The Nurses Christian Fellowship student organization at Western Carolina University is seeking donations of gloves, scarves, hats and mittens to give to youth in Jackson County.

A collection box for donations is located at Room 209 of Moore Hall on campus, and donations will be accepted through Tuesday, Dec. 13. Faculty and students involved in the Nurses Christian Fellowship will then deliver the items to various Jackson County Schools.

For more giving opportunities, check out The Smoky Mountain News calendar section.

828.227.3529 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will make a stop in Cherokee during this year’s national tour.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is hosting the event at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Nov. 23, beginning at 10 a.m.

The day begins with a traditional gift exchange between the Eastern Band and the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wok Indians and will be followed by a musical presentation by the Cherokee Elementary Chorus and community groups.

www.capitolchristmastree2011.org.

The Town of Maggie Valley was awarded a $184,786 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

The funding, which will be distributed during a three-year period, is the reimbursement to the town for the full salary and benefits of an officer already on the force.

During hard economic times­­­­ and budget cuts, Chief Sutton with the support of Captain Moody, felt the urgency to compensate the people served in Maggie Valley by continuing to apply for this funding since May of 2010.

The Hooper House on West Main Street in Sylva has received Jackson County’s first designation as a Local Historic Landmark.

The house, which now serves as home for the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, was built in 1906. It was listed on the National Historic Registry in 2003, according to County Planner Gerald Green.

“It meets all the criteria” for the local designation, Green said, “because it maintains all of its character.”

A nonprofit group owns the house, and the local designation will allow the group to request a 50 percent property tax break from the county. That would reduce the annual tax bill of $700 to about $350. In return, the group must meet certain regulations intended to protect the historic nature of the structure. To make changes, it must receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission.

A brouhaha among Jackson County commissioners at a meeting last week prompted a follow-up public apology from Chairman Jack Debnam.

Debnam told The Smoky Mountain News there was a time and place for such disagreements but that the county meeting was neither the proper time nor the suitable place.

Commissioners met Nov. 14 in a special workshop to discuss funding for Smoky Mountain High School and a controversial proposed room tax hike. For the first part of the meeting, commissioners worked together in equanimity.

But when the meeting turned to a discussion of the room tax — and the equally divisive issue of whether the county’s framework for promoting tourism should be revamped — Commissioner Joe Cowan let loose with a heated verbal salvo. Cowan accused Debnam and County Manager Chuck Wooten of leaving him and fellow Democrat Mark Jones out in the cold. Cowan said they are purposely kept in the dark about issues and cut off from information.

That, in turn, sparked an exchange that put Debnam and Commissioner Doug Cody on the defensive.

Debnam and Cody told Cowan he should do more on his end, such as reading up on the county meeting agendas, getting to the meetings early or calling the other commissioners to talk.

“There should not have been an outburst like that in a public meeting,” Debnam said last week. “I’m apologizing for that happening at a board meeting. I would have liked all of that to have been handled in a more diplomatic manner.”

— By Quintin Ellison

Thanks to cold temperatures, Cataloochee Ski Area began cranking out the snow last Thursday night and by Saturday, the first slopes were open to skiers in Haywood County.

It plans to reopen Saturday, Nov. 19, for the regular early season schedule. This year marks Cataloochee’s 51st season.

This year Cataloochee also will be open for Thanksgiving, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. A Thanksgiving lunch of turkey and trimmings will be available.

Also, skiers should keep in mind that if you come in a group of 15 or more before Dec. 16, you can ski or snowboard for $30 a person, including rental, lift ticket and a beginner lesson for those ages seven and older.  

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.926.0285 ex. 318

Christmas tree growers from across Western North Carolina are donating Christmas trees as part of the nationwide Trees for Troops program, sponsored by the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and FedEx Corp

This holiday season, 17,000 trees are expected to be delivered to U.S. military bases, as well as international shipments to military bases overseas. Anyone who wants to make a contribution can purchase local Christmas trees from growers, who are more then willing to drop-off trees for troops to the local staging area.

“Trees for Troops is a great program in which we’re able to honor our enlisted men and their families who give us the freedom we have,” Jackson County Christmas Tree Association President Charles Fowler said. “By networking with Christmas Tree growers, consumers and many organizations, we hope to reach the 100,000th tree shipped off since the program’s inception.”

The drop-off site for western counties will be in the Glenville area off of N.C. 107 between the Sylva and Cashiers. The last collection day will be Monday, Nov. 28. Christmas Tree growers Henry Fowler and Dennis Bryson will drive the trees to a staging area for WNC where they will be reloaded and delivered by FedEx to the MCAS (Marine Corp Air Station) New River, Fort Story in Virginia, and Fort Bliss in Texas.

www.TreesforTroops.org.

A ceremonial planting of a potentially blight-resistant chestnut took place earlier this week on the grounds of the North Carolina Arboretum.

The planting is significant because the American chestnut once flourished in mountains of Western North Carolina, and its loss in the 1930s was devastating to both the economy and the environment. This planting celebrates the first steps of the American chestnut’s return to the region’s forests. Cataloochee Ranch in Haywood County has also been a site of chestnut reforestation, made possible thanks to genetic engineering.

The planting was performed by staff of the N.C. Arboretum and The American Chestnut Foundation.

Once the mighty giant of our eastern forests, American chestnuts stood up to 100-feet tall and numbered in the billions. They were a vital part of the forest ecology, a key food source for wildlife and an essential component of the human economy. In 1904 a blight, accidentally imported from Asia, spread rapidly through the American chestnut population. By 1950 the blight fungus had killed virtually all the mature trees from Maine to Georgia.

The seedlings planted at the N.C. Arboretum are part of the chestnut foundation’s restoration process. Now one-year old and several feet tall, the chestnut trees will be carefully monitored as they mature.

The Haywood County Cooperative Extension Center is now accepting applications for the popular Master Gardener program.

The Master Gardener training class will begin in January and run through April. The class meets from 9 a.m. till noon on Wednesdays. The cost of the program, including training materials, is $85.

To become a Master Gardener, volunteer participants must complete the entire class and participate in 40 hours of volunteer work through the N.C. Cooperative Service Extension center.

There are currently 120 active Master Gardeners in Haywood County. These Master Gardeners contribute thousands of hours each year through Cooperative Extension programs, and by answering gardening questions through a plant clinic hotline.

828.456.3575.

Hiking enthusiast and author Danny Bernstein will lead a four-mile hike along the Mingus Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Along the way, Bernstein will talk about the historic Mingus Mill, the Mingus family cemetery and a slave cemetery.

The hike is easy to moderate in difficulty, has a total elevation gain of 700 feet. Hikers will later visit the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center, featuring interactive exhibits that tell the cultural history of life in the Smokies. Friends of the Smokies members receive a 15-percent discount at the gift shop and book store

Meeting locations are specified upon registration. A donation of $25 to go to the Friends’ Smokies Trails Forever program is requested, and includes a complimentary membership to Friends of the Smokies. There is no cost to current Friends of the Smokies members.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.452.0720.

The Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere conference will be held November 15 to 17 in Asheville, bringing together the best minds on environmental issues and challenges in the region.

This year’s theme is stewardship of the unique resources of the Southern Appalachians and will celebrate the forest-based livelihoods in timber and specialty woods, foods and medicines and recreation provided by the region’s forests.

There are dozens of speakers to pick from over the two day conference, including:

• Growing and marketing special products.

• The sustainability of recreation on both federal and private lands.

• Water quality and the wise use of the region’s rivers.

• Land use issues and the interface between private and federal ownerships.

• The legacy and present use of fire for forest management.

• Wildlife issues such as the impacts of deer and wild boar populations.

Learn more at www.samab.org.

Grant wizard Bruz Clark was honored at the Land Conservationist of the year by The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee. The annual award was announced at the LTLT’s fall gathering earlier this month.

Fifteen years ago when LTLT was first taking form, Clark attended a land trust meeting in Franklin and heard of the vision for conservation of the upper Little Tennessee.

As a young environmental grants maker for the Chattanooga-based Lyndhurst Foundation, he headed downriver when he left town that day and was immediately smitten by the intact beauty of the river valley and surrounding mountains.

Since that first visit Clark has been LTLT’s greatest and most consistent friend and supporter within the grant-making world. Beginning with a grant in 1997, the Lyndhurst Foundation has invested more than $800,000 directly into LTLT’s work, along with an additional half-million dollar contribution towards the purchase of the Needmore Tract.  Clark also has served as a key promoter of LTLT’s efforts helping to attract other foundation investment to its work.

Ed Haight was honored as LTLT’s volunteer of the year.

The Rotary Club of Sylva will hold the United Community Bank 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day beginning at 9 a.m. on the Western Carolina University campus.

Runners will start at the Ramsey Center, circle once around the campus (which includes a gentle uphill section). For the finish, runners head downhill into the football stadium, where they watch themselves — if they want — on the big scoreboard as they cross the finish line.

www.sylvarotaryclub.org and click on the Turkey Trot logo.

City Lights Bookstore will celebrate the release of the new edition of Horace Kephart’s classic, Camping and Woodcraft, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Included in the new edition are over 40 historic photographs taken by Kephart and George Masa. Many of these images were recently discovered and never before published. Also included is a wonderful new cover image featuring the work of Elizabeth Ellison and an 80-page introduction by Kephart scholars George Ellison (of Bryosn City) and Janet McCue.  

Local historian George Frizzell will join George and Elizabeth Ellison for the celebration at City Lights. For more information or to reserve a copy please call the bookstore at 828.586.9499.

Editor’s note: Dawn Gilchrist-Young teaches English at Swain County High School and was the 2011 winner of the Norman Mailer Writing Award for High School Teachers for her short story “The Tender Branch.” The winner receives a monetary award and a summer 2012 stay at the prestigious Norman Mailer Writer’s Colony in Massachusetts. Gilchrist-Young accepted the award during a banquet Nov. 8 in New York City. These were her remarks.

The distance between Southern Appalachia where I grew up and this Mandarin Hotel ballroom is not so great. Nor is the distance between an afternoon in 1981 reading a high school essay to my parents and, a few weeks ago, receiving a call from Lawrence Schiller telling me I had won the first Norman Mailer Writing Award for High School Teachers.

The distance is not so great because there is a bridge created by words that can cross even the widest divides. In creating this award for teachers, the Norman Mailer Center has allowed teachers passage on that bridge. And in giving this first award to a public school teacher, the Norman Mailer Center is questioning those who would be keepers of the gate, questioning the status quo in our governing bodies that seems bent on impoverishing public schools and preventing their movement from the less advantaged land on one side of that bridge to the proverbial land of opportunity that is always just within sight.

For many of us in this room, there lives in our memories someone whose words encouraged, cajoled, irritated and chided us into fulfilling our potential. For me, it is the words of a teacher at a tiny  elementary school telling me he had sent a story I had written to a state competition. It is the words of another teacher at Swain County High School telling me I might have talent if I worked at it. And it is my own words heard in the voice  of yet another high school teacher there reading a critical essay I had written to the class. These teachers’ words live in me as I try to say something fresh and true to my own classes of  seventeen and eighteen year olds at the same high school. These words live in me when I sit at my desk and write. These words reside in me just as I hope the words I write, the words I speak, will take up residence in those who hear and read them and provide for them a means of bridging economic and societal gaps.

From the rural child living in a singlewide trailer to the urban child living in an apartment in the projects, from the mountain student I teach who has applied to Vanderbilt and Tulane, to the one who hopes for community college and who did without heat or electricity for much of last winter without complaint, what my students want is what we all want: that someone will attend to our words, that someone will show us how to use those words to establish our dignity and uphold the democracy that may move us to a better place.

And that is what I think is so wonderful about this award that I receive tonight. It does not offer the sentimental version of me, the teacher, as unsung hero, perpetuating the damaging stereotype of teachers as martyrs. Nor does it thank me for 10,000 graded essays, nor for teaching thousands of stories, nor for caring about one after another after another of the students who enter and exit my classroom, though never my memory. Instead, it thanks me for saying what I would have said anyway because it has to be said. This award thanks me for the insistent words that will not be quiet or still because they cannot be quiet or still, for the words that teach, but even more, for the words that tell a story, that keep me awake nights, that demand they be allowed to go beyond the walls of school. God gives teachers who write two voices: the one voice with which we shape the words that allow us to teach, and the other with which we shape the stories that we must write. And among the impassioned and dedicated, these words and the voices that give them life become a compulsion because we know they are a passport for anyone who learns to use them.

This award this evening from the Norman Mailer Center is my assurance that someone out there is listening to what I am compelled to say, someone out there believes a teacher, a public school teacher, has words that are worthy of recognition. And as each year in the future allows yet another teacher to stand in this place and feel this moment of grace and gratitude, and as the words grow in number and the voices grow in volume, perhaps those whose legislation so deeply affects us all will notice and believe that those who spend most of our lives in a classroom do, indeed, have words that are worthy of attention, words that can connect the people on one side of a divide to the people on the other.

And so I thank you. Thank you for allowing our world to expand beyond our schools, and for giving our words, for giving my words, an audience that listens, that allows those of us on the far side of the gap to do more than just see the land that is promised, but to actually touch it.

(Dawn Gilchrist-Young can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

To read the story, go to www.ncte.org/awards/nmwa and click on “The Tender Branch.”

To the Editor:

“Population shrinking and growing older,” a headline from a recent newspaper article, is exactly Haywood Animal Welfare Association’s spay/neuter, trap-neuter-return (TNR) program’s goal for free-roaming cat colonies in Haywood County.

Through generous donations and a grant from PetSmart Charities, TNR volunteers humanely capture neighborhood cats for sterilization surgery and vaccination. The cats remain overnight at the Humane Alliance Spay/Neuter Clinic and are returned pain-free to their capture site and caretakers. TNR is a godsend to elderly caretakers who cannot afford the expense of both fixing and feeding the cats outside their doors and cannot manage the physical challenge of trapping and transporting to get the job done.

HAWA spay/neuter’s TNR cats are “eartipped” — meaning the left ear’s tip is removed during surgery — as visual proof of their status. No more kittens, a calmer environment, healthier cats, and an affordable cat food budget are real benefits for our aging residents who open their hearts to homeless cats. It’s also a wise intervention: who will care for all the cats when the caretaker’s estate is settled? Will their fate be shelter euthanasia?

Call HAWA spay/neuter at 828.452.1329 or visit our website at www.hawaspayneuter.org for more information on our low-cost spay/neuter mission and related programs. Give online or mail your donation to P.O. Box 992, Waynesville, N.C., 28786.

Susan Kumpf

HAWA Spay/Neuter Board VP & TNR Coordinator

Crabtree

To the Editor:

I found it curious that The Smoky Mountain Times in Bryson City had not run any articles or any biographical information about the candidates running for mayor of our fine town of Bryson City. And to me and others this is one of the most important local elections we have!

So I asked one of the candidates a few weeks ago why there was nothing in the paper about the candidates, and this with just a few weeks (at that time) left before the election. I wanted to know something about the candidates before I voted.

The candidate told me that he was told by the Smoky Mountain Times new publisher Cathy New that the paper’s new policy was the following: if the candidates wanted something about their candidacy in the Smoky Mountain Times, the candidates would have to pay for it.

And so I thought to myself, what kind of election coverage and newspaper policy is that?

And so in last week’s Smoky Mountain Times, there was nothing. Only a ballot sheet, and that was it except what the candidates put in themselves. No local coverage on the most important local election a municipality could have.

Lucky for me I did pick up a copy of The Smoky Mountain News and there it was – local coverage that covered our candidates in our non-local paper. And thank you Smoky Mountain News for giving us coverage on our mayoral candidates.

The only problem is that not everyone in our town may have the opportunity to pick up The Smoky Mountain News. Most of us we have The Smoky Mountain Times delivered to us and we depend on that coverage. And we should expect that something such as a local mayoral race would be covered! I find it all pretty disgraceful and am ashamed of this new policy.

So by the time this letter gets to the paper and edited to their standards, the election will be over. I just hope the best man will have won. But I guess we will never know for sure since the new policy did not give us any coverage.

And they always wonder why election turnout is so low!

Bob McCann

Bryson City

Dalton’s Christian Bookstore in Waynesville is putting 10 candles on its birthday cake this year.

A decade ago, Waynesville had a small Christian bookstore, The Magnificat, owned by Susie Sorrells. Upon hearing about plans to open Dalton’s Christian Bookstore in town, Sorrells made an agreement with Dalton’s to merge the two stores.

The staff is thankful for the churches and individuals in the community who supported them during the past decade.

Dalton’s Christian Bookstore is located at 331 Walnut Street with store hours from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A new business, Mountain View Appliance, opened its doors Oct. 3.

The owners, Mark Atkinson and Elva Woody, said they are excited about what the business has done since they opened and strive to have the lowest service call rates in the county.  Rates are $45 per service call and $20 labor. They also offer 24-hour emergency service for a higher rate.

Mountain View Appliance is bonded and insured and will do service calls the same day or by the next business day. Its service area is Leicester, Enka, Candler, Canton, Clyde, Maggie Valley, Waynesville, Sylva, Cherokee and Bryson City.

www.mountainviewappliance.com.

Throughout the month of October, second through fifth grade students at the Roots in Education After School Homework House got “REAL” with entrepreneurship.

Certified NC REAL instructor and Haywood County Chamber Marketing & Communications Manager, Katy McLean Gould, brought topics including goal setting, product development, business creation, marketing and more to the classroom through the promotion of experiential education.

Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) is a “hands on” introduction to the core principals of entrepreneurship as a means to improving the opportunities and skills of area youth and adults. REAL Entrepreneurship is taught in 44 states and serves approximately 15,000 participants per year.

Those calling Reynolds Hall home on the Western Carolina University campus are shy of meeting a book-drive goal for Smokey Mountain Elementary School.  

The goal is to have 1,000 books by Nov. 17 for delivery to children on Nov. 18, said Jean Bowen, a Reynolds resident assistant and a WCU senior majoring in elementary education. The tally as of Nov. 10, stood at approximately 600, Bowen said.

“The more books we have, the better variety the students can choose from,” Bowen said. Organizers are requesting new and used books or money for books. A bin outside of Reynolds Hall, on the upper portion of the WCU campus, is set up for book collection, and project organizers also will pick up books.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.4642.

Craig Madison, the president and CEO of the Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa, will be the featured speaker at the annual meeting of Smoky Mountain Host in Cherokee Nov. 29.

The meeting includes workshops for tourism businesses in developing strategies for advertising, online marketing, use of social media, research and consumer trends. The workshops are free and open to the business community. The cost of the reception/dinner is $60 per person for host members and $75 for nonmembers. Workshops begin at 2 p.m.; the reception and dinner is at 7 p.m. at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Hotel Conference Center.   

An Asheville native, Madison began his career in the hospitality industry while in high school working part-time as a bellman and front desk clerk at a local hotel. He co-founded The Alpha Group, an advertising agency. He became the Grove Park’s leader in 2003.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.369.9606. Please use the word “registration” in the subject line of the email.

Everyone is invited to a “relaxed meeting” Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m. in the Town Hall to have their voices heard on the qualities needed in the next town manager for Waynesville.

Town Manager Lee Galloway will retire June 30. Aldermen hired the firm, Developmental Associates, to aid them in their recruitment and evaluation of applicants for the position. Part of that process includes this public meeting.

The Board of Aldermen will hold a special meeting on Nov. 16 to meet with the consultant and review the process. That meeting is open to the public, too.

The fourth annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, “Poverty, Abundance, and Peace:  Seeking Economic Justice for All God’s Children” through Nov. 15 will delve into the systemic causes of poverty and economic disparity.

Speakers include Sen. George McGovern (a former presidential candidate who ran against incumbent Richard Nixon in 1972); David Beckmann, executive director of Bread for the World; Bishop Nkula Ntambo of the Katanga Conference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Michael Ayuen de Kuany, one of the “Lost Boys of the Sudan.”  

Each brings a long history of involvement in issues related to peace, poverty and hunger.

“They will help us explore ways to be more effective in our witness and involvement in seeking peace and justice for all,” said Garland Young, chair of the Peace Conference.

There will also be an interfaith panel featuring Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars on the topic, “Our Sacred Texts Speak to Us in Regard to Peace, Justice and Economics.”

www.lakejunaluska.com/peace or call 828.454.6656.

The Western Carolina University Concert Choir will team up with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and Asheville Symphony Chorus for a joint performance of “Resurrection Symphony” by Gustav Mahler on Sunday, Nov. 20.

The performance will begin at 3 p.m. in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the Western Carolina campus.

Admission to the event at WCU is $10 for adults and $5 for students.

The musical groups also will perform “Resurrection Symphony” at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in downtown Asheville.

“I hope these performances will mark the beginning of an ongoing collaboration between the university’s choral program and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra,” said Will Peebles, director of the WCU School of Music.

The 25-voice WCU Concert Choir is an auditioned group of student vocalists that performs works from the Renaissance to the 21st century, including major choral works such as Orff’s “Carmina Burana” and Handel’s “Messiah.” It is directed by Michael Lancaster, director of choral activities at WCU.

Lancaster also conducts the Asheville Symphony Chorus, which will feature soloists Sarah Jane McMahon and Ashley Hill in the performances of “Resurrection Symphony.”

The nearly 100-member Asheville Symphony Orchestra is directed by Daniel Meyer. Among its musicians are WCU music faculty members Shannon Thompson (clarinet), Mario Gaetano (percussion), Brad Ulrich and Amy Cherry (trumpets), Will Peebles (contrabassoon), Travis Bennett (horn) and Eliot Wadopian (bass).

“Resurrection Symphony,” which is not typically performed by colleges and universities, is considered a powerful work requiring large choral forces.

Tickets for the WCU performance of “Resurrection Symphony” may be purchased by calling 828.227.2479 or online at www.wcu.edu/bardoartscenter.

Tickets for the performance in Asheville are available through the Symphony office or the Asheville Civic Center box office, and range in price from $20 to $55 (with discounts available for students, or for “Pick 3” subscriptions).

828.254.7046 or  www.ashevillesymphony.org.

Tickets go on sale Nov. 18 for a Jan. 14 concert by country music star Charley Pride at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.

Pride’s smooth baritone voice was featured on 39 number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. Pride is one of the few African-American musicians to have great success in the country music industry and the only one inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. 

Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or 800.745.300 and start at $30.

Guy Penrod and Lynda Randle will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Penrod was a centerpiece and lead singer for Bill Gaither’s “Vocal Band” for 14 years and has recently recorded his first solo country album, Breathe Deep. This new collection of songs explores his strong values and deep roots in faith and family. It’s described as “positive country music with Christian undertones.”

Randle is an award-winning gospel recording artist with a bottomless supply of enthusiasm that generates throughout audiences everywhere. She’s performed at numerous Billy and Franklin Graham Crusades, opened for the great Gladys Knight, shared the stage with evangelists such as Charles Stanley and Chuck Swindoll, and has toured fulltime with Bill and Gloria Gaither and Their Homecoming Friends for the past 13 years.

Tickets are $20 each.

www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.

One Leg Up will perform in concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, in the Haywood County Library in Waynesville as part of the Haywood County Arts Council’s Sunday Concert Series.

Based in Asheville, One Leg Up performs a vibrant mixture of upbeat gypsy jazz, Latin, swing and original jazz compositions. They are a favorite of club, concert and festival stages throughout the southeastern United States. The group is comprised of John Stineman (guitar, vocals); Jim Tanner (Guitar); Zack Page (bass); Mike Guzalak (Clarinet, Sax); and, Steve Trismen (violin, vocals).

One Leg Up formed in 2003 as a “String Swing” band in the style of famed French gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Propelled by their self-produced debut recording “Gypsy Blue,” they soon won critical acclaim for their “hot club” prowess and were tapped to back up award-winning Spanish guitarist Pere Soto on some of his 2005 U.S. tour dates. In May 2005, One Leg Up performed at a combined concert and book signing with Michael Dregni author of the new acclaimed biography Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend.

828.452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org.

The Tuscola High School Chamber Choir and The Summit Choir will present a musical review of some of Broadway’s greatest hits at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Nov. 19 and again at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20.

Amission is $8 and includes dessert.

The 9th Annual Broadway Show, under the direction of Fritzi Wise, provides students with an opportunity to showcase their talents through the music and dance of Broadway. Dessert begins one hour before the show and includes a silent auction. All proceeds support the Tuscola’s Choral Department. 

For tickets call 828.456.2408 and ask for the Chorus Office or contact a chorus member or parent.

A fundraising event for the Community Table soup kitchen in Sylva will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at City Lights Café on Spring Street.

The event will include a reception with a string trio and there will be samples of olives, hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Annie’s Bakery, Signature Brew and City Lights Café, all in downtown Sylva and at the Mad Batter Café on Centennial Drive in Cullowhee. Tickets may also be purchased at the door of City Lights Café during the event. Ticketholders may take home a pound of olives or antipasti.

Haywood County native Charlie Rhodarmer, director and manager of the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, will give a presentation on 18th century Cherokee history and culture at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Canton Branch Library.

Rhodarmer’s talk will focus on Sgt. Sumter and Lt. Henry Timberlake’s experience with the Cherokee. After visiting the Overhill Cherokee (a term applied to the Cherokee who resided in what is now eastern Tennessee) in 1762, Timberlake wrote about the two months in which he lived with the Cherokee and the months following when he and Sumter escorted three Cherokee to England.

Timberlake paints a colorful story about his adventure with the Cherokee in his memoirs. Reading his writings, you also discover that Timberlake was one of the unluckiest men of the 18th century, and that his bad luck had a tendency to rub off on those around him.

Speaking from the perspective of “Sumpter” (Timberlake continually misspells Sumter’s name in his writings), Rhodarmer will share a few of the Lieutenant’s misadventures and will go on to depict the Sergeant’s continued involvement with the Cherokee.

Sumter and Timberlake were with the Cherokee from the time they first met in the Overhill territory until Sumter and the Cherokee left England to return to the colonies (Timberlake remained in England). As Sumter traveled through South Carolina while escorting the Cherokee back to the Overhill, he fell in love with the Santee area of South Carolina, which was eventually renamed Sumter County.

Program participants will be invited to examine a few of the Cherokee items that Timberlake describes in his memoirs, and to enjoy refreshments generously provided by the Friends of the Library. For more information on the Nov. 17 event, call the Canton Branch Library at 828.648.2924.

Students from Oconaluftee Institute of Cultural Arts recently visited the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and got to put their hands on some of the oldest forms of Cherokee art.

The students, under the direction of museum Education Director Barbara Duncan, were allowed access to the Museum’s extensive artifact collection that includes pieces thousands of years old.

Duncan chose Cherokee art from the Mississippian period and other time periods and discussed their functions and cultural contexts: two atlatl weights, a bannerstone, two birdstones, a chunkey stone, a discoidal, a marble, a shell gorget, a bear effigy water bottle, a three-color resist painted water bottle, and a fire pot.

“It was great to have the OICA students and teachers visit the museum and access our collections to learn about Cherokee art and culture from Cherokee artifacts,” said Duncan.

The two classes from OICA were the Art History Survey I taught by Phyllis Jarvinen and 2 D Design taught by program instructor Brian Kane.

“It was an amazing experience for our students to be able to see and touch something that someone made thousands of years ago,” said Jarvinen. “You truly got a sense of the physical connection as well the level of craftsmanship.”

Southwestern Community College offers an Associate of Fine Arts degree program at The Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts. The Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts is located on U.S. 19 North, behind Tribal Bingo at 70 Bingo Loop in Cherokee.

828.497.3945 or southwesterncc.edu/finearts/.

The Jackson County Extension and Community Association Craft Club will hold a workshop for participants to make holiday potpourri and scented soap and beeswax candles which can be used for home use or gift-giving.

The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Nov. 17 in the conference foom of the Community Service Center in Sylva.

Instructors will be Becky Lipkin and Brenda Anders. Cost is $5 for potpourri and $16.50 for a set of beeswax candles. Participants should bring fabric scraps, dried roses, flowers, etc., for potpourri. All other supplies provided.

828.586.4009.

Southwestern Community College’s Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts is hosting a Cherokee Baskets Show in its gallery on Tribal Bingo Road as part of November’s Native American Month .

The show is a combination of work from the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual and a historical display from the Clay County Historical Association.

“The work on loan from the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual is a testimony to the tradition, craftsmanship and attention to detail involved with creating each basket,” said OICA program director Jeff Marley. “The historical display from Clay County Historical Association depicts a Cherokee woman engaged in the creation of a river cane basket. Everything is historically accurate, including cloths, tools, and even the basket.”

Elementary school-age children and their families are invited to Holiday ARTSaturday, the Macon County Arts Council’s free monthly crafts and music workshop, from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Nov. 19, in the historic Rickman General Store.  

The Arts Council provides all materials for make-and-take projects including evergreen swags, holiday collage cards, decorated Christmas cookies, and paper garlands, along with gift wrapping instruction, caroling to live music by keyboardist Lionel Caynon, and refreshments. There’s no pre-registration; children should wear play clothes and come for any part of the session. Adults must stay with their children.

Attendees may park in the Cowee School lot and follow the short path to the store. The event is sponsored by the Joe Suminski Family to honor their grandmothers, Anne Gallup and Colleen Suminski.

828.524.7683 or www.artscouncilofmacon.org.

The Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 will hold its fourth annual small works show titled, “It’s a Small, Small Work 2011,” Wednesday, Nov. 16, through Friday, Dec. 31.

The show provides a unique opportunity to purchase original art at very modest prices. Most artwork is priced between $20 and $80. No work is priced over $300. Artwork is sold off the wall in a “pay and walk away” style. As such, the show changes a little each week with new art pieces being added almost daily to take place of works that were sold.

Artist participation in the annual small works continues to grow each year from 68 artists in 2008 to over 115 artists in 2011. There are hundreds of pieces of art from which to choose.

Artists hail from Buncombe, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Swain, Transylvania, and many other counties that comprise the 25-county Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.

The show challenges artists to create works smaller than 12 inches in every dimension, including base, matting, and frame, etc. Participating artists include aspiring artists, hobbyists, emerging artists, mid-career artists, and established artists who have been producing work for a number of years. It’s a Small, Small Work 2011 features a variety of mediums including: painting, printmaking, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, collage, fiber, sculpture, gouache, woodworking, metal, jewelry, photography, and more.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The artists’ reception is Sunday, Nov. 20, from 1-5 p.m. in conjunction with Downtown Waynesville’s Holiday Open House. An Art After Dark reception will be held Friday, Dec. 2, from 6-9 p.m.

For more information visit the website at www.haywoodarts.org, Like the Arts County on Facebook or follow on Twitter. 828.452.0593.

Lake Junaluska is inviting Haywood County citizens to a public meeting to discuss its “vision” for its second century. The meeting will take place at 5 p.m. Nov. 10 in Gaines Auditorium at the Bethea Welcome Center on the Lake Junaluska campus.

828.454.6702

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A screening focused on preventing falls will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Nov. 18 at the Jackson County Senior Center.

Appointments are required for the screening. Nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists and other health professionals will be on hand.

Medical professionals will discuss fall prevention; administer vision, pulse, blood pressure and balance checks; review prescriptions; and offer tips to make your home safe from hazards.  

828.587.8279 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Angel Medical Center Foundation will hold a planned giving conference at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9 in the hospital dining room. The conference is open to the public and is free.

Some planned gifts provide a lifelong income to the donor, others use estate and tax planning techniques to provide for charity and other heirs in ways that maximize the gift and minimize its impact on the donor’s estate.

828.349.6887.

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Free confidential memory screenings will be offered Nov. 15 at the Haywood County Office Building in Waynesville.  

The purpose of the 15-minute memory screenings is to promote early detection of memory loss and to provide participants with strategies and information about brain health. Screenings will be conducted by Dr. Leigh Odom, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Carolina University.

828.452.6789.

Is reading — just for the pure, leisurely joy of it -— becoming the pastime of a bygone era? For many a modern adolescent, it is. Today’s teens are about as likely to bury their noses in a book as they are to chat on a corded phone or tell time on an analog clock.

The decline in reading spans the globe. A new report from the Organization for Economic and Co-operative Development reveals reading for enjoyment among 15-year-olds has dropped since 2000 in most of the world’s developed countries. American adolescents find reading especially onerous: The U.S. ranks 57th out of 65 countries in the percentage of 15-year-olds who read daily for fun. Less than 60 percent of American teens (and even fewer boys) read for pleasure every day.

Why should we care? Plotlines and prose provide more than mere entertainment. Reading for enjoyment is linked closely with test performance. Daily readers “score the equivalent of one-and-a-half years of schooling better” on OECD’s reading assessment than non-readers. That’s quite a bump.

Given this link, newly released SAT scores aren’t so surprising. Critical reading scores from 2011 are the lowest ever. It’s true that 2011 test-takers comprised the biggest, most diverse group on record. But shifting demographics can’t account for all of the downturn. The fact that many teens shun reading surely has played a part.

Does frequent reading confer other, non-test-taking, benefits? Indeed it does. Habitual readers understand more of what they read; that, in turn, renders the reading experience all the more rewarding. As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “‘Tis the good reader that makes the good book.”

Readers also write better and possess an infinitely richer vocabulary than non-readers.

Why don’t more teenagers while away contented hours (or even minutes) each day with a book? Many do not have the time. Pressed in by an educational culture that equates academic rigor with grinding homework, plenty of teens are falling into bed, exhausted at 11 p.m. or later. Who can luxuriate in an absorbing tale once darkness falls? There are too many problem sets to solve and essays to write.

Hammering superfluous homework is nothing new, but it’s a message that bears repeating. Obviously, when limited to 2 1/2 hours per night in high school (the amount backed by research), homework reinforces learning. But many teens, especially in advanced placement and honors classes, stare down nightly homework totals even a seasoned graduate student might find daunting. The irony is that free time for book reading would actually produce a better student — and a less-stressed child.

Homework isn’t the only thing warring against reading. Digital diversions gobble up enormous chunks of teens’ time. A recent Scholastic study found that as kids grow older, reading time “declines in direct opposition” to time spent online (for fun) or with mobile phones. To modern teens, the immediacy of the digital world is far more compelling than the slowly unraveling story arc of a novel.

To be sure, digital books and e-book readers have opened up unprecedented, highly portable opportunities for literary engagement. But the truth is most kids aren’t using technological advances to indulge a passion for books.

What should we do? Schools clearly have their role, but inculcating a love of reading starts at home. As parents, we must carve out time for teens to read. That means we push back when homework demands engulf our children. We ensure their nimble fingers cradle more than consoles and keyboards. And we expose them, again and again, to the mind-enriching, soul-gratifying world of great books.

(Kristen Blair is a North Carolina Education Alliance Fellow.)

To the Editor:

With reference to Quintin Ellison’s and Becky Johnson’s excellent reporting on the tourism marketing program for Jackson County in the Nov. 2 Smoky Mountain News, it was disturbing to read about the conflict between Cashiers and the Jackson County Travel and Tourism Associations.

In a time of bad economy and severe marketing competition, it seems that unity within the county would be of paramount importance. In today’s advertising world the amount used by Cashiers and Jackson County is small. I doubt with limited funds their independent marketing efforts can be very productive.

From what publications Cashiers reportedly advertises in, those publications are certainly not geared to the affluent audience to which Cashiers claims it attempts to reach.

And if they consider other portions of Jackson County as competition, why worry since Cashiers is uniquely “affluent” and that apparently disqualifies the remainder of the county as a destination threat.

The more I read the article, the more inept the Cashiers TDA director sounded. It is hard to conceive that inquiries go only to chamber members. The two (Chamber and Cashiers TTA) are not to be interconnected. To force private entities to join the Chamber to obtain leads generated by public funds seems to be illegal. What happens if a resort that collects the bed tax isn’t a chamber member? Are they ineligible to receive the inquiries?

What is needed is a complete tourism marketing review of the county. That includes all creative, publications/media plus costs and number of inquiries generated by each. The latter is basic marketing and if someone balks at providing the information, the assumption should be those ads and/or publications did not deliver.

What marketing efforts do county businesses contribute to the overall tourism promotion program? I venture to say that virtually all county businesses whose dependence on tourism rely heavily, if not totally, on the “bed tax” and therefore the TTAs to bring business to the county.

Tourism marketing is a cooperative venture … private businesses and public agencies working together. While the “bed tax” has proven to be the main venue for funding tourism promotion, most of the bed tax legislation fails to see the value of regional/area marketing. This is to the detriment of most smaller destinations where regional (not just county) marketing programs would provide more “bang for the buck”.

In Cherokee, every business had an investment in tourism marketing. They paid one-half percent of monthly gross revenue into the marketing program. It was not a “pass on” tax like the “bed tax,” which is collected from the tourist.  

The advertising committee was comprised of two members from each business category. The committee was charged with approving the annual marketing program. This was a win-win arrangement since every business on the Qualla Boundary realized monies from visitors.

This is NOT the time for an uncooperative attitude between tourism agencies in Jackson County. The $440,000 the bed tax generates is considered a small tourism marketing budget today and anything under $100,000 can’t make much of an impact when competing with hundreds of destinations going for the same potential visitor.    

The county commission should require a complete recap of marketing efforts and results from each agency sharing in the bed tax revenues. Accountability is needed! There must be a reason bed tax revenues are down in Jackson County, and I doubt the absence of the train is the only reason.

Could it be the tourism marketing program is not as effective as it should/could be due to what appears to be protectionism on at least one party’s part?

David Redman

Sylva

(Redman has spent 47 years in tourism marketing, including Marineland of Florida, Florida Attractions Association, Travel Industry Association of America, manager of international tourism trade shows, Cherokee Tribal Travel and Promotion Office, and other affiliations. He also assisted in the writing of the original accommodation tax legislation for the state of Florida in the 1970s.)

 A Live and Learn program featuring Eric Romaniszyn, executive director of the Haywood Waterways Authority, will be held at 2 p.m., Nov. 17, in Bethea Welcome Center at Lake Junaluska.

Romaniszyn’s expertise is with benthic macroinvertebrates, but he has also worked extensively with freshwater fish and wetlands. He has worked for the past six years with Haywood Waterways first as Project Manager and now as executive director. In his spare time, Romaniszyn enjoys fly- fishing, white water paddling and home improvement projects.

The Live and Learn Committee of the Junaluskans, an organization of the residents and friends of Lake Junaluska, are sponsoring the program. Everyone is invited.  

800.222.4930 Opt. 2.

A walking tour and discussion focused on the natural and cultural resources of the Cullowhee Valley area is set for Sunday, Nov. 13. Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center and Cherokee Studies Program will sponsor the program.

Participants will meet in the Mountain Heritage Center lobby at 2 p.m. to begin the one-mile walk. Led by Jane Eastman, WCU associate professor of anthropology and director of the Cherokee Studies Program, the walk will include stops along Cullowhee Creek and the Tuckaseigee River.

The Mountain Heritage Center is located on the ground floor of WCU’s H.F. Robinson Administration Building.

828.227.7129.

The Southern Environmental Law Center is accepting submissions for the annual Phillip D. Reed Memorial Award for Outstanding Writing on the Southern Environment. 

The award seeks to enhance public awareness of the value and vulnerability of the region’s natural heritage by giving special recognition to writers who most effectively tell the stories about the South’s environment.

SELC’s annual Reed Environmental Writing Award has two categories: for non-fiction books and journalism. Prizes of $1,000 are awarded to the winner in each category.

For deadlines and entry requirements, visit southernenvironment.org/phil_reed.

The author of Hiking through History, a hiker’s guide to Civil War and Underground Railroad sites along the present-day Appalachian Trail, will speak at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Grotto.

Leanna Joyner, who has developed programs for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and hiked the trail’s entire 2,175 mile length, will discuss local historical controversies, including differing explanations for murders at Shelton Laurel, and show how sites along the trail offer insight into mountain communities’ experience of the Civil War.

Joyner’s Hiking through History is forthcoming from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

This talk is free and open to the public.  

828.251.6415.

A National Geographic film about the Appalachian Trail will be shown at the Carolina Asheville at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 19.

It is one of seven locations where the film will be screened on the East Coast, a tour circuit being sponsored by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

America’s Wild Spaces: the Appalachian Trail highlights the beauty and splendor of the Appalachian Trail. National Geographic takes viewers off their seats to discover the remote and often unknown corners of this 5-million-step journey.

During this event, attendees will have the opportunity to speak with a 2,000 miler (someone that has walked the entire estimated 2,180 miles of the A.T.) as well as meet the staff of the ATC to learn more about their programs and initiatives.

Suggested donation of $30 includes a new membership or gift membership to the ATC.

www.appalachiantrail.org/discover.

Small farmers needing help might just find the financial boost they need through WNC Agricultural Options.

The group this year will award $150,000 to 35 or so farm businesses and farmer-led groups.

“Successful farming in today’s environment requires taking on challenges,” said Ross Young, Madison County extension director and WNC AgOptions steering committee leader. “New crops, new farming systems and new marketing strategies all increase the potential of a farm’s success but also increases risk. The WNC AgOptions program helps this region’s farmers balance that risk by providing financial assistance as well as hands-on guidance with a new venture.”

The N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission supplies the money to WNC AgOptions, which is in its eighth year. Grants of $3,000 and $6,000 are available. Past projects have ranged from putting in trellises for farmer’s embarking on berry production, greenhouses for farmers moving into hydroponics, goat milk parlors, or wine vineyards.

Awards of $10,000 will go to three farmer-led groups working to solve processing, packaging, marketing and other distribution needs of the local agriculture system. Past projects include collective marketing efforts and farmer co-ops for distribution.

WNC AgOptions “intent to apply” deadline is Nov. 16; the application deadline is Dec. 1. www.wncagoptions.org

The experimental national forest service site, Coweeta Hydrologic Lab, will be the subject of the next League of Women Voters in Macon County on Thursday, Nov. 10. The research center located in Macon County was established in 1934 to study how forests affect the streams that flow through them and has done some of the most influential research on forest watersheds in the world.

Information will be presented on the history of Coweeta and its major scientific contributions, including current projects on the Hemlock wooly adelgid, land use and water quality, and the Southern Global Climate Change Program. Coweeta also reaches out to apply its research locally in projects specific to its home territory.

The meeting will be held at Tartan Hall in Franklin starting at 12:15 p.m.

828.371.0527 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About 40 volunteers, some from as far away as Florida and Virginia, recently helped improve drainage on trails at Tsali Recreation Area as part of a MegaWork Party co-sponsored by the Nantahala Area chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association.

“I’m grateful for all the volunteers who came from throughout the Southeast to make this a special event,” said Sae Smyrl, president of the Nantahala Area SORBA chapter. “Riders have enjoyed Tsali for many years. It is our special place and it needs this kind of attention if it is going to continue to host so many people in years to come.”

Water is a chief enemy of trails, and getting to run off without eroding the trail in the process is one of the greatest issues facing trail builders and maintainers. Volunteers at Tsali used sustainable techniques, mostly creating nicks to channel water off the trail more effectively than timber water-bars, are more fun to ride through and can last several years without need for maintenance, Smyrl said.

Trail work was focused on Right, Thompson and Mouse loops at Tsali.

“You won’t recognize the sections we worked on. They look so much better, and are less treacherous,” said Andy Zivinsky, co-owner of Bryson City Bicycles.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or join the Nantahala Area SORBA Facebook group.

A recent report assessing wetland habitats in the U.S. shows a slight decline from 2004-2009, according to the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

The findings are consistent with the Status and Trends Wetlands reports from previous decades that reflect a continuous, but diminishing, decline in wetlands habitat over time.

“Wetlands are at a tipping point,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “While we have made great strides in conserving and restoring wetlands since the 1950s when we were losing an area equal to half the size of Rhode Island each year, we remain on a downward trend that is alarming. This report, and the threats to places like the Mississippi River Delta, should serve as a call to action to renew our focus on conservation and restoration efforts hand in hand with states, tribes and other partners.”

The net wetland loss was estimated to be 62,300 acres between 2004 and

2009, bringing the nation’s total wetlands acreage to just more than 110-million acres in the continental U.S.

The Southeast United States, primarily freshwater wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain, and the Lower Mississippi River experienced the greatest losses. Losses were also observed in the Great Lakes states, the Prairie Pothole region, and in rapidly developing metropolitan areas nationwide.

The reasons for wetland losses are complex and reflect a wide variety of factors, including changes in land use and economic conditions, the impacts of the 2005 hurricane season on the Gulf Coast and climate change impacts.

For more details on the report, visit www.fws.gov/wetlands/StatusAndTrends2009

Four Western North Carolina men have been sentenced in separate cases in Federal court for poaching ginseng from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Ginseng grows in the wild in Appalachia and can fetch high prices as a herbal medicine. Demand for the root has led to over-digging and a troubling decline in ginseng in the mountains. The national park is constantly combating the illegal taking of ginseng from within its borders.

The four defendants were each charged with possession of or the harvesting of ginseng roots. They pleaded guilty to the charges and were each sentenced as follows:

• Billy Joe Hurley, 45, of Bryson City, was arrested in October for harvesting  ginseng. He possessed 187 ginseng roots. Hurley was sentenced to serve 120 days in jail.

• Mark S. Parham, 24, of Canton, was arrested in the Cataloochee Valley area. He possessed 176 ginseng roots. Parham, who has a prior conviction for harvesting ginseng on private land, was sentenced on to serve 40 days in jail.

• Anthony K. Sequoyah, Jr., 24, of Cherokee, possessed 150 ginseng roots, and was sentenced to serve 52 days in jail.

• Trinity D. Frady, 25, of Cherokee, possessed 32 ginseng roots, and was sentenced to serve 15 days in jail.

The recovered and still-viable ginseng roots were replanted by staff of the National Park Service.