscience. We have freedom of the press; we have freedom of religion and freedom of speech; we have the right to privacy. We don’t have the right to deny others those same rights. Not in America.
SEE ALSO: Same-sex marriage heads to the ballot
Same-sex orientation is not a choice, anymore than being left handed is a choice. I know that as I know I have brown eyes. But that isn’t the question. How to live within that reality is a choice that Joanne and I have had to make over and over again in our more than 70 years of life. We have chosen to live in a sacred, committed relationship, one that began more than 50 years ago.
We were married in Massachusetts three weeks after same-sex marriage first became legal in this country, a civil contract that is only symbolic, since we still have none of the rights and protections for our family that heterosexual couples have. We live with the reality that North Carolina law already excludes us from legal protections that are given to other parents and step-parents. As a mother and grandmother, Joanne continues to live with the fear that her children and their families could be hurt because of who she is, who we are.
That should not be so in America.
For most of my life, I lived in silence, in fear that my family would reject me, that my friends would desert me, that I would lose my job, even that I might be accused of criminal behavior or be physically assaulted. It was not until I taught a class on gay and lesbian literature at Western Carolina University that I was emboldened to write a book about that fear, the same one my students were still forced to endure as Joanne and I had done our whole lives.
In that book, Letter to Emily: A Memoir, I wrote about the hurtful experiences my students encountered simply because they had enrolled in the class — the young man, now homeless, whose mother had rejected him when he told her he was gay, who told him she prayed to God to let him die rather than live in such sin. I wrote about the students I had known who committed suicide because they had been taught to hate themselves, taught by their families, their churches, their schools, and their government.
That should not be so in America
In writing and publishing a book about my life, I hoped to save others from some of the injury done to me and others by prejudice and misguided conviction. That is still my hope in writing this article. Given the choice, most people of faith would never choose to allow their beliefs to harm or hurt others.
But this proposed amendment to the Constitution does do harm — to our state, to our families, to all our lives. Same-sex marriage is already prohibited in North Carolina by state statute. What the proposed amendment does is further the political cause of a limited few and mislead fair-minded people into voting to rob ordinary people of the dignity and respect accorded to every other law-abiding citizen of this state. Millions of dollars will be spent on political ads in North Carolina over the next few months, promoting discrimination against people whose sexual orientation is different from that of the majority. Many young people will be reading and listening, feeling despair, not hope for their future. This amendment will do nothing to protect our families; it can destroy them.
I wrote a letter to my representative in Raleigh this week, thanking him for voting against placing the anti-gay amendment on the ballot. And I wrote to the Bishop of this Diocese of the Episcopal Church, the church I belong to, thanking him for signing the statement of church leaders in North Carolina opposing this effort to violate the civil rights of North Carolina citizens. I was truly grateful that I could actually speak freely to both state and church on the subject of my rights as a citizen and as a person of faith. That had not always been possible. But that could change if the ballot box is used as a weapon against a minority whose rights are at stake.
That should not be so in America.
(Dr. Marilyn Jody, professor emeritus at Western Carolina University, has taught literature and writing in multiple university settings that range from Ohio, Indiana, and New York to Alaska and the People’s Republic of China. She is a speaker on gay and lesbian issues in a variety of venues, including national conferences, schools, colleges, and churches. In recent months she has done signings of her book, Letter to Emily: A Memoir, at City Lights Book Store in Sylva and Malaprop’s Book Store in Asheville as fundraisers in support of equality for the LGBT community. Her partner, Joanne Cleary, is a retired teacher and coach, the mother of two children and grandmother of four. She has been an activist in support of LGBT rights both in North Carolina and New York for more than 40 years. Marilyn and Joanne were married in Massachusetts in 2004, three weeks after same-sex marriage became legal in any state, 48 years after they first met.)
A 12-acre empty tract beside Super Wal-Mart in Waynesville has sold for $3.5 million, slated for a Michael’s craft store, Pet Smart and new location for Belk department store.
Belk will move from beside Ingle’s grocery store to the, much larger, 85,000-square-foot spot in the high traffic Wal-Mart shopping complex.
The site was original slated for a Home Depot. When the economy tanked, Home Depot changed its mind about opening a new store and has been trying to off-load the tract. Home Depot did well for itself, selling the site for more than it bought it for, according to property transactions.
The Waynesville Recreation Center will be closed for routine maintenance work through Sept. 18. The center will reopen on Sept. 19 at 5 a.m.
The pool will be closed through Sept. 25. The lap pool will reopen Sept. 26 at 5:30 a.m.; the water park will reopen at 11 a.m. Both pools will be resurfaced and a new deck installed during the closing period.
828.456.2030 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
MedWest Haywood Home Care Services will offer flu shots at the Home Care building from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday on a first-come, first-served, walk-in basis. No appointment is necessary. The Home Care building is located directly behind MedWest Haywood. The cost is $25.
While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three main flu strains.
Medicare and Medicare Advantage will be accepted with a photo identification card. No commercial insurance or Medicaid will be accepted; however, individuals can pay for the shot and file for reimbursement. No shots will be given to anyone younger than 18.
For more information, call 828.452.8292.
The Town of Waynesville is asking residents and businesses to take part in the Adopt-A-Street program. Volunteers can choose a street in town and be responsible for picking up litter on that street. For their efforts, a street sign is erected with their name, or business name, recognizing their efforts.
Gloves, vests, garbage bags and blue bags for recyclable items are furnished by the town. Adopters are asked to clean up a minimum of four times per year, but may do so weekly or monthly. Adopters must be at least 18 years old and sign a contract.
Currently, 89 streets have been adopted under the program. Individuals, groups, churches or businesses interested in participating can contact Eddie Ward at 828.356.1172.
The 12th annual Diversity Week will take place at Western Carolina University Sept. 18-24. A series of events, designed to help the university become a more inclusive community, include a picnic, speakers and Mountain Heritage Day. An International Day of Peace, and sessions on the Saudi Arabian Experience and Wicca and Paganism are included this year.
Readings by local residents of the U.S. Constitution will take place Sept. 17 in Maggie Valley, Cashiers and Cherokee.
This is part of a nationwide effort to revitalize civic culture. The event in Cashiers begins at 11 a.m. at the Village Green with the presentation of the colors. A complimentary lunch follows the reading.
“We Read the Constitution” gets under way at 3 p.m. at the Maggie Valley Pavilion. The public is invited to read small sections of the Constitution out loud in the forum. There will be Patriotic music, children’s activities and crafts, and more.
The Rev. Dan Mathews will share his experience of being in New York during the 9/11 attacks 10 years ago during a Live and Learn event on at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22. The program will be in the Reynolds Center of the Foundation for Evangelism at Lake Junaluska.
Mathews was pastor of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church at that time, located a few blocks from the site of the attack, and was there when the planes struck the towers. Mathews and wife Deaner developed The Swag, a resort in Haywood County.
828.456.4523.
A workshop on a plan to build truck turn-around locations and information stations on U.S. 64 between Franklin and Highlands in Macon County will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Cullasaja Gorge Rescue and Fire Department.
Large trucks are currently banned from using the road between Franklin and Highlands, which is a narrow two-lane with sharp curves and a steep grade. Despite warning signs, some trucks do use this route.
The state Department of Transportation is considering building additional pull-overs at the U.S. 23/441 and N.C. 28 interchange, plus put truck turn-arounds at three other intersections on U.S. 64.
919.707.6012 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Beginner Spanish is being offered at Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus Monday evenings beginning Sept. 12.
The course will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. through Nov. 14, and will provide the foundation for future levels. The focus of this level is to learn proper pronunciation and the basic structure of the language. Present-tense verb conjugations are considered, as well as the correct formation of sentences, negative sentences and questions. Latin American cultural difference will be discussed, which would help those planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking Latin American country. Alice Rainone will be the instructor.
828.339.4497.
Seconds after I heard the doorbell, my little feet hit the stone floor landing that served to separate the front door from the living room. The cold temperature of the floor on my feet meant it was colder outside. Thanksgiving was only two days away, it was dark and Dad was late coming home from work.
It was my father’s good job with the railroad that let my mom stay home and take care of us kids. All I knew is that he left for work early in the morning and got home before it was dark; I was 7 years old then.
I wrapped both hands around the doorknob, turned, and the big metal door opened. There stood three men in full suits; they were the darkest clothes I ever did see. “Is Mrs. Corbeil home?” one asked. “I’ll get her,” I replied.
Mom was on her way from the kitchen because she heard the doorbell ring too. She invited the men in on the landing. I’ll always remember that smell, a man’s smell. The businessman’s pungent odor from the mixture of fumes from heavy cigarette smoke and the leftover cover scent cologne purchased at a discount store. The smell still resonates decades later; for I am now a man.
“Mrs. Corbeil, we are from the Railroad and we need to tell you of an awful accident that happened in the yard,” a rough and choked voice said. Neither of the three would look at me, the man who broke the silence first reached out with his hand to my mom.
“There was an explosion at the yard, four men were hurt and Ed, Ed was badly burned and did not survive.” Edward M. was my father. I took off running through the living room and down the hall. My bedroom was the last one at the end. When I reached my room I busted out crying, drove my head with open mouth into a pillow wailing, wailing like there was no tomorrow, wishing that doorbell never rang ... crying.
In our world today we have access to professional psychologists and counselors for the young and adults. There are organized support groups that can help a spouse begin to reason with the heartache, loneliness, anger, and guilt that can follow a person the rest of their lives from a tragic life changing event like the lost of a parent, significant other or child These structured support services often require financial resources to gain access.
Ten years ago 343 firemen and paramedics were killed from the attacks on the World Trade Center. A total of 2,819 people lost their lives either at one of the two Towers, at the Pentagon Building or on United Airlines flight 93 crashing in Pennsylvania. It is estimated on New York Mag.com that 3,051 children lost a parent.
A decade later, I will be honoring those who lost their lives by bicycling 10 days on a memorial ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway. In our own region of the world there was another tragic explosion and fire that took the life of firemen Captain Jeff Bowen on July 28, 2011.
I have teamed with the Mission Hospital’s Healthcare Foundation to provide a path to accept donations to build the Fallen Firefighters Fund that will provide financial support for his surviving wife and three children. The days, months and years ahead will be accompanied with second-guessing, fear, and self-doubt. The Bowen family will need human support to cope with the loss of a husband and father; to live again sooner than later, to build self-worth and achieve total forgiveness moving forward.
If you find it in your heart to take action and join us, thank you! There is a link to a secured web site that will take you directly to the 9/11 Memorial Bike Ride with more information. http://support.missionfoundation.org/site/PageNavigator/911MemorialBikeRide.html. Once on the web page there is a link to a news article about the July 28 fire, along with buttons on the left side to follow my journey or learn more about our team, and donate.
Come join me in this 9/11 Memorial Bike Ride by showing your monetary support, or meet me at a Milepost and ride with me; add the link above to your favorites on your web browser then click on the button “Follow Keith on Twitter” for updates of the trip.
To mail a donation make your check payable to Mission Healthcare Foundation with a written Memo message of “9/11 Memorial Bike Ride” Mail a check to: Mission Healthcare Foundation, 980 Hendersonville Road, Suite C; Asheville, NC 28803-1740. To donate by telephone call Ms. Shaana Norton at 828.213.1052.
Keith Corbeil is a father, performance consultant, and competitive tri-athlete and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To the Editor:
In a Quinnipiac University polling (8/16-8/27), 29 percent of Americans responded that they couldn’t formulate an opinion of the Tea Party because they hadn’t heard enough about it. Following are the core beliefs of the Tea Party.
The Tea Party is a political phenomena of the 21st century. Independently, throughout this nation, like-minded individuals began meeting to discuss America’s massive government spending and unprecedented debt. Lack of transparency and accountability, a failing economy, unsustainable entitlement programs, and a financial crisis triggered by the government mortgage giants of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac served as alarms that awakened people to the need for fiscal responsibility in our government.
In addition to fiscal responsibility, the Tea Party believes in the values of constitutionally limited government. We respect the original meaning and intent of the founders. The Constitution provides for a system of checks and balances in order to prevent usurpation of power; backdoor legislation by executive order can lead to corruption. We believe in our inalienable rights and we pledge our allegiance to America. We defend our values and freedoms and believe in the exceptionalism of America.
Besides fiscal responsibility and constitutionally limited government, the Tea Party champions a free market economy, the basis of America’s prosperity. We are against federal bailouts of corporations. We believe that financial institutions should regulate student loans, not the government. The free market system should prevail; the government should not be choosing winners and losers, as they have been with car companies, financial institutions, and soon to be, healthcare. Free markets should be free, not stifled and controlled by executive ordered regulations.
In an attempt to restore fiscal sanity to D.C., the Tea Party has shown a spotlight on out-of-control spending and skyrocketing national debt. The Tea Party has alerted the nation to unconstitutional legislation and usurpation of executive power. The Tea Party believes that an unbridled free market system, not socialism, will restore the American economy to its former status.
The simple truth is that, for far too long, American voters have relied on what they believed to be the innate integrity of our elected leaders, Democrats and Republicans. Unfortunately, both parties have let us down. The members of the Tea Party are no longer inattentive or gullible. We are concerned citizens who want to preserve what is best in our nation for both present and future generations.
Gail Chapman, President
Mountain Patriots Tea Party
Macon County
To the Editor:
We need a plan that will help grow jobs in our district. The message to the world and the nation is simple: Western North Carolina is open for your business. We need to ease the rules that choke the life out of small businesses. We need to limit the burden of federal bureaucracy. Smaller government creates jobs.
We need to send the message loud and clear and remind Washington that the government serves the people, not the other way around. We need to grow the economy and stop growing the government.
Job creation in our district and in all of America depends on the spirit of enterprise. Education provides the knowledge to start a business. Starting a business fuels jobs. Jobs give people money to spend. More money spent means a healthy economy.
Maybe the only way to make sure the president will understand what we are saying is to make sure he joins the ranks of the unemployed next November. He is ignorant, with no sense of how to make things better, and arrogant, with no sense of his own massive failures. His combination of ignorance and arrogance is more than we should be asked to bear.
Christopher J. Petrella
Republican candidate for U.S. Congress
District 11
Spindale
To the Editor:
It’s good to see Haywood County leaders talking sense about landslide hazard mapping instead of stoking the fires of misinformation and conspiracy that exist in other parts of the region. The county commissioners are to be commended for recognizing the value that landslide hazard mapping brings in terms of public safety, landowner education, and the easy-to-understand need to use different building techniques in different areas. This is a common sense approach that elected leaders in the region — particularly those in the state House and Senate — should adopt.
The landslide hazard mapping program, which was just eliminated by the new legislature, was about providing the kind of information Haywood County leaders want, information that would protect residents and protect the significant investments they make in their homes. By helping people avoid high hazard landslide areas and debris flow pathways or helping them identify areas where they need to build differently, these maps would also help protect our beautiful mountains, forests, and rivers from the long-lasting scars of landslides.
Those who allege these maps were a back door to regulation that would prohibit development are more interested in their self-interested political agenda than the safety of their neighbors and the welfare of their community. Let’s put community and safety first and ask the legislature to bring the landslide hazard mapping program back.
Julie V. Mayfield,
Executive Director
Western North Carolina Alliance
Asheville
To the Editor:
Regarding the editor’s article, “It’s time to approve dealers at Harrah’s casino” (SMN, Sept. 7-13), I agree the time is now for the North Carolina to approve live dealers. This could be a win-win situation for both the Cherokee and the state.
Live dealers would supposedly increase Harrah’s revenue which would mean more money for the Cherokee and increased job opportunities. Plus, if the state were to get a cut of the new revenue generated from the dealer-approved gambling, the state would also benefit.
Of course gambling (whether at casinos or the state lottery) can be an addiction to some people, just like alcohol and cigarettes. The user will satisfy their vices somehow or somewhere. In my opinion the answer is not to ban these choices or vices.
However, I disagree that Cherokee should have the sole privilege or monopoly on gambling. Competition is a good thing. I also believe video poker should be allowed throughout the state. I am a military veteran and it is the video gambling that keeps the veteran private clubs (i.e. American Legion, VFW, etc.) open and operating. Our veterans (and their families) have earned and deserve a club where they can go for camaraderie.
So now is the time to address gambling not only at Cherokee, but throughout the state. Bottom line is gambling is gambling, whether at Harrah’s, state lottery, or video gambling throughout the state and can be a source of revenue to benefit the majority.
Ron Rookstool
Maggie Valley
Local author Chris McMillan will read from her new memoir at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.
Backwards Off the Curb is the story of McMillan who, at 54, decided to leave the comforts of her suburban life and head out on a cross-country pilgrimage of self-discovery.
McMillan was a well-traveled Air Force wife who ran retail stores in Tallahassee, Florida for 20 years. She found herself stagnating in her daily routine, so she packed up her van and embarked on a 10,000-mile journey to “find her sanity.”
The result is 207 pages of feisty Southern feminine soul-searching, memory-strolling, and self-reflection.
828.456.6000.
In celebration of National Library Card Sign-Up Month, the Haywood County Public Library is joining with other North Carolina libraries to urge citizens to use the smartest card in your wallet.
Haywood County Public Library will be celebrating Library Card Sign-Up Month this September with the following events:
• Write a love letter to your library. Entries will be judged by librarians and prizes will be awarded to the first- and second-place winners. Entries must be submitted by Monday, Sept. 19.
• Show your library card Sept. 26 to 30 at Blue Ridge Books and News in Waynesville, and receive a 10-percent discount on any purchase (excluding newspapers).
• All first-time library card applicants will receive a canvas book bag the week of Sept. 26.
• Young adults and children are invited to enter a “Why do you love your library?” video contest. Entries must be submitted by Monday, Sept. 19. The winning video will be shown on the Haywood County Government Access Station and on the television in the lower level of the Waynesville library.
Novelist Pamela Duncan will read from and discuss her novels at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Jackson County Public Library. Duncan was born in Asheville and raised in Black Mountain, Swannanoa and Shelby, and currently lives in Cullowhee, where she teaches creative writing at Western Carolina University. Her first novel, Moon Women, was a Southeast Booksellers Association Award Finalist, and her second novel, Plant Life, won the 2003 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction. She is the recipient of the 2007 James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South, awarded by the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Her third novel, The Big Beautiful, was published in March 2007. She is currently at work on The Wilder Place, a novel set in western North Carolina. Duncan will read selections from her work and discuss the process of writing. A question-and-answer session and an autographing will follow.
828.586.2016.
Sharyn McCrumb, author of the Ballad Series of novels, will read from her new book, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.
In this new novel, New York Times bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb uncovers new revelations about one of the most famous mountain ballads of all time.
McCrumb returned last year to her critically acclaimed Appalachian Ballad series after an eight-year hiatus. Now, from the pen of this award-winning Southern writer comes the story of one of the most famous mountain ballads of all time, The Ballad of Tom Dooley. Although millions may have heard the ballad, made famous by the Kingston Trio’s classic folk song, McCrumb’s research has uncovered a new twist in the tale that is certain to surprise those who think they already know the whole story.
The tale of Tom Dooley recounts a tragedy in the North Carolina mountains in the aftermath of the Civil War. Laura Foster, a simple country girl, went missing and was later found murdered and buried in a shallow grave on a mountainside. Her lover, Tom, was the prime suspect and hanged for the crime. However, Tom was also involved in a long-time affair with a married woman, Ann Melton, who was jailed as a possible accomplice to the crime after her cousin, Pauline Foster, reported that Ann had showed her where the missing girl’s body was buried.
This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Reserved seating is available with the advanced purchase of The Ballad of Tom Dooley. For more information, call 828.456.6000.
David Joy, the author of the new book Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey, will hold a reading and signing at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. The event is hosted by Blue Ridge Books and Waynesville Fly Shop.
Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey delves into David Joy’s obsession with fish. Feeling more comfortable with fish than with humans, he works to reveal why he is inherently defined by the piscine world. Topics range from environmentalism to family, from Rousseau’s “noble savage” to the ones that got away, from places that remain wild to the worn cork of rods, and from the beauty of native trout to the art of fly tying.
Not only a book about fishing but also a story of life, Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey is the tale of one man’s venture into the wild to find understanding.
828.456.6000.
A river-sweep cleanup of the Tuckasegee starting at the new CJ Harris boat ramp in Dillsboro is set for Thursday, Sept. 22, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A rain makeup date is Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the same times.
The vast majority of the work will need to take place from boats because of the dense stream-bank growth. There will be a couple of flat-bottomed boats available, but canoeists and people willing to wade the river’s edge are needed.
Drinks, T-shirts, tote bags and trash bags will be provided; bring gloves and waders.
Sponsored by the Tuckaseigee Chapter of Trout Unlimited. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Get out your gloves and pitch in cleaning up litter from Richland Creek in Waynesville as part of the North Carolina Big Sweep.
Haywood County Big Sweep will be Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event is part of a statewide one-day event to pickup litter along North Carolina’s waterways.
Haywood Community College’s students in the Natural Resources Department will lead the way along Richland Creek from the Russ Avenue bridge to Lake Junaluska. Volunteers should plan to meet at 9 a.m. in the Bi-Lo Grocery Store parking lot off Russ Avenue in Waynesville. For more information call Shannon Rabby at 828.627.4592.
Other Big Sweep opportunities and contacts:
• Jackson County is set for Oct. 1; James Jackson, Tuckaseegee Outfitters, 828.508.3377.
• Macon County also is Oct. 1; meet at Gooder Grafix on East Main Street in Franklin at 9 a.m.; Guy Gooder, 828.421.4845.
• Swain County has two Big Sweeps, on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. Nantahala River put in at 11 a.m. on Oct. 1 or shuttle from the Nantahala Outdoor Center. On Oct. 2, volunteers meet at the Swain County Administration Building at 9 a.m.; Laurie McLaren Perkins, 828.488.9735.
It requires getting a little wet, but that’s all part of the fun when the Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood County Schools hold the annual Kids in the Creek program.
The event is for Haywood County eighth graders and will be held on the Pigeon River in Canton Sept. 19, 21 and 22. Instructors focus on water quality and the issues that affect our ability to swim, fish and drink the water from our rivers and streams.
Students rotate through four stations: fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, water chemistry and the Enviroscape watershed model. The students, and their teachers, learn about water pollution and the ecological interactions occurring within a watershed.
The public is welcome to attend the event, held at the Canton Recreation Park. Two sessions are held each day, 9 a.m. to 11:10 am, and 12:00 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.
This is the 14th year Haywood Waterways and Haywood County Schools have hosted Kids in the Creek. Over its history, more than 9,000 students have been through the program.
Other sponsors include the Pigeon River Fund, Haywood Soil and Water Conservation District, the towns of Canton, Clyde and Waynesville, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, Evergreen Packaging Group, Tennessee Valley Authority, Trout Unlimited (Cataloochee Chapter), University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Tenn., and Best Buy.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.haywoodwaterways.org for more information and to watch a video of Kids in the Creek.
Outdoor enthusiasts can look forward to a two-day WNC OutdoorAthlon this fall in Macon County, Oct. 8-9. Activities include a triathlon, 5k, rock-climbing wall, disc-golf clinics, paddling demos and more.
The slogan is “Live, Love, and Learn about the Mountains of North Carolina.” This family friendly event will feature free clinics for all things outdoors — from fly-fishing sessions with some of the area’s most respected guides, to kayak demos and a rock-climbing wall.
The WNC OutdoorAthlon will feature an interactive kids zone and competitive Kid’s Duathlon for little adventures, ages 6-12.
Visit www.outdorathlon.com.
Registration is open for a new half-marathon race taking place on the Cherokee Indian Reservation Saturday, Oct. 15, starting at 8 a.m. The day’s events also feature a 5k race.
Proceeds will benefit the Madison Hornbuckle Children’s Cancer Foundation, providing funding for families with children being treated for cancer.
Both races begin at the Cherokee Fairgrounds. The course traverses through downtown Cherokee and winds through some of the beautiful mountain areas of the Great Smokies during the colorful fall season. The half marathon course will pass through virtually every community in Cherokee, with one significant climb at mile six. The runners will experience Cherokee culture throughout the entire course, and fully staffed aid stations will be provided.
Registration is open at www.cherokeeharvesthalf.com. Runners will receive a long-sleeve technical running shirt, swag bag and post-race entertainment. Entry fees are $30 for the half marathon and $20 for the 5K through Sept. 30.
The event is being produced by Glory Hound Events.
Training for leaders and activists in the conservation movement will explore the deeper issues of ethics, values and the root causes of ecological issues facing society from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 in Sylva.
“The training aims to empower you to create similar dialogs in your towns and workplaces, getting people talking about environmental problems in deeper, more meaningful ways,” according to Rob Hawk, director of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Jackson and Swain counties.
The “Leopold Land Ethics” Program is rooted in noted conservationist’s Aldo Leopold’s own method of engaging his family and students in developing a personal land ethic — observing the natural world through scientific inquiry, participating in purposeful work on the land and reflecting on their experiences.
Held at St. John’s Episcopal Church. 828.586.4009 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Learn how to grow that lucrative cash-plant, ginseng, at home.
The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service and the Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance will offer a free seminar on ginseng production for homeowners.
You’ll learn about state regulations for growing and hunting ginseng, plant physiology, present and historical, and compare Asian to American ginseng. More practically, you’ll find out about site selection and preparation, sowing, harvesting and drying the roots and seed stratification.
Seminars will be held Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. until noon at the library in Cashiers; Sept. 20 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Jackson County extension center, room 234; and Sept. 26 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Swain extension center (old Almond School) in room 110. 828.586.4009 or 828.488.3848.
Shutterbug alert: Balsam Mountain Trust in Sylva will hold a digital photography class Sept. 24, from 3 p.m. until sunset.
Students will learn both composition and digital “darkroom” techniques. There will be both classroom instruction and a field trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The instructors are Waynesville residents Michael Skinner and Ed Kelly, both outdoor enthusiasts and talented photographers.
You’ll need your own camera, memory card, and please do wear clothing appropriate to the season and for a field trip. Only six students or fewer will be in the class; cost is $65 each. Held at Balsam Mountain Preserve in Jackson County.
828.631.1062 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The second-annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium at Western Carolina University will be held Thursday, Oct. 20, and Friday, Oct. 21, in the Grandroom of the A.K. Hinds University Center.
The Rooted in the Mountains event was created to raise awareness of the intersection of environmental, health and indigenous issues related to mountain destruction. This year’s program includes a 6 p.m. Thursday address by Dennis Martinez, an advocate for an indigenous perspective of ecology, and music beginning at 7:30 p.m. by Sheila Kay Adams, a longtime storyteller and performer of traditional Appalachian ballads.
Cultural historian Jeff Biggers will start Friday’s session with a 9 a.m. keynote address. Biggers, a coal miner’s grandson and outspoken critic of mountaintop removal in Appalachia, is the author of nonfiction works “Reckoning at Eagle Creek,” “The United States of Appalachia” and “In the Sierra Madre.” The symposium also includes a Thursday reception, Friday lunch, academic presentations and a facilitated discussion.
Reduced-rate hotel rooms at the Sylva Inn and the Holiday Inn Express in Dillsboro and an early registration fee of $75 are available through Sunday, Sept. 25. After that, the symposium registration fee rises to $125. The symposium is free to WCU students. The Biggers address, part of WCU’s Art and Cultural Events Series, is free to all.
Lisa Lefler, the event’s organizer, said the Rooted in the Mountains symposium is for individuals interested in Native American studies, health and environmental issues.
“Those who are interested in how the continued destruction of mountain landscapes affect us should attend, as well as those who would like to learn more about the intersection of Native ways of understanding with these issues,” said Lefler, an anthropologist and director of WCU’s Culturally Based Native Health Programs. “This event is for all who are rooted in the mountains and value our common ground.”
Lefler organized the inaugural event in honor of her mother, the late Jean Nations Lefler, and her uncle, the late Dale Nations. The siblings were “saddened in their last years about what they perceived as destruction to the mountains,” Lefler said. Though only a year old, Rooted in the Mountains is quickly evolving, and three other institutions – Berea College, Appalachian State University and Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee – have expressed interest in alternately hosting it.
Lefler also organized an August event on the WCU campus intended to help sharpen the symposium’s focus. A panel of Native elders visited WCU to participate in dialogues on “Native science,” which respects the natural laws of interdependence, or phrased alternatively, a universal law of interconnectedness. Panel members encouraged those in attendance to shed their personal and career identities and their “tacit infrastructures” – beliefs so ingrained we unconsciously base our paradigms on them without questioning why – so they could examine the connection between health and the environment in new ways.
To register for the Rooted in the Mountains symposium, go online to rootedinthemtns.wcu.edu or call 828.227.7397. For additional information about Rooted in the Mountains, contact Lefler at 828.227.2164 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or contact Pamela Duncan in the WCU Department of English at 828.227.3926 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy is challenging outdoor enthusiasts to support land conservation simply by hiking. The Hiking Challenge encourages all those who enjoy the beauty of Western North Carolina’s mountains to explore and discover the breathtaking scenery of the conservancy’s preserved lands, up close and personal.
By completing eight hikes on the conserved lands, hikers can earn rewards while having fun outdoors. Hikes range from easy to moderate difficulty, and are between one and four miles in length.
Completers of the eight hikes will earn a badge of honor: the conservation’s exclusive white squirrel embroidered hiking patch. The white squirrel represents the local wildlife oddity unique to Henderson and Transylvania counties, the conservation’s primary protection areas. Those who complete the challenge will also earn a $20 gift certificate for free hiking gear at the Hendersonville location of the Mast General Store.
Hikes may be completed at the participant’s own pace and schedule, and there is no deadline to complete the eight hikes. Challenge hikes may be completed individually or as part of monthly guided outings led by conservation staff and volunteers.
The challenge hikes include scenic locations such as the 360-degree view from the summit of Bearwallow Mountain, and the old growth forests of the conservation’s 600-acre Florence Nature Preserve. Also featured in the challenge are seven waterfalls, including the newly opened Connestee Falls Park near Brevard and three waterfalls in DuPont State Forest.
Participants have the opportunity to hike within private conservation properties otherwise not open to the public, such as the 3,100-acre Green River Preserve. www.carolinamountain.org/hikingchallenge
The Land Trust of the Little Tennessee will hold a Stewardship Workday at Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in southern Macon County on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. until noon.
This will be a general “cleanup” day. September and October will be busy months at Tessentee, with the second-annual Migration Celebration for sixth graders scheduled in late September into early October, and the annual Youth Conservation Field Day for seventh graders in scheduled in late October.
Tasks include: updating the signage at the entrance; mowing/ weedeating/ trimming along roads and trails; cleanup in and around the house and sheds; tree plantation maintenance; maintenance of blue bird boxes; and more. Drinks and snacks will be provided, and some tools, too, but please hand pruners, loppers, weedeaters possible. Please dress appropriately and safely — long pants, gloves.
828.524.2711.
As part of their popular Eco Tour Outreach Program, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust hold two elk tours in Cataloochee Valley with a Smokies elk specialist will on Thursday, Sept. 22, and Wednesday, Sept. 28.
The event includes a picnic dinner; the Sept. 22 trip includes a “seated” presentation of the elk, the Sept. 28 trip features a walking tour.
This is “rut” season, when the male elk, or bull, competes for dominance and the right to mate with particular female elks, or cows. An important, and quite enchanting, part of the process is the bull warning call to other males, known as the “bugle.” The call, which has been described by many as eerie or haunting, provides an audible cue that fall has arrived at Cataloochee Valley.
The cost is $10 for HCLT members and $35 for new participants, which includes an HCLT membership. Space is limited.
828.526.1111 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
