By Michael Beadle

What would New York City be without its Statue of Liberty? Picture St. Louis without its Gateway Arch. What would towns and cities be without their signature sculptures and eye-catching murals?

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Coal-fired power plants and renewable energies took center stage as topics at last Saturday’s lieutenant governor’s debate in Asheville.

Don’t you just love being an American.

Just the mere mention of the word “recession” and the next thing you know the government is proposing to spend billions of dollars in the form of tax rebates for people just like you and me so we can go shopping.

The senior citizen population is growing in Western North Carolina, and with that increase comes the increasing potential for abuse, exploitation, or neglect of the elderly.

Reverend Horton Heat: Reverend Organdrum

Maybe all that needs to be said is that somewhere around three and a half minutes into Booker T’s “Can’t Be Still” you realize the Reverend and company have slipped a little snippet of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” under the radar. These guys are nuts.

“3:10 To Yuma”

Russell Crowe as vicious murder Ben Wade and Christian Bale as Dan Evans, a farmer hired to help deliver the captured Wade to the train in Yuma, give outstanding performances in this new version of a previous film by the same name.

Perhaps it is going to take a complete fracturing of the mental health system before policymakers finally realize that North Carolina needs more inpatient facilities to treat patients who are a danger to themselves and society. Well, if it’s a total breakdown they’re waiting for, things are getting perilously close.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Not too long ago, the number of people who carried on the ancient Cherokee basket-weaving tradition had dwindled to just a handful. Today, the craft is experiencing a resurgence — thanks in part to local organizations helping to restore native plants vital to making the baskets.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Sylva’s search for a new town manager ended Jan. 17 after Town Manager Jay Denton asked the board for his job back.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

It’s been almost a year since Bonita Fox and her family have taken a sip of water from their well.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Progress on Jackson County’s corridor study for U.S. 441 is taking shape after three public meetings last week.

Haywood Community College needs help, and the community that benefits from this beloved institution is going to step up. The only question to be answered is in what form that help will come.

For nature photographer Bill Lea, Cades Cove is heaven on earth.

Jim Lauderdale: The Bluegrass Diaries

If you recognize the name, little more needs to be said. Long one of the first-call songwriters in Nashville, Jim Lauderdale is probably the guy responsible for penning some of your favorite country tunes.

More than 150 people traveled from all over Western North Carolina to attend the first official Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Bryson City’s Historic Calhoun House on Jan. 21.

“No Country For Old Men”

There’s a whole list of movies (films?) I’ve seen that I respected, on many levels enjoyed, and don’t have an overwhelming urge to see again. This isn’t a comment on the quality of the films, but maybe a statement of just how brutally honest they were, how ugly a portrait of ourselves and our little world they painted and convinced us to stare at for, say, about two hours.

By Marsha Crites • Guest Columnist

She is very thin, about 6 years old, her hair is unkempt and her nose is running, but her smile is broad and captivating. It is hard to walk with her wrapped around my waist in the marketplace.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

With a potential end to the North Shore Road saga looming, supporters of constructing the 30-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park are confronting their fear of what a wilderness designation would mean for the park and Swain County.

By Michael Beadle

Watch out Broadway. Get Carnegie Hall ready.

Skeletal remains found in Macon County’s Nantahala National Forest Feb. 2 are those of an 80-year-old hiker who disappeared in October 2007, authorities say.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Living “green” is a way of life for Mark and Darcia Bondurant. The Haywood County family of four works diligently everyday to reduce their carbon footprint by doing everything from buying locally produced food to heating their two-story mountain home with a passive solar design, a technique that utilizes the sun’s rays for warmth.

By Jim Janke • Special to the Smoky Mountain News

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

“I can dig it, he can dig it,

She can dig it, we can dig it,

They can dig it, you can dig it........”

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Driving a tractor-trailer in Haywood County or a motorcycle in Swain? Use caution. Both counties top the list of AAA Carolinas recently released report on the most dangerous places to drive in North Carolina.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Macon County residents will have the opportunity to weigh in on amendments to the county’s flood damage prevention and watershed ordinances at a public hearing on Feb. 11.

By Rep. Heath Shuler

After more than 60 years of contentious debate that has divided our community, we are finally nearing a fair and conclusive solution to the issue of the North Shore Road. This solution will provide a fair monetary settlement to the people of Swain County that will be used to improve our schools and economy well into the years ahead.

Kindle

In case you don’t know, the Kindle is Amazon’s answer to the paperless book. It’s a wireless, portable electronic tablet, I guess, and its advocates say it is the first electronic device that comes close to replicating a book. Introduced this year, I ordered one and am trying to decide if the tactile, sensual pleasures of a reading a novel can be replicated by a machine.

The term “contemporary bluegrass” is open to a ridiculous amount of interpretation. For some it signifies anything that strays even a little beyond the template set by Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs — which means that damn near everything we hear nowadays that falls under the heading of bluegrass is “contemporary.”

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Penn. — A year from the day he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president, Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous groundhog in the land, has dropped out of the race for the highest office in the land.

There’s not a one-size-fits-all model for how counties should promote economic development, but at the very least there should be one skilled specialist on the county’s payroll whose sole responsibility is to promote job growth and help existing business. Put the right person in that position and it will pay for itself many times over.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Jackson County solid waste officials are cracking down on how businesses dispose of their trash, a move that has small business owners like Teresa Dowd up in arms.

By Jennifer Garlesky & Julia Merchant • Staff Writers

Two Swain County employees will join representatives from the Department of Interior, the State of North Carolina and the Tennessee Valley Authority to negotiate a new contract that will replace the 1943 North Shore Road agreement.

The U.S. Forest Service is about to release its opinion on whether to allow boating on the Chattooga River. It’s been a long and complicated battle, but here’s hoping that American Whitewater’s attempt to open the river to kayaking is successful.

By Victoria McDonald • Guest Columnist

Reverend C. T. Vivian is a living legend of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. He was a rider on the first “Freedom Bus” that went to Jackson, Miss. He worked on the executive staff of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Macon County’s eight-month moratorium on the permitting of recreational vehicles in the floodplain will be lifted next month.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Owners of Plott Hounds will say that the hound is unlike any other.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Sylva Town Board members want to see hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers sharing the trails in Pinnacle Park, 1,100 acres of land located at the northern part of town.

“I suddenly think about my friends, you know, getting on their private jets. And I think, well, you know, maybe they have the right idea. Maybe all that we have to do is mouth a few platitudes, show a good, expression of concern on our faces, buy a Prius, drive it around for a while and give it to the maid, attend a few fundraisers and you’re done. Because, actually, all anybody really wants to do is talk about it.”

— Author Michael Crichton in 2007

That was Michael Crichton — the author of such books as Jurassic Park and, more to the point, State of Fear — speaking last year to scientists debating the reality of global warming and whether human activity is the culprit. For those who don’t know, Crichton has become the naysayers’ Al Gore, the person called to speak when a celebrity draw is needed at conventions and gatherings attended by those who say melting polar ice caps are just nature’s way.

By Chris Cooper

Ah, the joy of finding good stuff in the “undeservedly discarded disc” section of any music store. Here a few recent scores: pop melodrama from Bleu and a superb album from the most underappreciated — and one of the best, in my opinion — bands in the country.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

It’s a scenario that plays out every day: A bored 12-year-old girl named Crystal enters a Yahoo chatroom. Immediately, a screen pops up. “A/S/L/?” — age, sex, location? — another chat user inquires. Within minutes, Crystal has revealed that she’s a seventh-grader who lives in Waynesville, N.C., and she’s on the computer while both her parents (whom she’s mad at) are at work. The user Crystal is chatting with — a 13-year-old boy — sympathizes with her about fighting with her parents. Suddenly, Crystal has a new friend she can confide in.

Poems from Guantanamo

They’re supposed to be the worst of the worst from al-Qaeda and the Taliban, evildoers locked up for plotting unspeakable crimes of terror under the twisted doctrines of Islamo-fascism.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

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

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To that end, the Service provides these recommendations:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Michael Beadle

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

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

By Jim Janke • Special to SMN

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

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

By Stephanie Wampler

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

By Chris Cooper

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

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

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

By Brent Martin

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