Admin
More than 100 restaurants will participate in the Western North Carolina AIDS Project’s annual Dining Out for Life benefit Thursday, April 28.
Restaurants in Arden, Black Mountain, Brevard, Flat Rock Hendersonville, Maggie Valley, Saluda, Waynesville, Weaverville and Woodfin will donate 20 percent of their gross sales to the WNC AIDS Project.
Last year’s event raised more than $120,000. Money raised will help the organization continue its mission of increasing awareness to at risk individuals through their outreach education and prevention programs and provide case managed care to those already affected by HIV/AIDS.
The Waynesville Kodokan Judo Club has moved its classes to the Waynesville Recreation Center.
Classes are from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are offered for adults and children as young as four.
Judo club members must purchase an annual membership to the Waynesville Recreation Center plus pay $20 per month for club dues.
The club travels to state and national tournaments throughout the year, most recently to Atlanta, Raleigh and Jacksonville, N.C.
828.506.0327.
The first 2011 luncheon and business meeting of the Mountain High Republican Women’s Club will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 5, at The Oak Street Cafe, (formerly Cafe of the Arts) on Main Street in Highlands.
The featured speaker will be Orville Coward Jr., a Jackson County attorney, whose topic will be the history of the North Carolina Republican Party. The cost is $20 in advance or $25 at the door. 828.200.0437 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Renovations are set to begin on Harrill Hall, a residence at Western Carolina University, including energy efficiency improvements that would qualify the building for nationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
WCU’s board of trustees approved funding for the project earlier this month and work is scheduled to begin in May. The project will cost $15 million and should be completed by August 2012.
A free bridal show is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 9, at the Whistle Stop Mall in Franklin. The event will feature more than 40 vendors from across the region, covering all aspects of the wedding industry, including caterers, bakers, florists, travel agencies, venues and more. Guests will also be eligible for $500 in door prizes.
The show is hosted by the Center for New Mountain Business.
828.369.8660 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A heavy load sky air crane helicopter, one of the world’s largest commercially available helicopters, lifted 15,000 pounds of air conditioning equipment into place at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel this week.
The RTU-6 Semco rooftop air handler was installed as part of the casino’s $633 million expansion plan. The Sikorsky helicopter, which can lift up to 25,000 pounds, carried three separate pieces of the equipment to the roof. The air conditioners are chilled with water units with heat recover wheels and will condition all outside air to decrease smoke within the property.
Faculty and staff at the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University in northern California have built a hydrogen fuel cell power box for Southwestern Community Center.
Ron Poor received grant funds through the Appalachian Regional Commission to purchase the fuel cell, which will be used to teach the concepts of hydrogen based renewable energy.
“It’s basically the same hydrogen fuel cell technology NASA uses,” said Poor.
In the system hydrogen, stored in a small-pressurized cylinder, is fed to a proton exchange membrane fuel cell to produce direct current electricity.
The patented low air pressure design ensures high fuel cell system efficiency, Poor explained. The 16-cell PEM fuel cell power system has a peak power of 125 watts.
In basic terms, Poor said a small inverter converts the fuel cell’s 12 volts direct current output to 110 volts alternating current. It’s a pollution-free renewable energy system and the only by-products, he said, are water and heat.
The All-American Boys Chorus will perform at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 3, at Franklin’s Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts.
Featuring boys ages 8 to 15 from more than 30 cities in Southern California, the chorus is one of the most widely traveled boys’ choirs in the world.
In addition to providing its members with musical training and performance opportunities, The All-American Boys Chorus inspires its young members to become outstanding people, as well. The chorus seeks to nurture a boy’s self-discipline and sense of responsibility, creating not only a professionally trained singer, but also a leader who understands the real work that produces true accomplishment.
For tickets, visit www.greatmountainmusic.com or call 866.273.4615.
A community old-time music JAMboree is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, at the Fines Creek School in Clyde to raise funds for the Haywood County Arts Council’s Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) afterschool program. A barbecue will also be available from 5 to 8 p.m.
The arts council and the Fines Creek Community Association are hosting the show, which will feature a cake walk, flat foot dancing and a square dance called by former N.C. Senator Joe Sam Queen, as well as a bluegrass jam with musicians young and old.
Jim Sisk, a legendary old-time musician, will receive the first Haywood Master Mountain Musician award for his decades in the local Appalachian music scene. Sisk, 86, is a Bethel native who recorded and traveled locally, nationally and internationally with his band the Carolina Country Boys.
Prices are $15 for adults and $10 for children for the barbecue and jamboree. Supper only is $8 per adult, $5 per child and the jamboree only is $10 per adult, $5 per child.
828.452.0593 or stop by the office at 86 N. Main Street in Waynesville to purchase tickets.
Join One Step Closer as it celebrates one year of the gospel music ministry at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 2 at the Bryson City Church of God. The singing and reunion will feature special guests the Barker Family and Walking By Faith. A full-service nursery, and hearing assistance systems will be available. Refreshments will be served immediately following the singing. www.1scgospel.com.
Chorus students at Pisgah High School are gearing up for the annual country show called “Where the Green Grass Grows.”
The show will feature group and solo acts from the elite show choir Orion and spring semester chorus classes. A live band will accompany soloists. Kendra Medford, Pisgah’s chorus teacher, looks forward to the show each year because she believes it gives students a chance to shine outside of sports and academia. “Even though country music doesn’t seem like an art form sometimes this is the only form of art some kids can be involved in,” she said.
The country show will take place at 6 p.m. each night Thursday, March 31 to Saturday, April 2 at the Pisgah auditorium. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased by calling the school, at Elite Hair and Nail Salon in Waynesville or at the door of the show. Proceeds help students pay for a choral trip to Disney World in May.
The annual Heritage Alive Mountain Youth Talent Contest is coming to downtown Sylva on Saturday, April 23, as part of the Greening Up the Mountains Festival.
Young artists ages 5 to 18 can showcase their talents in music, dance and poetry, prose or storytelling. 4-H will also host contests in Macon and Swain counties later in the year, and winners from all three competitions will have the opportunity to compete at the district and state level.
To enter, call 828.586.4009 or visit jackson.ces.ncsu.edu or www.spiritofappalachia.org.
Claymates, in conjunction with Country Traditions, is hosting a Ladies Night from 6 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the pottery painting studio in Dillsboro.
Light snacks will be free of charge, while Country Traditions will be bringing a selection of wine samples for ladies over 21. All ladies 14 and over will receive 20 percent off all pottery purchases and a pottery/wine basket door prize, valued at over $30, will be given away.
828.631.3133.
International Day, a festival of cultures, celebrates its 32nd year from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, at Western Carolina University.
The festival will feature music, dance, arts and crafts, entertainment and food from a variety of countries in an effort to promote cultural awareness and appreciation. The event is free open to the public.
Scottish Highland pipes and drums, an Indonesian gamelan ensemble and a Saudi Arabian mock wedding are among festival events, along with information booths about international food, student organizations and traditions.
For information, call 828.227.2557, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.wcu.edu/28443.asp.
It’s finally here: the week Haywood County property owners find out just how well their home and land values held up through the recession.
It’s not secret the real estate market tanked in the mountains compared to the hey day in the first half of the decade. But did the downturn wreak havoc on your home’s value or did you weather the storm with your price intact?
Find out this week as property appraisal notices from the county begin arriving in mailboxes. Notices with your new home and land values were sent out Monday (March 28.)
Higher priced homes are more likely to drop, as well subdivision lots, while median priced homes have held their value better and may see increases.
The last countywide appraisal was in 2006.
Ramp Biscuits
4 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Heaping T Baking Powder
½ cup Shortening or oil
2 cups Buttermilk
1 cup uncooked Minced Ramps
Sift flour, salt, baking powder and soda together. Cut in shortening until mixture looks like grapenuts, add ramps and enough buttermilk to make a soft dough ball, make sure ramps are well mixed in dough. Turn out on floured surface.
Knead dough from north to south, east to west adding flour if too sticky, the more you knead the lighter the bread, flatten the dough and cut out your biscuits or just leave as flat bread or "pone."
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place biscuits on a lightly greased pan, lightly caramelize a small about of ramps in a bit of butter, strain out ramps and brush the top of your bread with the butter, place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Pry a biscuit open to see if it is done, if not return to oven for a few more minutes baking time.
Baking time depends on your oven and the thickness of the biscuits... when the bread is done the ramps will be too. Serve immediately with real butter for best experience.
Note*** If you are using baking mix use 4 cup mix, ½ cup shortening, 2 cup buttermilk, 1 cup minced ramps and follow package directions.
You may also use self-rising flour, shortening, buttermilk and ramps. Whole milk can be substituted for buttermilk follow directions.
For heavier bread leave out the shortening and use old fashioned buttermilk, this is a better recipe for diabetics.
Killed Ramps and Branch Lettuce
1 quart of ramps with tops
1 quart of branch lettuce
1 package of bacon
Fry bacon crisp and set aside to drain. Chop ramps and branch lettuce coarsely and place in a heat resistant bowl.
If you don't have enough bacon dripping to make ¾ cup, melt enough lard into dripping to make ¾ cup.
Pour hot dripping over chopped ramps and branch lettuce. Add salt and pepper to taste and top with crumbled bacon.
Must be served hot.
Note*** If you can find it you may add some "crows foot greens" to the ramps and branch lettuce. They will add a bit of zip to the flavor.
You may substitute regular green onions and leaf lettuce or spinach, but isn't nearly as good.
Fried Potatoes and Ramps
6-8 Medium White Potatoes
2 Cup New Ramps or 3 cups chopped with tops
1 package of bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry bacon crisp, set bacon aside to drain. While bacon is cooking peel and slice potatoes into 1/8 inch thick slices. Place in cold water to prevent drying out.
After bacon is removed turn down heat a bit, drain your potatoes and pat dry with paper towel. Place potatoes in skillet with hot bacon grease, add salt and pepper to taste, brown gently then add ramps and cover with lid. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes or until ramps are clear.
Place ramp and potato mixture in bowl and sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top. Serve hot!
Ramp Cornbread
1½ cup white cornmeal
½ cup flour
1 t salt
3 t baking powder
2 T sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk whole or butter
¼ cup oil
1 cup finely minced ramps
Sift dry ingredients together, add ramps, combine eggs, milk and oil. Fold into dry ingredients beat until smooth. Preheat oven and well oiled 8 inch iron skillet to 400 degrees. Pour mixture into hot skillet and bake for about twenty minutes until top is golden brown and a piece of spaghetti inserted into the center come out clean.
Serve hot with plenty of butter and a big glass of buttermilk or whole milk as desired.
From my window, as I write this, I can see across the creek and down into a pasture where my wife’s horse is grazing. The creek and pasture are lined with trees and shrubs: maple, basswood, rosebay rhododendron, spicebush, beech, tulip poplar, ash, butternut, eastern hemlock and others. The serviceberry and forsythia are in full bloom. It is all very scenic and tranquil, except for the hemlocks, which are dead or dying. The hemlock wooly adelgid infestation that is currently ravaging the southern mountains hasn’t spared our cove.
Eastern hemlock — or Canada hemlock, as it is sometimes called — reaches into the high-elevation spruce-fir country, but for the most part it’s found along ridges between 3,500 to 5,000 feet or on north slopes and in ravines or alongside creeks in the lower elevations. Monster hemlocks almost 100-feet tall with circumferences approaching 20 feet were encountered.
There are two native species of hemlock in the southern mountains: eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), recognized by its flattened, tapered needles that appear to extend in a flat plane from the branch stems; and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana), an uncommon species of rocky woods, dry slopes, bluffs, and cliffs with flat needles that are not tapered and spread from the branch stems in all directions. It is my understanding that the Carolina hemlock is also susceptible to the adelgid infestation.
Hemlocks love shade, rocks, and slopes. You will find them growing in steep “hemlock ravines” straddling boulders in the utmost headwaters. They cool the water, making it possible for native brook trout to thrive.
Red squirrels (“boomers”) are highly dependent on hemlock seeds, and their populations will no doubt decline once the hemlocks are a thing of the past.
Have you ever observed the shelf fungi (bracts) that grow on the trunks of eastern hemlocks? They are kidney- or fan-shaped and look like they have been varnished with a reddish-brown, shiny stain — which is why they are called “hemlock varnish shelf” fungi. Their scientific name is “Ganoderma tsuga.”
They are sometimes called “Reishi” or “Ling Chih” fungi because they resemble the closely related species used for medicinal purposes in the Orient. Some research seems to indicate that the species found in North America has the same properties as true “Reishi” in regard to bolstering the immune system, as an antitoxidant, and other uses.
Whether that is true or not, I wouldn’t know. I do know that these mysterious fungi are quite beautiful … almost luminous … and that they, too, will soon lose their primary host.
In A Natural History of Trees, Donald Peattie captured the essence of the eastern hemlock:
“In the grand, high places of the southern mountains, hemlock soars above the rest of the forest, rising like a church spire — like numberless spires as far as the eye can see — through the blue haze … Hemlock serves us best [when] rooted in its tranquil, age-old stations. Approaching such a noble tree, you think it dark, almost black, because the needles on the upper side are indeed a lustrous deep blue-green. Yet when you lunch on the rock that is almost sure to be found at its feet, or settle your back into the buttresses of the bole and look up under the boughs, their shade seems silvery, since the underside of each needle is whitened by two lines. Soon even talk of the tree itself is silenced by it, and you fall to listening. When the wind lifts up the hemlock’s voice, it is no roaring like the pine’s, no keening like the spruce’s. The hemlock whistles softly to itself. It raises its long, limber boughs and lets them drop again with a sign, not sorrowful, but letting fall tranquility upon us.”
Peattie wrote that in 1950. For the most part the hemlocks no longer whistle softly and their voices are sorrowful. Through my window I can see their dead spires.
George Ellison wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. In June 2005, a selection of his Back Then columns was published by The History Press in Charleston as Mountain Passages: Natural and Cultural History of Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains. Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
This April, Headwaters Outfitters in Rosman will lead a guided overnight trip in hopes of introducing paddlers to the lower Chattooga River.
Headwaters will ltake up to 12 canoes down 11 miles of the river over two days, camping in a forested site roughly halfway down. Participants will paddle through a remote wilderness setting, running Class II rapids suitable even for novices.
The expedition coincides perfectly with the peak of the spring wildflower bloom, providing ample opportunity for identification and photography. Crested dwarf iris, wake robin trillium, Solomon’s seal, mayapple, bleeding heart and wild geranium may all be found along the Chattooga’s fertile banks this time of year.
The night will be spent in one of the many primitive campsites along the river. Participants will have to bring their own camping gear, including tents and sleeping bags. Headwaters will provide four meals, drinks and all paddling gear, including canoes and lifejackets. The price of the trip is $295 per person, and reservations are required.
In the event of high water, the trip will be postponed. All participants must be able to swim, be in good physical shape and should be comfortable canoeing a river such as the upper French Broad. 828.877.3106. Or, visit www.headwatersoutfitters.com and click on “special events.”
Join Friends of the Smokies April 2 for a hike to see early spring wildflowers and historic remnants on the Smokemont Loop trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Hiking enthusiast and author Danny Bernstein, who wrote “Hiking North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Heritage,” will lead this 6.2 miles hike. It is moderate in difficulty, and has a total elevation gain of 1,400 feet.
The group will depart from Asheville at 8:30 a.m., and Maggie Valley at 9 a.m., returning to Asheville by 5:30 p.m. Exact meeting locations specified upon registration. A donation of $15 is requested to benefit the Smokies.
Space is limited. Contact Friends of the Smokies to register for the Smokemont Loop hike: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.452.0720.
The Greening Up the Mountains 5K Run/Walk in Sylva is forsaking its historically grueling course on the hillside streets above Sylva for more friendly terrain this year.
The Greening Up 5K will be held on Saturday, April 23, in conjunction with the downtown street festival.
This year’s course runs from Mark Watson Park across Business 23 and down Old Dillsboro Road, then turns around in Monteith Park and comes back on the same route to the finish at Mark Watson Park. This course is primarily flat, with few slopes, but does have one gravel section.
The race is put on by the Jackson County Recreation/Parks Department. This year, all proceeds will benefit the greenway trail being built at the Webster Department on Aging complex.
The race starts at 9 a.m. prior to the opening of the festival events.
Light refreshments will be provided at the end of the race and prizes will be awarded to the top three in each age group, the top three male finishers, and the top three female finishers. T-shirts are provided with registration and are guaranteed to the first 75 to register.
Sponsorships are available for $50 or $100 and are due by Friday, March 25.
Pre-registration is $20; race-day registration is $25, and begins at 8 a.m. the day of the race. Registration forms may be printed from www.downtownsylva.org and online registration can be completed at www.active.com.
828.293.3053 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Another 110 acres of mountain landscape are now part of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s protected corridor, thanks to a landowner whose family has lived near the scenic highway since its construction.
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina bought the tract from landowners Joe and Wilma Jo Arrington last year at a bargain sale price. It recently conveyed the tract to the National Park Service in February for $500,000 to become an official part of the Parkway.
The property, known as the Richland Creek Headwaters tract, is near Milepost 440 in Haywood County. The Arrington family purchased it in 1936. When parkway construction reached the region in the late 1950s, 30 of the family’s 188 acres were condemned and used for the site of Pinnacle Ridge Tunnel.
The Richland Creek Headwaters tract provides a backdrop for Blue Ridge Parkway travelers – especially from the Waynesville and Saunook overlooks – near the boundary of Haywood and Jackson counties in the Great Balsam Mountains.
The tract’s position will help safeguard water quality in the region; the property contains headwaters streams of Richland Creek, which flows through Waynesville and into Lake Junalaska. The land also contains important wildlife habitat in the Pinnacle Ridge Significant Natural Area.
Learn how to put together a backyard habitat March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Rickman Store in Macon County’s Cowee community.
The program, led by Deborah Boots, is sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation and is titled, “Attracting Wildlife.” Five components will be taught and explained: food, water, places to raise young, cover and sustainable gardening.
Both families and communities can attain Habitat Certification by learning and working on a variety of habitat restoration projects. The series of lectures and workshops on “Gardening for Wildlife” organized by the Friends of the Rickman Store this year will support these efforts by providing monthly lectures, field trips and workshops at the store the second Monday of each month, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. May to November.
828.524.2711, ext. 209.
The Cashiers Historical Society is sponsoring its 2011 Heritage Apple Day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the Cashiers Community Center.
This popular annual event celebrates the region’s history by identifying and preserving ancient apple varieties throughout the valley and in surrounding communities.
Bring scionwood (the new growth cuttings from your favorite apple trees), even those that have long since produced fruit, to graft onto the provided rootstock. If you do not have your own apple tree cuttings, don’t worry — a large supply will be on hand.
About 15 apple varieties will be available, including June Stripped, Winter Banana, Jonagold, Rome Beauty, Red Burgundy, and the Grimes Golden.
Apple-grafting techniques will be taught at the free workshop. Those interested in gardening, orchards, natural landscaping or the social heritage of apple growing will benefit from the knowledge and experience offered by this group of experts.
In addition, local author and historian Jane Nardy will be on hand to chat about apples, regional heritage, and other interesting lore and legend.
Everyone is encouraged to bring their favorite apple dish or recipe to share with others. 828.743.7710.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs for failing to hand over what it maintains are public documents under the Freedom of Information Act pertaining to the lease agreements for bear exhibitors in Cherokee.
PETA maintains about 30 bears are kept in what it characterizes as roadside zoos “in cramped, barren enclosures with no opportunity to express natural behavior.”
PETA maintains the Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for managing the lease agreements governing Indian trust lands — including those in Cherokee — and is required by federal law to release these agreements. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court.
Cherokee bear pits have been the target of PETA over the past two years, from sidewalk protests to billboard campaigns, as well as vocal appeals to tribal government to shut down the attractions.
Sixty-five runners started and finished the first Assault on Black Rock Trail Race at Sylva’s Pinnacle Park on March 19, raising more than $1,400 for the Community Table soup kitchen.
The 8.3-mile course boasts a 2,700-foot elevation gain and forced participants to use hands and feet to scramble to the craggy pinnacle atop Black Rock. Organizers hope the first-time event – which is basically uphill the first half and downhill on the way back, with the last half-mile of uphill featuring a ridiculously steep climb – will catch on in trail racing circles.
{gallery}blackrock{/gallery}
“I am very pleased with the turnout, although I am sure the good weather helped,” said race organizer Brian Barwatt. “… The thought that 65 people stood on the summit of Black Rock on Saturday (not including my volunteers) is awesome because I have been up there about a dozen times in the past couple years and have only seen three people on the trail up to Black Rock.”
Participants traveled from as far away as Atlanta and Raleigh.
The top three men and women finishers were:
Men:
(1) Chad Hallyburton, age 42 of Sylva, with a time of 1:31:17
(2) Andrew Benton, age 20 of Hickory, with a time of 1:33:12
(3) Sean Botzenhart, age 18 of Cullowhee, with a time of 1:35:19
Women:
(1) (11th overall) Ginny Hotze, age 50 of Asheville, with a time of 1:46:42
(2) (14th overall) Hannah McLeod, age 15 of Waynesville, with a time of 1:51:53
(3) (16th overall) Brenda Holcomb, age 38 of Cullowhee, with a time of 1:56:42
The teen friends of the library meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Area teens are invited to come share their ideas about materials of interest to them, including what sort of programming they’d like to see at the library. There will be food, crafts, games, and much more at the meeting.
The Friends of the Macon County Public Library (FOL) have unveiled a new informational web site, MaconLibraryFriends.org. The site showcases the group’s programs and events; and their used book store, which is located at 121 Highlands Road in The Shops of Riverwalk in Franklin. A “What’s New At The Bookstore” section updates viewers with special books and new arrivals and upcoming sales.
Membership and volunteer forms are also available on the site.
“We value the key educational role played by the library in the life of a progressive community. Please join us today to keep our public library viable,” said FOL President Betty Huffman says.
Ahead of Western Carolina University’s upcoming literary festival, the Macon County Public Library will host a book discussion on Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 24.
James Costa, executive director of the Highlands Biological Station, will lead the discussion. The book offers an original and alternative approach to questions of humanity’s impact on the planet.
Author Alan Weisman will be speaking at Western Carolina University’s Coulter recital hall at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, as part of the festival.
Copies of the book are available for check out at the library.
828.524.3600 or visit www.fontanalib.org.
To the Editor:
We turn on our televisions every day and witness to the devastation that neighbors inflict on neighbors.
We live in a world today where “environmental consciousness and green” are the right paths to take, whether it is energy, wind and solar, food, paper products, new buildings or cars. Our planet is warming to such a degree that in 50 years no human will find shelter from our ever-changing weather patterns. These are facts in our future, that unfortunately, neighbor-to-neighbor in Franklin, we cannot predict what results will be. However, we can oppose what is happening in our residential backyard.
Mr. Herman “Bud” Talley is proposing that even without the variance he tried to obtain was denied for various reasons by the Board of Adjustment on Dec. 21, he will build a motocross track on his farm in this residential community. It doesn’t matter whether the neighbors like it or not.
The definition of a farm is for agriculture use. This will no longer be considered a farm and will also not be given farm tax deferments. Taxes will continue to get proportioned off for others to pay in tax hikes.
Mr. Talley has also made comments at meetings ….”If you have a problem … come talk to me … we will work it out.” It is my belief, that Mr. Talley is not hearing us … most of us do have a problem with it, but unfortunately he is turning a deaf ear to our pleas that this motocross track will not only destroy the peace and quiet in the valley, but will contain noise pollution, dust pollution, raw sewage concerns, waste concerns, water table concerns, traffic concerns and road maintainance concerns. I could go on and on, but I know you have heard it all before. Mr. Talley is always quick to point out the development of the Fulcher Vista as a “High Impact Area,” but what Mr. Talley refuses to realize is that all we did was buy lots from a local developer, build our dream homes (just as he did) and want to live in our residential community without the environmental consequences.
Mr. Talley repeatedly brings up his heritage as if he were the only person who had any. We all come from somewhere and frankly his heritage is no greater than yours or mine. I am proud of mine and want to preserve the respect and dignity that comes from having generations before me.
The difference between Mr. Talley and me is that I will honor my forefather’s traditions and pride in a way that will not desecrate their land. He keeps telling us that they have tilled their land since 1935, and now he wants to turn it into a circus. He tries to tie the churches into the dynamics of this project, family activities done together, community economics and all things he thinks will sell this vision in the name of his family heritage. I do question his motives.
I think Mr. Talley must look in the mirror and ask himself, “What would my father and mother want as their legacy?” I believe they would want the pristine land they worked so hard for to remain intact with the beauty they saw in it. The beauty Mr. Talley is willing to destroy. How sad.
Mr. Talley knows exactly what the impacts will be. In one meeting he made a statement in front of the Board of Adjustment, that … “One month before the meets he would kindly notify the press, radio and by any other means and let us know when they would occur,” and [We could go visit someone else.”
He failed to include in his request for variance that there are practice times, time trials and heats, none of which could possibly take place in a matter of 16 days, especially with the estimated 300 to 400 riders he had hoped would attend. The arrogance of his statement goes to the fact that he is very aware of the impact this would and will have on our residential community. Now he states it will run all year.
Clarks Chapel area is a very small, residential community, but all these environmental impacts affect us all in the immediate area and we should all be concerned. We have frail elderly residents who live within the direct impact zone who will suffer terribly from this track. These effects will then have far-reaching impacts to all those in Macon County, possibly for generations to come.
I believe Mr. Talley’s vision is admirable for the children and families in this area, but he is not thinking about his immediate neighbors and the impact it will have on this residential community. I know the economic atmosphere in the whole county is dismal, but not only will this motocross track have an impact on our property values, but we have all heard the term …”trickle down affect.” If this motocross track is allowed to be built the property values in the immediate area will be drastically diminished, the tax dollars collected by Macon County will be affected, your salaries will be affected and people will not come into this area to retire with his operation in their back yard.
We already have evidence of this with buyers backing out of contracts near the Talley Farm simply because of Mr. Talley’s intent to build it. The influx of people from out of the state is enormous. Retirees, whether you want to admit it or not, put a lot of money into this beautiful little town. It will stop! It will be a thing of the past and Macon County will remain one of the poorest counties in North Carolina. This issue was addressed on the front page of the Ashville Citizen Times Newspaper on March 6. That is not what I want for this community. I believe we all want to preserve the integrity of Clarks Chapel Residential Community, City of Franklin and Macon County.
I want Franklin to prosper, I want Macon County to grow with people who want to enrich the area, to keep our grandchildren coming back and to enjoy the fruits of all our labors. I want Mr. Talley to have a heritage he can be proud of! A farmland to pass down to his children and grandchildren, a farm where he can go out on his deck, in his golden years with his wife and have the peace and quiet he deserves.
We will protect our own lands, however we feel fit. This is not a threat, but an absolute fact and the outcome, just as it is all over the world, will come down to neighbors inflicting devastation upon neighbors, either way. Why can’t we work on a solution?
Janet Cramer-Binkley
Franklin
To the Editor:
What happens when you fix something that ain’t broke? You’re sure to break something else. But the Republicans in Raleigh apparently don’t care about that fundamental truth, or anything else that stands athwart their path to perpetual power.
Today’s example is their steamroller bill to require photo IDs from voters at the polls. The only supporting evidence is not only anecdotal but it concerns absentee ballots, which are beyond the reach of any such legislation. Moreover, not even photo IDs are foolproof. Ask any bartender or employer who has been duped.
The better deterrent to voter fraud is swift and rigorous prosecution whenever it’s detected. The Republican bill, however, would disenfranchise primarily honest people, especially older voters, who for one reason or another don’t have photo IDs.
Why do this? Why throw $1 million into a new program when money is so short as to threaten massive teacher layoffs? It’s no coincidence that Republicans propose this wherever they take power. They figure that it will depress votes for Democrats.
It’s cut from the same pernicious pattern as their campaign to destroy the unions, thereby eliminating any counterweight to the GOP’s corrupt glut of corporate cash. The goal is not merely to defeat the opposition, but to destroy it forever.
Martin A. Dyckman
Waynesville
Scholarships for nursing students are available through the Judy Moore Memorial Scholarship Endowment, which was created as a memorial to Judy Moore, a registered nurse who was killed in a tragic accident in 1996.
A resident of Macon County, Moore was an inspiration to both nurses and patients in her role as a community health nurse and as an OB-GYN nurse practitioner. Since the first award in August 1998, the scholarship has been given to 20 individuals, and more than $19,000 has been issued.
The application deadline is May 5. www.nccommunityfoundation.org or 828.524.6564.
A summer day camp for rising first graders through rising fifth graders from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., June 17 to August 5, will be held at the Waynesville Recreation Center.
Campers will experience activities such as field trips, special guests, crafts, swimming, swim lessons, sports, movies, hiking, fishing, water fun, zoo time, and educational experiences. Campers can go the whole summer or only certain weeks.
The cost is $100 per week/$25 per day for recreation center members or $110/$30 for non-members. 828.456.2030 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Southwestern Community College will hold a free job fair Thursday, March 31.
The event will be from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Balsam Building and is open to the community.
Local employers will be on hand to provide information about their organization.
Employers are invited to conduct professional interviews following the job fair.
There is no fee for this event and job seekers do not have to register.
Western Carolina University students are folding and selling paper cranes for $1 to support an earthquake relief fund at a table in the first-floor lobby of McKee Building. Visitors to the table can give $1 to write a message that will be sent to the Miyagi prefectural government, where some of the worst damage has been observed. The group has raised about $700 toward its $1,000 goal. 828.227.3905.
Two portable light towers each bright enough to illuminate an area the size of a football field are the latest pieces of equipment Western Carolina University police received through the N.C. Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Support Services program. The program works through the Defense Reutilization Management Office, which makes military surplus equipment available to law enforcement agencies at no cost. The light towers will assist campus police in emergencies and power failures. 828.227.7301.
High school students interested in construction can participate in the Kimmel School Construction Training Program at Western Carolina University in July. Students will complete and earn certification in a 10 hour occupational safety and health administration course. Students will live on campus, meet with industry professionals and participate in leadership and team-building. A session for males will be from July 10 to 16 and for females July 17 to 23. Preference will be given to economically challenged applicants. Applications are available at constructiontraining.wcu.edu or 828.227.2177.
Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new adoption center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 26. The ribbon cutting will take place at 11:30 a.m. followed by snacks donated by The Patio Bistro.
The center is located at 256B Industrial Park Drive in the Waynesville Industrial Park and will offer adoptions from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays and from 1 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays.
The foundation is accepting entries for its fifth annual pet photography contest. Deadline to submit photos is Tuesday, April 26. Categories are dog, puppy, cat, kitten, other pets, Sarge’s rescue animal and photographers under 12 years old. Entry fee is $10. Photos must be original and no smaller than 4 by 6 inches. Prizes will be awarded at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 30 at Bocelli’s Italian Eatery. Entry forms are online at www.sargeandfriends.org. 828.246.9050.
The Wesley Foundation at Western Carolina University will host its inaugural Golf Classic at Lake Junaluska Golf Course April 16 at 1 p.m. The entry fee is $200 per team of four or $50 for individuals who will be assigned to a team. Price includes 18 holes of golf, gift bag, post-tournament cook-out and chances for prizes. All proceeds will benefit the Wesley Foundation on campus. Sponsorships are $100 for a hole sponsor, $250 for a silver sponsor and $500 for a gold sponsor. 828.293.9215 or www.wcuwesley.com.
Construction on a new Homestead Inpatient Hospice Center adjacent to MedWest-Haywood hospital is progressing, with a new retaining wall, framework and roof trusses now in place.
The inpatient center will serve hospice patients whose families need a break from caregiving or need more help than families can offer.
The second phase of the project will eventually be the end-of-life outreach center, focusing on outpatient and community outreach programs. The hospital and new facility both serve the residents of Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.
On March 31, Swain County citizens will have two opportunities to comment on the future of Swain County. The dialog, led by N.C. Senior Tar Heel Legislature delegate Janice Inabinett, will center on making Swain County a livable community. There will be a morning session at the new Swain County Senior Center, starting at 8:30 a.m. and an evening session at the Almond School, starting at 7:00 p.m.
Discussion will address areas such an accessible environment, healthy aging, economic security, technology and cultural opportunities.
A Lake Junaluska Beautification Day is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, and volunteers are needed to help with the cleanup.
Projects planned include clearing brush, power washing signs and buildings, and more.
Lake Junaluska Beautification Day will kick-off with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in Kern Auditorium, where volunteers will receive work assignments. Boxed lunches will be provided for volunteers on-site.
Volunteer forms are available at www.lakejunaluska.com/beautification. 828-452-5911 or e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Sylvan Hearth Pagan Temple offers its facilities to positive Pagan traditions including Hindu, Buddhist and Asatrue. The facility includes a stone circle, wood henge, gardens, and meetings and worship spaces. It offers use of their Web site for advertising for gatherings. The Temple intends to offer groups a safe and private space to practice.
828.399.9991 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Haywood County has received two grants totaling $133,650 from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center that will help create 22 jobs over the next couple of years. A grant of $88,000 will help renovate a psychiatric wing at MedWest-Haywood Hospital. The facility will provide a safe environment for psychiatric patients as they await disposition, increasing patient privacy and containment, and provide the capacity for staff to monitor patient behavior and supply for their needs. The total project is $234,000, with $120,000 from the Evergreen Foundation, a mental health nonprofit; $43,00 from the Haywood hospital, and $3,000 in kind from the Haywood County Economic Development Commission. Renovation is expected to start within 30 days and will take approximately 90 days to complete.
Another grant of $45,650 will be used to renovate a vacant building in Waynesville to house the LifeSpan Creative Campus to expand services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The renovation will allow LifeSpan to increase the number of people served in Haywood County to 60, up from its present limit of 45.
The efforts are expected to create 11 jobs each. 828.456.3737.
Asheville poet and photographer Tracey Schmidt will lead a creativity workshop from 2 to 3:30 p.m., followed by a reading from her new poetry collection at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, at City Lights in Sylva. The book, titled I Have Fallen in Love with the World, features her photographs as well as poetry.
The hands-on workshop is meant for any writer or would-be writer of poetry, published or unpublished.
The event is free but requires pre-registration.
828.586.9499.
Open auditions will be held from 12 to 2 p.m., Saturday, April 2, at Franklin High School for home school and private school students wishing to perform in the Showcase of Talent.
Participation is open to actors, dancers, gymnasts, instrumentalists and vocalists in the third to twelfth grades.
The showcase is an annual non-competitive, countywide student talent show, to be held at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 30, in the Fine Arts Center. Each student selected for the Showcase receives a complimentary adult ticket.
828.524.7683 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Western North Carolina performing artists The REV will take the stage of the Fontana Recreational Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. The act is a collection of musicians from Robbinsville who play songs that run the range of the rock-and-roll genre.
The band will close a day of activities at Fontana starting with a morning historical hike to the Paynetown Cemetery. Hikers should meet at the Gunter Log Cabin at 9 a.m. for the two-hour hike. Kite flying will take off from 3 to 4 p.m. below Fontana Dam along the shores of the Little Tennessee River.
Ripples of Hope, a local exhibition of work by those whose lives have been affected by domestic violence, sexual assault or abuse, invites other locals who have felt the effects of these issues to creatively cover a blank teardrop shape, sharing their feelings and hope for a better future.
Blank teardrops are available from Earthworks Gallery in Waynesville or by calling the Daydreamz project at 828.476.4231. Completed pieces need to be turned in by March 28 at Earthworks Gallery for a county-wide display in April.
Classes in glassblowing, metalsmithing, blacksmithing, chainmaille and knife-making are being offered this spring at the Jackson County Green Energy Park for every skill level.
Courses offer the opportunity to learn a variety of hands-on crafting skills like paperweight-making and glass blowing, as well as the ancient arts of blacksmithing, chainmaille and knife crafting.
There are also classes geared towards the family, including a parent-child blacksmithing workshop and glass tile instruction that’s good for all ages
For full class descriptions, visit www.JCGEP.org.
828.631.0271 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Local artist Silvia Cabrera Williams will teach mixed water-media classes from 1 to 3 p.m. every Thursday in April at Leapin’ Frog Gallery in Waynesville.
A different technique will be featured each week and a supply list will be provided at registration.
Originally from Cuba, Williams holds a master’s degree in modern languages and taught for many years. Her work is in private collection in several U.S. cities, Canada and Spain and is for sale in local galleries.
Leapin’ Frog Gallery at 828.456.8441 or Silvia Williams at 828.926.8392.
Western Carolina University students working to raise $50,000 to build a school in Pakistan are hosting a fundraising dinner and silent auction at Chef’s Table in Waynesville on Tuesday, April 5.
Tickets to the event are $50 for a three-course meal. Silent auction items include art, a kayak trip, wine tasting and Arabic items. Diners can purchase tickets to a 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. seating.
The school fundraising effort was revived last fall after WCU student Andy Miller befriended students from Saudi Arabia studying English at WCU and felt compelled to be part of something that would build good will between Americans and Arabs.
As he thought about the possibilities, he remembered a proposal made by his Freshman Convocation speaker, Winford Gordon, for WCU to raise $50,000 for the Central Asia Institute to build a school in Pakistan, which, like Saudi Arabia, is predominantly a Muslim country.
“I went onto WCU’s website and typed in ‘build a school in Pakistan,’ expecting to see somebody had been doing something but I found nothing,” said Miller. “I e-mailed Windy Gordon and set up a time to meet. He said a group had gotten together but fell apart. I said, ‘I am interested. I would like to take the lead on this project.’”
“Beyond the project itself, which will change lives in Pakistan, everyone who works with Andy will connect their Western Carolina experience with a world and a culture far beyond our campus,” said Winford Gordon, a WCU psychology professor. “Everyone learns. Everyone benefits. Isn’t that the best of all worlds?”
Funds will go to the school-building project through the Central Asia Institute.
828.545.1778 or 828.452.6000, or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
