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By Michael Beadle
Western North Carolina prides itself as a tourist destination — the mountain getaway where you can hike and shop and rest among the soothing sounds of nature.
By Dawn Gilchrist-Young
(Editor’s note: Writer Dawn Gilchrist-Young is conducting a series of interviews with mountain natives to gauge their reaction to changes taking place in the region and their memories of the past. These stories will appear intermittently in The Smoky Mountain News.)
When you head up Alarka from N.C. 19/74, you see a microcosm of western North Carolina — old home places with mountain pastures, high end real estate development signs every quarter mile, and enough trash to discourage even the most dedicated “Adopt-a-Highway“ group. Like the rest of the region, upper Alarka is a combination of stunning natural beauty, abject disregard for litter laws, and unbridled greed.
By Michael Beadle
Last week, Cherokee students found themselves stretching, swooning, thrusting imaginary swords and spouting 400-year-old Elizabethan English.
All that without textbooks or boring lectures about William Shakespeare being the greatest playwright ever.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
From behind the waist-high counter that divides his studio and gallery in half, potter Mark Karner pauses for a moment to extend a hand and make introductions before getting back to work applying handles to four planters just beginning to dry.
I’m going to take a brief detour from the regular album/show review format and present five CDs that I feel are worth seeking out. The idea started out as a “top 5” of the last year, but apparently I got a little sidetracked. Thus, it evolved into what you’re reading now: a roundup of underappreciated aural gems from the past, well, decade or so.
Spring
One diversion in my life this past month was the weather. Surely this spring is among the most gorgeous of the last two decades. There is a lush, warm quality to the landscape this season, and the very air and sunlight seem to have combined to form a sort of chamber orchestra of beauty from the mountains around us. So if you haven’t looked out your window lately, I’d start there.
Quick Draw in the Mountains raised a record amount of money this year off a live and silent auction that supports budding artists and art in the schools.
When the Rev. Beverly Brock of Canton was diagnosed with cancer, doctors immediately offered her a high percentage cure. Most people would leap at such an option, but to Brock, the cure seemed much worse than the disease.
The American Forest and Paper Association recently announced that Macon County resident Joel Ostroff has received the 2006 Ed Hurley Memorial Paper Recycling Award. The award recognizes an individual who has had a significant and positive influence in advocating paper recycling.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
Turn to the classified pages in any Western North Carolina newspaper and the employment section bears similar traits. Jobs listed tend to be those in the growing service sector — housekeepers, night shift hotel clerks, secretaries, wait staff, retail sales. And listings under the “professional” heading are sparse.
By Lee Shelton
Those who stated that Haywood County Commission Chairman Mark Swanger, who lost in last week’s primary election, was “over managing” or interfering are wrong. He was just doing the job that he was elected to do by the public and the majority of the board.
By Michael Beadle
Norma Brown knows how hard it is to get legal citizenship in the United States.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
This summer residents of Franklin will vote on whether to allow restaurants to sell alcoholic beverages, following a town board decision to hold a referendum on the issue.
By Michael Beadle
When Lori McLeod first started teaching English as a Second Language at Tuscola High School in Haywood County, she had two students. They didn’t constitute enough to make a class, so she would pull them out of classes for tutoring.
Rhett Langston with the Buncombe County Parks and Recreation Department has been selected from a pool of 63 applicants to become the new Waynesville Recreation Director.
The Haywood County Health Department has asked for state assistance to conduct tests in two subdivisions after soil samples from a vacant lot tested positive for lead, arsenic and other pesticides similar to those detected in Barber Orchard, which was declared a Superfund site.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
A Dillsboro business owner’s recent attempt to purchase and develop land near the Great Smoky Mountains Railrod tracks has renewed a longstanding debate over railroad right-of-way issues and property owners’ rights.
By Stephanie Wampler • Guest Columnist
Multi-tasking? Not me. Or so I’ve always thought.
By Darcia Bondurant
I would like to think of myself as a healthy, 46-year-old woman. My weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol are all good. I know I need to exercise more, but who doesn’t?
The U.S. Forest Service has been working on a master recreation plan for Panthertown Valley for more than two years now.
Ebay
Egad, it’s more addictive than heroin. My family always had a penchant for what some might refer to as “junk,” but what they would refer to lovingly as “antiques.” So I spent a fair amount of my childhood in flea markets, wandering through rows and rows of junk, err... “collectibles” rather.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
At age 12, Seth Taylor is a quiet, tanned, tow-headed boy. He seems well mannered, intelligent, and at ease, his lanky frame leaned back in a folding chair. However, he’s unprepared to answer questions about what drove him to begin a career in music — one that’s already led to numerous awards, two album releases, and a chance to open for Charlie Daniels.
By Chris Cooper
The Wilders: Throw Down
Reading about bandleader Ike Sheldon’s love/hate relationship with old-time music is almost as entertaining as listening to The Wilders’ latest, Throw Down. That somebody could be such a natural talent in this style and spend so many years avoiding it is pretty darn funny when you think about it.
By Michael Beadle
One thing that paralyzes American tourists about visiting foreign countries is the language barrier.
By Chris Cooper
To say that Col. Bruce Hampton has carved a colorful swath through the music industry is likely an understatement of considerable proportions. Tossing equal parts Zappa-inspired lunacy, gritty Southern rock, spoken word rants from Mars, gospel, funk, jazz and blues into nearly every recording, Hampton has achieved an instantly recognizable sound in spite of all his stylistic schizophrenia.
A+ arts schools
Call me biased, but Central Elementary School in downtown Waynesville is a great place. All three of my children have attended, and two are still there. The A+ program integrates arts into the standard curriculum and realizes the importance of teaching to multiple intelligences — which, in layman’s terms, means that different children learn differently, so one method just ain’t gonna work for everyone.
By Michael Beadle
Editor’s note: Smoky Mountain News Writer Michael Beadle recently traveled to Europe. The following is the first of two stories about his experiences abroad.
You can’t go home again.
More than years after Asheville literary giant Thomas Wolfe gave us this immortal expression, his words echo with the love and longing that a place gives us.
By Michael Beadle
Central Elementary School capped its 10-year anniversary as an A+ school Friday, May 19, with students, parents, county leaders, school officials and school alumni joining in the celebration.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff have recommended removing the Dillsboro Dam and re-issuing Duke Energy licenses for each of its dams along the Tuckasegee and Oconaluftee rivers, according to a 402-page draft environmental assessment released May 10.
By Michael Beadle
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on some of the issues faced by new Latino immigrants to this region.
Cristina Heath, a native of Mexico and a Spanish teacher at Swain County High School and Middle School, has mixed feelings about the growing number of Hispanic immigrants in Western North Carolina.
By Joanne Meyer • Guest Columnist
A soft, spring breeze wafted through the open window, sending a sheer, cafe curtain dancing across the strings of a mandolin leaning upright against the back of a chair. The sound the instrument produced had a startling but enchanting allure. It spoke to me in a voice I had not heard in a long time.
By Michael Beadle
Kituhwa.
To the Cherokee, it represents one of the most sacred sites in the world, the first Cherokee town, a mound where the sacred fire burned for centuries. It is from this site that the Cherokee named themselves Ani-Kituhwa-gi, the people of Kituhwa.
Thanks to a new recycling trailer, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closer to its goal of diverting half of all its waste from local landfills compared to the 42 percent of park trash that currently is recycled.
A report by Trout Unlimited documenting the continued decline of brook trout has given rise to concerns over water quality and invigorated efforts to protect the remaining strongholds of brook trout in WNC.
A blistering fight over whether paddling should be allowed along the upper stretch of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River has landed in court.
American Whitewater, the premier national paddling advocacy group whose headquarters are in Jackson County, filed a lawsuit two weeks ago challenging the ban on paddling as baseless and unfounded.
By Chris Cooper
Some songwriters have the gift of saying volumes with very little. They don’t need to spell it out, plaster it with tinsel and candy, and do a little dance to get your attention — it’s as if they really don’t even have to try. It’s a few bars into “Here Tomorrow, Gone Today” that you get the idea that Mike Strauss just may be one of these artists, painting with just a few colors, but always the right ones.
By Sarah Kucharski
The Shady Ladies, a diverse group of quilters based in Haywood County, are gearing up for their third annual show at Lake Logan Episcopal Center held June 2-4.
Mental Floss
For those who love collecting trivia in bite-sized tidbits, look no further than Mental Floss magazine, the sugar-coated candy that’s spinach for your noggin. (OK, too many metaphors, but this publication inspires such tangents.)
By Michael Beadle
Welcome to the Autobahn: land of the speedy, home of the brave.
You have to be brave if you want to pass a car going a mere 80 miles an hour and not end up as the hood ornament on a BMW.
By Michael Beadle
Editor’s note: Smoky Mountain News Writer Michael Beadle recently traveled to Europe. The following is the second of two stories about his experiences abroad.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
Since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s draft environmental assessment recommending removal of the Dillsboro Dam has come out, concern has arisen over mitigation measures planned for the Tuckasegee River.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
Macon County schools personnel director Tamra Tisdale has filed a sexual harassment suit against outgoing Macon County School Superintendent Rodney Shotwell.
The filing brings to light the probable content of recent closed-door Macon County Board of Education meetings. Earlier this month the board hired the law firm of Helms, Mullis and Wicker to investigate two formal complaints from school employees. The law firm will report back to the school board at the conclusion of the investigation.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
“Overall, citizens seem fairly satisfied with the quality of life in the town of Sylva.”
So reads the first line in the summary of responses collected last month in a citizen satisfaction survey of Sylva residents.
Jennings Randolph does not leap from the pages of history. Perhaps he should. His likeness is not found on any T-shirts, but perhaps it should be, especially of those graduating from high school.
No, Jennings Randolph was not a founding father, but a 20th century figure. He was a long-time member of Congress from West Virginia, first as a member of the House of Representatives and later a senator. He did something in 1941 that he continued to do methodically for 30 years until he was successful. His photo might be depicted as an example of persistence and/or commitment.
When the jury came back with a not guilty verdict in the case against Michelle Gibson, many across the country let out a collective sigh of relief. Gibson had been charged with second-degree murder after her 8-year-old son died from heat exhaustion in a car while she worked a double shift at a Sylva nursing home.
The Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers gathered on the Blue Ridge Parkway this spring, instruments in hand, to help the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation raise the $50,000 they still need to complete the $350,000 Graveyard Fields restoration project.
Libraries across the mountains are in summer mode with a robust lineup of educational programs for kids. Special guests will offer several free programs on science and nature topics, as well as their regular line-up of story times and other activities. Here are a few of the upcoming programs on tap through June. Watch the “Kids and Families” section of the calendar for more programs throughout the summer.
Jackson County library
• “Fur, Feathers, and Scales” with the Balsam Mountain Trust will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 19. Space limited.
• A program on carnivorous plants will be held June 25 with Jane Fitzgerald of the Jackson County Soil and Water Agency. Children through age 11 are invited to an 11 a.m. program, and teens 12-18 are invited to a 3 p.m. program.
• The State Natural History Museum’s Dinosaur Exhibit will come to the Jackson County Public Library at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26. Museum scientists will discuss the science of paleontology and display specimens, fossils and dinosaur models. Free, but space is limited, with tickets being distributed starting at 5:30 p.m.
Swain County library
• Children in third through fifth grade will get a chance to make dinosaur eggs at 11 a.m. Monday, June 23. They’ll then use a magic solution to dissolve them.
• The most popular program of the year will return with the “Birds of Prey” show presented by Balsam Mountain Trust at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 24. Michael Skinner will give a hands-on discussion of the birds’ biology and habitat, and he’ll bring a few to visit.
• The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science will take children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade on a dinosaur discovery at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 25, with plenty of hands-on activity involved.
• Teenagers will create duct tape dinosaur masterpieces at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26.
Macon County library
• A program called “No Bones About It!” geared for third through fifth graders will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 25.
• The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science will host a dinosaur discovery at 10 a.m. Friday, June 27.
Haywood County Library
• Jonathan Fain of Stones and Bones will present an interactive program exploring how volcanoes and plate tectonics created the Appalachian mountains at 11 a.m. June 18 at the Canton library and June 19 in Waynesville. Participants will have the chance to examine an extensive fossil collection and make their own discoveries.
• The Super Summer Science Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at the Waynesville library, will give kids of all ages a chance to run experiments while enjoying entertainment from Mountain Circus Arts, as well as refreshments.
• The Summer Science Fun Club, a group of children 9 to 16 interested in a summer of experiments and make-and-take activities, will learn physics with Western Carolina University instructor Kelley Dinkelmeyer at 1:30 p.m. June 26 at the Waynesville library. Dinkelmeyer will bring demonstrations and talk about the life of a physicist. Space is limited; register at 828.452.5169.
• The Knoxville Zoomobile will visit Haywood County on June 25 at 11 a.m. at the Waynesville library and 2 p.m. in Canton. The interactive program will include time to touch animals and artifacts.
Haywood Waterways is now selling “trout” to compete in their annual Trout Race held at 5 p.m. on June 22 in Maggie Valley in conjunction with the weekend PlottFest.
Comments are open regarding a proposed prohibition on coyote hunting in a five-county area in northeastern North Carolina. The area is home to the world’s only native red wolf population, which look similar to coyotes — posing a dangerous case of mistaken identity.
