By Michael Beadle

The Duke of Milan and his daughter have been shipwrecked on a strange island far from civilization. Then, along comes a violent tempest that shipwrecks some of the very people who once put them there — and others who now want to marry off the daughter and kill the duke. It seems life couldn’t get any worse — but wait! It’s a William Shakespeare play.

Most Secret

I was given this book over Christmas and finally got around to reading it. It’s a fascinating tale about World War II from British writer Nevil Shute. Shute was born before World War I and was an engineer who had a passion for all things mechanical, whether they were boats, airplanes, cars and the weaponry of the time. Most fascinating are his descriptions of the skirmishes in the Brittany area of France during the war. The Germans controlled the mainland of France, but the Brits did all they could with a kind of guerilla warfare to give the French hope. Shute wrote about two dozen books, and he spins a great yarn that, 60 years after its initial publication in 1945, also provides great historical insights.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper issued the following question and answer column on the state’s air pollution law suit against Tennessee Valley Authority.

Some jokes are really, really funny. Some even get better with age, as if their repeated telling somehow increases the comic potency. Then again, some jokes just get beaten into the ground, weren’t that funny to begin with, or suffer in the hands of incompetent would-be comedians.

Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein

If you love the goofy wordplay of Spoonerisms — switching the beginning sounds of words like “dishes and plates” to “plishes and dates” — then Runny Babbit is your bind of kook. It’s full of punny foems about adventures with Runny and his friends. There’s “Runny and the Sea Poup” and “The Kungle Jing” and “Killy the Bid.” According to the jook backet, Shel Silverstein borked on this wook for more than 20 years until his death in 1999. Silverstein, who penned and illustrated such children’s books as Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree, also is the author of the Johnny Cash hit song “A Boy Named Sue.”

“Unto These Hills” first opened on July 1, 1950, as an outdoor drama to celebrate the history and honor the sacrifices made by the Cherokee tribe.

The play features dances and music as it tells the story of early encounters with European explorers, the later betrayal by the U.S. government, the tragedy of the Trail of Tears, and the death of Tsali.

By Michael Beadle

For 56 years, the outdoor historical drama known as “Unto These Hills” has been a fixture for summer tourists coming to the region looking for entertainment and a chance to learn about Cherokee history.

But in recent years, theatre attendance for the show steadily declined, and critics panned the drama as outdated, lacking Cherokee actors, and in need of a fresh marketing plan.

Working with four heritage partners, Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library is creating a virtual collection of objects, documents, letters, photos and oral histories that tell the story of an effort to revive mountain crafts during the late 1800s and early 1900s.That movement generated widespread interest in mountain culture and continues to influence Western North Carolina tourism and economic development more than 100 years after the revival began.

Haywood County Manager Jack Horton was dismissed from his post in early January by a 3 to 2 vote of county commissioners.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The Stop I-3 Coalition received a major boost in its efforts to prevent construction of a new highway that would connect Savannah, Ga., to Knoxville, Tenn., by way of Western North Carolina when Macon County Commissioners on Monday night (Feb. 6) became the first WNC government to pass a resolution against the highway.

Those who want the government to build the road it flooded when Fontana Lake was created say the issue boils down to one premise: a promise is a promise.

“If the government’s word’s not worth the paper it’s wrote on, I don’t know what kind of government we got,” said Robert Jones. “If I signed a contract with them and walked off and left it, where would I be at? I’m getting real fed up with it.”

Environmental groups and outdoors lovers packed the public hearing in Bryson City last week to decry the idea of building a road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a national treasure and is part of the shared natural and cultural heritage that belongs to every American,” said Greg Kidd, associate southeast director for the National Parks Conservation Association.

There’s more than one way for the federal government to make up its promise to Swain County to rebuild the road it flooded 62 years ago — and that’s a $52 million payoff, an option with broad public support.

This contingency doesn’t oppose the road on environmental grounds necessarily. They just think the money would benefit the county more than a road through the park.

Opinions on whether to build a 34-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seem to be falling into three camps: those who want the road; those who don’t want the road on environmental grounds; and those who think a cash settlement in lieu of the road sounds like a better deal.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

In the meat aisle of the Reservation Foodliner IGA a customer picks up a large pack of bacon, and calls out to a store employee.

“How much do you think this’d be at Wal-Mart?” the customer asks sarcastically.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

In what outgoing Jackson County commissioner Eddie Madden has called an “unusually quiet” election season, things are finally starting to heat up as the Feb. 13 start to the filing period approaches.

Madden, Cashiers’ representative, has already announced that he would not seek re-election for the coming term.

Editor’s note: Last week The Smoky Mountain News cover story was about cleanliness at restaurants and what health department inspectors look for when they grade them. As we found out by interviewing several people, most do look to see what grade a restaurant gets.

When a high school biology teacher in Macon County asked students to compare evolution and creation from a scientific perspective, he was treading too close to the Supreme Court’s long-held directive that mandates the separation of church and state. It’s an assignment the teacher, the school system and anyone who follows this issue needs to take a close look at.

Western Carolina University is launching a new lifelong learning institute aimed at people age 50 and older across Western North Carolina who are interested in enriching their lives through the pursuit of knowledge.

The institute, based on the idea that “learning is for everyone” and titled LIFE@WesternCarolina, will feature weekly interactive seminars in Cullowhee and Asheville. Sessions will focus on a wide variety of topics spanning business, history, science, literature, politics and personal development.

LIFE@WesternCarolina is designed to extend to residents of the greater WNC community the wide array of academic resources available at the university and in the community, said Alison Morrison-Shetlar, WCU provost.

“The LIFE program is for retirees, alumni and community members seeking to engage in lifelong learning. It is for those seeking networking, community and engagement in the learning process,” Morrison-Shetlar said. “The program topics will nourish the mind, spirit and body.”

The provost described the program’s mission as “intended to enrich the quality of life for seasoned adults as they learn new things, meet new people and exchange ideas.”

The institute will include educational lectures, social opportunities and field trips as presenters, including university faculty, share expertise from a variety of backgrounds, she said.

Sessions are weekly for 12 weeks during the fall and spring semesters. Fall semester programs are tentatively scheduled to get underway Sept. 9 in Cullowhee and Sept. 10 in Asheville. 

Among the proposed topics for this fall are Operations of the Biltmore House; Useful Legal Matters; Cherokee and the Seven Clans; How the Civil War Affected WNC; Native Plants; Local Scenic Hikes; Making the Theory of Evolution Clear to People Like You and Me; Storytelling in Appalachia; Seeing, Imagining and Recording: The Process of Creative Writing; Theater and Design; The Major Differences between the Core Beliefs of Conservatives and Liberals; State and Federal Politics and Trends: Impact on the Economy and Education; Terrorism and Global Threats; Being and Doing Good; and Living While Dying.

The final lineup of program topics will be announced soon. 

Cost of membership in the institute is $125 per year, including 24 engaged learning experiences with opportunities to take part in additional activities related to some of the topics. Participants may attend all or as many sessions as they like.

“For example, participants might hear from the director of a play about how to develop and put on a performance, and then go and see the play,” Morrison-Shetlar said. “Or participants might hear about the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, and then go visit the town of Cherokee and see it with different eyes.”

For more information or to register for the LIFE@WesternCarolina institute, contact the Division of Educational Outreach at 828.227.7397, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit life.wcu.edu.

The Cullowhee Community Planning Advisory Committee will meet July 31 to review proposed development standards for the area. The proposed standards are an attempt to better define and regulate the growth occurring around Western Carolina University. 

For the past year, the Cullowhee advisory committee — appointed by Jackson County commissioners — has worked to realize a vision for the currently unregulated college area. The process has included multiple public input sessions and resulted in a set of proposed development standards that lists separate zoning designations, such as commercial or varying density levels of residential, and defines what is and isn’t allowed within each area.

Following this week’s review of the draft proposals, committee members will schedule a time to trek around Cullowhee and determine which designation might be assigned to which areas. 

Jackson County Planning Director Gerald Green has previously said that the committee will likely wrap up its work by the end of summer. After that, county commissioners will decide if they want to adopt development standards or zoning regulations for Cullowhee — an area identified by the 2010 census as being the fastest-growing portion of Jackson County.

The next Cullowhee advisory committee meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. July 31 in room 209 of the Burrell Building on the Southwestern Community College campus.

Michell Hicks, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, told a U.S. Senate committee in testimony on July 23 that gaming on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina has had a “dramatic impact” on the lives of Cherokee families and especially children in ways “we never dreamed possible.”

The Town of Canton has selected J. Derek Littlejohn as its next fire chief.  Littlejohn has been employed with the Canton Fire Department for the past 28 years and has served in numerous capacities including firefighter, shift lieutenant and captain.  He was appointed interim fire chief in January 2014 after the retirement of Chief Jimmy Campbell.

Littlejohn is a seasoned professional with a wealth of credentials. In addition, he holds certifications in Code Enforcement, Fire Inspection, Fire Law and Administration, and Hazmat Response. As interim chief, Littlejohn oversaw the execution of an automatic aid agreement between Canton and its neighboring fire departments, which drastically increased the level of service for Canton residents by adding additional forces for emergency calls.  

“By strengthening interlocal cooperation, building regional partnerships, and planning for the future, Chief Littlejohn has already begun to usher in significant changes to the department and I am confident he will carry on Canton’s legacy as an effective, highly accountable agency,” says Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss. “He also has a superb team of passionate professionals working alongside him and together they will build a safer, more secure community.”  

Littlejohn will oversee 8 full-time employees, a small group of volunteers, and a budget of $701,000.  

“I look forward to bringing our agency to new heights and making our community the best it can be,” Littlejohn said.  

In addition to his numerous responsibilities as fire chief, Littlejohn will oversee Canton’s code enforcement program.  

“Setting a new standard for building safety and aesthetics so that the quality of our built environment matches that of our beautiful natural environment is a top priority for Canton,” said Hendler-Voss. 

Better public access and trail improvements for Graveyard Fields, one of the most popular spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway, will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Aug. 4, with representatives of The National Park Service, U.S Forest Service and Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation on hand for the area’s official re-opening.

Native plants are getting a boost in Cherokee with the opening of a 2,200-square-foot greenhouse designed to produce and propagate native plants. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians designed the building to propagate black willow, silky dogwood, Carolina rhododendron, Catawba rhododendron and mountain laurel, to be used in habitat restoration projects on tribal lands. 

The Nantahala Racing Club and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation came out on top in an online voting contest from The North Face, winning $25,000 for special initiatives aimed at connecting youth with the outdoors.

The organizations were two of 10 nationwide selected to participate in the contest, which granted $25,000 to the top five vote-getters and $10,000 to the bottom five. 

Nantahala Racing Club will use its money to fund the Young Rhinos Whitewater Discovery Project.

“Our project is very community-oriented, and it was rewarding to see the community rally around our cause,” said Zuzana Montagne, NRC executive director. “This money, which will be spent on youth equipment and transportation to local rivers, will make a huge impact on the quality of our programming and the number of kids we will be able to engage in the coming year.”

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation, meanwhile, will use its money to jumpstart its Great Outdoors University program. GoU works to reduce nature deficit in children and restore their bonds to nature. The initiative began in 2012, and since then more than 1,800 have participated. Kids are fishing, exploring streams and taking woods walks and boat rides. Some have pulled a bow, and others have simply eaten a sandwich in a field. 

“Great Outdoors University makes possible a much needed chance for our youth to experience the wonders of the natural world in ways that can have a profound effect for years to come,” said Mary Bures, manager of the program for the Federation. “It offers a unique opportunity to learn ‘outdoors’ using an interesting experiential approach for teaching many valuable lessons.” For more on the Wildlife Federation project, go to www.ncwf.org/programs/gou/news-updates.

The Young Rhinos will launch Aug. 9 with the Whitewater Junior Olympics at Nantahala Outdoor Center. www.nantahalaracingclub.com/youth-programs/young-rhinos-whitewater-discovery.

More than 1,200 outdoor atheletes will converge on Lake Logan in Haywood County this weekend for the annual Lake Logan Multisport Festival.

Sam Fowlkes, who teaches paddlesports and rescue at Western Carolina University, has received prestigious recognition in the field of technical swiftwater rescue for an American Canoe Association conference he helped coordinate.

The 6th Annual Mountain High BBQ Festival and Car Show will be held Aug. 8-9 at the Wayne Proffitt Agricultural Center in Franklin. Gates will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

The event is a Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) sanctioned competition. The event also has partnered with the KCBS in their coordination of a national barbecue donation effort to cook and distribute more than 100,000 meals throughout America over the next year. Everyone is invited to bring a non-perishable food item.

Alongside food vendors and competitors, there will also be Franklin’s own Tastin’ Tent. The Cruise-In will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, with the car show all day Saturday. All makes and models are welcome. Registration forms are available at the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. The Buchanan Boys are set to perform onstage at 7 p.m. Friday.

Festival admission will be $5 adults, with children ages 12 and under free. Your festival admission will enter you into the drawing for a Holland Grill valued at $1,200, sponsored by Holland Grills and Macon Appliance.

www.mountainhighbbqfestival.com or 828.524.3161.

“A Songcatcher’s Notebook: Traditional Music and Storytelling” with singer-songwriter/storyteller Lee Knight will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 31, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

The Whitewater Bluegrass Company will perform as part of the Concerts on the Creek Series at 7: 30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

Karyn Tomczak, director of the Western Carolina University dance program, will receive the 2014 Dance Teacher Award for Higher Education at the Dance Teacher Summit to be held in New York City in August.

A home brewing class for beginners will be led by Clark Williams of Frog Level Brewing Company every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 5-26 at Southwestern Community College in Sylva.

To the Editor:

The issue of fracking by the oil and gas industry — already one of the most controversial issues of our time — is not a political issue, but one which has the potential to forever alter the quality of life for each of us.

Our mountain area, source of pristine water for the region around us, is at risk. Our property rights have been placed in jeopardy by the new law. Farming and natural beauty would be permanently destroyed. There are reams of data about violations by industry in other states as well as negligence by the regulatory agencies.

But let us suppose that everything works exactly as the industry tells us it will. Let’s imagine for a moment that fracking in North Carolina is done in a perfect world. What then, can we expect to see?

• Drilling pads of many acres each, leveled from forest, farm land, and even state and federal park land to accommodate multiple wells.

• Multiple fracking towers at each well pad, their height dominating the landscape.

• Continuous — 24 hours a day — operation of compressor stations and fracking towers, with the attendant industrial noise and halogen lighting throughout the night.

• A constant flow of tanker trucks, greatly increasing the maintenance cost and the probability of traffic accidents on our roads.

• The quandary of what to do with the millions of gallons of water, arsenic, benzene and other toxic chemicals that are left after each frack. Only about 40 percent of these fluids can be recovered, the remainder being left in the ground to migrate as the local geology determines. That waste which is recovered is either placed in on-site surface ponds or trucked away in tankers to become some other community’s problem.

• Air pollution in the form of escaping methane, as well as the burning of undesirable gases at the well-head, an operation which may go on for weeks.

Again, I urge each of us to research the history and problems of fracking. If you have six minutes to watch Anson County’s fracking video, it is time well spent. Watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3phzEPxhY&feature=youtu.be.

• If you have time, watch “Triple Divide” at vimeo.com/ondemand/tripledivide.

We are concerned not only about the future of Western North Carolina, but with seeing that the current law is reversed and fracking not permitted anywhere in our state. 

Doug Woodward

Blue Mountain Engineering

Franklin

To the Editor:

Most letters to the editor are benign or overly active, but the one in the July 2 edition of The Smoky Mountain News (“Let’s stop yellow journalism politics,” July 2, 2014, The Smoky Mountain News, www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/13676) was an aberration. It began with how civic, noble-minded and considerate the writer is and how cavalier/gentile he always was with other politicians. The writer thought of government as a wonderful pursuit of the highest ethics. 

However, recently he quit the field and things have deteriorated and he can advise the voters of the 50th Senatorial District.

My friend advises that outside money is bad but doesn’t say what outside money is: is it from Buncombe County, from Charlotte or  from anywhere outside the 50th District?

He doesn’t say if he is a Democrat or something else. I wonder why? Does this revelation offend his pristine sense of political discourse? Did Jane Hipps, who is running against Sen. Davis, R-Franklin, appoint him to challenge her enemies? 

And about those so-called 167 items on which taxes were allegedly raised? I’d like to have the statutes that were enacted to approve these taxes. Surely he has them.

He seems to know a lot about Ms. Hipps. Was he the student or the teacher with his vast knowledge of civics? In conclusion, I hope my friend will continue to educate us with examples, tragedies, aspirations and vitriol. The mix is volatile and stimulating.

K.G. Watson

Maggie Valley

To the Editor:

Recently “SSI” surveys popped up on my called ID and in a moment of curiosity I answered my phone. I figured it was a political questionnaire and it was. What I didn’t anticipate was a veiled attempt by Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and/or his operatives to misrepresent Davis’ Senate votes while misquoting and selectively editing the positions of his state Senate opponent Jane Hipps.

For example, would I be more or less likely to vote for Jim Davis knowing he voted for an 11 percent raise for North Carolina’s teachers? Left unsaid was that this was a one-time raise given at the expense of tenure and future raises and cut teacher assistant jobs. I replied less likely. How about if you knew he “lowered your taxes?” Truthfully, this tax cut benefits only the wealthiest 20 percent. Poor and middle-income citizens will see higher taxes with the repeal of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the movement to a flat tax system where four of five will pay more taxes.

After a series of similar questions I was asked questions in the same format about Jane Hipps. Would I be more or less likely to vote for Jane Hipps, “who wants to raise your taxes?” I replied she wanted to increase education funding and increase jobs for the middle class by returning to fair taxes on millionaires and corporations. There were other additional questions. You get the picture.

I want to know who paid for this deceitful “survey.” Was it Davis’ campaign or dark, out-of-state money? Either way, this type of campaigning does not belong here in the mountains. Hipps will be outspent, but hopefully people will use their voices, letters and votes to overcome money, half-truths, misrepresentations and manipulation of  facts.

Good, honest debate and comments on issues are important and vital. This “survey” is a travesty and dishonors our political process.

Barbara Morris

Franklin

By Chris Cooper

Approaching the “jam band” thing from some very different angles, Umphrey’s McGee manage to bring shades of vintage Yes, Peter Gabriel and Rush to the mix in lieu of the usual suspects (Grateful Dead, Phish, Allman Bros.) They also write some great tunes, possess formidable chops and still sound like they’re having fun.

“Bubble”

Director Steven Soderbergh, the darling of the Sundance film festival, had an audacious idea. Take a bare bones script into a small town, find locals to play the major roles, use their actual homes as “sets,” encourage the “actors” to use their own life experiences as fodder for improvisation as they navigated the plot, and shoot the entire movie with a high definition camcorder.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Law enforcement officers might spend their entire careers without ever firing their gun in the line of duty. It is a distinction most wear like a badge of honor.

For those officers who are not so lucky, the experience leaves an indelible mark that may carry through their professional and personal lives. Such was the case for Sgt. Jonathan Phillips, a Macon County Sheriff’s Deputy, when he and fellow officers became involved in an arrest gone awry in April 2004.

By Sarah Kucharski

On a chilly, rain soaked Sunday morning the last weekend of January I stood under a peaked, sheet metal roof at the Moss Gap shooting range on the Jackson/Macon line, staring down at a loaded Glock Model 19 in my hand.

“It’s going to be a bit of a change, but change is not always bad. This is just one little story in our evolution as a people.”

— Mary Jane Ferguson, a board member for the Cherokee Historical Association, speaking about changes to Unto These Hills.

By Dori Pope • Guest columnist

I recently had the honor and exciting challenge of being voted the Chair of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. As the new chair, I should share current business and future goals of the HCTDA with the citizens of Haywood County.

It’s easy for elected leaders to say they support open government. Proving that support is something altogether different and more difficult.

A recent case in Jackson County highlights what often happens in real life. A judge last week ruled that the Jackson County commissioners used an illegal closed session in January 2005 to discuss the future of Tom McClure. McClure was the director of Jackson County’s Economic Development Commission and head of the airport authority.

Editor’s note: Barbara McCarty worked on a flood task force that allocated more than $800,000 in private donations to victims of the 2004 floods. This column focuses on the contributions of business that agreed to accept vouchers from flood victims and be reimbursed from the flood fund later.

Land conservation trusts cropping up across Western North Carolina and the rest of the country will soon be able to certify themselves with an official accreditation.

I felt like I should have had crampons on my boots, like the spikes mountain climbers use on ice. The steep trail was so slick I would take two steps forward, then slide back a step.

Though it’s become a standard target for critical blasting, not all of modern country music is bad.

Keith Urban turned in a rousing performance at the Grammy awards, Emmylou Harris really can do no wrong, and the same can be said about Lucinda Williams and Eric Brace of Last Train Home. Maybe I’m stretching the boundaries of “country” to include Americana and the more rocking side of twang, but you get my drift. And, not so surprisingly, most of the really good stuff is traveling safely below the CMT/international superstardom radar.

By Michael Beadle

“Pivot Points” is not your typical art exhibit.

Then again, the new Fine Art Museum on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee is building a reputation for unique exhibitions that challenge typical notions of what art can be.

Joni Mitchell

“Anything that moves me, influences me.”

— Joni Mitchell

The North Carolina Rural Center has provided a $30,000 grant to Haywood County to assist with flood recovery and flood prevention in the Bethel area.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Jackson County commissioners’ failure to follow state Open Meetings Law was a failure to use common sense, said Mike Tadych, counsel to the North Carolina Press Association.