First off, I would like to thank Chairman Beale and the commissioners for meeting with us jointly tonight. And thank the planning board members, the comprehensive plan subcommittee members, and the safe slope development workgroup members for attending. And thank you to the public in attendance. We can see from the attendance that many people care about planning in Macon County.

Our work is important for so many reasons. We hear over and over during campaigns and we read in numerous surveys and studies, that planning is the most important issue in Macon County. And it’s not an issue divided between Democrats and Republicans, liberal or conservative in the true sense — because we believe in looking smartly at the way this county develops in an effort to conserve resources for the future, to build a strong stable economy and to protect property rights and the quality of life and heritage that has drawn and kept so much investment in this county.

Another indication that this work is so important is the fact that our board and subcommittees are made up of volunteers. Every member of our board has a family and obligations, yet they volunteer countless hours with the hope that their time will make a difference for future generations. I keep hearing how we need a different voice on the planning board or how we need diverse opinions. Well, if you’ve ever been to a board meeting, you would know that we have that covered. We disagree on almost everything, but in the end we come to consensus. And we agree on the basic principles of planning for the future of the county. And none of our volunteers, no matter how much he or she might disagree, works actively against the board, as was the case with Mr. Goodman. We agree to disagree and then we get down to the hard work.

Among the most active of our volunteers is Al Slagle. Al comes from an old Macon County family that has a long history of public service. Al has been working hard over the past year with our safe slopes workgroup. He has put together one of the most diverse groups of people and built a consensus among them. On the workgroup with Al, who is a retired geologist, is Paul Shuler, a grading contractor, Susan Ervin, a planning board member, Reggie Holland, a building and developer, Stacy Guffey, former county planner who now works on preservation and economic development, Barry Clinton, a scientist from Coweeta Lab who studies the forestry and hydrology of our mountains, and John Becker, a local real estate agent. This group of volunteers, appointed by the planning board, have developed a set of reasonable recommendations to guide us as we develop safe slope-development practices. And along the way, they have helped build a consensus among their family, friends and peers in their professions; so that we can now say we have tremendous support in the community for addressing slope development issues. This is the reason we cannot afford to lose Al Slagle as a planning board member.

Like the rest of the nation, our local economy is in bad shape. We need investment and we need jobs. The way we get those is through smart planning that creates a safe environment for investment that will lead to job creation. But that’s not what Macon County offers right now. What we offer is a “caveat emptor,” “buyer beware” atmosphere. For example, if I buy a used car down at the local lot and the brakes don’t work on that car, then, we come to find out, the salesman knew that all along, but he wanted to make the sale, so he didn’t disclose. Well, a couple of things are going to happen. First of all I will never buy a car from that individual again. Secondly, I’m going to tell all my friends “don’t buy anything from that car lot because you don’t know what you’re getting.” The same thing is happening right now with our county.

People who’ve invested in property here only to see that property affected by slides or erosion and runoff on their on property or their neighbors’ property. They in turn are telling their friends.

Over the long term, that’s going to hurt us. People will invest in areas where they know that their investment, not only in the monetary value of the property, but also their expectation of quality of life, will be protected. And some people will say that this can all be settled in court. Is that what we want for our county? A litigious county? Does that look good to potential investors and property owners?

Let’s be straight here. The reason people move to this county and stay in this county and invest in this county is because of clean water, the small-town atmosphere, the slower pace of life, fresh air, farmland, open space, and the most beautiful mountains in the world.

As a developer, I can say that we were well on our way to destroying those very things before the economic downturn. Now is our one and only chance to get things right, to protect our assets like any smart businessperson would do, and to build a strong stable economy for future generations.

We have sat by as people from faraway places have promised us the moon if only we would stay out of their way and let them develop. Well that promise has come and gone and we’re left with unstable roads and house sites, unlivable homes, and hundreds of foreclosed lots burdening our banks.

Folks, we’re looking at two choices — the vision that you can already see on our mountainsides, a vision that will bring short-term profit to a few. Or a vision built on our local sensibilities that works hand in hand with developers, property owners, environmentalists, long-term families and newcomers to create a strong stable economy that honors rather than destroys our way of life.

This is a critical time and that’s why we need dedicated members on this board who put personal interests aside for what’s best for the future of this county — members like Al Slagle.

I respectfully request that you remove Mr. Goodman from the planning board and appoint Al Slagle in his place. I also request that in the future, as has been the tradition, the planning board be consulted on any appointments to the board and that appointments be based on qualifications, not on political affiliations, and further that these decisions be deliberative and not on the spur of the moment because these appointments have long-term effect. I fully understand that the planning board serves at your pleasure, but it is important to our functioning as a board that we be consulted on any changes. We have to have a cohesive board in order to be effective. And finally, I would like to request that the board of commissioners and planning board communicate on a regular basis so that we can build a better understanding between the two boards.

On a personal note. At this point, I’d like to take the opportunity to address in public something I’ve been hearing that’s going around. There are some folks, and I’m pretty sure I can guess who they are, that have been spreading the rumor that Al has been working on these recommendations with the aim of (I quote) “creating himself or his family members a job.” I have known Al for many years and I can tell you that is not just a lie, it’s a damn lie. And I think such a lie speaks to the level that some people will stoop to and to the fact that when some people run out of constructive arguments they will resort to attacking good people. If you have an issue or constructive input to the work we’re doing, then please offer it, but personal attacks are just morally wrong and will only serve to undermine your argument.

The annual Christmas in the Mountains Art and Craft Show will be held Dec. 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Stechoah Valley Center.

There will be as many as 20 individual craft vendors in addition to the work of more than 120 local artisans who are represented in the Stecoah Gallery. There will be free activities for children ages 4 and up including a storyteller and visits with Santa.

Stecoah will also be hosting Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 18. Breakfast is at 9 a.m. for $3 per person and photos with Santa are available separately. Call 828.479.3364 to make your reservation.

Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center is located in a restored 1926 schoolhouse at 121 Schoolhouse Road off N.C. 28 between Bryson City and Fontana Dam. Visit www.stecoahvalleycenter.com for more information.

There will be a special holiday celebration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the Rickman Store in Macon County.

Potters from the Heritage Arts Program of Southwestern Community College will be at the Store for a full day of demonstrations and exhibits. Many other artisans will be displaying and selling baskets, soaps, herbal products, honey, and more.

Writer and poet Patti McClure will tell stories and read poetry at 2 p.m., followed by Sylva’s Gary Carden at 3 p.m.

Christmas tree and wreaths grown on the slopes of Cowee Mountain will be available.

For more information or to place orders for trees and wreaths call Elena at 828.369.5595.

Singers from the internationally acclaimed children’s choir Voices in the Laurel will perform a special Christmas concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 12, at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska. 

This year’s concert will be entitled “The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree,” with a reading by author Gloria Houston. Houston hails from Western North Carolina and this particular story is a local favorite set in the Appalachian Mountains. There will also be a special guest musician, Anne Lough, playing the mountain and hammered dulcimers befitting the theme and creating a special ambience for the concert.

The choir will perform a dramatization of parts of the story by Ms. Houston. Concert and story music will include Appalachian and southern Christmas carols, including, “I Wonder as I Wander,” “Hush My Babe,” “Children, Go Where I Send Thee,” and a special arrangement of “Rise Up Shepherd” by Malcolm Dalglish and much more.

Voices in the Laurel has toured throughout the United States, Europe and Australia since 1996, singing in venues such as the Ryman Autidorium, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Sydney Opera House. In 2012, Voices will be traveling to Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, and Prague in the Czeck Republic.

The choirs range from the Treble Makers, comprised of first- and second-graders, to the Concert choir in third through fifth grade, and the Chamber choir from sixth through twelfth grade. 

For information visit www.voicesinthelaurel.org or call 828.335.2849. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for children under 12.

By Joe Hooten • Contributing writer

If your family is like mine, we have unspoken rules regarding the amount and duration of holiday music played in our house. The rule is simple: the music comes out the day after Thanksgiving and then promptly put away the day after Santa delivers the goods. We hardly vary the theme during this intense month of celebration as it sets the mood, and if you have kids, you know they love it. Holiday tunes, not to mention the first smell of Western North Carolina fir, get me ready for the eggnog and the insane amount of wrapping that lie ahead.

I’ve always admired artists that take on the Christmas album challenge. It’s a big one because you’re going up against classic holiday heavyweights like Nat King Cole, The Rat Pack, Burl Ives and Elvis. Every year there are worthy additions to yule-time mix tapes, CDS, and playlists, and this year, Knoxville’s Scott Miller has released “Christmas Gift” a seven-song EP of folk-laden cheer that could easily qualify as your new favorite Christmas album. Comprised of original material, unique covers (Neil Young, Roger Miller, John Prine) and enjoyable renditions of some holiday classics, Miller’s endeavor shares the spirit of Christmas and extends his prominence as East Tennessee’s finest songwriter.

Miller, who plays regularly in WNC and East Tennessee and was an original member of the V-Roys, recently spoke with The Smoky Mountain News about “Christmas Gift” and the upcoming holidays.

SMN: Is the Christmas album-concept a daunting challenge?  

SM: It’s only daunting in that there are but a few “classic” Christmas songs that still get played. Some songs are re-reorded by other artists, but really, is there another version of “White Christmas” besides Bing Crosby’s?  What about Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song”? (Ok, I’m dating myself AND my parents here.) How about “Run, Run Rudolph” by Chuck Berry? “Snoopy and the Red Baron” by the Royal Guardsmen? “I’m Mr. Heat Miser?” from the Rakin/Bass movie? So when I think about my CD and the songs and performances in rotation with or in somebody’s iPod playlist with those songs, that‘s the part that is daunting. Otherwise I love Christmas. That’s easy.

SMN: How did you select the songs that appeared on the EP?

SM: Self-appointed A&R man for F.A.Y. Records, Johnny Wright-wing, chose the songs. He did ask me for a suggestion or two, but I don’t think he really listened as he was on his cell phone the whole time we were meeting trying to organize a Barbara Streisand bluegrass album to be released in Canada.

SMN: “The Kingdom Has Come” is an original of yours that’s been around for a few years. What inspired you to incorporate RB Morris’ spoken word?

SM: I approached RB Morris when I had (the cliché`) idea of having him read the verses from The Bible (Luke) that everybody reads. When I played him the song, he jumped up from his kitchen chair, disappeared into his office and came back with an old faded copy of “Hard Knox Review,” a literary newspaper he helped publish years ago. In one edition was the T.S. Eliot poem “Journey of the Magi.” I left him the song as I had it and he chose verses and lines; he really mapped the whole thing out, all the way to a manger in Bethlehem ...

SMN: “Christmas in Prison” is a great Prine song. Is that you on piano? What songs did you play piano on?

SM: I have been known to tickle the old ivories, and did on some of the album, but Peggy Hambright played on this track. That is such a great song, and Prine’s performance is well, iconic. Using piano on this song specifically was my idea so it didn’t compete with his, or even get near it. As if it could!

SMN: How did you get into the Christmas spirit during the recording of “Christmas Gift”?  

SM: We roasted chestnuts, drank a lot and argued with our families.

SMN: Neil Young and John Prine are two songwriters you cover often. Why do they both resonate with you personally?

SM: Well, John Prine, in my opinion, is the poet laureate of the United Damn States of America. His songs, or even specific lines, resonate with me like no other singer, songwriter, poet, author or artist. I’m not the only one. And when I have the opportunity to introduce someone to his music, be it a concert or recording, I have yet to find one person, regardless of race, creed, color, background or planet, that can’t find at least one thing in them that makes them stop and take a breath and feel like that guy just read their mail ....

Neil Young I have always loved because his songs, and he does this, can be performed solo or full out rocked with a band and still come across to the listener. I like to think I can do that too. (Hell, I know I can do that too.) And his writing, while from a different place than Prine and his songs are structured so differently, use imagery that resonates with me as well. More than a few folks have said they didn’t think “Star of Bethlehem” was a Christmas song. But it’s about “hope” (to me, anyway) and isn’t that at least what part of Christmas is about?

SMN: Can Christmas be saved from commercialism?

SM: Pay me some money and I’ll answer this question.

SMN: What was a typical Miller Christmas like growing up in Virginia?

SM: As I’ve tried to impart to people many times, I grew up so different than most people of my generation. My parents have been married over 50 years. I grew up in the middle of nowhere on a cattle farm in a farming community called Swoope in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Christmas was the one holiday when both sets of grandparents would come in and all my siblings. I lived for it. The setting was idyllic. That being said, it was probably a lot like everyone else’s Christmas: family getting on each other’s nerves, over-eating and my mother bemoaning the fact that we had too many presents while the world suffered. And by the way, cows don’t take holidays. They don’t care if it’s your birthday or our Lord and Savior’s birthday: they have to get fed. So we worked. That’s how we do. That’s how we did.

SMN: “Old Toy Trains,” the old Roger Miller tune, makes me think of my childhood. Were trains apart of your childhood?

SM: My grandfather had a train set up in his basement, but oddly enough we never set it up around the tree like you see in the movies or TV. In the early 70’s, farmers weren’t doing so good and my folks didn’t have a lot of money. But my favorite Christmas present I ever got was a cheap dime store bag of cowboys and Indians that my dad set up on the living room floor in full battle while I slept.

Scholars will tell you Christmas was a pagan holiday incorporated by Christianity. That’s fine with me. God is where you find him, and sometimes you find him where you put him. Belief in Jesus is up to you, but families stopping to even hope for peace on earth and good will? That’s universal. And people may try to put a price tag on that but its always going to be free.

SMN: What can we expect from Scott Miller in 2011?

SM: Some light dusting of winter touring followed by a spring growth of new material. I hope. Merry Christmas, one and all.

Scott Miller will be performing his annual Christmas shows at the Down Home in Johnson City, Tenn., on Dec.10-11. For more information on “Christmas Gift” visit: www.thescottmiller.com

Joe Hooten may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Professional Crafts students at Haywood Community College will be selling their exceptional wares at the Holiday Sale Thursday, Dec. 9, and Friday, Dec. 10. Located in the Student Center Auditorium, the sale will feature handmade jewelry, woodwork, pottery and fiber art.

Arrive between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Dec. 9 or between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the 10th to take advantage of a rare opportunity to buy meaningful gifts for your loved ones. The proceeds from the sale go directly to the hardworking students and their campus studio.

The HCC professional crafts program has been offering a well-rounded education in the creative fields of jewelry, woodworking, pottery and fiber arts for more than 30 years. The teachers are experienced craft artists and work closely with their students to encourage innovative design, fine workmanship and sound business practices.

Students of the program participate in various sales throughout the two-year program, including the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands. The experience of showing and selling their work is invaluable preparation for their future endeavors.

The Holiday Sale provides a special opportunity for the students to interact and share their work with the local community.

For more information contact Amy Putansu at 828.627.4672 or visit the school’s website at www.haywood.edu.

Jackson County Manager Kenneth Westmoreland will retire effective Jan. 1, incoming Jackson County board chairman Jack Debnam has told The Smoky Mountain News.

With accumulated leave, his last day in the office will be Dec. 7.

“It was his decision,” Debnam said.

Westmoreland told the newspaper he did not want to comment on matter at this time.

In addition to Debnam, who is a registered independent, Republicans Charles Elder (replacing Democrat William Shelton) and Doug Cody (replacing Democrat Tom Massie) will join current commissioners Joe Cowan (a Democrat) and Mark Jones (a Democrat) on the Jackson County board. The trio will be sworn in Dec. 6, meaning Westmoreland will spend just one day with the new board.

Westmoreland’s actions as county manager had been a campaign issue this year, particularly his role in implementing a new pay scale system that was criticized as too generous to long-time employees like himself. The pay system was approved by the elected commissioners.

His leadership during the relicensing battle with Duke Energy, which cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, had also been criticized.

Asked point blank just after the Nov. 2 election whether Westmoreland’s job was in jeopardy, Debnam deferred to his fellow commissioners.

“It’s not going to be up to me,” Debnam said. “There are five commissioners … we are going to scrutinize several positions.”

The new commissioners have also promised to re-visit Jackson’s land-use regulations, which some blame for curtailing building activity in the county.

This marks the first time in 16 years Republicans have been able to seize seats on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. Debnam, while unaffiliated, received support as a conservative candidate from the Jackson County GOP.

The new commissioners will be sworn in at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 6.

To the Editor:

Various citizens have made comments about the rich versus the poor based on their ideological thinking, but here are some startling facts:

• 20 percent of Americans own 93 percent of its assets.  

• 1 percent own 40 percent of its liquidity.

Another fact of life is that the middle class is shrinking while the rich are gaining in wealth.

Folks say that capitalism rewards effort, but only to a point. Too big to fail is a result of too much greed for money and power over others using whatever means available. Recent political ads funded by the super rich can only fool Americans for so long into voting for candidates that support their monopoly on wealth.

The bottom line is that if the middle class fails, so does democracy. Eighty percent of Americans are currently or will shortly become economic slaves as more and more jobs are sent overseas and more and more corporations are merged and jobs are lost while the super-rich make billions in the transactions.

At some point, the monopoly will self implode and at that point the rest of the world will take advantage of the vacuum. America only represents 5 percent of the world’s population but owns about 27 percent of its wealth. If 20 percent of Americans own most of the wealth in America, that could mean that 1 percent of Americans own about 25 percent of the world’s wealth.

The rich cannot fight 99 percent of the world — including its own countrymen — no matter how many political ads they buy or wars they create. Super capitalism is self-destructive, just like communism but for opposite reasons.

If the super smart and super rich don’t put their resources into compassionate capitalism (not as in welfare but in workfare), then revolution will surely follow.

So regardless of your ideology about the cause of this imbalance, we all are in it together. You can carve out your enclaves of gated communities, but you can’t hide. The only way out of life is to die, and each of us will have that experience. But if we allow human life to become so miserable for 99 percent of the world, then they may have nothing to lose and we will all join the parade of dinosaurs into a passing page of history leaving behind so much potential had it not been for our own stupidity, rigid ideologies, dogmas and greed.

Happy holidays.

Larry Stenger

Franklin

To the Editor:

I am a member of the Tea Party-The 9-12 group. 

I am an American mom and grandparent. Prayer is an important part of my life. I pray before meetings. There are clergymen in our organization who lead in prayer. I never ask you for your party-affiliation or religion. I am simply an American who loves this country and wants to give my children and grandchildren freedom, not massive debt that can never be repaid.

I fight to get the government out of every aspect of my life. I fight for seniors as Obamacare will cut Medicare by $500 billion while doctors are already turning Medicare patients away. Doctors can’t make it on what Medicare reimburses them. 

I want to continue to live in a free country, to keep my healthcare needs between me and my doctor, not to be determined by a bureaucrat in Washington. Your doctor has to obey that bureaucrat or he will face a fine of $100,000. If he disobeys a second time, he goes to jail.

I do not want the government telling me and my family what we can and cannot eat. I see my fellow Americans facing massive unemployment. I blame this on an oversized, intrusive government, over-regulation and taxation, the redistribution of the wealth and punishment of success. 

If you share these same sentiments and value the American way of life, don’t disparage the Tea Party movement, join it. Help ensure your children will have a better future. There is no greater legacy we can offer them. These are my values: honesty, reverence, hope, thrift, humility, charity, sincerity, moderation, hard work, courage, personal responsibility, and gratitude. If you don’t share these values, then there is nothing more I can say. 

Finally, my guiding values are all contained in these three words — faith, hope and charity.

Arlene Hemm

Canton

To the Editor:

In last week’s (Nov 24-30) Smoky Mountain News opinion piece by Quintin Ellison, she writes … ”I maintain I’ve got a perfect right to portray whomever I want to, whenever I want to, how I want to, in whatever form I desire.” (Here there should be a colon, not a period, since what follows is not a complete sentence.) “Fiction, nonfiction, newspaper or magazine articles, columns, whatever interests me in a given moment as a writer.” 

Well, that’s not precisely true. I assume Ms. Ellison would want to apply the same standard of precision to her own assertions as she recently attempted to apply to comments from a reader, whom she excoriated, quite erroneously, by the way, over the use of commas in a series (see Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style).   

Any professional journalist knows that one cannot portray whomever one wants in any way that one wants in print, unless writer and publisher are prepared to take the legal consequences. To be precise, there are libel laws that limit what one can print about another person. Ms. Ellison goes on to ask “Who is going to stop me, pray tell?”  

One hopes her editor would.

Gerlinde Lindy

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

Anyone who was living in this area at the time of the tragic Peeks Creek disaster off U.S. 64 between Franklin and Highlands would be well aware of the need for an ordinance giving teeth to construction requirements on the many steep sites in these mountains, thereby ensuring safety for residents who live in areas where the slopes are unstable.

We certainly do not need more lives lost and costly property damage done, and now is the time to step in and support a sensible ordinance to prevent those tragedies. Please support the Macon County Planning Board’s recommendations on this important issue.

Emily Dale

Franklin

By Patti Tiberi • Guest Columnist

“Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among America’s youth. A higher percentage of young people between the ages of 12 and 20 use alcohol than use tobacco or illicit drugs. The physical consequences of underage alcohol use range from medical problems to death by alcohol poisoning, and alcohol plays a significant role in risky sexual behavior, physical and sexual assaults, various types of injuries, and suicide. Underage drinking also creates secondhand effects for others, drinkers and nondrinkers alike, including car crashes from drunk driving, that put every child at risk. Underage alcohol consumption is a major societal problem with enormous health and safety consequences and will demand the nation’s attention and committed efforts to solve.”

This is a direct quote from former Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Kenneth Moritsugu, from his “Call To Action” in 2007.  But one may wonder why there is all this fuss about underage drinking. Isn’t it just something that is “a rite of passage?” Don’t all kids do it?

Well, the answer is no. Many of us like to look back and say, “We survived it, they will too!” Truth be told, there are many that did not survive it and they are not here to tell their side of the story. Many of us ended up going through many years of grief as we struggled to manage our disease of alcoholism. Few people in recovery speak out in public about their struggles to manage their disease. There is still a very strong stigma attached to having alcoholism.

But the reality is that more young people in the U.S. drink alcohol every month than smoke cigarettes or use any illegal drug. Additionally, alcohol kills more young people per year than all illegal drugs combined!

Many studies show that media advertising of alcohol products is a major factor in decisions made by 12- to 20-year olds to start drinking or drink more heavily if they are already drinkers. In a recently released report, the Center for Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) noted that, since 2000, many alcohol companies have voluntarily reduced their advertising in markets with greater than 30 percent underage audiences.

However, the report stated that alcohol advertising in markets with more than a 15 percent youth population still results in overexposure. While the industry has made progress, more needs to be done to limit the amount of alcohol promotion our young people see on TV, movies and in magazines.

The availability of alcoholic drinks that have a sweet taste, like lemonade, is also a concern because they seem designed to appeal to young people. Plus, alcohol products like malt liquor can often cost less than soda. Even if it can’t be purchased legally by young people, the low cost makes it easier to pay someone to purchase it for them.

Children are beginning to drink at an earlier age in a day when we know much more about the impact that alcohol use has on the changing adolescent brain. Our science now reports that youth who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence. But every day in our country, 7,000 youth under the age of 16 take their first drink.

While we used to find that boys drank more heavily than girls, we now see that girls have caught up and are drinking just as heavily. (Institute of Medicine, National Research Council of the National Academics)

It is important that you help. First thing, please help to reduce the availability of alcohol to youth under 21. If you have alcohol at home, keep it in a secure place and monitor it. Second, help support law enforcement in targeting the underage drinking issue. This could be something as simple as getting to know the parents of your child’s friends and agreeing with them about not serving alcohol to youth under 21. Third, get involved locally to help change your community’s norms around alcohol use. Learn more about the issue by checking out the following websites: alcoholfreechildren.org, ncpud.org, faceproject.org, and drugfree.org.

(Patti Tiberi is the Regional Prevention Coordinator at Smoky Mountain Center and the Chair of Healthy Haywood’s Substance Abuse Action Team. For more information on how to get involved with a Health Action Team, go to www.healthyhaywood.org or call 828.452.6675. Healthy Haywood is a program of the Haywood County Health Department and certified Healthy Carolinians partnership.

Library lovers and history buffs from all over have a singular opportunity this year to combine giving Christmas presents to family and friends and giving to their community.

The Jackson County Library capital campaign is still under way, and co-chair Mary Otto Selzer says this is the perfect time to give.

“This is the time of year when we are thinking about our loved ones and dear friends and want them to know we care. A donation to the Jackson County Public Library Complex capital campaign in honor of someone shows a special kind of thoughtfulness. The honored person will receive a card letting him or her know of your Christmas gift donation in their honor,” said Selzer.

According to Selzer, the capital campaign has raised over $1.8 million from over 1,000 individual contributors.

To donate in someone’s name, or in your own name, drop off the donation at the Friends of the Library Used Book Store or the current library, both on Main Street in Sylva, or mail the donation to Friends of the Library, P. O. Box 825, Sylva, N.C., 28779. For further information call Mary Otto Selzer at 828.507.0476.

City Lights Bookstore has started the 12th year of its annual Holiday Giving Tree, a program designed to put books in the hands of local children during the holiday season.

Each year since 1998 the store has worked with local social service agencies to come up with an anonymous list of Jackson County children in need.

Bookstore customers are invited to buy a book for a child at a 20 percent discount and put it under the store’s Christmas tree. Books will be picked up by the social service agencies and delivered to children in time for the holiday.

A bookmark identifying the age and gender of the child is available at the bookstore, and customers can buy for that child. The store has a wide selection of Spanish-language books, as well, for bi-lingual and Spanish-speaking children. (Language choice is also designated on the bookmark, so that customers know the recipient’s preference.)

The deadline for participation is Sunday, Dec.19, when the store is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information call 828.586.9499.

A “Birder Friendly Community Workshop” will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Balsam Mountain Inn.

The workshop, sponsored by the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, will provide training for businesses and communities to help take advantage of the North Carolina Birding Trial and its potential as an economic development tool.

The North Carolina Birding Trail was constructed to “conserve and enhance North Carolina’s bird habitat by promoting sustainable bird watching activities, economic opportunities and conservation education.”

All attendees will receive a workshop notebook, a Sibley Field Guide to Birds and a “Birder Friendly Business or Community” decal. For information or to register for this free workshop call 828.456.3573 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Jackson County Farmers Market will remain open throughout the winter months.

The market vendors will hold a Holiday Bazaar to kick off the winter season from 9 a.m. until noon on Dec. 4 in the parish hall of St. John’s Episcopal Church located at 18 Jackson Street.

Locally made gifts will be available including special holiday jams, salsa, apple butter, herbal products, handmade journals, soaps, shampoo, local yarn, candles and other crafts. Also available will be eggs, honey and greens. The market will be every Saturday in December until Christmas from 9 a.m. until noon at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Visitation to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through October is up for the year, and in October 2010 park visitation jumped by 19 percent over October 2009.

Parkwide, visitation for the year is up 2.9 percent. Through October 2009, 8,257,869 people had been to the Smokies. Through October of this year, that number is up to 8,449,815.

For October, the 2009 visitation was 1,052,137 compared to 1,252,357 in October 2010.

All the main entrances to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had increases over their October 2009 numbers: Gatlinburg was up 8.2 percent; Townsend jumped 18.4 percent; and Cherokee was up 13.4 percent.

The 13 outlying areas were up by 45.9 percent. To view the report for the Smokies visit www.nature.nps.gov/stats/viewReport.cfm.

More than a quarter million visitors to North Carolina state parks used a new reservations system in its first full year of operation, with most campers preferring short visits to state parks near their homes, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.

By far, the most popular park for camping and picnicking by reservation was Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, which logged 14,124 reservations during the year ending July 30. It was followed by Kerr Lake State Recreation Area (6,162) and Hanging Rock (5,256), Stone Mountain (5,062) and Carolina Beach (4,410) state parks.

The year-end reservations report showed that the state parks system’s online and call center-based system placed 61,484 reservations for campsites, picnic shelters and other amenities.

“The reservations system has been very popular, and we anticipated an important byproduct would be detailed information about our visitors and how they use the parks,” said Lewis Ledford, state parks director. “Over time, that will help us improve visitor service and gain more insight into how state parks contribute to local economies.”

The state parks attracted visitors from 16 nations during the year with Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom contributing the most foreign visitors, but reservations originated in far-flung locations such as Australia, Namibia and Sweden. North Carolinians, of course, were the most frequent visitors, and most state park campgrounds were populated by people from nearby towns, although there were exceptions. For instance, Hammocks Beach and Pilot Mountain state parks most often had campers from the Triangle area. Visitors from Charlotte most often filled Lake James, Morrow Mountain, New River and Stone Mountain state parks.

Reservations for campsites peaked in the months of April, May and June with a smaller but noticeable spike during August. The typical camping trip involved three people staying two nights on a weekend. In total, 123,149 nights of camping were reserved.

State park visitors were most comfortable making reservations in person at a state park (47.6 percent), while 35.9 percent of the reservations were made online and 16.5 percent were made through a call center. Visitors can camp without a reservation if a site is available when they arrive. Reservations can be made up to 48 hours in advance, online at www.ncparks.gov or by calling toll-free 1.877.7 CAMP NC (722.6762).

Early registration is currently under way for the 2011 Caring for Creation experience at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center on March 31-April 3, 2011.

Caring for Creation is a loosely organized movement of faith communities that believe there is Biblical and theological support for developing opportunities to be caretakers of the Earth.

The Rev. Sally Bingham, a priest in the Diocese of California who serves as the Environmental Minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, will be a guest speaker at the 2011 Caring for Creation. She is a founder of the Regeneration Project, a non-profit ministry focusing on the response to global climate change, whose initiative is the Episcopal Power and Light.

The model has developed into an interfaith initiative in several states and in Canada, and its mission is to mobilize the community of faith to lead by example in reducing green house gas emissions.

“The Rev. Bingham is giving a plenary, ‘A Religious Response to the Climate Crisis,’ and her workshop will focus on the work of Interfaith Power and Light,” said Loy Lilley, event coordinator for Caring for Creation. “We are excited about this ever growing opportunity to learn diverse ways to preserve and care for our Earth, and we hope that persons from all walks of life and of all ages will come.”

More than 38 guest speakers, including John Hill, Director of Economic and Environmental Justice from the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, will appear at the Caring for Creation conference. Other guest speakers include Derek Arndt of the National Climate Data Center; Dr. Brian Helmuth, professor of Biological Science at USC in Columbia, S.C.; and Dr. Jim McKenna, interim department head and professor of crop and soil environment sciences at VPI in Blacksburg, Va.

New workshops will be available this year, including “How Harming Earth Harms Heart, Mind, and Soul” by Andy Bell. Other workshops include “Biblical/Theological Foundations of Creation and Wesley” by Rev. Jeanne Finley;“Involving Young People in God’s Call to Hope and Action” by Mr. John Hodges-Batzka; and “How to advocate for Environmental Sustainability” by Mr. John Hill.

The first 50 persons to register will receive a free copy of Jonathan Merritt’s book, Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet. Merritt is also a speaker and workshop leader. Special early registration will be available for persons registering before Jan. 1. Ethnic scholarships will be available online soon. For registration, workshops, and more information visit www.lakejunaluska.com/caring-for-creation or call 828.454.6656.

The Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance is celebrating its 10th anniversary and holding its annual meeting from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Episcopal Church in Highlands.

The celebration will include food, wine/beer and music performed by Thea and the Green Man. No long speeches or Power Point programs at this meeting, just a celebration of the work done in the Highlands-Cashiers area since the organization’s inception in 2001.

It will also be a chance for members of the public to meet new executive director Michelle Price.

For more info contact J-MCA at 828.526.0890, ext. 320, or visit www.j-mca.org.

Liars Bench Southern Appalachian variety show to play a “foxfire Christmas” at bookstore

The Liars Bench — Western North Carolina’s own Southern Appalachian live variety show — plays City Lights Bookstore at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4, for the ninth time.

Gary Carden, Barbara Duncan, Steve Brady, Dave Waldrop and several members of the Smoky Mountain Choral Ensemble will perform at this Dec. 4 “foxfire Christmas” City Lights show.

Carden, a noted local folklorist and storyteller, will be giving a special presentation on old Christmas traditions including “dumb suppers” and “first steppers.”

“We’ve got a successful thing going here and we want to make sure that the whole community gets the opportunity to experience this unique cultural event,“ said host Dave Waldrop. The regular cast members include Gary Carden, Loyd Arneach, Paul Iarussi, Barbara Duncan, Dave Waldrop, Steve Brady, and the show’s mascot, Bodine. The Liars Bench recognizes established artists and performers and encourages new talent also.

“The Liars Bench is a totally different entertainment event featuring authentic traditional Southern Appalachian culture, giving both natives and transplants to the region and an accurate view of the people who live and work here in the southern Mountains,” said Liar’s Bench creator Gary Carden.

For information email Carden at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Parker and Paschal will appear at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 with a show that promises to jump-start your holiday celebrations.  

Parker’s June 2003 song “It’s True” — the title song on one of Ivan’s CD’s — climbed to No. 2 on The Singing News top 10 list. Janet Paschal grew up outside of Reidsville in Caswell County. Her breakout hit came with her 1997 album The Good Road, which landed her numerous appearances on Bill Gaither’s Homecoming Concerts as well as the corresponding records. Since then, Paschal has released five more albums  and has received numerous awards including Dove and Grammy nominations and was named Christian Music’s top female vocalist for three consecutive years.

To purchase tickets go to GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615. Tickets are also available at the box office or at Dalton’s Christian Bookstore in Franklin and Waynesville.

An original Christmas Cantata, “It Shall Be Fulfilled,” will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 5, at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Franklin.  

The cantata includes a narration of the birth of Christ as recorded in the Bible, accompanied by original songs based on the Scriptures and written in contemporary music styles including bluegrass, R&B, and soft rock.  The cantata will be directed by the composer, Franklin resident Lionel B. Caynon, and performed by a six-member vocal ensemble, C-Square & Friends, with narrator.

There is no admission charge; a light reception will follow the performance. First Presbyterian Church is at 26 Church Street in downtown Franklin.

Smoky Mountain Living magazine's February/March issue will be dedicated to love — not just in the romantic sense, but for place, work, family, animals, etc.

The magazine wants your images and interpretations of love for its photo spread. Submissions should be hi-resolution, digital images and include information about where and when the photos were taken and by and of whom.

Also, Smoky Mountain Living is looking for historic wedding portraits of couples from the Appalachians. Images should be from the 1930s and prior. Information about the couple pictured is required. Images submitted will be considered for the cover of SML. If a submitted image is selected, the couple featured therein will receive a small write up as part of SML's upcoming story about the history of Appalachian love, courtship and marriage. Submissions also should be hi-resolution, digital images and include information about where and when the photos were taken and by and of whom.

All submissions should be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 15.

Smoky Mountain Living magazine covers the southern Appalachians and celebrates the area’s environmental riches, its people, culture, music, art, crafts and special places. Each issue brings the Appalachians to life.

Become a fan at www.facebook.com/smliv.

The Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts at the historic Shelton House is sponsoring an Appalachian Christmas musical event that evokes nostalgic recollections of holiday celebrations evident in early settlements in the Appalachian Mountains.

Performed by noted folk and traditional musicians Anne and Rob Lough and the Trantham Family Band, the evening celebration of music, song and folklore will enable the audience to reminisce about the heritage that still emanates from the deep coves, the valleys, and the dwellings of this region. Both groups of musical entertainers are annual performers at the Smoky Mountain Folk Festival and have performed at Mountain Heritage Day in Cullowhee.  

Blue Ridge Books, Christmas Everyday and Olde Brick House have tickets for the Appalachian Christmas event scheduled for 7 p.m., Dec. 4, at HART’s main theater.  Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for children 5 to 15, and free admission for children under 5.

Anne Lough is a nationally known traditional musician, highly acclaimed for her skill as a performer and educator. Dedicated to preserving traditional music, stories and folklore, Lough devotes her time to festivals, workshops, performances and school residencies. In addition to being a regular instructor of mountain and hammered dulcimer at the prestigious John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, Lough has taught at the Swannanoa Gathering, Western Carolina Dulcimer Week, Augusta Heritage Dulcimer Week and numerous other festivals and workshops throughout the country. Anne’s Lough’s husband Rob is a full-time insurance agent but accompanies his wife at special programs and is a capable and entertaining musician and vocalist.  

Jim Trantham, the first generation of the three-generation Trantham Family Band, has been collecting and performing traditional songs for 60 years. Trantham has performed in many of the schools and universities of the Southeast and in five European countries. Trantham holds awards from some of the most highly regarded folk stages in North Carolina. In addition to his musical skills, Trantham is a noted maker of musical instruments, crafting all of the instruments used by the family.  

Jim’s son Doug Trantham began performing with his father at an early age. Doug Trantham, like his father, is an accomplished musician and vocalist, specializing in banjo, hammered dulcimer, and guitar. Doug Trantham’s daughters Emily and Sara have, since early childhood, been performing with their father and grandfather in the award winning Trantham Family Band.

The annual Canton Christmas Tour of Homes is from 1-6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 5. The show features six homes and all proceeds will benefit the Canton Miss Labor Day Scholarship Fund.

Admission is $12, and children under 12 are free. Tickets will be on sale soon at the following sites: Polly’s Florist and Gifts in Canton; Nest in Waynesville; Clyde Florist in Clyde; Mountain Home Collection in Waynesville/ Smokey Park Antiques in Candler

For tour information or to purchase tickets contact Laura Simmons at 828.400.0699.

Tickets may also be purchased at any of the homes on the day of the tour. The following homes are on the tour.

The Harris and Courtney Clark Home

4350 Pigeon Road

(Bethel- Hwy 110 to traffic light then right)    

This Cape Cod style home was built in 1954 to serve as the farmhouse presiding over the 100 or so acres it overlooks in the valley behind. The 2,400-square-foot home combines both an open floor plan and modern use of space with a wonderfully rustic charm lent to the home by its many antiques, unique handmade furnishings and farm-life-inspired artwork.  

The Thomas and Amy Fitzpatrick Home

21 Pennsylvania Avenue

(Past Canton Public Library)

The previous owners were the Phillips family. This is a 1918 brick, craftsman style bungalow.  This home feels like a bungalow, but at the same time it is a very modern translation of an early 20th century house.  It has a very defined look — white walls with lots of wood, natural fibers, and family heirlooms.

The Patrick and Brianna Willis Home

24 Pennsylvania Avenue

(Past Canton Public Library)

The Willis house was built in 1932 in the craftsman style. Currently the homeowners are working to restore some of the original touches and have been delighted to uncover and restore the original brick fireplace, glass paned French doors, glass door knobs, and similar architectural features from the early 30’s. While renovations are still under way, the Willis’ are decorating with live greenery, touched with traditional “soap flake” flocking and metallic accents.

The James Giglio Home decorated by Clyde Florist and Judy Jones

134 Academy Street (Main Street to Academy Street near St Andrews Episcopal Church)

This is historic home built in 1900 in the classic style. The two-story home features a formal Victorian living room with a fireplace, a formal dining room, and a stately staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms. Original hand crafted woodwork add charm and character. Victorian furniture and antiques are decorated with Christmas greenery, poinsettias, and an assortment of cherished Christmas treasures. Clyde Florist and Judy Jones have provided the decorating skills for celebrating an old fashioned Christmas in this home.

The Guest Home of Doug and Gail Mull

16 Division Street (Hampton Heights to Oakland Circle right on Division Street)

A three-story brick Tudor built in 1925. The gothic door opens into a large foyer featuring a beautifully crafted oak staircase. The large living room features a mullioned bay window and a corner brick fireplace decorated with greenery. A bright sunroom, formal dining room, a butlers pantry, and a country kitchen feature varied cottage Christmas themes

The David and Coleen Blaylock Home

127 Newfound Street (Main Street to Bridge Street right on Newfound Street)

This house is a Georgian Colonial Style home built in 1937. It features a square symmetrical shape with five windows across the front. The house is spacious and the floor plan allows for entertaining. The home is decorated in a traditional style that exhibits southern hospitality and graciousness.

The Haywood County Arts Council’s third annual show of “pint-sized” artwork titled, ”It’s a Small, Small Work 2010” is currently on exhibit at Gallery 86 now through Friday, Dec. 31, in Waynesville.

The show provides a unique opportunity to purchase original art at very modest prices—just in time for holiday gift-giving. Most artwork is priced between $20 and $80, with no work priced over $300. Artwork is sold off the wall in a “pay and walk away” style.

Participation in the annual small works has grown from 68 participating artists in 2008 to 118 artists in 2010. “There are over 500 pieces of art from which to choose—but folks better hurry because artists are limited to five pieces—and the work sells fast,” says Arts Council director Kay Miller, who started the show three years ago.

Artists must reside in one of the 25 counties that comprise the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area in western North Carolina. The show challenges artists to create works smaller than 12 inches in every dimension, including base, matting, and frame, etc.

For more information about “It’s a Small, Small Work 2010” visit the Haywood County Arts Council website at www.haywoodarts.org.

Want to make a Cherokee basket or Cherokee pottery bowl for that special Christmas present?

Come to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian Dec. 11 and create your own white oak basket with plain and dyed splints, or your own stamped pottery bowl. Or give the workshop itself as a special gift to someone who would like to learn these traditional crafts.

Master artists Ramona Lossie and Bernadine George, members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, will be teaching hands-on workshops for a limited number of participants. Cost is $50 for each workshop, plus materials fee. Basket materials cost $25 and pottery materials $5, with an extra fee for firing if you choose.  (Discounts apply to museum members and members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.)

From 9 a.m. to noon, Ramona Lossie will instruct on making a small square white oak basket. Bring a sturdy knife and scissors to work with and a piece of leather to spread on your lap.  Participants will complete a basket by noon.

From 1 to 4 p.m., Bernadine George will instruct in making a cazuela pottery bowl with traditional stamped Cherokee patterns. This tradition dates back three thousand years in the southern Appalachians. Participants may take your bowl home and fire it yourself, or arrange with Bernadine to fire it at an additional cost.

The annual Cherokee Christmas Bazaar will be going on Dec. 11 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds next door to the Museum, featuring hand-made items by dozens of Cherokee artists.

Museum workshops are limited to the first 20participants to register and pay their fee. Call the Museum Store at 828.497.3481 or visit at 589 Tsali Blvd. (Highway 441) in Cherokee. Credit cards and cash are accepted. For more information, contact the Museum Store.

Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center will host a Craft Fair from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 11.

Members can purchase a 6-foot table to display their items for $10. Non-members can purchase a 6-foot table for $20. Tables and chairs are provided. Crafters may purchase more than one table.

Each crafter will be responsible for the set-up, break-down and clean-up of the area around their booth.  Set up will begin at 7 a.m. on Dec. 11, the morning of the craft show. Booth information and applications are available at the front desk. For more information, call 828.452.8080.

The Gateway Club in Waynesville is currently hosting an exhibit of the The Haywood Snapshot Project. The exhibit, recently displayed at Haywood Arts Repertory Theater, uses historic photographs to bring Waynesville’s history to life. Images, ranging from an 1886 photograph of Main Street to a picture of The Gateway Club building during its construction in 1927, are a rich sample of Haywood County’s photographic heritage.

The project was developed under the auspices of the Historic and Genealogical Society of Haywood County. It seeks to involve the community in locating, preserving and sharing irreplaceable images and stories from the past. 

The exhibition is open to the public and is free. For information call 828.456.6789 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Waynesville Gallery Association presents Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Take a stroll through working studios and galleries on Main Street, Depot Street and in Frog Level. Festive flags identify participating galleries such as: Art on Depot; Blue Owl Studio and Gallery; Burr Studio and Gallery; Earthworks Gallery; Grace Cathey Sculpture Garden and Gallery; Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86; Ridge Runner Naturals; Textures; The Jeweler’s Workbench; TPennington Art Gallery; and, Twigs and Leaves Gallery.

Burr Studio is hosting an opening reception with artist Courtney Tomchik and her raku storytellers, mirrors and other items to purchase just in time for holiday gift-giving.

Textures will be having a beer tasting with the Frog Level Brewing Company during December’s Art After Dark. Enjoy soft pretzels and other Holiday treats from “It’s Simply Delicious” while listening to music by Karen “Sugar” Barnes.

Visit Twigs and Leaves Gallery — named “Haywood County’s Best Gallery” by Mountain Xpress for the second year in a row. Enjoy music by the Signature Winds, Haywood County’s resident woodwind quintet, along with piano accompaniment for seasonal favorites.

The Waynesville Gallery Association’s Art After Dark takes place on the first Friday each month May through December 2010. For more information about Art After Dark visit the web site at www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com or call 828.452.9284.

Art After Dark

What: The Waynesville Gallery Association presents December Art After Dark

When: Friday, December 3, 2010 from 6 – 9 pm

Where: Downtown, Historic Frog Level, and Depot Street in Waynesville

The next Sylva After Dark will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, in downtown Sylva. This will be the last Sylva After Dark until May 2011.  

Some of the events planned for Dec. 23 include:

• It’s by Nature will be hosting a one-man show during the month of December for Cullowhee watercolor painter Craig Forrest. The show will be titled, “Downtown Sylva in Detail-Urban Subjects, A New Direction.” An opening reception will be held at the gallery on Friday, Dec. 3.

• Heinzelmannchen Brewery will have a food and beer pairing from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Brewery. Partake samples of beer and fine cuisine.

• Annie’s Naturally Bakery (506 W. Main St.) will be showcasing holiday breads (German stollen and Italian panettone) and pairing them with egg nogg.

• Gallery One will have its Winter Members Show running through December.

• Signature Brew will feature the drawings of Mary Jane Ellsworth of Cullowhee for Sylva after Dark in December. Ellsworth, a member of “The Silent Generation” at William and Mary College, the American Aesthetic Society and the Blue Ridge Watermedia Society, has had juried exhibits at the Biltmore Estate, HART Theatre, the Armory and other venues.

• The Village at Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company will have live music during Sylva After Dark. 

• “The Downtowner Building” offices are having a holiday open house the evening of Dec. 3 during Sylva After Dark. (upstairs in the building to the right of Sapphire Brewing Company). Included are The Tuckaseegee Reader (tuckreader.com), Aurora Professional Design Guild, Jim Smythe, painter, Jackson County Real Estate, The Wilderness Society, AWAKE, and Insure America. All are welcome to drop by for music, food, beverages, and holiday cheer.

The radio version of a classic holiday ghost story, “A Christmas Carol,” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

A 30-minute preshow concert will start the evening off with holiday music until the 8 p.m. live broadcast begins.

The show is organized and produced by three WCU faculty members who collaborated two years ago on their first radio re-creation, “The War of the Worlds,” and last year’s award-winning “On the Home Front, Nov. ’44.”

Steve Carlisle, associate dean of the Honors College, is the show’s director; Bruce Frazier, Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Commercial and Electronic Music, is the musical director. Don Connelly, associate professor and head of the Department of Communication, is producer of the show.

The broadcast is a re-enactment of the Campbell’s Playhouse adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” from 1938.

“The audience is watching a radio production. We don’t play to the audience. We play to the microphone,” Connelly said. “It’s a fun thing to do. What’s neat is to expose people to this unique form of storytelling.”

The one-time performance stars Arthur Anderson, who will reprise his role as the Ghost of Christmas Past from the original Orson Welles 1938 radio production. Anderson was 16 years old at the time.

The Dec. 9 performance is being produced with permission of the show’s original sponsor, Campbell’s Soups.

The audience will get the feel of the holiday spirit as vintage Christmas card images from the archive collection of Hallmark Cards of Kansas City are projected onto a large screen at the back of the stage, said Connelly. The Hallmark artists selected cards from the late 1930s specifically for the WCU show.

“A Christmas Carol” will be performed exactly as it was originally done, including live sound effects, a 20-piece orchestra and an eight-person choir, Connelly said.

Frazier has created his own musical scores for the performance. The original 1938 musical director was Bernard Herrmann, who used a variety of music for the original show, such as traditional Christmas carols and folk music to accompany the festive scenes, and an original musical underscore to play during the dramatic moments.

“We are using a small orchestra and a chorus of carolers and will highlight School of Music faculty vocal soloists Mary Kay Bauer and Dan Cherry,” said Frazier. “‘A Christmas Carol’ is a ghost story with a happy ending and the music reflects the contrast of spine-chilling creepiness and unbridled joy.”

Prior to the start of the show at 7:30 p.m., the Biltmore Company will host a display of its first-edition copy of  “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, on loan to WCU from the library in the Biltmore House.

The evening’s events are part of the university’s Quality Enhancement Program, enabling students to experience a practical application of what they are learning. The lobby area of the Fine and Performing Arts Center will feature English students displaying a synopsis of papers on Dickens and his Christmas story. The evening’s printed program will feature papers written this semester by students in a 19th-century English literature class taught by Brent Kinser, associate professor of English.

A number of other students in various departments across campus are involved in this professional collaboration.

For tickets, contact WCU’s Fine and Performing Art Center at 828.227.2479 or visit tickets.wcu.edu. All seats are $10. Advance tickets are suggested.

The Mast General Store has once again invited Sarge’s volunteers to wrap holiday presents at their store on Main Street in Waynesville.

Best Buy at Waynesville Loop near the new WalMart Super Center has also invited Sarge’s volunteers to wrap presents at their store.

“Gifts from other stores may be brought to either location for wrapping.  There is no charge for gift wrapping but a donation to Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation will be happily accepted!” said Rosa Allomong, coordinator of wrapping at The Mast General Store.

“Sarge’s needs more volunteers to help with the gift wrapping and  would love to have people in our community  register with Sarge’s to help wrap presents at either or both locations,” said Barbara Buck, Best Buy gift- wrap coordinator. Information to register is on Sarge’s website at www.sargeandfriends.org or may be obtained by calling 828.246.9050.

Stoltzfus Bread Basket recently opened at 291 Everett Street (beside Watershed Trading Company) in Bryson City. Stoltzfus is an Amish style bakery featuring fresh baked breads, muffins, bagels and cakes and desserts by the slice or uncut. It also offers bulk foods, deli meats, cheese, and candy.

828.488.5942 or 828.508.9698.

The Franklin Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon cutting celebrating the opening of Finally Home Staging and Redesign, located in the Rusty Wagon of the Whistle Stop Mall in Franklin recently held a grand opening.

Janine Peak and Carol VanderWoude are the owners. After researching the current national staging industry, the pair discovered Home Staging Resource, the only accredited staging certification program in the United States. Home staging uses limited funds, practical creativity and extraordinary expertise to professionally prepare a home to sell. The goal of staging is to transform a house so that it becomes more attractive to potential buyers, sells quickly and for more money.

1281 Georgia Road, Franklin, N.C., 28734. 828.367.4139 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Hardee’s in Canton has converted its restaurant at 16 New Clyde Highway to a dual-branded Hardee’s/Red Burrito location. The newly-converted Hardee’s/Red Burrito celebrated with a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce.

The addition of the Red Burrito menu gives Hardee’s a new line of Mexican fare. The dual-branding program began at sister chain Carl’s Jr. in 1994, when the first Carl’s Jr./Green Burrito restaurant was opened in Carson, Calif. It proved very successful, increasing both average unit volumes and profits. Hardee’s was soon to follow suit and now has more than 180 dual-branded restaurants across the Midwest and Southeast and has plans to expand the program at both chains going forward.

Western Carolina University, Wake Forest University and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have reaffirmed their partnership to promote Native health initiatives.

Since 2006, the three institutions have collaborated to support the Culturally Based Native Health Program, or CBNHP. The CBNHP has two components: a graduate and undergraduate Native health certificate offered through WCU; and a Native youth-to-health careers initiative summer camp that takes place at Wake Forest.

“We are recommitting ourselves to initiatives we started four years ago,” said Lisa Lefler, a professor of medical anthropology and director of the WCU component of the program.

Principal Chief Michell Hicks of the EBCI, WCU Chancellor John Bardo and Provost Jill Tiefenthaler of Wake Forest formally updated the agreement at a meeting Nov. 16 on the WCU campus. Provisions of the new agreement include an extension of the terms through August 2015 and for Wake Forest to support qualified EBCI applicants. WCU agrees to “provide in-kind technological support and consultation to promote these collaborative efforts and support of American Indian students in education and career development.”

Bardo stressed the partnership’s strength and value. Tiefenthaler, citing the economy, said institutions are “in the age of partnerships.” Hicks said the tribe is interested in expanding the relationship to include other fields, such as architecture or accounting, for example.

The Native health certificate was developed with tribal community members and health professionals to provide a curriculum based on culture to inform providers about the unique nature of Indian health policy and the historical and cultural contexts of heath. This 12-hour, fully online program is one of the first in the nation to include a partnership with a Native community.

The second component of the CBNHP, the medical career counseling and technologies program, also called MedCat, responds to the universal need for more Native health care workers by recruiting high school students interested in medical careers and related technologies.

The CBNHP works in other ways to heighten awareness of Native health issues. A public lecture series featured its second speaker this fall semester, and a concert and free symposium in October raised raise awareness of the intersection of environmental, health and indigenous issues related to the destruction of mountain land.

A wreath was recently hung at Haywood County Animal  Services to kick off a special animal adoption event called Home for the Holidays.

“We recruited Jamie Powell, executive director of Sarge’s, and Tammy Watford, news anchor from WLOS-TV who is a long-time supporter of Sarge’s and participates in the annual Downtown Dog Walk, to hang the wreath to officially kick off an adoption promotion that will enable people to adopt a shelter pet for a lower than usual adoption fee,” said Connie Hewitt, promotion coordinator.

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation and Aidan’s Fund will pay a portion of the adoption fee through Jan. 2, reducing the price to $60 for dogs, $37.50 for female cats and $27.50 for male cats.

Each adopted animal will have its name placed on a stocking hung on the wall inside the shelter.  

“We already have Tater’s stocking hung,” said Hewitt. “Tater is a 10-month-old Australian Cattle dog who was adopted the day after the promotion began.”

“The majority of animals surrendered to the shelter or turned in as strays are loving, great animals that will make wonderful pets,” said Hewitt. “We hope that our reduced adoption fees will encourage people who are looking for a pet this time of year, to look at the shelter first.”

The Haywood County Animal Shelter is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays; and noon-4 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed on Thanksgiving and Dec. 24-25.

For more information call Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation at 828.246.9050

An evening of great food, great beer and fine wines was attended by 45 people on Nov. 18. 

The event was the Community Harvest Dinner, a fundraiser for The Community Table. Annie’s Bakery, Heinzelmannchen Brewery, Mill & Main, Papou’s Wine Shop and Yellow Branch Farm worked together to put on a three-course meal paired with a glass of wine and a glass a beer. Those attending were delighted with the evening requesting the organizers do this event again. 

“It was a wonderful evening with great food, drink, and friends,” said Amy Grimes, executive director of The Community Table. “This thoughtfulness means so much, especially during a time when The Table is growing rapidly, and our budget is struggling to keep up. It is only with the support of caring folks in our community that we are able to continue to feed our neighbors in need in a welcoming environment.” 

Proceeds from the dinner totaled $620 and have been given to The Community Table to help them move to a new location.

Small farmers fighting against being lumped with large agribusinesses in a federal food-safety act have received a measure of possible protection.

At the behest of small farmers, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan D-N.C., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., pushed through a provision to exempt small farms from new reporting requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Last month, commissioners in Jackson and Haywood counties joined their counterparts in Macon County in requesting the protection. The distinction between big and small will be those farmers making less than $500,000 in gross income and who sell directly to consumers.

This includes sales made at farmers markets, community-supported agriculture drop-sites, roadside stands and other similar direct-market venues.

“Everyone agrees we must overhaul our food-safety system,” Hagan said, “as millions of people have become sick from foodborne illnesses. But unfortunately, this bill threatens the ability of small producers … to stay in business.”

Hagan noted more than 3,700 farmers in North Carolina sell directly to consumers, generating $29 million in economic activity through sales at 200 farmers markets and more than 100 community-supported agriculture organizations.

A Christmas Bazaar will be held Sat. Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Sylva, at the Jackson County Community Services Building on Hospital Road below Harris Regional Hospital. 

This will benefit the Community Table. There is no admission, but food for the Community Table will be gratefully accepted. There will be various arts and crafts, such as trout flies and shadow boxes, gift baskets, pottery, wood turnings, jewelry, gourds, honey, rock candle lamps, watercolors, Indian crafts and more.

A Civil War Round Table Christmas Gala will be held at the Holiday Inn Express in Dillsboro on Dec. 13.

The event is open to members and the public. Refreshments and social hour begin at 6 p.m., followed by a buffet dinner and program.  Attire is “period dress” or “Sunday best”.  The cost is $ 25 per person and reservations may be sent to WNCCWRT, Box 3709, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723, or call Chris Behre at 293-9314 by Dec. 4.  A cash bar will be available.  

The speaker will be Brian Steele Wills, professor of history and philosophy at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.  His topic is “Solid as a Rock: George Henry Thomas.”  Wills will talk of Pap Thomas’ Virginia roots and his loyalty to the Union. Thomas was a critical component of Union success and one of its highest regarded generals.  

Wills is director of the center for the study of the Civil War era, and is tenured at the University of Virginia at Wise. He is the author of numerous articles and books relating to the Civil War, including “A Battle From the Start:  The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest.” This book was chosen as both a History Book Club selection and a Book of the Month selection. His most recent work is “Gone for Glory: The Civil War in Cinema.”

During this busy holiday season, WestCare Hospice invites the community to take a moment and remember loved ones who have shaped your memories of this special time of year.

The public can express their memories by making a gift to the hospice program now serving families in Jackson, Haywood, Macon, Swain and Graham counties. Their gifts will make the Tree of Remembrance come alive with decorations and lights for all to enjoy. Gifts will also support the vital work of hospice as it provides care and support to individuals and their families who are coping with cancer or another life threatening illness.

The WestCare Home Health & Hospice office tree will be displayed Nov. 29 through Dec. 3 at Sylva Plaza. Butterfly ornaments will be available for purchase/donation in the office from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Drop by the lobby of MedWest-Harris or MedWest-Swain and see the Tree of Remembrance decorated with butterflies from Nov. 29 through Christmas. The name of a loved one will appear on every butterfly.

MedWest and family members will remember all past and present loved ones during a special ceremony at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 in the MedWest-Harris lobby.

For more information on any of these events call 828.586.7410.

Southwestern Community College is offering two holiday baking project classes in early December at its Jackson Campus.

Learn to make Cookie Bouquets from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9. Instructor Raquel Moore will show participants how to create festive cookie arrangements for any celebration. Learn the basics in this 2.5-hour class. Cost is $10 dollars.

Then from 6-9 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 13, Moore will demonstrate how to make Ginger Bread Houses. Moore, who has had a series of very successful cake decorating classes at SCC this fall, said participants will “learn everything they need to know to make a spectacular gingerbread house or impressive centerpiece for the season.” Cost is $12 dollars.

To pre-register for these classes, call Continuing Education at 828.339.4000, or to learn more about the classes and instructor, call Michael Rich at 828.339.4497.

Learn what you need to know now about paying for college during a free workshop scheduled 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus.

The workshop, titled How to Pay for College, includes three concurrent sessions that will be held in the Balsam Center Auditorium.

One session presented by SCC Director of Financial Aid Melody Lawrence will focus especially on seniors and their parents.

Another session for all other parents will feature Laura Misner, Western regional representative of the College Foundation of North Carolina, who will tell about resources available to start planning for financing a college education.

The third session scheduled that evening is for all other high school students to focus on what they can do now to make a difference in paying for college.

Sponsored by SCC’s College Access Programs, the workshop will be hosted by Upward Bound. For more information, contact Annette Kesgen, Upward Bound director, at 828.631.2671.

Area women will have a chance to learn more about health issues, while growing in mind, body and spirit during the day-long Flourish Women’s Expo, on May 21, 2011, at Harrah’s Cherokee Resort Events Center. The highlight of the event, sponsored by MedWest health system, will be the keynote speaker, Maya Angelou.

The list of Angelou’s published verse, non-fiction, and fiction includes more than 30 bestselling titles. A trailblazer in film and television, she wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the 1972 film “Georgia, Georgia.” Her script, the first by an African-American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

She has appeared on television and in films, including the landmark television adaptation of Alex Haley’s Roots (1977) and John Singleton’s Poetic Justice (1993). In 1996, she directed her first feature film, “Down in the Delta.” In 2008, she composed poetry for and narrated the award-winning documentary “The Black Candle.”

Angelou has received more than 30 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

The Flourish Women’s Expo will offer several educational sessions throughout the day, booths and health screenings. Physicians and other medical professionals are scheduled to discuss a variety of women’s health issues, such as nutritional health, mental wellness, plastic surgery, aromatherapy, cancer and heart health.

“The expo will focus on educating women about the importance of healthy lifestyles, and the purpose will be to introduce women to the services, physicians and staff of MedWest Health System in order to serve as the primary health care provider and an ongoing resource for them,” said Teresa Reynolds, MedWest Chief Operating Officer.

Tickets are $45 and include lunch, participation in any or all of the educational sessions, lunch, a gift bag and chance to win a door prize. Twelve elite tickets will be available for $1,000 and will include an autographed personalized copy of Angelou’s latest book, “Letter to My Daughter,” and select seating for Angelou’s presentation. Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, “Letter to My Daughter” reveals Maya Angelou’s path to living well and living a life with meaning.

Special sponsorships are available for the event. Sponsorship levels include the Great White Trillium, $5,000; Blue Ridge, $2,500; Elk Heart, $1,500; and Whipoorwill, $1,000. A limited number of vendor packages will be available for $500. Smaller sponsorships are available for families or groups of women.

Tickets for the Flourish Women’s Expo are available online at www.flourishwomen.com. For more information, complete a contact form on the Web site or call Peggy Manning, Corporate Communications Specialist for MedWest health system, at 828.452.8883.

It’s that time of year. Now that Thanksgiving has arrived, so have holiday events — lots of them. If you have an event you want listed, send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Parades

• Franklin’s Christmas Parade. Nov. 28. The town of Franklin welcomes the holiday season with the parade through downtown with Santa and Mrs. Claus and much more. 3 p.m. 524.1598.

• Canton Christmas Parade. Dec. 2 in downtown Canton. 648.2363.  

• Highlands Olde Mountain Christmas Parade in downtown Highlands will be Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. 526.2112.

• 36th Annual Bryson City Christmas Parade. Dec. 4. Billed as the “biggest little” Christmas parade in the Smokies, complete with clowns, an old time oompah band, floats, marching bands, Santa and more. 2 p.m. 800.867.9246.  

• Sylva Christmas Parade. Dec. 4. The Downtown Sylva Association puts together a parade complete with floats representing a broad spectrum of the community pictures with Santa Claus and more. This year’s theme is “The Wonder of Christmas Morning.” 3 p.m. on Main Street. 586.1577.

• Maggie Valley Christmas Parade. Dec. 4. Parade begins at 6 p.m. on Highway 19 in downtown Maggie Valley. 926.0866.      

• Evening Christmas Parade in Downtown Waynesville. Dec. 6. Parade starts at 6 p.m. on Main Street and features floats, music, Santa and Mrs. Claus and more.

• Cherokee Christmas Parade. Dec. 11. A theme-based parade featuring floats, music, Santa Claus and more. Parade begins at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Big Bear Exxon and ends at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. 800.438.1601.

• Cashiers Christmas Parade. Dec. 11. Annual parade through downtown Cashiers. 1 p.m. 743.7710.

Holiday Activities

• Holiday Open House in downtown Waynesville. Nov. 21. A Holiday Tradition on Main Street. Enjoy the sights, scents and sounds as the holiday season begins in festively decorated shops and galleries. 12 to 9 p.m. 456.3517.

• Festival of Lights in Cherokee. Nov. 22-Jan. 11. View the Holiday Lights and visit in Cherokee’s many specialty shops. 866.433.6700.

• Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony in Franklin. Nov. 26. Tree lighting on the Square in Downtown Franklin with free cider, cookies and music at 7 p.m. 524.2516.

• Christmas Time in the Mountains. Nov. 26-Dec. 23. A shopping event at the Inn at Half Mile Farm in Highlands. 526.8170.    

• Hard Candy Christmas at Western Carolina University. Nov. 26, 27. An arts and crafts show in the WCU Ramsey Center. Admission is $3 for adults. 524.3405.

• Annual Mistletoe Magic in Macon County. Nov. 26, 27. Event featuring quality artisans, strolling carolers, Santa Claus and elves, Christmas trees for sale, horse drawn wagon rides and more. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Wayne Proffitt Agricultural Center.

• The Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association will sponsor a Meet Santa Claus event at the Village Green on Nov. 27. Cider and cookies will be available. Bring a camera to take photos with Santa. 1 to 4 p.m. 743.1630 or www.visitcashiersvalley.com. 

• Town Tree Lighting in downtown Highlands. Nov. 27. Gather together to light the Highlands Christmas tree at 6:30 p.m. 866.526.5841.

• The public is invited to cast their votes for the Bascom gingerbread House contest from Nov. 30-Dec. 10, on Tuesdays – Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The winners will be announced at 10 a.m. Dec. 11. 526.4949 or visit www.thebascom.org.

• Christmas at Lambuth Inn at Lake Junaluska. Nov. 30 – Dec. 3. A special seasonal program for adult groups or individuals who wish to experience a meaningful preparation for celebrating the Christ in Christmas. www.lakejunaluska.com/christmas-at-lambuth.aspx.

• Window Wonderland in Downtown Franklin. Dec. 3-10. A holiday celebration on town hill in Franklin that features “living” window displays of the season, carolers, and other sounds of the holidays, carriage rides, refreshments and more from 5 to 8 p.m. 524.2516.

• Festival of Lights and Luminaries in Dillsboro. Dec. 3, 4 and 10,11. The town is transformed into a winter wonderland of lights, candles and song with 2500 luminaries that light the way to shops and studios. Shopkeepers will provide live music and serve holiday treats and children can visit with Santa at Town Hall. 800.962.1911.

• Live Nativity at Saunooke Village in Cherokee. Dec. 4. Nativity scenes with live camels and other animals, music and more. Presented by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia at 6 p.m. 631.4587.

• Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville will celebrate an Old Fashion Appalachian Christmas on Dec. 11. Enjoy traditional mountain dulcimer music and song, mountain stories, homemade treats and more. 7 to 8:30 p.m. 456.6000.

• A Night Before Christmas in downtown Waynesville. Dec. 11. A holiday tradition of caroling, live music, a live Nativity, Santa, old-fashioned wagon rides, storytelling, poetry and more. Main Street is lined with hundreds of luminaries and shops and restaurants open until 9 p.m.

• Spirit of Christmas in Bryson City. Dec. 11. Luminaries line historic Everett Street, the signature hemlock is lit with memorial lights, carolers and musical artists abound, photos with Santa and a living nativity. 800.867.9246.

• Cherokee Native Christmas at River Bend in downtown Cherokee. Dec. 11. The Cherokee Chamber of Commerce Annual event features Native arts and crafts, singing, clogging, storytelling and a visit from Santa with gifts for the kids. 866.433.6700.

• City Lights bookstore in Sylva will host music and a little comedy from duo Slim Christmas and Yuletide Carol on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. in the store’s Regional Room. 586.9499.

• Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Polar Express Train Ride. Through Dec. 23. The popular children’s book “The Polar Express” comes to life on a journey to the North Pole. Read along with the magical story and meet Santa. Enjoy holiday caroling, hot cocoa and a special treat. Trains depart from the Train Depot in Bryson City. For schedule and rates call 800.872.4681.