An exuberant celebration of Russian heritage takes the stage at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

The Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival, part of WCU’s 2010-11 Galaxy of Stars Series, features traditional music, song and dance. A balalaika ensemble performs folk, gypsy and classical music on authentic instruments and in traditional costume.

Nikolai Massenkoff, born in a White Russian community in Shanghai and placed in an orphanage at age 3, leads the troupe. Massenkoff arrived in San Francisco at age 12 and eventually studied speech, music and drama. Inspired by love of his Russian heritage, he founded the group in 1975. A bass-baritone, he has performed throughout the United States and around the world at venues including Carnegie Hall; the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea; and Epcot.

On Friday, Oct. 22, Western Carolina University will mark five years of art and entertainment at the Fine and Performing Arts Center. The gala will begin at 6 p.m. with an outdoor cocktail reception. Festivities move indoors at 7 p.m. for a performance by WCU’s resident Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, followed by a 7:30 p.m. curtain time for “’S Wonderful,” a theatrical revue of songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Tickets are available in several price tiers and are on sale now.

Tickets for the Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival are $25 for adults; $20 for senior citizens and WCU faculty and staff; and $5 for children and students.

828.227.2479 or fapac.wcu.edu.

The world premiere of Gary Carden’s “Signs and Wonders” and a special performance of “The Bright Forever” will take place at The Performing Arts Center in Highlands. Both plays will be presented starting 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, and Saturday, Oct. 2; and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3.

Along with the performances of Carla Gates as Shelby Jean in “Signs and Wonders” and Shirley Williams as Fanny Crosby in “The Bright Forever,” Carden will exhibit some of his “stories” that have been put to canvas.

John Williams researched and arranged the music for this production.

“The music that comes to us from Appalachia often times is difficult to determine its origin,” Williams said. “‘Signs and Wonders,’ also referred to as ‘I Believe in Being Ready,’ is such a piece. Gary Carden’s most recent play has taken bits and pieces of the lyrics from this very old gospel hymn and intertwined it throughout the monologue.”

In “The Bright Forever,” Fanny Crosby continues to inspire the Christian community to this day although she died in 1915. Although blind, she is known to have written over eight thousand hymns and volumes of poetry.

The production is a joint project between the Highlands Cashiers Players and the Performing Arts Center in Highlands.

$20. 828.526.9047.

A Fall Craft Festival will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Old Mill 1886 in Cherokee.

Artists from all over the Southeast will gather to demonstrate and sell their handcrafted works. Artists will include wood carvers, blacksmith, stone carver, Pow Wow traders, quilters, gourd and stained glass artists, jewelry designers, Appalachian crafters and authors. The festival will also feature live music and mouthwatering BBQ.

Step into The Old Mill and you step back into an era from the past. You will find a country store chock full with fresh ground cornmeal, preserves, country ham, stone ground grits, chow chow, local honey and cider.

The 1930s room is stocked with handcrafted items from more than 70 Cherokee artists, soy candles, local made soap and china. In the 1886 room, treasure hunters will find antiques and one of a kind items.

Bring your chair and plan to stay awhile.

The Old Mill 1886 is located one mile south of Cherokee at 3082 U.S. 441.

Admission is free.

828.497.6536

Talented artists and crafters from all over the Southeast will sell their handmade products and offer demonstrations at The Maggie Valley October Leaves Craft Show. The show takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 10, at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.

Available artwork will include pottery, photography, hand-painted murals, stained glass, jewelry from gemstones to polymer clay bead art, dichroic glass designers, floral arrangements, wood turners, wood crafter products including fretwork and scrolling, crocheted and knitted items, homemade jams and jellies, artful clothing, leather and deerskin pouches, kitchen accessories, quilts of all sizes, soy candles and soaps and much more.

In addition to crafts, this annual event will feature piped music throughout the day.

Admission is free.

www.maggievalleycraftshows.com or 828.497.9425.

Enjoy a fine array of arts and crafts originating in the mountains at the Church Street Art & Craft Show, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, in downtown Waynesville.

Held during the height of the color season in the heart of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, the Church Street Art & Craft Show attracts more than 20,000 visitors. More than 120 juried artists and crafters and food vendors from throughout the southeast will line Waynesville’s Main Street to help celebrate the festival.

What began as a small gathering of artists and crafters on Church Street, the event has grown into one of the finest one-day shows in Western North Carolina. A juried show, the 27th annual Church Street Art and Craft Show will showcase two- and three- dimensional art. Art includes colored-pencil, oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels; porcelain; sculpture, pottery, woodworking, weaving, basketry, quilting, handmade jewelry and wearable art.

There will be art and craft demonstrations, professional mountain music and dance, and international and local foods. Entertainment includes Whitewater Bluegrass, Balsam Range, Honey Holler, Montreat Pipes and Drums, Southern Appalachian Cloggers, Dixie Darlings, Green Valley Cloggers, Fines Creek Flatfooters, Ashegrove Garland Dancers, Randy Orwig, the Living Statue and Mr. Tom, the Balloon Man.

Downtownwaynesville.com, 828.456.3517 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Theater students from Western Carolina University will present a light look at relationships with “Romantic Fools” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 6 to 9, in Niggli Theatre.

With influences including Monty Python, the Marx Brothers, “Saturday Night Live” and classic vaudeville, “Romantic Fools,” by Rich Orloff, comprises 12 two-character shorts with topics from blind dates to the frustrations of having a perfect mate.

The play stars WCU students, and Peter Savage, a faculty member in the School of Stage and Screen, will direct. While a comedy, the play is for mature audiences.

“Romantic Fools” is the first in the new Niggli Series, featuring intimate, contemporary plays all staged in the Niggli Theatre, located in the Stillwell Building.

$15 adult, $10 senior and WCU employees, and $5 student. Tickets available at the door or in advance at the box office of the Fine and Performing Arts Center. 828.227.2479 or theatretickets.wcu.edu.

Enjoy family friendly fun with this year’s Cherokee Indian Fair which runs from Oct. 5-9 at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds in Cherokee.

Expect top-notch nightly entertainment, fireworks, a carnival midway full of rides and games, craft vendors, food vendors — including some featuring traditional Cherokee food — and an exhibit hall displaying the Eastern Band enrolled members’ traditional and contemporary arts and crafts.

Visitors will also have a chance to see a comedy show, gospel music, and a host of family-friendly competitions such as blowgun, longbow and compound bow archery contests and wood chopping.

This year’s concert lineup is star-packed as Starship headlines Saturday night’s concert with special guest Jimi Jamison of Survivor. Tone Loc appears Wednesday night. Big House Radio performs Tuesday; The Return, a Beatles tribute band, performs Thursday; Appetite for Destruction, a Guns-n-Roses tribute band, will perform Friday.

The fair began as a way for members of the Eastern Band to showcase their arts and crafts and invite neighboring communities to the Qualla Boundary, the tribe’s traditional homeland. The fair has grown since its early days, but its original focus remains — to showcase the Cherokees’ remarkable culture and heritage.

The schedule

A parade at 4 p.m. Oct. 5 kicks off the annual five-day fete.

Oct. 6 is Children’s Day and features fun games like potato-sack racing, trout fishing and crafting for the little ones.

On Oct. 7, the Elders are honored with free admission for attendees 59 ½ and older until 5 p.m., and activities include bingo and clogging. Cherokee Idol kicks off at 8 p.m.

Oct. 8 is dedicated to veterans, and all veterans and active-duty military personnel will receive free admission until 5 p.m.

Community Day on Oct. 9 features a horseshoe tournament and contests for the longest hair, baby crawling, clogging and corn shucking.

The fair wraps up on Oct. 9 with musical performances Starship with special guest Jimi Jamison of Survivor at 8:30 p.m. and a booming grand finale of fireworks at 10 p.m.

The fair opens at 10 a.m. each day. $10 including nightly concerts. Children six and younger admitted free.

www.cherokee-nc.com/indianfair.

A one-day natural dye workshop with instructor Cassie Dickson will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.

Students will learn the processes for using native plant and natural materials to dye wool yarns in the colors of red, yellow, and blue. Once those colors have been achieved, over-dyeing may be done to create secondary colors like teals, greens, oranges and purples.

The Green Energy Park will use renewable energy — methane from the old Dillsboro landfill — to heat the water for the dye pots. At the end of the day you will leave with six beautifully dyed skeins of yarn and the skills needed to dye at home.

Instructor Dickson is a traditional pattern weaver who specializes in the weaving of coverlets and has been spinning, natural dyeing and weaving for over 30 years. She also raises silk worms for silk and processes flax into linen cloth.  

$50. 828.631.0271.

Celebrate national American Craft Week with the “Hand + Craft: A Jackson County Celebration” exhibit, which runs until Oct. 24.

Opening night will be from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, at Gallery One in Sylva.

More than a dozen Jackson County craft artists will show a variety of work including metal, wood, clay, fiber, and mixed media. American Craft Week is a national event that celebrates the best of today’s handcrafted artwork. October is also North Carolina’s official Craft Month.

Featured artists include:

• Photographer and Gallery One manager Tim Lewis has created a new line of photo-printed textiles made into scarves.

• Cullowhee textile artist Neal Howard will showcase hand-dyed, handwoven silk scarves and wraps.

• Whittier mother-daughter team Emily Hyatt and Victoria Hyatt Sowers create a variety of rugs and tapestries on historic 200-year-old “barn looms.”

Other artists showing work are metalsmith William Rogers; weavers Kathie Roig and Susan Morgan Leveille; potters Travis Berning, Frank McKee, Joan Byrd and George Rector; woodworkers Bill Hyatt, David Nestler and Chris Behre; and mixed media artist and exhibit organizer Anna Fariello.

American Craft Week is a celebration sponsored by americancraftweek.com.

Contact Fariello at 828.227.2499 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To reach Gallery One and the Jackson County Arts Council call 828.293.5458.

For a pleasant evening of art, music, food, shopping and more, check out downtown Sylva from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, for the next Sylva After Dark. This event takes place the first Friday of each month from May to December.

• It’s by Nature: October’s featured artist Tara Melton-Miller will be demonstrating Kumihimo, an ancient Japanese form of elaborate braiding done through a wooden stand or stool. The extraordinary colors, patterns, and textures of kumihimo braids are incorporated onto handcrafted mixed media backgrounds. Musical guest is Robin Whitley. Wine and cheese will be served.

• In conjunction with the national American Craft Week, Jackson County artists are hosting the exhibition, “Hand + Craft: A Jackson County Celebration” at Gallery One.  Sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council.

• A retrospective of landscape, portrait and figurative works will show at the new James Smythe Studio, found upstairs on 563 West Main Street. Some paintings are for mature audiences only. 

• The Wilderness Society will host an evening of poetry and art featuring the “Dreams and Distillations” series of Rabun County artist Honor Woodard and local poets Thomas Rain Crowe and Laurence Holden.

• Susan Gregg Gilmore, author of Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, reads from her new novel, The Improper Life of Bezillia Grove, starting 7 p.m. at City Lights Bookstore.  

• Best music from the ‘70s and ‘80s by Not Even Brothers, at The Village at Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company.

• Live music at Spring Street Café and every Friday and Saturday evenings.

• Food and beer pairing from 5 to 8 p.m. at Heinzelmannchen Brewery.

• Bread tasting from 5 to 8 p.m. at Annie’s Bakery. Toasted whole wheat walnut bread topped with Annie’s scrumptious pumpkin butter and Smoky Mountain Roaster’s Pumpkin Spice coffee.

www.downtownsylva.org.

Enjoy a stroll through working studios and galleries on Waynesville’s Main Street, Depot Street and in Historic Frog Level during Art After Dark  from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1.

Art After Dark takes place the first Friday of each month from May through December. Festive flags will identify participating galleries.

• Visit Historic Frog Level to see ceramic artist Cathey Bolton-Moore create handmade dinnerware, including large show pieces for the home and ceramic jewelry, at Art on Depot.

• Metal sculptor Grace Cathey will weld a Ruffled Grouse from Oct. 1 to 9 at Grace Cathey Sculpture Garden.

• Gallery 86 presents the Haywood Open Studios Tour artist exhibit just in time for the weekend tour Oct. 2 to 3. The gallery show runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1. It features representative works by more than thirty artists on the Studio Tour. www.haywoodarts.org or 828.452.0593.

• Textures Gallery will feature the paintings of Noah Desmond with music by Karen “Sugar” Barnes and Dave Magill,who’ll be singing the blues. Enjoy specialty desserts.

www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com or 828.452.9284.

This weekend, doors to one private studio after another in Haywood County will be flung wide open to everyone curious enough to venture in.

During the two-day Haywood Open Studios Tours, visitors get an intimate glimpse into the studios and galleries where local artists create their stunning pieces. Tour-goers will also witness live art demonstrations at participating studios and galleries.

To coincide with the Haywood Open Studios Tour, Gallery 86 will host a show featuring work by each tour artist until Saturday, Oct. 16.

Participants can see and purchase examples of the artists’ work, pick up a map, and make plans for visiting the studios and galleries during the tour weekend.

Tour maps containing artist studio and gallery information are available now at Gallery 86 as well as other locations throughout the area including Visitor’s Centers on I-26 and I-40.

Visit www.haywoodarts.org for information.

Mark your calendar

The 5th Annual Haywood Open Studios Tour will give the public a peek at local artists’ studios from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2, and from noon until 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3. The tour weekend kicks off with a preview show and artist’s reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, at Gallery 86 in Waynesville. HOST is presented by The Haywood County Arts Council.

Featured artists

Jo Ridge Kelley • Waynesville
“Nature’s beauty and power have been my muses since I was a child. I paint not only to capture those fleeting moments of light and shadow across the landscape, but to create in the viewer the emotional response I experience in nature.”

Susan Livengood • Waynesville
Susan has been a potter, jewelry designer, llama trekker, landscape designer, and innkeeper. Since she and her husband sold their inn in 2005, she has been able to focus on painting and writing again.

Grace Cathey • Waynesville
Grace’s daily experiences with the beauty of nature around her are translated into her metal sculpture, leaving a bit of her spirit in each piece.

Cathey Bolton • Waynesville
Cathey’s pottery balances both the natural and structural world to complete functional vibrant pottery that evokes her love of nature and architecture in every unique handmade piece.

Veronica Von Zwehl • Waynesville
Veronica is an award winning fiber artist creating art quilts and original wall hangings featuring a uniquely creative combination of color, texture and value. Her inspiration comes from the structures, patterns, shapes and shadings found in nature.

John Gernandt • Waynesville
Following the pathway established by both his great-grandfather and grandfather, he’s been building furniture for 30 years. Making furniture has widened his perspective on art history and his appreciation for the furniture masters of the past.

Suzanne Gernandt • Waynesville
As a textile artist, Suzanne painstakingly weaves her fabrics, then delights in dying, cutting, painting, embroidering and reassembling them into elaborate textile masterpieces.

Allen Davis • Waynesville
Allen’s work has value for buyers because he focuses on function. “Creating artful, one-of-a-kind items from nature’s bounty with a utilitarian purpose seems to be the best of both worlds: practical yet beautiful works of art.”

Main Street Artists Co-Op • Waynesville
Twenty-one artists are featured at the Co-Op: Char Avrunin, Nancy Howell Blevins, Gretchen Clasby, Jeanne Colburn, George Dixon, Pam Haddock, Rebecca Hellman, Sandy Lampl, Steve Lampl, Steve McMahan, Anita Painter, Terance Painter, Margaret Roberts, Lynne Rose, Sharon Smith, Bill Smith, David Stone, Carolyn Taylor, Terry Thompson, Dan Wright and Wendy Wright.

Desmond Suarez • Canton
Desmond creates a variety of crafts, from Shaker inspired wood furniture and clocks to handmade candles, each made with the motto of creating “simply the best.”

Kim Ross: Sleeping Stones Gallery • Waynesville
“Pottery is an integral part of my life. As a youth I enjoyed warm summer days playing in the mud, making shapes. Now I am living my dream. I specialize in hand-built and
wheel-thrown pottery using different clay bodies and an array of glaze colors.”

Liz Spear • Waynesville
“I weave cloth using cotton and rayon mill end yarns, then cut and sew functional, classic garments, appropriate for office or casual wear. My designs are a combination of original and commercial patterns.”

Nancy Dunn Lawrence • Waynesville
Nancy works in her home studio with all the things she enjoys most: colors, pattern, paper, threads, words, and the beauty of mountains and lake outside her door. She believes that every beautiful thing makes the world a little better.

Laurel Tewes • Canton
Laurel enjoys the challenge of painting murals. “They are triple the difficulty of painting on canvas. They must look good close up as well as far away.”

Mari Conneen • Waynesville
“In my work I visualize an imaginary line and combine the line with fragments of imagination, thoughts and objects, often strengthening or quieting that line by transforming one medium into another.”

Deborah Bartz: Haywood Fiber Arts Program • Waynesville
The Fiber Arts program is part of the Professional Crafts Program at Haywood Community College. The fiber program encourages original design in all areas of product development and production. “We strive to create products that show the beauty of everyday objects.”

Theodore Dake: MotoFab Metalworks • Waynesville
Ted’s 25-year metal working career has encompassed everything from submarine parts to widgets. His recent move to the mountains has inspired his creative side. His plasma cut metal art reflects the country lifestyle and is colored with various patinas and stains to create unique textures on the metal surfaces.

Gretchen Clasby • Waynesville
Gretchen has been a full-time artist and gallery owner for more than 40 years. Working in watercolors and acrylics, her favorite subjects are children, birds, flowers and small wildlife.

To the Editor:

Sediment in our streams is our biggest water quality threat. Everyone takes notice when more than $150,000 of our tax dollars are spent (the other $150,000 comes from the Assembly) to dig out Lake Junaluska, but every year our drinking water sources are polluted, fish growth and reproduction are damaged, and our stream habitats are destroyed when sediment from construction sites, agriculture, and quarries wash into our streams.

This practice is against the law and the French Broad Riverkeeper and the Western North Carolina Alliance are training volunteers through the Muddy Water Watch program to help clean up our waterways from this serious pollutant.

The MWW program is currently working to clean up the consistent discharge of sediment from the Harrison Quarry into Allen’s Creek, a tributary that leads into Lake Junaluska. The quarry is applying for a permit to expand its operation, but the community around this mine, the West Waynesville Environmental Protection Group, and the Western North Carolina Alliance believe the quarry needs to protect the neighboring community and environment. Learn more about this at www.wnca.org.

Hartwell Carson

French Broad Riverkeeper

Ryan Griffith

Community Outreach Manager,

Western North Carolina Alliance

To the Editor:

Last week, Mr. Ron Robinson of Jackson County quoted a statistic in support of re-electing our county commissioners; our property tax rate is one of the lowest at 28 cents per $100 of valuation (“Incumbents are best for commissioner seats,” Sept. 22, Smoky Mountain News, www.smokymountain-news.com/index.php/component/k2/item/1492-incumbents-are-best-for-commissioner-seats). But, there is much more to this story.

What he didn’t talk about was the fact that our property tax rate used to be at 26 cents before it went up to 28 cents. He didn’t mention that our county’s solvency or our ability to pay our long-term debt obligations has taken a nosedive of 30 points from a high in 2007 (www.nctreasurer.com-/dsthome/State-AndLocalGov/lgcreport). 

The more important statistic we should look at from the report created by the N.C. Treasurer is the county’s overall financial performance and how much it has improved or gotten worse. Ours has plummeted in the last three years from about 18 percent down to 2 percent for 2009. In fact, if you look at our performance compared to our peers — Macon, Haywood and Swain — we have fallen 35 percent, which is the highest possible percent of change that is even measured by the N.C. Treasury Department. These numbers do not support Mr. Robinson’s argument to re-elect our county commissioners.

Our property tax rate might be low, but more importantly it went up. The statement that we have one of the lowest rates is just another way of saying we are one of the poorest counties (with the highest paid upper-level county employees, specifically, our county manager). Remember that our tax rate went up, and remember that our highest paid county employees got a million dollar raise during a time when our financial performance was sinking.  

Also, those pay raises went against the $25,000 research results from the Mercer Group. But the most disturbing fact is that the Mercer group reported that it was our lower-level employees who were not paid enough. The same people that gave themselves the big pay raises, trashed the research and took away the measly 2 percent cost-of-living raises from the underpaid employees. That is not fair, is not right, and is not just. It’s right next door to “low-down.”

Lastly, as for the new ordinances, when have you ever seen a county ordinance enforced? That’s a non-issue. I don’t know all the people running in the election yet, but at this moment I’m thinking that I’m just going to vote against ALL the incumbents. It couldn’t get much worse than it is now. Surely.

Lindsey Dean

Huntsville, Ala. (Jackson County native)

The Wheels Through Time Museum had a grand reopening in Maggie Valley after resuming five-day per week operations earlier this summer.

Heralded as the “Smithsonian of Motorcycles,” the museum is regarded as one of the world’s premier destinations for motorcycle and transportation history, touted by its visitors as an “American cultural experience.”

“The museum has the ability to bring unprecedented amounts of visitors to the valley, and with the community and state behind it, we think that 2010 can be one of Maggie Valley’s best years yet,” said Maggie Valley Alderman Scott Pauley.

The new exhibits have already generated huge interest from motorcycle industry leaders and press. They are slated to run through Memorial Day Weekend 2011.

828.926.6266 or visit www.WheelsThroughTime.com.

MedWest’s three hospitals are undergoing major innovations in food service, housekeeping, plant operations and maintenance, and clinical engineering areas that will be complete by the end of the year.

MedWest is working with Compass Group, a leader in healthcare support services management, to bring new services to Haywood Regional Medical Center, Harris Regional Hospital and Swain County Hospital. By combining support services for the three hospitals and contracting with Compass, the system will realize cost savings of $1.1 million per year and gain access to technology that increases efficiencies in the areas providing critical support to the hospitals.

Room service known as “Dining on Call” will be introduced at all three hospitals. Patients will be able to order the meal of their choice, according to their physician’s dietary orders. The hospital cafeterias will undergo user-friendly upgrades and provide healthier food choices.

Requests for food service, plant operations and maintenance, clinical engineering and housekeeping will be streamlined through a centralized call center, increasing response time for support services needs.

Managers of the support services departments will be employed by Compass and function within the hospitals’ department management structure.

StreetFest 2010 will get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, in Franklin, when Mayor Joe Collins cuts a ribbon spanning Main Street to celebrate the opening of four new businesses.

The ribbon cutting will be followed by an evening and full day of festivities on Saturday, Oct. 16.

Shops will have food and beverages for their guests, along with bargains to thank customers for shopping locally. Entertainment will add to the festivities. Downtown Franklin’s first drum circle will take place on Main Street. Drummers are invited to join in.

The week prior to the event, ribbons will be handed out by local merchants and at the Chamber of Commerce. Someone wearing one of these ribbons on Friday night will be randomly selected by the StreetFest Patrol to win a basket of gifts donated by merchants.

The grand opening of Mission Outpatient Spine Center at Angel Medical Center in Franklin brings close to home spine care for residents of Macon and adjoining counties.

The center will be staffed by three board certified surgeons from Carolina Spine and Neurosurgery Center in Asheville who specialize in the treatment of conditions of the spine.

Services will initially be provided on Tuesdays and Fridays. These include physician evaluations, MRI and CT diagnostic testing, treatments, and physical therapy provided by Angel physical therapists under the clinical direction of the surgeons.

If patients need spine surgery, the procedure will be provided at Mission Hospital at its designated 20-bed spine surgery unit, which is part of the hospital’s Neurosciences Center of Excellence.

An estate-planning seminar will be held Tuesday, Sept. 28 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the Bethea Welcome Center at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center.

It is sponsored by the Lake Junaluska Office of Development and the Foundation, and is free and open to the public.

Attorney Byrd Bonner, the director of the United Methodist Church Foundation in Nashville, Tenn., will lead the seminar.

This seminar will focus on important estate documents, how to obtain them, and where to keep them. In addition, it will address key information children or executors should know. Participants will learn basic information regarding family trusts.

Participants are encouraged to RSVP at 828-454-6680. Registration is not required. Coffee and hot tea will be served.

Western Carolina University will celebrate “The Power of Purple” during Homecoming festivities Oct. 8-10.

The annual Alumni Scholarship Homecoming Golf Tournament will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 8, at Sequoyah National Golf Club in Whittier. Then on campus, the annual Last Lecture Series address will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, in the theater of A.K. Hinds University Center. The featured speaker will be Ted Chiappelli, associate professor of health sciences, and the title of his address is “Missed Opportunities.”

Then, the annual homecoming parade will begin at 6:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, in downtown Sylva. Meanwhile, the Catamount soccer team will play Georgia Southern at the Catamount Athletic Complex. After the soccer game, which begins at 6 p.m., WCU will host the Spirit Night pep rally in the CAC.

On Saturday, Oct. 9, an alumni breakfast will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. in the multipurpose room in the University Center. Tailgating begins at noon before the 3 p.m. Catamount home football game against the Samford Bulldogs.

The weekend concludes with a 3 p.m. Inspirational Choir concert in the A.K. Hinds University Center Grandroom followed by a 4 p.m. Catamount soccer game against Davidson in the CAC.

For more specific event information and how to purchase tickets or make reservations, alumni visit alumni.wcu.edu and students visit homecoming.wcu.edu.

Flu vaccine is plentiful this year, and the N.C. Division of Public Health and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging everyone older than six months of age to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Haywood County

The Haywood Health Department will offer flu clinics for adults ages 18 and above from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 5-7 at Health Department offices. Children under age 18 may get the flu vaccine by calling the Health Department at 828.452.6675 and scheduling an appointment.

The cost is $28 for flu vaccine and $35 for flu mist. Pneumonia vaccines will also be available for $45.

Haywood Regional Medical Center’s Home Care Services started providing flu shots for area residents Sept. 27. Flu shots will be given at the Home Care building from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday until the supply is gone. No appointment is necessary. The Home Care building is located directly behind Haywood Regional Medical Center. The cost is $28. 828.452.8292.

A walk-in flu vaccine clinic will be held on Thursday, Oct. 7, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Fines Creek Community Center in the old Fines Creek cafeteria. Medicare Part B and most Medicare Replacements are accepted for payment. Please remember to bring your Medicare card. Cost is $28 for private pay patients.

Jackson County

The Jackson County Department of Public Health will began giving flu shots on Monday, Sept. 27, in the Big Room of the Community Services Building in Sylva. Shots will be given from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 27-30; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 2; and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 3.

Cost is $20. 828.587.8201.

Anyone interested in the Health Department coming to administer the flu vaccine at their business, office, organization, or church, should contact Carla or Debbie at 828.586.8994 to schedule a time.

Macon County

• Community Facilities Building — 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:15 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 7; 1 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 12.

• Macon County Public Health Center — 2 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 12 for children only; 1 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 14 for children only.

• Highlands Civic Center — 1 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 13.

• Nantahala School — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 21.

• Franklin Town Square — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 23 at Pumpkin Fest.

• Otto Community Building — 4 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 27.

Cost is $25. www.maconnc.org or 828.349.2081.

The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a citizens’ informational workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 5, on closure of a railroad crossing where the highway and railroad meet in Sylva.

The informational meeting will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. at the town hall in Sylva, board of commissioners’ room. Citizens are invited to drop in and speak individually with DOT officials about project plan to close the crossing, and to view maps of the proposed projects. No formal presentation will be given.

DOT proposes closing the existing Norfolk Southern railroad crossing at Raymond Street. The Harold Street railroad crossing is within approximately .18 miles of the proposed closure and it provides adequate alternate access and uses signals and gate arms as a crossing warning device.

For more information contact Brian Gackstetter, rail division, engineering and safety branch, 1556 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, 27699-1556, at (919) 715-2332, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A candidates’ forum on environmental issues will be held Thursday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. at the Jackson County Recreation Complex in Cullowhee.

All of the candidates for the Jackson County Commission, North Carolina Senate 50th District, North Carolina House of Representatives District 119 and the United States House of Representatives District 11 have been invited.

The event is being sponsored by The Tuckasegee Community Alliance.

This is intended as a platform for the candidates to participate in a discussion prior to the upcoming November elections on environmental, growth management and energy issues facing Jackson County. The public will have the opportunity to ask questions during the open floor portion of the forum.

A golf tournament will be held Saturday, Oct. 2 at Mill Creek Golf Course in Franklin. Tee-off is 10 a.m.

The Mountain Trace Nursing & Rehabilitation Center’s tournament will benefit the resident council fund at Mountain Trace. The $60 entry fee includes a cart, meal and door prizes.

Mulligans and foot of string available; it will be 4 Man Captain’s Choice. Register at Mill Creek Golf Course or sign up before the tournament date. Call Angie at 828.399.9406.

Lessie Williams, a well-known and nationally recognized gospel singer, will give a concert of inspirational music at 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Community Services Building in Sylva. The performance is a fundraiser for the new Jackson County library.

Williams’ ministerial music has carried her to prisons, nursing homes, funerals and banquets, in addition to many churches and revivals. She began singing the songs of artists including Aretha Franklin and Sam Cook around age 11, but turned to gospel, joining the ministry at the age of 19 and preaching her first sermon in March 1970.

“God has taken me many different ways to bring me full circle into an evangelistic music ministry,” Williams said.

She has produced four albums – “God Changed Me In Time,” 2008; “Jesus Is My Everything,” 2003; “I Made It Over,” 1992; “Jesus is Mine,” 1984.

“Lessie’s brand of gospel is honest, exciting and bears a strong witness to all who hear it,” said Loretta Ragan, who produces lead sheets for Williams’ self-written lyrics and music.

During the concert, fundraisers will pass the plate asking for contributions to support the new library complex.

“Your contribution is a way to thank Lessie for donating her time and to help the Friends raise funds to match the SECU Foundation Challenge Grant. It will be an inspiring evening, and we are confident folks will be generous.” says Mary Selzer, Co-chair of the Campaign Steering Committee.

For those unable to attend the concert, contributions to the New Library Fund can be made in person at the Friends of the Library Used Book Store or at the Jackson County Public Library, both located on Main Street in Sylva. They can also be mailed to: Friends of the Jackson County Main Library; P.O. Box 825; Sylva, NC 28779-0825.

For more information, visit the Friends’ website at: www.fojcml.org or call Connie Terry, campaign coordinator at 828.507.0476.

An outdoor expedition to Bolivia that puts paddlers to work delivering medical supplies to remote villages organized by Nantahala Outdoor Center got a major plug by National Geographic ADVENTURE.

The November issue of the magazine listed the trip in its top 25 list of global adventure trips.

The expedition — a joint effort between NOC and nonprofit Medicforce — aims to bring first aid training and medical attention to remote riverside communities only accessible by running seven days of Class IV-V whitewater on Bolivia’s Tuichi River.

“This is a proper expedition that will have positive outcomes for people who live out of reach of traditional medical care,” said Jono Bryant, director of Adventure Travel and Wilderness Medicine at NOC. “The trip is a totally new concept that has huge potential worldwide. I’m thankful that NOC continues to push the boundaries of whitewater by providing these new and exciting opportunities.”

The magazine labeled the expedition a “difference maker” trip, noting its objectives: delivering medical supplies, conducting basic physical exams and relaying information about common health threats. The 21-day expedition will be held in August 2010.

NOC’s expedition is ranked among some of the most extraordinary adventures across the globe, such as biking through Pacific jungles, trekking into the Arctic Circle and snorkeling with humpback whales in Tonga.

Tool to help outfitters hone marketing

Outdoor Industry Association® has launched a new database to track purchases of outdoor gear and clothing from outfitters across the country.

The tracking system will help manufacturers and retailers in the outdoor lifestyle industry see how they are stacking up against national sales and pick up trends among outdoors consumers. The system will show weekly retail sales of outdoor products from major retailers, local outfitters and the Internet.

Retailers can enroll at no cost and will be able to access the data for free. 704.987.3450.

By Karen Dill • Special to Smoky Mountain News

October is a glorious month. Brilliant colors dot the mountains against clear blue Carolina skies. Fall leaves turn our world into an amazing canvas and spirits soar like the geese that fly high in the sky toward their winter place. It is one of the last times that we can enjoy basking in the warm afternoon sunlight and storing up warmth for the long winter days ahead.

The warm days will grow shorter and meld into cool evenings. Thoughts turn inward, and the mind creates ghostly images as we walk in the evenings toward our warm homes. As I walk along Buchanan Loop in the late evenings, dogs in tow, I recall the wonderful ghost stories from my childhood. In comparison to the current horror and gory movies, these stories now seem tame, but as a child and even as an adult, they have an eerie and realistic quality.

My father told stories of walking home from school or from an old sawmill in Bethel on late October evenings up the long and winding road to his weather-beaten shack. After enduring many terrifying minutes of the sound of deep breathing and spotting yellow eyes in the bushes, he would encounter a mountain panther (he called it a “painter”). I had never seen this creature in person or in a book but at nights, I was sure he was breathing and crouched beneath my bed at night in Bethel. Hollywood has yet to recreate the terror that this story delivered.

My mother would recall similar stories of night creatures, but my favorite story was her encounter with a white horse on a dark October night in downtown Asheville. She was working during WWII as a telephone operator in the old Southern Bell building at the corner of Lexington Avenue and Walnut Street. As she left her late night shift following a series of strange calls over the telephone switchboard, she walked onto the street under a full moon. As she continued down the street for a few feet, a white horse with neither saddle nor rider appeared and galloped straight for her. My mother was frightened of horses, but this one simply passed her by, turned the corner and disappeared up Lexington Avenue. Cold chills creep up my spine as I picture the scene, but I love the image of that beautiful white ghost horse. This encounter turned out to be an omen to an event (the disappearance of her first love) in my mother’s life that would forever change her.

When my husband and I bought a house in Webster in 1990, we began to create our own ghost stories. The old house that we bought came with ghosts, we soon discovered. Our two-story farmhouse was built in the late 1800s. It is rambling and rustic and we dubbed our décor as “shabby chic” long before Martha Stewart made it popular. We arrange throw pillows over stuffing leaking from worn holes in the wingback chairs facing the fireplace. We favor comfort over style, and the spirits seem to approve.

The dining room is haunted, we decided, after moving into the house. Neither animal nor construction worker would linger after dark. This room is the perfect setting for an October dinner. The candles are lit to hide the cobwebs lacing the ancient chandelier that dangles over the dining table. Fresh flowers, linen napkins and the good china complete the scene and await our guests. The lace curtains flutter softly in a breeze that may indeed be created by spirits circling the room.

I choose a menu that utilizes the wonderful foods in season. October calls for comfort foods that warm the chilly evenings and placate the shivering spirits. I love to coordinate foods with the seasons and I look forward to each step of the preparation. This is an inherited trait from a long line of mountain women. Food is comfort; a form of self-expression and a creative gift of love. When words fail (as they often do in this culture of hard scrapple survivors), food speaks volumes.

I create with food. I daydream about recipes and dinner menus. I read cookbooks in our spooky old house at night as intensely as I read a good novel. Despite the simple cuisine of my childhood, I long for the exotic. I love to combine the simple tastes of ordinary foods with touches of exotic flavor from faroff places. A dinner gathering provides the perfect audience for this expression, and the season provides the perfect fall foods.

For this meal, I decide that a rustic theme will suit the ghosts of the dining room and will accommodate the freshest local foods available at the Sylva Farmer’s market. We will begin with a salad that I’ve adapted from a recipe taken from the October 2009 Bon Appétit magazine. The actual recipe calls for spiced pumpkin, lentils and goat cheese. I substitute the suggested French green lentils for our regular lentils that are easily found in any grocery store. I roast the pumpkin pieces according to the recipe but serve them over a bed of baby greens instead of arugula. Instead of crumbled goat cheese, I sauté a medallion of local goat cheese (Dark Cove is my favorite) in butter that I have dipped in egg and coated with breadcrumbs. The warm goat cheese medallion melts with the sweet and spicy pumpkin wedges over the tart greens creating a delightful mixture of taste and texture.

As I serve the salad, I take hot cheese biscuits from the oven. There is no real recipe for these — I simply combine self-rising flour (White Lily is my southern favorite) with heavy cream and shredded cheddar cheese and plop spoonfuls of the mixture on a baking sheet. They cook quickly and are delicious. A note of caution: mountain cooking is not for the faint of heart. Bacon grease, heavy cream, and butter are staples and while used sparingly, they will all be found in this meal.

I’ve chosen pork, sweet potatoes and kale as the main dishes. These were plentiful in my childhood and to this day, signify the return of cold weather for me. They were comfort foods long before we knew what to call them. My husband, Tom has grilled the pork tenderloin over charcoal and hickory chips earlier in the day. I’ve basted the pork with a raspberry chipotle sauce that delivers a distinct kick.

Right before serving, I will heat the pork loin and slice into thick medallions. The medallions will be served over a bed of apple and Asian pear slices that I have sautéed in butter with sprinkles of brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger. The raspberry chipotle sauce will be drizzled over the pork with a few fresh raspberries thrown into the mix. This sauce is too hot for some tastes, but I’ll provide a bowl of the sauce to pass around the table for those who enjoy an extra bite.

The sweet potatoes are mashed with butter and heavy cream (I warned you) and drizzled with bit of local honey that my friend and colleague Devlin Wilde has given me from his bee hives. The tart Asian pear and sweet apple slices blend nicely with the sweet potatoes. The fresh kale is first blanched, then chopped into smaller pieces and finally thrown into a frying pan that I have used to cook several bacon and onion slices. I add sugar, vinegar and some red pepper flakes to the greens and top with bits of bacon and cooked onion.

I serve corn muffins as well as the biscuits with this part of the meal. Pork and greens simply require cornbread. I’ve added chopped onion, some leftover frozen corn kernels from our garden and some red and green chopped bell peppers to the cornmeal. Butter is optional but strongly recommended for the hot corn muffins.

Our guests have been greeted on our wide front porch along with the traditional dog and cat and the not-so-traditional peacock who has taken residence in our yard. He welcomes all newcomers with a bullying squawk for he is an arrogant bird. We warn him that he could easily become our evening’s entrée. I’m thinking peacock with pomegranate glaze as he struts away with an indignant bellow.

As the meal is served, we eat slowly, savoring the flavors and the company. Conversation flows as I enjoy a mug of pumpkin ale (I recommend the latest Highland October ale). We talk easily as friends do who enjoy good food and agree on a number of topics. We lament about the crazy politics in Washington and the need for better heath care, share our fears of losing our beautiful mountains to wealthy developers, and share stories of childhood, travel and of course, food.

Dessert is simple. I’ve made a fresh apple cake earlier in the week after work. I could probably make this cake in my sleep. It is an old family recipe that utilizes local apples and black walnuts. My aunts who have passed on would just roll over in their graves if any other nut was substituted for the black walnuts. I’ve saved some from our old faithful walnut tree that I’ve shelled tediously in the warm autumn sun. For tonight’s dinner, I warm the slices quickly in the microwave and serve with freshly whipped cream, finely chopped black walnuts that are sprinkled over the whipped cream, and a couple of thinly sliced apple slices for garnish.

We sip fresh coffee and enjoy the winding down of a beautiful fall evening. We are quiet, reflective as the candles flicker and lace curtains flutter in a soft breeze that appears from nowhere. Another gift of the ghostly spirits, I suppose. The spirits in the old house are apparently content with the meal and the company. Percy is mercifully silent, roosting in the oak tree outside the window. Perhaps he is dreaming of his elusive peahen or perhaps simply smug in the knowledge that he has been spared as the entrée of our dinner. As I glance out the window, I’m relieved that the October night hosts neither panther nor white horse — just a lonesome peacock and the gentle spirits of our old house.

Despite their requests, Haywood County commissioners will not be guaranteed a spot on the new joint operating board of Haywood Regional Medical Center and WestCare.

Commissioner Mark Swanger initially called for the seat to ensure transparency and accountability to the public, which has a vested stake in the hospital.

Commissioner Bill Upton said as an elected leader, they are the first ones to be blamed “if things go south.”

“I think it would keep us closer to the situation,” Upton said. “It makes a difference. I think it would be positive for all of us.”

When HRMC failed federal inspections two years ago and had to all but shut down for five months, commissioners were criticized for not providing enough oversight of HRMC. Two commissioners up for election that year lost, with backlash over the hospital crisis blamed as one of the reasons for their ousting by voters.

Commissioner Skeeter Curtis said the public still thinks of HRMC as “their” hospital, since county taxpayers backed a loan used for its construction, even though the hospital in fact paid back the loans and the public did not have to pony up any money.

HRMC CEO Mike Poore said he disagreed that a commissioner’s presence would somehow provide more transparency. Poore said the county commissioner serving on the board would not be able to share what was discussed by the joint hospital board outside its private meetings anyway.

“The county commissioner has no more authority to speak outside that meeting than anyone else,” Poore said. “They are not a county commissioner at that meeting. They are a member of the joint operating committee.”

Mark Clasby, chairman of the HRMC board, said giving a county commissioner a permanent seat at the table would have been a deal killer in the joint venture. Clasby added that commissioners can serve, and indeed one is on the inaugural board, but they aren’t guaranteed a spot going forward.

By Gibbs Knotts • Guest Columnist

Some local sportswriters have expressed bewilderment at a recent ranking by a nationally circulated magazine, The Sporting News, that placed Cullowhee at No. 199 among the United States’ top 399 sports cities.

These pundits seem perplexed that Cullowhee would be ranked 26 spots ahead of Boone, home of archrival Appalachian State University. When comparing Boone and Cullowhee, the sports reporters have focused on the higher attendance at Appalachian State football and men’s basketball games.

In their haste to criticize The Sporting News ranking, some journalists are missing a point that The Sporting News apparently did not miss — Cullowhee is home to a LOT of sporting events, many of them successful by regional and national standards.

Focusing solely on football and men’s basketball overlooks the achievements of at least seven of the other 13 Division I collegiate sports at Western Carolina. Last year, three WCU teams – women’s basketball, women’s soccer, and men’s track and field – won conference championships. Women’s track and field, baseball, men’s golf and women’s golf also have posted notably successful records.

WCU’s women’s basketball and soccer teams have been ranked in the nation’s top 20 academically. The women’s golf team regularly places individuals on the National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholars list. In the spring 2009 semester, 87 student-athletes made the dean’s list and 18 earned perfect 4.0 grade-point averages. At Western Carolina, athletic victories usually go hand-in-hand with academic successes.

Part of what makes a sports town a sports town is tradition and history, and Western Carolina has its fair share. The first three-point shot in men’s college basketball was made in Cullowhee. Every year at NCAA basketball tournament time, the networks roll out the footage from 1996 when the Catamounts came within a whisker of being the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed. And Asheville’s own Henry Logan opened the door for student-athletes of his race when, in 1964, he joined the WCU basketball team and became the first African-American to play at a predominantly white institution in the South.

Adding to the game-day experience in Cullowhee is WCU’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, whose crowd-pleasing halftime shows over the years are being recognized nationally by the John Phillip Sousa Foundation, which has awarded the band the 2009 Sudler Trophy — the Heisman Trophy of collegiate marching bands.

Aside from Catamount athletics, Cullowhee also features outstanding outdoor sporting opportunities. The area is a haven for cyclists, hosting numerous group rides and the annual Tour de Tuck bicycle ride. Anglers flock to Cullowhee for many miles of rivers and streams, and Cullowhee is a world-class boating and kayaking destination. Some Olympic athletes train in the area.

The university engages students in outdoor experiences through its Base Camp Cullowhee, a campus organization that hosts nearly 2,000 people per year on outdoor adventures and supplies students with low-cost outdoor gear and supplies. Base Camp employees serve as a resource to the Cullowhee community, providing trip advice, trail maps, and other outdoor tips to local individuals and families, and to hundreds of the millions of Americans who visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway annually.

Is Cullowhee really the 199th best sports town in the United States? Scientifically, I can’t say, but when you look at the entire picture, why not? What I can do is invite sports fans of all persuasions to come to Cullowhee and find out. Attend a soccer match or a women’s basketball game. Bring your bike and ride the Ring of Fire. Float down the beautiful Tuckasegee River. Or bring your binoculars and watch track or cross country or some other Olympic sport. You may discover that The Sporting News has it right — sporting opportunities are abundant in Cullowhee.

(Gibbs Knotts is faculty athletics representative at Western Carolina University where he teaches political science and public affairs. In his free time, he attends Catamount sporting events and enjoys Cullowhee’s many outdoor opportunities.)

Two of the five seats on the Sylva town board are up for election. Both incumbents are running for re-election and will face three additional challengers.

The mayor’s seat is up for election as well, but Mayor Brenda Oliver chose not to run after 17 years at the helm and a total of 28 years on the town board. Oliver said she was simply ready to step down and that the town was likewise ready for new leadership.

Town Commissioner Maurice Moody is running unopposed for mayor. Moody’s seat is not up for election this year, so when he transitions to the post of mayor in December, he will leave a vacant spot on the town board. The other board members will appoint his replacement. Board members were uncommitted on whether they would appoint the next highest voter getter in the election to the vacancy.

Stacy Knotts, 38

Stay-at-home mom

Knotts has served on the board four years. This election, Knotts once again went door to door, visiting an estimated 500 residents.

“It was great. I got to hear from the residents in all different neighborhoods. I got to hear about things they liked as well as what they are concerned about. It was a big variety of things. The great thing is I can start working on them right now.”

Harold Hensley, 72

Retired maintenance supervisor for Jackson County Schools

Hensley has served on the board four years.

“There’s lots of money spent that I don’t think should be spent. I have pushed hard for cuts, real hard. There is no sense in every time you turn around you have to look at the taxpayers to bail you out.”

Danny Allen, 53

Not currently employed due to health reasons

Formerly a Sylva police officer and manager of Quinn Theater

“I just don’t think the board is a good representation of the whole town. The present board is catering to select groups. They are not seeing the overall needs of the people.”

David Kelley, 32

Works at Livingston’s Photo and is a Realtor with WNC Brokers

Kelley has no overwhelming desire to alter the town’s course. He thinks the current board is doing “an adequate job” and isn’t advocating for change per say. So why is he running?

“The town has been a big part of my life all my life, so I felt the need for a voice.”

Ellerna Bryson Forney

Could not be reached for comment.

Is it true that Haywood and WestCare have merged?

No. The boards of Haywood Regional Medical Center (HRMC) and WestCare Health System (WestCare) have formally agreed to form a unified healthcare system that will integrate the strategic, operational, and financial aspects of both organizations. This integration is not a “merger;” rather, it is a legal arrangement that will provide patients within the newly defined service area with enhanced access to a broader array of services.

WestCare Health System includes Harris Regional Hospital, Swain County Hospital and other healthcare facilities serving a four-county area in Western North Carolina. The goal of the new arrangement with Haywood Regional is to help reduce operating expenses, while improving quality and patient safety.

The recently approved Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) permits the continued existence of separate boards of directors, but vests much oversight responsibility with a newly formed Joint Operating Company (JOC) board of directors.

HRMC and WestCare will be the sole members of the Joint Operating Company (JOC) and will share equally in the financial operations of the new company. In the healthcare industry, hospitals may form a JOC to provide a stronger financial structure and to enhance service delivery.

By what process did the two organizations come together?

The boards of the respective hospital systems have been engaged in the process of selecting a partner and joining the two systems together for over 18 months. Members of both boards have spent hundreds of volunteer hours in meetings with consultants and legal advisors in order to garner and evaluate the technical advice needed to make the very best decision.

Starting in the early months of 2008, HRMC and WestCare began informal discussions regarding how best to enhance the delivery of healthcare services to the people of their respective communities. In late 2008 both boards agreed that the best course of action was to secure a partner to assist in bringing the two organizations together.

Shortly thereafter, formal RFPs (requests for proposals) were sent to select organizations that had the resources needed to effect both a unification effort and also provide continuing management services to a combined operation.

Following a very intensive review process, the boards selected Carolinas HealthCare System as the manager. At that point, in April 2009, a Joint Study Committee was formed to negotiate the details of the future affiliation.

The JOA announcement on Oct. 21 represents the culmination of that effort.

What is the name of the new organization?

“MedWest Health System” is the name of the new Joint Operating Company; however each of the individual hospitals will continue to use their current names: Haywood Regional Medical Center, Harris Regional Hospital and Swain County Hospital.

When will the new company begin operations?

It is anticipated that MedWest Health System will begin integrating the operations of the two systems in January 2010. Some approvals are still pending, but those are expected to be received in a timely manner.

Who will be CEO of the new JOC?

That decision will be made by the newly constituted board of MedWest Health System and CHS in the next few months. A proficient management team at each hospital has helped to guide this integration effort, and they are to be commended for their conscientious and unselfish leadership throughout each step of the process.

Who will be on the governing board of the new JOC?

The board will be made up of 14 members, with seven from Haywood County and seven from the counties that comprise WestCare’s primary service area. The boards of HRMC and WestCare have appointed five members each and those 10 will select four at-large members to complete the board.

Will there be physicians on the new JOC board?

Each of the member systems, HRMC and WestCare, will have two active medical staff members on the board of MedWest Health System.

What will be Carolinas HealthCare System’s role with respect to MedWest?

The board of MedWest Health System will enter into a management services agreement with Carolinas HealthCare System. Under the terms of the agreement, Carolinas HealthCare will employ the executive team and provide MedWest Health System with a wide range of corporate-level management services.

Carolinas HealthCare will not have an ownership interest or a direct role in the governance of MedWest Health System.

Carolinas HealthCare will provide MedWest with the experience and resources of a comprehensive, multifaceted organization. Those resources will be brought to bear in a way that will help all of the MedWest hospitals improve patient access, lower patient costs and improve patient outcomes.

With the addition of the MedWest hospital group, CHS will operate 32 hospitals across the Carolinas. CHS provides a strong support structure for those hospitals and the hundreds of other care locations it manages. The management services agreement ensures that these support mechanisms are available to MedWest.

What will be the continuing responsibilities of the existing HRMC and WestCare governing boards?

Under the terms of the JOA the individual hospital boards will continue to credential medical staff at their respective facilities and will have certain other reserved powers. For example, the JOC could not accept new members without the approval of the individual boards.

What impact will the new arrangement have on employees?

Salaries, benefits and retirement plans have always been subject to annual review by HRMC and WestCare, and from time to time over the last few years changes have been made as necessary to those plans. That process will continue. The formation of the combined organization will not be a sole factor in deciding if there will be changes. In fact, one of the reasons for selecting the JOC organizational structure was so that the current retirement plans could remain in place.

Will any employees lose their jobs as a result of the JOC?

This question has not been addressed and likely will not be for at least several months. In some organizations that have formed a JOA, over the long term, the employment base has actually increased as the new organization developed new services and expanded existing services.

Will patients in this part of the state now have to travel to Charlotte for more complex medical services?

No. There is no plan to disrupt existing physician referral patterns. Patients, their families and their doctors will continue to make decisions about where patients will go for care.

As noted, it is anticipated that over time additional and more sophisticated services will be offered, thus allowing patients to stay closer to home for their care.

What impact will the JOC have on local doctors?

Physician representation has been important from the beginning of this process, and members of the medical staff at both HRMC and WestCare have participated in the work of the Joint Study Committee. The committee was diligent in seeking physician input and making sure that issues of particular interest to doctors were addressed during negotiations.

The JOC is expected to provide numerous benefits for the medical community, including the enhancement or expansion of existing services, and the development of new programs.

Will the three hospitals that form MedWest be jointly marketing their services?

Yes. MedWest will oversee the marketing of services for each of the individual hospitals. This is just one of many ways that savings can be realized, while highlighting the benefits that will be available through joint operations.

The Waynesville Recreation Center was vandalized late sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

The vandals entered the building through a broken window into the pool area. Once inside, they broke internal windows, threw furniture around, pulled clocks off the wall and otherwise wreaked havoc.

“There was glass everywhere,” said Det. Ryan Singleton, who is the lead investigator officer in the case.

They even discharged fire extinguishers.

“The whole entire building was covered in the residue from the fire distinguishers,” Singleton said.

In the kitchen area, vandals emptied the contents of cupboards onto the floor, including food coloring, flour and vinegar. Profanity was spray-painted on the kitchen walls as well. Despite the vandalism, nothing was stolen.

The police were able to lift fingerprints from the scene. Singleton believes there was more than one vandal.

The recreation center was closed for half a day Tuesday. The pool will remained closed through Friday as glass had gotten into the pool from the broken windows.

“We are draining the pool and refilling the water. We have to get the temperature levels correct and the chlorine levels correct as well,” said Waynesville Recreation Director Rhett Langston.

There are 10 candidates running for four seats on the Canton town board. Only two sitting aldermen are running for re-election, with eight challengers. All four seats are up for election every two years. Mayor Pat Smathers is running for re-election unopposed.

Canton aldermen – Pick 4

Charlie Crawford, 74

Retired DMV inspector, currently operates a small car lot and construction company

Crawford was ousted in the last election two years ago after 16 years on the board.

“The people I’ve talked to are pretty well fed up. I think there are a lot of people running because there is an apparent lack of progress by the present board. We need to get back on a progressive agenda. We need to bury whatever differences we have to serve the town.”

Jimmy Flynn, 59

Safety director for Buckeye Construction Company, former town employee for 30 years

“You have to have a board that can agree to disagree and move forward. We just would like to see Canton go forward at some growth rate. It is not a bad thing when the board doesn’t always agree and vote on everything unanimously, but I think it is a bad thing when they almost never vote on anything important unanimously. That tells me there needs to be a little more cohesiveness.”

Gene Monson, 51

Owner of group purchasing organization for 130 restaurants that pool food orders to help realize economies of scale through bulk buying power

“The members of the current board individually are all fine gentlemen. However, as a board I don’t think they accomplished what they wanted to accomplish over the past two years or what most of the citizens were hoping for. I hope I have the intelligence and humility to consider every idea on its merits and not based on whose idea it is. I am willing to compromise. I am more concerned about getting it right than being right.”

Carole Edwards, 54

Regional consultant for Department of Social Services on welfare programs

“My slogan is a fresh and new perspective. I feel like I have the enthusiasm and heart to want to work for this town. We may try a lot of things that don’t work. If you don’t try, how do you know what works and doesn’t work? I may not agree with what someone else thinks, but if it is an idea, let’s try it and see if it doesn’t work.”

Patrick Willis, 29

Historic interpreter at Thomas Wolfe National Historic Site

“Honestly in the past two years I have not seen a whole lot of improvement in the town. I feel like the town could use some new fresh ideas and opinions. One of the things I would like to see is more open communication with the residents of the town from the town board.”

Kenneth Holland, 62

Retired pharmacist

“The current board has been divided down the middle on issues. The net result is not a whole lot is being accomplished. What they were planning on doing when they went in two years ago didn’t get accomplished as planned. We need to change things.”

Angela Jenkins, 42

Former stay-at-home mom now enrolled in a craft program at Haywood Community College

“I guess there are just too many different opinions about what needs to be happening and how to go about do it. There’s just no cohesiveness. You have to prioritize what needs to be done and find a way to get it done. I think it is going to be important that we have a board that gets along and gets the town moving forward.”

Ed Underwood, 60

Retired lieutenant colonel in US Army and retired state prison guard

“One of the problems with the current board is that it seems like the board members can’t work together. When you go onto a board like that you have your own personal agenda and have to try to set that aside to work as a team member. I’d say the consensus is the voters want a change.”

Troy Mann, 72

Retired cattle farmer

Mann has served for two years after running for election in 2007 as part of a wave that unseated three long-time board members.

“Our thinking was the citizens of Canton wanted some change over what had been. There is more discussion, more oversight, we are more engaged. Every issue is given more consideration. It is not a given that if it is brought to the table it is going to be approved.”

Eric Dills, 44

Residential contractor

Dills has served two years on the town board. He ran in 2005 and lost by five votes, but emerged in 2007 as the top vote-getter.

“When I ran before, I felt like the town was really going down. It was deteriorating. We were going in the wrong direction. The mayor controls the biggest part of the agenda. If the town has not progressed in the past two years, the mayor has to bear his share and can’t keep pointing his finger at the board and saying it is all our fault.”

Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad

(loosely based on the recipe from the October 2009 Bon Appétit magazine)

• 3/4 cup lentils

• 6 cups 1-inch pieces peeled seeded sugar pumpkin (from about one 2-pound whole pumpkin or butternut squash)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika (found in most grocery stores—I found mine in the Fresh Market Grocery in Asheville or you can add some cayenne pepper to smoked paprika for the same effect)

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 4 cups of baby greens

• 1 log of soft goat cheese log, sliced into ? inch medallions, dipped in an egg mixed with a little cream and coated with finely chopped breadcrumbs (I use the packaged Progresso kind)

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Soak lentils in cold water for about 10 minutes. Drain and cook in salted water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Drain lentils. Rinse under cold water, then drain.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pumpkin in large bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika, and sea salt. Arrange pumpkin in single layer on baking sheet; roast 20 minutes. Turn pumpkin over. Roast until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool.

Combine lentils, pumpkin, and oil from baking sheet with mixed baby greens, mint, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Right before serving, sauté goat cheese medallions in olive oil and a little butter to help brown the cheese.

Divide the salad mixture among plates and place the warm goat cheese medallion on top of each salad.

Fresh Apple Cake

• 1 1/2 cups Wesson oil

• 4 or so medium sized apples, chopped finely (I use a couple of red delicious and a couple of yellow delicious apples); It is ok to leave the peelings on but I usually don’t.

• 1 cup of black walnuts, chopped

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 cups of white sugar

• 3 eggs

• 3 cups sifted plain flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream together oil, sugar and eggs in a mixer. Add dry ingredients and fold in apples and nuts. Add vanilla. Place the mixture in a greased, floured bundt pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour or so. Test with a toothpick or broom straw for doneness in the center of the cake. Because this cake is so moist, I rarely frost it. It gets better after a few days but is delicious right out of the oven.

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 cup small diced onion

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped

• 2 pints raspberries, rinsed

• 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan, heat oil. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring until slightly caramelized—about 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 min. Add the chilies and cook, stirring continuously for 1 minute. Add the raspberries and cook until soft, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan. Add sugar and salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until thickened and reduced by half, about 8 to 10 min. Remove from heat and cool before using.

For a clear glaze, strain through a fine, mesh strainer by pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

*A note: I love this sauce but if I’m pressed for time, there is a nice bottled raspberry chipotle sauce (brand is Dan T’s Inferno) that is sold at Sam’s Club and other good brands of raspberry chipotle at Fresh Market. It works just fine in a pinch.

By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist

In the election of 2008 many Americans aspired for hope and change when Barack Obama won the White House and Democrats increased their majorities in Congress. Today signs of buyers’ remorse are everywhere.

Disgruntled voters opposed to policy proposals of the majority party confront senators and representatives. Thousands march on Washington to protest legislation that accrues more power for the national government, diminishes individual choices, and grows the national debt.

The disconnect between citizens and the Democratic Party is best illustrated by the debate over health care. Democrats differ as to whether to have government-run health insurance (public option) or nonprofit insurance cooperatives and who to tax to defray costs, but all Democratic bills result in government controlling the nation’s health care .

However, on Sept. 30 a Gallup Poll showed that the overwhelming majority of Americans embraced individual responsibility and rejected the idea of government responsibility for healthcare by 61 percent to 37 percent.

Polls have also shown that the majority of Americans are satisfied with their health insurance, and contrary to White House efforts, more of the nation’s physicians are opposing control by Washington and offering alternatives. Recently three former presidents of the American Medical Association — including a spokesman for an association of 10,000 physicians — advocated in a Wall Street Journal article for low cost health savings accounts, tax credits for individual and family health insurance policies, and comprehensive malpractice reform. GOP lawmakers have proposed the same ideas along with portable health insurance that can be sold across state lines.

There are many other areas where the Democratic party is disconnected from the concerns of the many — a disappointing lack of transparency as health care reform legislation is packaged in documents with over 1,000 pages of arcane language, a largely unspent $787 billion “stimulus” bill passed in February, and indecisiveness over the war in Afghanistan.

The situation at home where North Carolina is ruled by a Democratic legislature and a Democratic governor is no less encouraging.

Higher taxes are levied upon citizens as unemployment lurches toward 11 percent. This fiscal year’s budget was reduced because of the recession’s shortfalls in revenues, but in the preceding six-year period state spending increased more than 50 percent while the population increased only by about 10 percent. Where did the money go?

Much evidence shows it did not get to the right places.

Last December the Raleigh News and Observer reported on the dysfunctional state parole and probation system. The Observer revealed that “Since the start of 2000, 580 offenders have killed while on probation. Probation officers, hamstrung by vacancies and a sloppy bureaucracy, can’t locate nearly 14,000 criminals.”

Seven months after this report Patrick Burris, a parolee, murdered five people in South Carolina. To date, the parole-probation system still lacks resources necessary to perform its essential responsibility of protecting the public.

In 2007, funds for outpatient care for mental health patients were slashed, but from 2004-7 over $81 million went to “health and wellness” centers at UNC Asheville and Western Carolina University. During the 2007-9 budget cycles the General Assembly allocated $7 million a year for retreat centers for teachers while many of their colleagues faced job losses when the recession’s crunch came. Other examples of misallocated resources are too numerous to list here.

To whom should disillusioned voters turn? Many, disappointed in the Republican party in years past, have suggested a new party combining the energies of independents and other disaffected groups to find a way out of the nation’s morass.

However, those who would turn to a third or independent party should think about it further. There is no objective evidence to think an independent movement could marshall the political experience essential to run the government. Behind efforts to drive more and more power to Washington is an entrenched politicized bureaucracy in the legislative and executive branches. A new party, if it could elect candidates, would flounder on the rocks of partisan barriers that no beginner could navigate. Also, voters of conservative inclinations who reject Republicans for other candidates may see their votes produce unintended consequences.

In the 2008 election, Obama received all of the state’s electoral votes by receiving only 14,177 more votes than John McCain. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate received 25,722 votes. Write-in candidates received 13,942 votes.

The Republican Party and its new leadership has the party structure for a return to fiscal responsibility and a concern for constituents’ opinions. But first it must achieve majority status in Congress and the General Assembly.

In our legislative branches, it is the majority party that determines the chairmanships of committee, and it is in committees where the nitty gritty work of legislation is done. The most important decision that each member of Congress makes is the decision to organize with his party at the beginning of each session. Conservative voters may think Blue Dog Democrats advance their values, but the reality is that all Democrats must work within a committee structure dominated by liberal chairmen and co-chairmen. The liberals set the agenda. Ask Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid.

The Democratic leadership in Raleigh’s General Assembly similarly mutes conservative Republicans efforts.

Voters rejecting the change of the Obama Democrats would best serve their interests by supporting the Republican effort to claim majority status. The Republican Party, following significant defeats in two general elections, has returned to its roots and with new dedication affirmed its commitments to core conservative principles: limited government, local control, individual responsibility, strong defense and sound stewardship of state and national finances.

On Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Lambuth Inn at Lake Junaluska Haywood Republicans will have their annual Fall Harvest Dinner to raise funds and introduce party leaders and candidates. I will be the master of ceremonies and the dinner starts at 6 p.m. This is a great opportunity to observe a conservative party at work. For information about the dinner or this article contact me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Kirkwood Callahan is retired and lives in Waynesville. He has taught government at four southern universities.

The joint board that will run the eventual Haywood Regional Medical Center-WestCare affiliation needs to have a sitting Haywood County commissioner as a permanent member, as one Haywood County commissioner is now suggesting.

Commissioner Mark Swanger worries that the interest of Haywood County’s citizens — who own the buildings and property at HRMC — could be compromised if a commissioner is not on the new joint board. HRMC now operates as a public hospital, and most of its dealings are subjected to the state’s open meetings laws. The new venture with Carolina’s HealthCare System will form a private nonprofit, entitling citizens to very little knowledge about the decisionmaking process.

Swanger’s reasoning makes good sense: “While I don’t doubt the motives of anyone involved in this now, 10 years from now we will have an entirely different cast of characters, so counting on the trust issue is not good business in my view. I think a commissioner needs to be part of the operating agreement so the citizens who have the financial investment in the physical plant of Haywood Regional are property represented.”

There’s little doubt among those who have been following the affiliation of WestCare and HRMC that the board members from both hospitals are working with the best interests of their communities at heart. The driving force here is to provide three communities — Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties — with stronger, better delivery of health care services for many years into the future.

What if, however, some kind of cataclysm occurs at Carolina’s HealthCare and its smaller entities become expendable or begin to be treated as mere profit centers for certain types of specialized care rather than as stand-alone hospitals? Or if a future CEO from Charlotte begins to make decisions without regard to citizens in this region?

The kind of scenario described above is not likely to occur, and we would hope that the board members from this region — whomever they are — would stand up for our citizens. But county commissioners — and most elected officials — typically operate from a different mindset because at any monthly meeting they face reminders that they serve the public’s interest, whether it is someone complaining about taxes or a neighborhood group seeking help about barking dogs disrupting the peace.

This one is easy. Citizens in Haywood County — and those of Jackson and Swain, for that matter — would have another measure of confidence in this affiliation if a county commissioner gets a seat at the table.

The Town of Maggie Valley has a town board with four aldermen/alderwomen and a mayor with voting power. Each official serves a four-year term. This November, two spots on the Board of Aldermen are up for election. Alderman Mark DeMeola will not be running for re-election due to health issues with family members that will require him to travel out of the area often.

Aldermen – pick 2

Saralyn Price, 54, retired police chief and part-time restaurant hostess

Price is the only incumbent running for re-election. She has served on the town board for four years. In Price’s view, the town should operate as a team to bring economic development into Maggie Valley. “One of my biggest goals is to get everyone working together.”

Scott Pauley, 48, owner of Travelowes motel

Pauley said he’d like to put an end to the disconnect he sees between the town board and citizens. He plans to do that by providing an open ear to everyone’s concerns and bringing more transparency to the board. “You can’t make everybody happy, but if you’re honest and open from the get go, people aren’t going to be upset.”

Phillip Wight, 41, owner of the Clarketon motel and a heating/cooling company

One of Wight’s primary goals is to get things moving in Maggie Valley, especially when it comes to hiring a festival director. “Do they want to hire somebody or do they not? If I’m elected, it’s not going to take a lot of time to make decisions.”

Ron DeSimone, 56, general contractor

DeSimone said he’d like to focus a little more on services for residents, but also have the town encourage economic development by creating business-friendly zoning and ordinances. “Tourism is certainly a part of the picture, but it’s only a part. Not every business in Maggie Valley is a restaurant or hotel.”

Western Carolina University last week announced that the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in university history has netted a grand total of $51,826,915 in private giving for endowed scholarships, professorships and programmatic support.

The tally is more than $11 million above the $40 million goal announced when the campaign was publicly launched in February 2007.

“We have come further and progressed faster than we could have imagined when this campaign began,” WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo said. “Not only have we reached our goal, but we have far exceeded it. We had hoped to be able to raise $40 million by 2010, and here we are announcing more than $51 million on Oct. 15, 2009, a most historic day in the life of our university.”

Thirty-four percent of the amount raised in the campaign will go toward endowed professorships, which allow the university to attract accomplished scholars in a variety of academic disciplines. Thirty percent of the dollars raised will fund merit-based scholarships that will help WCU recruit highly qualified students, while 26 percent will be directed to current use initiatives such as the Loyalty Fund and Catamount Club, and 10 percent to programmatic endowed funds for academics, athletics and other university needs.

Fish biologists will discuss mercury contamination in fish in mountain lakes at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Swain Campus of Southwestern Community College.

The talk will also discuss other issues related to lake fish populations and lake fishermen.

State testing of walleye in Fontana and Santeetlah lakes two years ago showed high levels of mercury. It is unsafe for children under 15 or a pregnant or nursing woman to eat walleye from the lakes in any quantity. The general population should eat no more than six ounces a week, according to state health officials, or no more than one meal a month, according to the more stringent EPA suggestions.

Fontana and Santeetlah are the only two mountain lakes tested so far, and walleye is the only species that’s been tested. There is reason to believe other large fish species and other mountain lakes could also contaminated.

The mercury, a pollutant from coal-fired power plants, travels through the atmosphere and is rained out of the clouds. The larger the fish, the more mercury they have likely acquired through bioaccumulation.

Representatives from N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, including biologist Powell Wheeler who conducted most of the sampling, will give a talk geared toward fishermen. Topics will include gill netting, status of walleye population, mercury levels, new boat ramps, catch and release survivability and more.

The SCC building is located on the right side of U.S. 23-74 if traveling south from Bryson City, across from Mountain Lakes Marine.

By Brent Martin • Guest Columnist

When President John F. Kennedy formed a federal-state committee in 1963 known as the President’s Appalachian Regional Commission, one out of every three people living in Appalachia was living below the poverty line. Millions of Appalachians were fleeing for work in other regions, and per capita income was 23 percent lower than the U.S. average.

One of the solutions proposed by the ARC was to build over 3,000 miles of roads into Appalachia, roads that would bring jobs, wealth and modernization. And the roads did come. The alphabet soup of highway projects that came out of the ARC are visible everywhere in Appalachia today —– Corridor B, for example, or more commonly known as Interstate 26, was completed in 2003 at a cost of $250 million —– for the last nine miles of highway blasted through mountains from Asheville to Tennessee.

A small segment of Corridor K, which the ARC and NC DOT are working to complete, will come at a similar cost. Ten miles of Corridor K will come with a price tag of $350 million of federal and state tax dollars to blast a road from the Stecoah community through the Nantahala National Forest to Robbinsville. The ostensible reason for building the road is that it will solve Graham County’s problems of unemployment, poverty and isolation. These are serious problems, particularly since Graham’s unemployment and poverty rates are higher than state averages. But will building a four-lane highway solve these problems? The NC DOT claims it will.

Specifically, the DOT claims that a new four-lane highway will attract businesses, make commuting to work out of the county faster and easier, lure tourists who enjoy “reduced travel time and increased accessibility,” and improve access to medical facilities. What the DOT does not acknowledge is that highway construction jobs bring only a temporary bump in local spending and that very few of those dollars would circulate locally. Large crews and specialized equipment skills required by such a large project will likely mean importing many contract workers. Small rural economies have small economic multipliers, so few of those dollars will remain in the local economy. Contract workers will send paychecks to their families back home, and likely travel there themselves during their time off. Since the increased spending is known to be temporary, new retail businesses are unlikely to invest in new or expanded local stores.

Even after the highway is finished, an interstate through an isolated rural area carries people out as well as in, and would likely encourage Graham County residents to do more of their shopping outside the local area.

Expanding highway capacity in hopes of attracting manufacturers takes a backward-looking view of both the U.S. economy as a whole and this region in particular. Manufacturing jobs have declined throughout North Carolina’s western mountain counties, from 37 percent of the workforce in 1970 to 10 percent in 2007. It is not likely that a new four-lane highway will bring those jobs back, especially as fuel prices continue to climb over the coming decades.

Solid long-term economic development is based on the inherent strengths of an area. For Graham County, that includes a strong rural work ethic and unsurpassed wild natural surroundings. An interstate will not contribute to the former, and it will seriously damage the latter.

Jack Schultz, author of Boom Town USA: The 7 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns, documents the increasing popularity of small rural towns as the fastest growing economies in the nation. Increasingly, entrepreneurs are moving to these places because of their natural beauty and small-town atmosphere, and they bring their businesses and their retirement incomes with them. Schultz names Highlands as one of the “Golden Eagles” — the top 100 “Agurbs” in the nation. Highlands’ location is very similar to Robinsville’s: it’s in a valley surrounded by Western North Carolina’s beautiful mountains and is at a similar distance from interstate access. Clearly, an interstate is not necessary for economic success in this part of the state

At the other end of the state, Tyrrell County is featured in another recent publication, Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities. The least populated of all North Carolina counties (Graham is 98th), Tyrrell County has chosen to turn its remoteness into a marketing advantage. The county bills itself as “unspoiled, uncrowded, uncomplicated,” with attractions ranging from red wolves to the Scuppernong River nature trail. Per-capita personal income has risen by 11 percent (after adjusting for inflation) since the Balancing Nature and Commerce book was written, and Tyrell County’s unemployment rate now ranks 42nd in the state compared to Graham County’s fourth (November. 2007 data).

According to the Graham County Chamber of Commerce web site, “Graham County, filled with Smoky Mountain adventures, is becoming better known every year. With a natural beauty still unspoiled by crowds, it is truly a rare find in today’s world.”

If Graham intends to keep it this way, the county had best ask the ARC to provide Graham with a cash alternative to this destructive highway, and invest instead in the long-term preservation of the goose that will hopefully continue to lay golden eggs for years to come. Strip malls, convenience stores, and chain restaurants that come with the type of highway DOT is proposing will only strangle the life out of it.

(Brent Martin works for The Wilderness Society in Franklin, NC. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

Downtown Sylva will host ColorFest: Art of the Blue Ridge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 24. The event spotlights Western North Carolina artists’ work in shops and on Main Street sidewalks.

Artists will be demonstrating their work throughout the day, with several venues also featuring live music by performers including Karen Barnes, Chris Cooper and Ron Smith among others.

• It’s By Nature hosts Jack Stern, a national award-winning artist who creates large scale paintings of “mountains, water and light”

• Peebles spotlights well-known watercolorist Pamela Haddock showing original art based on local scenes of the Great Smoky Mountains and Michael Rogers, famed painter of the Appalachian Trail Series.

• Blew Glass has a fellow glass artist, Neal Hearn, who will show his glass boxes.

• Nichol’s House features artist Mark Copple, painter of still life and nature.

• Shot in the Dark Cafe shows two sisters’ artwork, Audrey Hayes and D. Hayes Mayer.

• Lulu’s Restaurant showcases Jane Revay, who shows her vividly colored mountain landscapes painted in oil on canvas.

• Underground Cafe & Coffee Shop shows the paintings of artist, Scottie Harris.

• Guadalupe’s Restaurant’s guest artist is Nikki Hinkie, a pastel painter who spontaneously creates scenes of nature and mountain life.

• Gallery One’s resident artists Joe Meigs and Tim Lewis demonstrate watercolor and computer design

• Lily’s Treasures shows the art of Linda A. Barrick, a children’s book illustrator and fine artist.

• Jackson’s General Store features the art of James Smythe, oil and pastel painter.

• Massies Furniture displays the artwork of Margot Johnson, an pastel and watercolor artist.

• Blackrock Outdoor’s artist is Bruce Bunch, an internationally-acclaimed artist who has won England’s “Queen’s Award” and many other awards of excellence for paintings of birds, dogs and fly fishing.

• In Your Ear Music is exhibiting fine art pottery by Julie Fawn Boisseau, an artist of Native American descent and Jadwiga Cataldo’s fine art jewelry.

• Advanced Medical Supplies features the bold palate knife paintings of William Clarke.

• Appalachian Log Homes showcases photographer Karen Lawrence’s award-winning wildlife photography, with close-up images of wildlife in their own habitat.

• Ironstone Grille features Doreyl Ammons Cain’s paintings of Appalachian culture.

• 553 Restaurant features Gayle Woody, fine painter, teacher and musician; JoAnn Meeks, pastel and acrylic artist; Frank Meeks, photographer; Kathy Rowe demonstrates fiber art and dyeing.

• Friends of the Library presents nature photographer, Etheree Chancellor.

• Penumbra Gallery’s own fine artist, Matthew Turlington, demonstrates his photography techniques.

• Livingston Kelley’s Photo showcases two artists, Jane McClure, a fine painter of local life and Lucius Salisbury, a sculpture artist who has turned to painting with pastels in an impressionistic style.

• Annie’s Bakery displays the pastel paintings of Becky Nelson.

• Yesterday’s Tree’s features Dave Punches, a painter .

For more information, visit spiritofappalachia.org or call 828.293.2239.

The Haywood Community College Woodsmen’s Team finished first in the 2009 John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet and Forest Festival Day held at the Cradle of Forestry near Brevard on Oct. 3.

The HCC Lumberjacks piled on victory after victory to win by a 73-point margin against Montgomery Community College, North Carolina State University, and Penn State Mont Alto.

Haywood got off to an early victory in Quiz Bowl as sophomores Bill Sweeney, Dawn Salley, Derek Morgan, and Cory Walsh beat N.C. State in the first round and Montgomery Community College in the finals.

Haywood’s archers kept up the tempo with a first and second place finish, and HCC’s defending log roll team of Frank Potts, Jeremy Graves, Dawn Salley, and Rance Rogers made their under-a-minute win look easy. The lumberjacks placed in almost every event, but secured the blowout with several first-place finishes.

The Nantahala Outdoor Center will hold its first ever fly-fishing competition Oct. 17 and 18 on the Nantahala River in Swain County.

The first day’s events will be held at the Nantahala Outdoor Center on U.S. 19 in the Gorge and will include a lineup of unique casting events.

“The first one is going to be this thing where competitors have to hit targets that are floating down the river,” said J.E.B. Hall, fishing programs director at NOC.

It’s not unusual for fly-fishing contests to have a qualifying round involving accuracy, but it is usually done on dry land with targets set up in a large field. The floating targets at the NOC contest will each be a different size and carry a different point value.

In the qualifying rounds, competitors will also try their luck casting for distance — again with a twist.

“They can’t use a rod and must use their hands,” Hall said.

The top 10 competitors go on to compete in the second-day, fishing part of the competition, held on the river from the Swain County line downstream to Little Wesser Falls. Fishermen will only be allowed to use one fly.

“There are a lot of fishing tournaments out there, but we wanted to make something different,” Hall said.

The NOC is known for its rafting trips, but the business has also begun offering fly-fishing trips from Asheville to east Tennessee.

“It [fly-fishing] is such a big thing in that part of North Carolina that they wanted to have their own fishing tournament,” Hall said.

The NOC hopes to make this an annual event. It was spurred this year by an early end to the rafting season.

“The river’s not running for the month of October, so we wanted to have some events throughout the month that would kind of fill in for that,” Hall said.

During October, Duke Energy is doing some work on its powerhouse on the lower portion of the river. That work will prevent the company from releasing enough water for whitewater rafting.

While the river may be too low for rafting, the natural flow should provide plenty of water for fishing, he said.

Ben Wiggins, who lives in Bryson City, said the natural flow of the river should make for some good fishing.

Wiggins has been fly-fishing for 12 years, but this will be his first competitive event.

“I think it’s going to be more of a lighthearted event,” Wiggins said.

Located in a field in the rural Caney Fork community of Jackson County is Judaculla Rock, a soapstone boulder covered with mysterious carvings. The lines, circles and squiggles appear to form distinct shapes, but exactly what they mean, and who carved them, is a source of much debate.

As long as 5,000 years ago, prehistoric Native Americans used the area around Judaculla to mine soapstone, a rock valued for its heat-retaining properties. The Cherokee, later residents of the area, considered the site to be sacred. The first carvings on the Judaculla Rock appeared about 1,500 years ago. According to Cherokee legend, they were created when Tsul-Kalu, the Great Slant-Eyed Giant, jumped from his home on the ridge above to the valley below, leaving a strange imprint.

Over time, others have tried to decipher the symbols. Are they a map of the area? The story of a hunt? Religious, perhaps? Often, different people see different things contained in the carvings.

“Depending on different people’s perspective, the eye will form different connections,” says Laurie Hansen with the North Carolina Rock Art Survey. “However, what the original person was intending to convey or put there, we’re not sure.”.

By Julie Ball

As a teenager, Josh Stephens worked summers as a rafting guide on the Nantahala River. He’d watch as trout came up on the water to eat flies.

Then a friend, David Woody, introduced him to fly-fishing. That was it for Stephens. He was hooked. He began fishing practically every day, spending hours on local rivers.

He packed his bags and moved to Wyoming and Yellowstone to fish.

Stephens, who moved back to Western North Carolina in 2007, is now a member of Fly-Fishing Team USA and one of the country’s top competitive fly-fishermen.

He and Woody recently took the top spot and $5,000 in prize money at the Rumble in the Rhododendron fly-fishing tournament held in Cherokee.

Both Woody and Stephens also will travel to Pennsylvania for a national competition later this month.

“A good competition is when you get really, really good anglers. And you get a place that’s got a mix of venues. You’ve got venues that are going to produce major numbers, and you’ve got venues that humble people to no end,” Stephens said.

Learning to fish

Woody, 48, of Andrews, began fly-fishing long before it gained popularity.

“Back 24 or 25 years ago, there wasn’t a whole lot of information on fly-fishing,” he said.

Woody taught himself to fly-fish, starting out with cheap rods and flies.

“It’s a real thinking man’s sport. You are always learning. It’s always challenging to figure the fish out,” Woody said.

Woody knew Stephens’ dad because they both worked for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

“He [Woody] would take me rabbit hunting on Saturday,” Stephens said. “He introduced me to the fly-fishing part when I was about 17.”

Stephens, who is now 32, took part in a distance casting competition while out west and won it. That began his involvement in competitive fly-fishing.

In 2005, Stephens made Fly-Fishing Team USA. He has competed in national and international events. His most recent international competition took place in Scotland.

Rumble in the Rhododendron

It took a wildcard to get Stephens and Woody into the final round of the recent Rumble in the Rhododendron fly-fishing the tournament. But they ended up beating out 21 other teams to take first place in tournament, which is in its second year.

The event, which was held in Cherokee late last month, consisted of two days of competition. It was organized by the North Carolina Fly-Fishing Team and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Fisheries and Wildlife Management.

The Sportsman’s Channel show, “Fly Rod Chronicles with Curtis Flemming” also filmed the event for one of its shows.

The first day of the competition, anglers competed in several casting events that measure accuracy and distance.

“They had to go through a casting course, and they were scored on their accuracy,” said Christopher Lee, member of the North Carolina Fly-Fishing Team.

The top 15 teams advanced to the second day of the competition when anglers actually hit the water.

Each team chose a section of water known as a “beat” to fish.

“Then they were allowed to go fish on their beat for two hours,” Lee said. “The rule was you could only score five fish.”

The fish were measured for length, and the six teams with the highest scores moved on to the final round.

Stephens and Woody drew the wilcard, which allowed them to advance.

An important part of competitive fly-fishing is picking the right stretch of river to fish.

“An experienced fly-fisherman is going to be able to read the water,” Lee said.

He or she might look for rocks in the water that would provide good hiding places for fish or a good cover of vegetation over the stream, which provides ample bug life for the fish.

More competition

These tournaments are getting more popular as interest in competitive fly-fishing grows.

It is extremely popular in Europe, and Europeans tend to dominate the international competition, according to Stephens.

In the U.S. the sport began in the west, but it has spread east and into Western North Carolina.

The North Carolina Fly-Fishing Team got its start several years ago.

“The N.C. Fly-Fishing Team is a group of anglers that came together about three years ago to develop our skills as competitive fly-fishermen,” Lee said. “I see a lot of interest in it, and I think we have some very talented anglers in this area. We’ve got so much trout water here. You’ve got a lot of opportunity to get out on the water to practice.”

Lee and Bryson City angler Paul Colcord will also be traveling to Pennsylvania for the national competition.

Stephens said he’s noticed the local competition is getting better.

“The competitive side of it is really just kind of hitting this part of the country a little harder,” he said.

But not everyone likes the idea of competitive fly-fishing.

Some more traditional fly-fishermen haven’t warmed to the competition.

“Fly-fishing has always been about getting rid of stress. Competitive fly-fishing seems to be about putting the stress back in it,” Lee said of one of the complaints about the competition.

But Stephens and Woody say it’s a great way to improve fly-fishing skills, and they predict it will continue to grow in popularity.

The Town of Franklin has a town board with six aldermen/alderwomen and a mayor who votes only to break ties. Mayors serve for two years, while aldermen/alderwomen serve for four. This year, the mayor and three aldermen/alderwomen are up for election.

Mayor — pick one

Joe Collins, 54, real estate attorney

Collins is finishing up his sixth year as mayor. He served as alderman for six years before that. Collins says he’s pleased with the switch to a government with a town manager and placing the new town hall in a remodeled building downtown rather than in East Franklin.

“I’m very proud and want us to keep it going.”

Bob Scott, 68, retired law enforcement officer and long-time newspaper reporter

Scott has served as alderman for almost six years. He emphasizes his support for open government and wants to get the public involved with monthly New England-style town hall meetings.

“In my mind, the government exists only to conduct the public’s business.”

Aldermen — pick three

Jerry Evans, 54, manager of Terminix Service

Evans has been an alderman for 12 years, with two of those as vice mayor. He said he’d like to see an economic development committee formed to keep money in Franklin and attract new businesses.

“Unless the town can help attract new businesses, there’s no opportunity for our children and grandchildren to live and work in Franklin.”

Billy Mashburn, 57, paralegal

Mashburn is Franklin’s vice mayor and has served as alderman for 12 years. He said that the town must be diligent about where it spends its tax dollars.

“Up to now the town is in pretty good financial shape. We haven’t taken a hit like other towns have.”

Angela Moore, 28, stay-at-home mom

Moore worked as Franklin’s GIS analyst for almost two years. She said she wants to get more people involved in local government and have the town lower its taxes. Moore said the town should only handle infrastructure, including roads, water and sewer.

“They shouldn’t be doing a whole lot other than that ... There’s a lot we can cut back on.”

Sissy Pattillo, 69, retired teacher/counselor

Pattillo has served as alderwoman for four years. She also serves on the Angel Medical Center Foundation board. Pattillo is a third-generation resident of the town with children and grandchildren living in the town.

“I have a vested interest here. Franklin has made great strides, and I would like to help keep that momentum going.”

Ron Winecoff, 69, real estate agent

Winecoff is the chairman of Angel Medical Center’s Board of Trustees and the county chairman of the investment and development committee. Winecoff said he wants to improve downtown and see the town make financial adjustments to accommodate for the recession.

“Government has trouble saying no to people, cutting down personnel and cost. I have no problem saying no.”

Joel Queen has been named the new program coordinator and instructor at the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts in Cherokee.

“We stand on the edge of becoming a truly unique voice in the world for indigenous art and culture,” Queen said.

Queen, whose art is displayed in such places as the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum in London, says that art is the same language wherever you go.

“The language of our Cherokee art is so storied with paintings, weaving, wood crafts, stonework and ceramics and I’ve spent my life creating in the Cherokee mediums,” said Queen, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “I’ve been able to make a successful living at it but now it’s time for me to give back and that’s why I chose to work with OICA.”

Luzene Hill, program outreach coordinator for the institute, also has work exhibited in private and corporate collections across the country. Hill said that the institute will benefit from leadership by an artist whose work has been passed down over the generations. The institute gives students a foundation in traditional methods but also gives them the freedom to create contemporary art, Hill said.

Students of all skill levels are welcome at the institute, a joint endeavor of the Eastern Band, Southwestern Community College and Western Carolina University.

Students can earn an associate of fine arts degree from Southwestern. If they want to continue their education, they can transfer to Western Carolina University, or any other college in the state university system, as a junior to pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree.

“Not all of our students want to go for a higher degree, and we help them find their place in the market,” said Queen. “That’s important — they can be a great artist, but if they don’t know how to market their work, they won’t be able to make a living from it.”

At present the classes are small enough that instructors can individualize a program around the student’s skill level.

“Here at the institute we respect and honor the traditions of our Cherokee ancestors. But after students master technique, we encourage them to show innovation and creativity,” said Queen.

“For our Cherokee culture to evolve, our art must evolve first ... and art is the same language, no matter where you go.”

While the institute is a mix of traditional and contemporary, the students are also a mix. About half are Cherokee and the others represent a mix of cultures, according to Hill, an EBCI-enrolled member.

“The more students we get, the more programs we can offer,” she said.

For more information call 828.497.3945 or stop by the new location at 70 Bingo Loop Road in Cherokee.

When Wayne Trapp made his proposal to the WPAC last April, he suggested that rather then depict actual countries in the “Celebrating Folkmoot” work, members of the community contribute designs for the seven flags that would become part of his sculpture.

Following his suggestion, the WPAC held the “Create Your Own Country and Design a Flag” Contest. After reviewing the submissions, Trapp advised the WPAC that he had taken inspiration from all 16 submitted flag designs. He will choose various elements from each design, and those will be reflected on the 14 surfaces of the flag components in his sculpture.

Following are the names of the winners and the unique countries they created:

• Faye Holliday, “Tilian,” a country where the mild sky and open earth devour and save and are at once tamed husbandries of blue and gold.

• Ian Moore,” Pohiccoria,” the Native American word colonists adopted for the hickory tree. This reclaims the word and the land in a new Southern Appalachian country.

• Yvonne van der Meer-Lappas, “Country of Peace and Harmony,” the flower of life symbolizing the harmony in nature’s design.

• Ian Moore, “Columnation,” a country of air...that we might breathe above the formless ocean of the cosmos.

• Caden Painter, “Gyre,” a nation carved out of icy tundra using steam power. Gyre has made steam its greatest technology and resource.

• Caden Painter, “Banmier,” high in the Himalayas, known for metallurgy and famous for swords forged in a secret process.

• Sharon Otruk, “Elysium,” the universal pipe dream that there exists a place where people live trouble-free lives, like utopia or paradise.

• Pamela Perrotti, “Triland,” the combination of three countries into one; an improved and simplified democracy, very progressive on technology, industry and agriculture.

• Valerie Osborne, “Zapponia,” is all about positive, enthusiastic, creative fun. It’s “sole” commodity and reason for being is shoes. Created by two sisters who like lots of choices.

• Glenda Taylor, “Appalachia,” a land of green mountains where harmony exists as a way of life. One slows down and enjoys the beauty of nature in a land of simple ways.

• Becky B. Fain, “Pangea,” meaning “entire earth” in Latin, this is a country dedicated to equality, democracy and diversity where citizens prosper, crimes are nonexistent and everyone lives in harmony.

• Claudia Gard Baltzer, “ICI,” where they celebrate the spirit of love, joy, honor, respect and peace and are happily united through music.

• Micah McBride, “Shape Colors”

• Ian McBride, “Starville”

• Leah McBride, “Shape Country”

• Morgan McBride, “Checkerville”

To learn more about the Waynesville Public Art Commission and their projects, contact the Downtown Waynesville Association at 828.456.3517 or visit the Town of Waynesville Web site at www.townofwaynesville.org and click on the public art tab.

The Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 will host the exhibit, “Natural Perspectives,” featuring the photographic work of Vietnam veteran George Schober.

The concept for Natural Perspectives, which opens Oct. 31, is based on three groups of subject matter: clouds, leaves, and botanicals. As Schober explains, “I have always viewed and interpreted the many wonders of our world from a visual perspective, photography has allowed me to express these vignettes of beauty, mystery and interest in a medium that is easily shared with others.”

Schober’s love of photography began in 1970 while stationed in Japan after a tour of duty in Vietnam as a United States Marine. He purchased his first 35mm camera and used it to explore and document this visually unique country and its peoples.

Subsequent years were devoted to education, career, and family, but photography always remained an outlet for Schober’s expression. His passion for photography was renewed in 1998 during a trip to Paris. And now Schober’s photography has progressed through film in the wet darkroom to digital images in the digital darkroom.

In addition to printing on archival paper, Schober uses the new AluminArte process; a unique, high definition imaging technology on aluminum. Unlike imaging processes that print on top of a coating applied to the paper, AluminArte embeds the image into the coated finish of the aluminum. The resulting image has a much wider range of colors that are richer and brighter than traditional professional grade prints with unrivaled depth of field. Schober’s portfolio includes images of his travels, landscapes, abstracts, candid street scenes, botanicals, and transportation images.

Natural Perspectives is the second showing for Schober in Gallery 86. In July 2005, the Arts Council opened its new visual art space with the Sawtooth Center’s traveling exhibition, A Thousand Words: Photographs by Vietnam Veterans. Schober is one of the veterans whose work was part of that exhibition.

Natural Perspectives runs through Saturday, Nov. 14. An artist’s reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 6 at the gallery.

For more information about the show visit the Haywood County Arts Council website at www.haywoodarts.org. This project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.