By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

A plan to distribute Macon County’s occupancy tax has been formulated, leaving the final approval up to the board of commissioners.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Sandi Dotherow loves the town of Franklin so much that she spends all her free time shopping and dining at downtown businesses.

The endangered Indiana bat saw a 9 percent population increase between 2005 and 2007, continuing a 12-year rise in bat numbers. However, a mysterious illness in the Northeast poses a threat to this success.

The number of Indiana bats rose from 469,000 to more than 513,000 between 2005 and 2007, according to population estimate surveys by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

“While that seems like a lot of bats, every winter they come together in massive numbers in a few caves and mines to hibernate, making them extremely vulnerable,” said Robert Currie, a bat biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Asheville.

Human disturbance at hibernation sites was the lead factor in the bat’s decline and led to its listing as an endangered species.

“Now the bat’s habit of aggregating in large numbers at hibernation sites may make them more vulnerable to the rapid spread of this new disease,” said Currie.

The disease was first noted in New York, where biologists documented the death of thousands of bats, including several hundred Indiana bats, all apparently infected by a fungus which formed white tufts on the bats’ muzzles, giving it the name white nose syndrome. In addition to the white muzzle, dead bats appeared to have used up their winter fat stores and had congregated much closer to cave entrances than usual.

Researchers are trying to determine if the fungus itself is responsible for the deaths or if its presence is a symptom of another problem.

Indiana bats have been known to hibernate in Western North Carolina. More commonly, however, the bats migrate to WNC and make it their home during the warmer months. Thus far, white nose syndrome has only been documented in New York and Vermont. Until they have a better understanding of the nature of the disease and how it’s transmitted, biologists urge cavers to help prevent its potential spread.

To that end, the Service provides these recommendations:

• Do not touch any bats (living or dead), especially those with a white muzzle or nose.

• If you are in a cave and see bats with white muzzles or noses, exit the cave immediately, avoiding contact with other bats. Do not enter any other caves prior to decontaminating your clothing and gear.

• Contact your state fish and wildlife agency or your nearest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office to report observations.

• Report any dead bats found outdoors or any unusual numbers of bats outside during cold weather, especially near a cave or mine where bats hibernate.

• Decontaminate your clothing and all caving equipment using these procedures:

– Remove your caving gear when you get to the vehicle and put it in a closed plastic garbage bag to prevent contamination of the interior or trunk.

– Wash caving clothes using hot water, detergent and a normal bleach cycle.

– Dry the clothes thoroughly and dry them at hot temperatures.

– Scrape the dirt from boots and soak them in a 10 percent bleach solution (one part chlorine bleach, nine parts water). Soak porous boots longer than nonporous boots.

– Wash or soak cave packs and thoroughly clean helmets and lights with a 10 percent bleach solution or a similarly effective disinfectant.

By Michael Beadle

Phyllis Jarvinen was tired of all the paperwork, the endless forms and bureaucratic red tape that clogged up her job as a therapist working with children.

When the Democratic primary election rolls around in Jackson County on May 6, many will finally get the chance they’ve been wanting — the opportunity to vote on the strict development regulations passed last year by county commissioners.

By Jim Janke • Special to SMN

Editor’s note: This is a regular feature on gardening by the Haywood County master gardeners. Look for it every other week.

Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes) is one of my favorites. Sow the seeds indoors anytime, and 10 to 12 weeks later you’ll have beautiful 4-inch tall plants. These make great houseplants, or will add color to shady garden beds if planted outside after the last frost. They come in various shades of red or white mixed with mottled green on the leaves. “Splash” is the most popular variety, and is carried by many seed companies. Grow Polka Dot plants for the foliage color, not for the very small flowers.

By Stephanie Wampler

Step-by-cautious step, the man crosses the room, casting his eyes in all directions to make sure no one is watching. He moves quietly but intently, focused completely on the object which beckons to him from across the room. It’s not a woman who calls, or a buddy. It’s not even a bowl game on TV. It’s something much more elemental: a light saber. He reaches out to touch it, and his fingers caress its polished silver surface (OK, plastic surface). He grips it carefully, presses the button to extend the blade (how does he know to do this?), and from deep within him comes ... zzzwwwhhh. The classic light saber sound.

By Chris Cooper

Last summer I wrote an article titled “I Played In A Classic Rock Cover Band And Lived To Tell About It.” It was a semi-humorous account of some friends getting together under the moniker of Alpine Taxi, banging out a batch of tunes in rehearsal, and performing them live at Mill & Main and Guadalupe Café. It was fun and sloppy, and noisy and exhilarating and ... it was a lot of things, some of which weren’t apparent to me until now.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

It’s lunchtime at the Open Door, a 12-year-old soup kitchen in the Frog Level community of Haywood County, and chatter and laughter fill the modest dining hall. Here, down-on-their-luck residents can get a free hot meal and some much-needed social support. The non-profit serves as a haven from the troubles of the outside world, say visitors.

By Brent Martin

Almost 10 years ago, science writer David Quammen published an essay in Harper’s Magazine titled A Planet of Weeds, which was later selected for Houghton Mifflin’s Best American Essays, 1999. It made a lasting impression on me, and over the years I have loaned it out numerous times, thought about it in the middle of the night, told perfect strangers about it over drinks, and am now writing about it in response to several recent news stories.

EcoBuilders

This Asheville area green building company co-owned by former Haywood County Environmental Science teacher Rob Moody and organic farmer turned Realtor Jack Bebber has just announced that it has been selected to be a part of a special edition of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition in New Orleans.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

As Macon County officials move forward with plans to build two new schools, community schools in Cowee, Iotla and Cullasaja could close their doors forever.

By Ed Seavey • Guest Columnist

The recent issue of the Smoky Mountain News (Jan. 16, “WNC Confronts Mental Health Crisis”) on the mental health crisis was interesting. Officials quoted proclaimed diplomatically that the issue is complex, as they wonder what went wrong with the mental health system. Though the issue of mental health is indeed complex, how we got there should be no mystery to those that have been involved in the process. Closed-door politics and the sovereignty of undying local control is what got us where we are.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Sometimes, amid the focus on such divisive issues as growth regulations or steep slope construction, it’s easy to forget that on the most basic level most people in the region share a similar feeling — a love of the mountains. An ambitious new project aims to make people remember what they love most about the land they live on, with the hope that pinpointing these ideas will instigate people to help protect it.

By Marsha Crites • Guest Columnist

Whether I am working on a watercolor design, organizing a community group, decorating a room, or getting to know a new person, I always enjoy beginning with a blank slate. No old baggage, muddled colors, or overgrown shrubs to deal with; just a nice open space with no clutter. Remember as a child the joy of a blank piece of paper and a new 64 Crayola set? Ah, the possibilities.

By David Curtis

Whew ... I survived another Valentine’s Day. That is a big accomplishment if you are a man, a man who’s married with teenage daughters.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

When Callie LaDue started shopping for a college, there was only one school that she had her eyes on — Western Carolina University.

“I liked it because it was a small campus but it wasn’t too small,” said the freshman biology major.

Moving to a small mountain town that was close to her hometown of Charlotte was another reason LaDue wanted to go to Western.

“It’s only two hours away from home,” she said.

LaDue is one of the 1,260 students that enrolled as freshmen at WCU for the 2007-2008 school year. Administrative officials were banking on enrolling 1,550 students but fell short of that goal by a small margin. However, there’s no chance the school will fall short for the fall semester of 2008.

“Our demand far exceeds our capacity this year,” said Alan Kines, WCU’s director of undergraduate admissions.

Workers at the admissions office have been sifting through piles of freshman applications. The university had received 6,388 applications as of Feb. 11, almost double last year’s number of 3,908.

A sudden spike

University officials attribute the sudden spike in freshman applications at WCU to a new marketing plan. The university has hired a Virginia-based consulting firm, Royall and Co., to help find students who would enjoy attending the small mountain university for the next four to five years, Kines explained.

The university previously attracted students by search and fulfillment practices, which is a tool that many universities use. When a student takes his or her SAT or ACT, they complete a survey. Based on the results from the survey, university officials would buy student names that meet the university criteria for acceptance. The university then mails information to these individuals to entice them to attend.

Under the new marketing plan, an extensive database owned by the consulting firm is used by admissions officials to fine-tine their search. The database contains the most recent information about students, which allows officials to target those that would be more inclined to attend WCU, Kines explained.

“We are just filling the bucket better,” he said.

Even though the university is seeing a spike in freshman applications, it doesn’t mean the WCU will be overrun with students. The university plans to enroll 1,550 students, which was its goal for last year.

“We are being very deliberate about keeping the class at a number we can house, feed and continue to have a teaching ratio of 14 to 1,” Kines said.

Additionally, the new marketing plan has university representatives hitting the highway in a statewide promotional campaign.

“We are going into areas where we can maximize the message,” Kines said. For instance, the university decided to market itself to students in Wilmington instead of Fayetteville. The move was prompted by information gathered from the consulting firm.

“We are not guessing anymore,” he said.

Different reasons

However, the university’s new marketing plan did not entice LaDue to attend WCU. She learned about the Cullowhee campus when she was in middle school.

“I had some family members come here,” she said.

The university is making an effort to increase its out-of-state enrollment. Officials are starting to reach out to students who live in Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida and New Jersey.

By searching for students in North Carolina and out of state — which is increasing the number of applicants — the university is able to be more selective about who it accepts. That means higher-achieving freshmen.

“The bottom line is we want better students to teach,” said Dr. Fred Hinson, senior vice chancellor of enrollment management at WCU.

System-wide spike

Western is not the only University of North Carolina system college to experience a surge in applicants. Applicant numbers are also up at Appalachian State University, said Paul Hiatt, director of admissions. Last year the university had 12,946 applications and enrolled 2,725 students. University officials are banking on this number to go up, which is causing them to bump enrollment by a small margin of 50 students.

As of last week, the university had more than 14,000 applicants for the fall 2008 freshman class and officials expect that number to rise.

“It looks like we’re getting close to 15,000 applications, and we may get as many as 16,000,” Hiatt said.

Hiatt also attributes the university marketing plan for the increase in freshman applications.

“We have a pretty extensive marketing approach,” he said.

The university hosts several workshops promoting the school in major metropolitan areas.

“We travel and do mass mailing throughout North Carolina but also the Southeast as well as the Northeast and Midwest,” he said.

Over the past four years officials at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro have seen an increase in freshman applications as well.

“UNCG has enjoyed a steady and robust growth in applications for admission and enrollment over recent years,” said Steve Gilliam, assistant vice chancellor of university relations at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. As an example, freshman applications increased 24 percent—from 8,191 to 10,151— in the four-year period from fall 2003 to fall 2007. The size of the freshman class during the same period has increased 19 percent from 2,055 in 2003 to 2,445 in 2007, he said.

And university officials are expecting freshman applications to continue to rise for 2008. The university has received 8,539 applications as of Jan. 31. Last year at this time the university had 8,856 freshman applications and enrolled 2,446.

However, UNCG’s admission policy is quite different than other state university when it comes to freshman class size.

“UNCG will admit all qualified applicants and does not have a limitation on the admitted freshman class size,” said Gilliam.

Raising the bar

The academic standard to be accepted into the freshman class at WCU is on the rise as more students want to attend the school.

“We have much higher metric scores in regard to SAT and GPA scores,” Kines said.

Kines said Western is moving to the pool of top state universities, which will give high-achieving students another option for college.

“These kids have a choice of were they want to go,” Kines.

The average SAT score for WCU has risen 37 points from last year. As for GPA, the average for last year was 3.6 and this year students have a 3.71.

Officials say an advantage to high test scores and better students is that professors can teach a much more advanced curriculum.

“Students are better prepared to rise to the level of instruction,” Kines said.

Brian Railsback, dean of the WCU Honors College, says the difference is noticeable.

“The academic profile of the freshman honors student keeps on going up,” Railsback said.

The Honors College accepts 150 students a semester.

“We have raised the GPA requirement to a weighted 4.0,” said Railsback. “This is the highest for an Honors College in the state. Students who are high achievers are looking to Western.”

Railsbacks says more students are looking at WCU because of its professors and the university’s high-profile programs. Those include construction management, education, criminal justice, and health sciences. Officials are also expecting the new motion picture program to also grow quickly, Hinson said.

Requirements elsewhere send students to WCU

However, some freshmen at WCU say they wound up in Cullowhee because they did not get accepted at their first choice college. That’s what happened to Meredith Troutman of Fayetteville.

Troutman, a biology major, wants to become a marine biologist. She wanted to attend UNC-Wilmington but was not accepted. She decided to go to WCU for her undergraduate degree.

“It’s a change of scene,” she said. “I’ve never lived in the mountains, and the people are really friendly.

Since Troutman plans to become a marine biologist she will have to transfer to another school to complete her degree.

“I am going to have to transfer at some point,” she said.

Just as schools like WCU, ASU and UNCG are experiencing a surge in freshman applicants, so are schools like UNC and North Carolina State. Students who used to have the credentials to get in those schools are being turned down and end up at a college that wasn’t their first choice.

Freshman Garrett Powell of Charlotte is at Western because he says “it was easy to get into.”

Powell did not apply to any other state university. He says he liked WCU because it was located in the mountains.

“It’s real laid back here,” he said.

Powell is majoring in the university’s entrepreneurship program. It’s this specific program that attracted him to consider Western for his degree.

“Its not offered at many places,” he said.

The academic requirements to attend Appalachian State University are similar to Western. Students must have an average GPA of 3.8 and must have score of 1,190 on their SAT’s. Admission workers also look at the student’s entire application and make a decision based on a variety of factors, they said.

At UNCG, the average SAT score for the fall 2007 freshmen class was 1,039.

Staying is the hard part

At any university, many freshmen tend to drop out of school during their first year. At Western, 12 percent of the 2007 freshman class has dropped out.

LaDue’s roommate has already dropped out. She lives in Walker Hall and says that the dormitory is becoming a lot quieter since the beginning of the school year.

“There are at least six people on my floor that have lost their roommates,” she said.

LaDue says many of her freshmen classmates have dropped out after skipping too many classes.

“You have to go to class if you want to stay here,” she said.

Officials says the dropout rate at WCU is low, but Western is also a small school. Hinson says that more students are staying at Western because they want to be at the university.

“We are getting students who love the town of Cullowhee and want to be here,” he said.

He also says that the school works very closely with students through its advising department to help them when problems arise.

At Appalachian State, about 13. 4 percent of the freshman class has dropped out so far. At the University of North Carolina Greensboro the school had 10.4 percent of students leave after one semester.

Changing times

As more students look to WCU to be their alma mater, professors at the school are seeing new dynamics take place in the classroom. At least that’s what Dr. Richard Starnes, professor of history, has experienced in several freshman classes he teaches.

Starnes says the higher SAT and GPA scores are making an impact in the classroom.

“Five years ago the freshman tended to be more drawn from Western North Carolina,” he said. “But now we are seeing a good level of students from outside WNC. We are getting a good mix of urban and rural kids together, which is creating a good mix of diversity.”

Starnes says the new mix of students is creating a synergy in humanities classes

“That diversity is allowing us to explore issues that we might not otherwise have looked at years ago,” he said.

Beth Huber, director of freshman year composition, says first-year students are creating a positive impact in the classroom setting.

“I have seen quite a dramatic increase in academic preparation,” said Huber, who has been teaching English composition for the last three years.

She says more students are taking the subject more seriously and are not missing class like previous freshman classes.

“The students are writing better. I can see it,” she said. “They are working harder and they seem to want to do so.”

“Whatever the process the university is using, it’s working,” she added.

However, Jim Addison, an Honors English professor, says he has not see a change in the student’s academic performance.

“It’s been the same,” he said. Addison has been teaching at WCU for 28 years.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

The beautiful mountain scenery that covers Swain County hides an ugly truth — the area is combating a major drug problem, and officials aren’t quite sure how to stop it.

The Cherokee Tribal Trout Hatchery is embarking on $500,000 renovation project that will more than double its already impressive capacity for raising trout.

The resignation on Feb. 25 of Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice was preceded by a tense, hour-long public meeting where hospital trustees expressed surprise and irritation toward Rice’s lack of candor about ongoing, serious problems uncovered by inspectors.

By Michael Beadle

Mamas, it’s OK to let your sons grow up to be cowboys — especially if they end up singin’ and dancin’ in the Summit choir at Tuscola High School.

“Juno”

The little movie that could is this year’s “Little Miss Sunshine,” another quirky comedy that broke out of its expected art house niche and into the Cineplexes. Former exotic dancer Diablo Cody just won the Academy Award for best original screenplay, and her script is not only hip but wise.

June 9, 2006

Haywood Regional Medical Center receives a visit from the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Medicaid and Medicare Services, the state agency responsible for overseeing hospital compliance with standard of care requirements. Inspectors cite the hospital for its lack of adequate and qualified nursing staff after determining there was a failure to provide nursing treatment pursuant to doctors’ orders for six out of seven patients reviewed. Two of six nurses held out-of-date RN licenses, according to inspectors. In two cases, nurses restrained a patient without physician’s orders — one an unconscious victim of alcohol poisoning.

Some are saying Regional Medical Center faces an uncertain future, but we believe it is vitally important for community leaders, the medical community and anyone else who cares to come together and do whatever it takes to help this hospital survive as an independent health care center.

Mountain Neighbors for Needmore Preservation hope to raise about $250,000 to make a family campground on the Needmore tract a reality.

By Chris Cooper

In guitar circles, certain names are spoken in hushed, respectful tones. Players like Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth and Scott Henderson — among others, of course — represent the best of the best in regards to the modern jazz/rock genre. These musicians absorbed the nuances of the jazz language and married these ideas to rock’s grittiness and attitude. The result is music that, when it’s not leaping over the head of most listeners, can at one moment inspire and the next make you want to take that six-string plank you noodle around on occasionally out back and burn it out of sheer intimidation.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Jackson County officials say its high-profile tenant at the Green Energy Park is in violation of its lease, and now the county is requiring the biodiesel producer to comply or move elsewhere.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Bryson City Alderman have adopted the town’s first land development plan.

By Timm Muth

My thanks to the editor for giving me the opportunity to respond to the recent allegations about safety at the Green Energy Park. The article in last week’s paper (“Issues flare up at Green Energy Park,” Feb. 27 SMN) contained a number of inaccuracies about our gas piping system in particular. I’ll try here to set the record straight.

The Driscoplex 4100 HDPE (high density polyethylene) piping that we use is the industry standard for use in landfill gas systems. According to Kim Witterman with Lee Supply Company (the East Coast distributor for such piping), “most major landfills on the East Coast use this pipe for gas distribution.” Our pipe was specified and installed by one of the most experienced landfill gas installers in the country, McGee Environmental, which has installed the same pipe at landfills throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.

There are two types of pipe that we could have used for gas distribution: HDPE or stainless steel. Since HDPE pipe connections are thermo-welded together, they all but eliminate the chance of an accidental gas leak. Stainless steel piping, in our application, would have required dozens of fittings and connectors, each connection a potential leak site. The HDPE pipe is rated to withstand a pressure of 150 psi, and our piping arrangement was pressure-tested after installation to 100 psi to check for leaks, even though our gas system actually operates at only 1/2 psi.

Our piping and gas collection system is inspected and monitored monthly by McGee Environmental, while our gas and water sample wells are monitored quarterly by Altamont Environmental. Our blacksmith forges (where we currently burn the landfill gas) are equipped with two separate safety systems to shut off gas flow in case of an emergency. We’ve also installed protective ballard posts (large, concrete-filled pipes) around each pipe or condensate trap that rises above ground to prevent any accidental damage by vehicles or equipment.

I recognize that to laymen, with little or no industry experience, some aspects of our construction may seem odd. Pipe supports must be designed and installed in a way that allow for expansion and contraction of the pipe as the outside temperature changes. Gas pipe is black in color due to the addition of carbon black to its makeup, which protects against damage from the sun’s UV rays. And the thermo-welded joints on our pipes are actually stronger than the original pipe walls and twice as thick. Based on our research, and on the products used at other landfill gas projects across the country, we stand behind our statement that the piping system we’ve used is safe and in compliance with industry standards. Above all else, the safety of our tenants, employees, and members of the public is, and will always be, our chief concern.

To be honest, the insinuation that the gas pipe that runs beneath the access road to the staffed recycling center presents a danger to the public is, quite simply, ridiculous. This is no “time bomb,” as stated in last week’s article. The pipe was installed under a plan approved by the DOT, which meets all applicable DOT and DENR regulations. The pipe is buried roughly five feet underground and placed inside an engineered culvert pipe where it travels beneath the roadway. This situation is no different than the thousands of feet of natural gas pipe buried beneath the streets of Sylva and Dillsboro. No one worries about those pipes on a daily basis, nor should they worry about our pipes.

Landfill reduces toxin releases

I also need to address the comment concerning “the amount of toxic pollution it (the Green Energy Park) produces.” The GEP does not produce toxic pollution; in fact, we prevent 222 tons of methane gas from entering the atmosphere each year. This reduction in pollution provides roughly the same amount of environmental benefits as removing 916 cars off the road or planting 1,300 acres of forests each year. As I mentioned in a previous article, landfills are dirty places, no argument; but our sample testing shows no contamination to groundwater sources, and even samples taken from the body of the landfill fall well below DENR regulatory limits.

In case anyone is wondering, my career in the energy industry began in 1980, working in nuclear power plant construction. Since then, I’ve earned an engineering degree from Virginia Tech and have worked with nuclear plant operations, coal-fired plants, large and small-scale hydroelectric dams, wind turbines, fuel cells, and solar installations. I’ve spent countless hours as an engineer, project manager, and technical writer in paper mills, battery factories, textile mills, printed circuit board plants, tobacco and food-processing facilities. I have also worked for both the N.C State Energy Office and the N.C. Solar Center, overseeing a variety of landfill gas projects and other renewable energy initiatives around the state. And yes, for a few years I enjoyed being a professional, dirt-encrusted mountain biker, leading bike tours through these beautiful mountains of ours, and writing books and magazine articles on the subject.

The Green Energy Park is a county-funded effort, and as such the taxpayers have a vested interest in the outcome of the project. I reluctantly mentioned my background above so that the folks in my community will know a little more about my qualifications and experience level. I took this job because I was honored that County Manager Ken Westmoreland and the county commissioners would entrust me with such an exciting and important project as the Jackson County Green Energy Park. I felt that this project offered me a chance to make something really happen in Jackson County, and to give something valuable and enduring back to my newly-adopted home. I believe in this project because it’s the right thing to do for our community, for our children, and for our environment: to turn trash into treasure, and change a sow’s ear into a silk purse.

So please stay tuned, as we’ve got some exciting things in store. We’ll build a community project that everyone in Jackson County can be proud of, where the public can enjoy watching and learning from artists as they practice their crafts. We’ll help teach kids why a clean environment is so important to all of us. We’ll continue to build bridges between the students and faculty at WCU, and our local community. And we’ll give artists and other entrepreneurs the opportunity to work hard and make their own dreams a reality. Please come and visit us, see what we’re doing, ask all the questions you want, and give us your suggestions. Because this project belongs to you, the people of Jackson County, and we want all of you to come be a part of it.

(Timm Muth can be reached This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

A Continual Feast

Evelyn Vitz’s cookbook offers a fine array of rituals and recipes from the Christian calendar. Greek lamb soup, baked Easter ham, and Russian Easter bread, for example, are only a few of the recipes offered for the approaching Easter season. Vitz divides her book into sections honoring the high Christian holidays — Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter — but also includes many entries on saints and their feast days, on the practice of fasting, and on simple day-to-day cooking. Though aimed primarily at a Catholic and Orthodox audience, the recipes of A Continual Feast will also pleasure Protestant palates.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Donning purple ribbons of support, members of the community came together Monday in a show of encouragement for the embattled Haywood Regional Medical Center, which is facing a financial crisis after losing its Medicare and Medicaid funding.

By David Curtis

Just when you thought you had enough to worry about here comes a news report that’s right out of a bad Hollywood B movie — the giant snakes are coming.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Musicians will soon be able add another venue to their tour list next year.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Next year Eastern Band of Cherokee tribal members will be able to watch the latest blockbuster flicks on the big screen, get their weekly groceries at Wal-Mart and enjoy a friendly game of golf on an 18-hole championship course — all without ever leaving the reservation.

Anyone following the saga of Haywood Regional Medical Center has to feel like their head is spinning. So much has happened so fast that keeping it all straight is likely proving difficult, even for those with the most nimble minds.

By Julia Merchant

With its CEO gone and a new consulting group on board, Haywood Regional Medical Center is working around the clock to regain its Medicare and Medicaid funding.

Jackson County residents weighed in on proposed road improvements for N.C. 107 at a citizens informational workshop Feb. 25 at Western Carolina University’s Ramsey Center.

“Keep it clean! We’re downstream!” was the rallying cry for protesters at a demonstration held Saturday (March 1) demanding that Evergreen Packaging clean up the Pigeon River.

You start a band. The band writes material, rehearses, and plays some shows. What’s the next step? Merchandising? A world tour? Possibly a big fat record deal and huge cash advance from the label? Wait a minute; the record industry is currently dying a slow and painful death, so ... maybe not.

By Michael Beadle

Sara Tramper can take you to the powwow at end of the world.

New Zealand — Whitireia Performing Arts

Whitireia Performing Arts is affiliated with New Zealand College of Performing Arts. This school is an energetic setting that prides itself on high-quality performing art programs and performers.

For many teens growing up in Haywood County, becoming a Folkmoot guide is a dream come true. The job means spending two weeks with a group of international dancers and musicians, helping them with everything from getting to performances on time to making trips to Walmart for shopping excursions.

Learn about biological changes afoot in the Tuckasegee River since the removal of the Dillsboro dam two years ago during a program by a fish biologist at 7 p.m. July 23 in Sylva.

Mark Cantrell of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been monitoring aquatic species in the river before and after demolition of the dam, including how the endangered elk-toe mussel is adapting to the new river ecosystem where the dam once was. The Watershed Association of the Tuckaseigee River will host a talk by Cantrell, as well as provide an update on its own water quality projects.

Learn about mapping of river cane plots, the creation of an interpretive creek-side trail at Monteith Farmstead Park in Dillsboro and volunteer clean-ups of local waterways.

The program will be held at the Jackson County Library. Socializing starts at 6:15 p.m., with the formal program starting at 7 p.m. Watrnc.org.

A guided canoe float trip down the Little Tennessee River will be held on July 19 as part of the Highlands Biological Foundation Think About Thursdays series. 

The fast growing sport of Open Water Swimming has been added to the Lake Logan Multisport Festival held Aug. 4 and 5 at Lake Logan in Haywood County.

The open water event will be held on Sunday. The weekend’s events include a triathlon — with the triple combo of swimming, biking and running — as well as an aquathlon comprised of just swimming and running.

The Lake Logan Triathlon was first launched in 2006. It has grown from 180 participants in its first year to over 700 participants each of the last two years. There is now an international and sprint distance triathlon, the aquathlon, and now an open water swim.

The event organizer, Glory Hound Events, estimates the open water event will bring another 50 to 100 athletes.

The open water race will be 1,500 meters and is sanctioned by US Masters Swimming. www.GloryHoundEvents.com.

Girls on the Run is reaching out to elementary and middle school girls in Franklin to get involved in a group running program designed to build self-esteem and confidence.

An open house for girls, their parents and volunteers will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on July 24 at Franklin Health and Fitness Center.

Nearly 900 girls across 14 counties in WNC participated in Girls on the Run in 2011. The program, which is for girls in third through eighth grade, meets twice a week for 12 weeks, preparing the girls to run a non-competitive 5K.

Girls on the Run is a non-profit that inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident. Girls are empowered with a greater self-awareness, a sense of achievement and a foundation in team building.

www.gotrwnc.org or 828.713.4290.

River cane, a native type of bamboo that once grew in large stands along mountain rivers, has gotten a helping hand from at-risk youth at Oconaluftee Job Corps Center in the Smokies.