Artists transform everyday objects into works of art in the exhibit “Out of the Ordinary,” which runs April 5 through June 15 at The Bascom in Highlands.

An exhibit celebrating the work of photographer Hugh Morton will open with a reception and talk March 27 at the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. 

Budding artists from across Jackson County were recently recognized during the annual Youth Art Month exhibit hosted by Western Carolina University’s School of Art and Design. The exhibit is part of a nationwide recognition of visual arts programs and the role such programs play in the nation’s public schools.

The exhibit featured work from local students — kindergarten through 12th grade — and opened in February. Winners from the exhibit were announced during a public reception earlier this month at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center.

• Blue Ridge School — first place, Kathryn Potts (10th grade); second place, Alexis Hervert-Mezquite (fifth grade); honorable mention, Destiny Ferra-Martin (10th grade).

• Cherokee Elementary School — first place, Naomi Smith (fifth grade); second place, Miss Nipper’s Class (kindergarten); Teacher’s Choice Award, Aidan Wolfe (third grade); honorable mention, Jaelyn Lossiah (third grade), Eva Gagama (first grade), Eeyannah Catolster-Hernandez (fifth grade), Brandon Martinez (third grade) and Ayina Lambert (seventh grade).

• Cullowhee Valley School — first place, Mariana Ramirez (seventh grade); second place, Noah Hinton (sixth grade); Teacher’s Choice Award, Garrett Lindsay (eighth grade); honorable mention, Leslie Folres (second grade), Lucy McRae (sixth grade), Garrett Lindsay (eighth grade), Jessica Carter (eighth grade), Gracie Ruebel (seventh grade) and Brett Aquino-Lopez (fourth grade).

• Jackson County School of Alternatives — first place, Ronnie (10th grade); second place, Sierra (10th grade); Teacher’s Choice Award, Group Paper Design.

• Fairview School — first place, Peyten Wilson (third grade) Stillwell (third grade); honorable mention, Jack Cathcart (second grade) and Sophie Cathcart (fifth grade).

• Scott’s Creek School — first Place, Dayle Joseph (third grade); second place, Samantha Rosario (fifth grade); Teacher’s Choice Award, Jalyn McSpadden (fourth grade); honorable mention, Keria (second grade), Nevaeh Biddle (second grade), Julianna Welch (fifth grade), Lily Lenart (kindergarten), Emma Colindres (fifth grade), Hayes Stewart (second grade), Sebastian Hornbuckle (second grade), Alexis Hopper (seventh grade) and Will Morris (seventh grade).

• Smokey Mountain Elementary School — first place, Elijah Smoker (fifth grade); second place,  sixth grade class; Teacher’s Choice Award, Katelin Pelkey, (eighth grade); honorable mention, Miley Holder (kindergarten), Abby Branning (second grade) and Malia Little (seventh grade).

• Smoky Mountain High School — first place, Taylor Stack (12th grade); second place, Erin Nicholson (12th grade); Teacher’s Choice Award, Morgan Carpenter (9th grade); honorable mention, Marah Stefanisko (12th grade), Darion Powell (12th grade), Hollis Ayling (11th grade), Kendall Rhymer (10th grade) and Briseida Palestine (10th grade).

• Summit Charter School — first place, Peyton Kaylor (first grade); second place, Jacob Hudson (seventh grade); Teacher’s Choice Award, Colin Stoltzfus (seventh grade); honorable mention, Ajani McIntosh (seventh grade).

Acclaimed bluegrass acts Balsam Range and The Boxcars will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 4, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $10 and $15.

Balsam Range won the Album of the Year at the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Awards for their record “PAPERTOWN.” Performing around the country and beyond, the group is one of the fastest rising bluegrass ensembles in the music industry today.

www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

The 2013-14 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Jam Series continues with Crooked Pine at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

Established and emerging authors of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction will discuss and read from their works at Western Carolina University during the 12th annual Spring Literary Festival from Monday, March 31 to Friday, April 4, in Cullowhee. All events are free and open to the public and held in the A.K. Hinds University Center theater, unless otherwise noted.

• The Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poets Series featuring Richard Chess will be at noon March 31. The series will also feature student poets Samuel Fox from WCU, Patrick Bahls from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Teleia Tollison from Spruce Pine and Grace Wester from Odyssey Community School.

• Historian/writer David Cecelski will lead a discussion at 4 p.m., March 31. Cecelski is the author of “The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War.” His work centers on history, race and culture in the American South. Cecelski has been honored with awards including the Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavis Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights.

• Pulitzer Prize-nominated Mexican-American author Luis Alberto Urrea will read from his works at 7:30 p.m., March 31. His focuses include poetry, fiction and nonfiction. A winner of the Lannan Literary Award and Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize, Urrea uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph in his writing.

• Appalachian poet Ron Houchin will present at 4 p.m., April 1. Houchin, whose published poetry collections include “The Man Who Saws Us in Half,” has been a recipient of the Poetry Book of the Year from the Appalachian Writers’ Association.

• A tribute to the late Robert Conley will be at 7 p.m., April 1. Conley was WCU’s Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies before his death on Feb. 16. The tribute will be followed at 7:30 p.m. by a presentation by Native American author Linda Hogan. Conley, who was a registered tribal member of the Cherokee Nation, authored poems, short stories, nonfiction and more than 80 books ranging from The Cherokee Encyclopedia to award-winning Westerns. Hogan, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her novel “Mean Spirit,” writes books, poetry and essays, and has a special interest in exploring environmental issues and indigenous spiritual traditions and culture in her work.

• Donna Glee Williams and Charles F. Price will present at 4 p.m., April 2. Williams’ first novel “The Braided Path” was released in March and grew out of her award-winning short story that appeared in the anthology “The Year’s Best Science Fiction.” Price has authored historical fiction and nonfiction works ranging from “Hiwasee: A Novel of the Civil War,” set in Western North Carolina, to a book about a terror outbreak in 1863, set in Colorado.

• Fiction writer Jill McCorkle will present at 7 p.m., April 2, in the Community Room at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. McCorkle has had five works named New York Times notable books. Her most recent novel, “Life After Life,” was released in November.

• Fiction writer George Singleton will present at 4 p.m., April 3. A Southern author who has written collections of short stories and three novels, Singleton was recipient of the 2011 Hillsdale Award for Fiction by The Fellowship of Southern Writers.

• Award-winning authors Column McCann, Ron Rash and Lisa Consiglio will hold a presentation about their work with the organization Narrative 4 at 7:30 p.m., April 3 in the Coulter Building at WCU. Narrative 4 is a global organization that seeks social change through encouraging diverse people to share stories in a way that builds empathy and understanding. McCann is the Irish-American author of “Let the Great World Spin” and “TransAtlantic,” and co-founder of Narrative 4. Rash is the WCU Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture and author of acclaimed books including “Serena,” “One Foot in Eden,” “Saints at the River” and “The World Made Straight.” Consiglio is the executive director and co-founder of Narrative 4.

• On April 4, there will be several presentations in the University Center theater by more than a dozen authors from the WCU community. Faculty and staff members who will present at 10 a.m. are Mary Adams, Catherine Carter, Deidre Elliott, Rosemary Peek and Rash. Alumni writers and artists presenting at 11 a.m. will be Anna Browning, Josh Crawford, Caroline Holland and T.J. Holland. Alumni authors presenting at 1 p.m. are Sue Ellen Bridgers, George Frizzell, Dawn Gilchrist-Young, Leah Hampton and David Joy. Students will present at 2 p.m.

Festival sponsors include WCU’s Visiting Writers Series, Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences, ACE series, Parris Distinguished Professorship, Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Division of Student Affairs and the Jackson County Public Library and North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. The project also received support from the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

www.litfestival.org or www.wcu.edu or 828.227.3926

To the Editor:

Here is what I think about Jackson County’s revised steep slope ordinance: self-serving, self-serving and self-serving.

But here’s the real question: what does one think the results will be when you elect or appoint builders, developers and realtors as county commissioners or members of planning boards?

Frank Parrish

Sylva

To the Editor:

Just an observation that I am sure others have made also, but what about all the trash along the roadside all over our beautiful Haywood County? People what is going on? What happened to all the volunteer groups that have their signs posted for being responsible for those areas? All along N.C. 209, Richland Creek, the access roads, it’s crazy. Soon the summer growth will creep over to hide some of the garbage, but this has got to stop. No wonder tons of junk winds up in Lake Junaluska. Please stop throwing trash out of your window. It is a shame and a big eyesore.  

Mylan Sessions

Clyde

To the Editor:

I attended a political club meeting last night. I purchased tickets for a fundraiser — a dinner — to be held in a few weeks. I was asked to please provide user names, addresses and phone numbers on the back of tickets. I assumed it was simply a handy way to gain names for future contact. I was wrong.

During the course of the meeting I learned why this was necessary when another attendee spoke about experience gained as a past candidate for office. A goodly sum of money had been donated during a fund raiser. All money had been raised from individual attendees’ donations, a cake auction, and other enjoyable contests. These funds, relatively small from private friends and like-thinking persons, were necessary to pay the expenses of the campaign and were required to be reported. Not easily. Not simply. Not in lump sum. Each donation had to be reported individually, person by person. It took the candidate, who naturally did not have a staff, many after-work hours over four days time to fill out the required forms to report each donation.

Most candidates for local government do not have an office or staff to care for the nitty-gritty required by election laws that are designed to keep campaign spending honest. Indeed, they’re lucky to have willing family members or a few personal friends to help.

Similar rules apply to all politically connected organizations, clubs and political party offices. Funds need to be accounted for. Who they’re from, and how they’re spent. Keeping our campaigns and elections honest! Remember that word, “honest!”

This is incredibly labor-intensive as we compare these relatively minuscule donations to the huge donations and spending of dark money from nefarious political action groups. Particularly evidenced are enormous fund amounts funneled and tracked from state to state in order to promote their desired candidates for office, intentionally skewing the balance of power, with obvious purpose to influence these candidates’ future votes in state and national offices.

We all want honesty in our elections, but honestly, is this honest? Look at the other unnecessary recently enacted requirements for future N.C. elections, hindering the peoples’ right to vote but all purported to be in the name of honesty! Really?

We the voting public, no matter our political party, can’t tolerate this hypocrisy? Think about it. It’s our voting rights at stake. Who, or what, is running you and me? Do you tolerate or even support this? We invent, impose and keep some rules of honesty, but discard others? Large coalitions of corporate big money are OK, but we peasants (you know, we the people) are to be tabulated?

Where’s the oversight? Where are the regulations? Where oh where is this endlessly touted honesty? 

Shirl Ches

Franklin

To the Editor:

Welfare cheats. It seems that every conservative has a favorite story about how someone on public assistance is cheating the system. Food stamp cards used for fancy food, having babies to get more money, living off unemployment, phony disabilities claims; all these takers are wasting my tax money. It does not matter if these stories are true or not. Conservatives believe them, and they are mad. More proof, to them, that we are heading into a socialist hell.

There is no doubt, given human nature, that there are bad people out there cheating the system. Every government program, in fact any system involving money, can be cheated. And, until we as humans evolve to a higher level of spirituality, it will always be thus.

But why pick on welfare cheats, who in fact are very few in real numbers, and whose actual cost to the taxpayer is minor compared to say, actual tax cheats. Why not get mad about the people who really cost the taxpayers tens of billions every year? How about giant agribusinesses that are paid not to grow food? What about billionaire investment bankers who pay a lower tax rate for moving money around than we pay for actual work, or giant multinational oil companies that pay no tax at all while making huge profits on the American market? Where is the outrage?

The answer is simple. It’s called the golden rule: “He who has the gold makes the rules.” While the 1 percent grows even more wealthy and more powerful, they need a diversion to keep the voters’ attention off of them. It is a classic case of blame your troubles on the other. Powerful interests have been using this tactic since the time of Machiavelli.

The poor, the disabled, minorities, the slackers, the “takers” are the ones to blame. We are bombarded by story after story about how these cheaters are dragging this country into dreaded socialism. Whether it is right wing media or Paul Ryan, the story is always the same: those “other” people are cheating the government out of our tax money.

Of course the facts, those pesky facts, show just the opposite. Socialism is the distribution of wealth from the rich to the poor. What we have in the United States of America, however, is just the opposite. The middle class is disappearing, real income is decreasing, and the effective tax rate for the wealthy is at a historic low. The concentration  of wealth at the top is now greater than any time in U.S. history.

So the next time you hear a story about some surfer dude who is using his food stamp card to buy wax for his surf board, remember that someone of great wealth is paying a good-looking talking head to tell you that story, over and over and over again.

Louis Vitale

Franklin

To the Editor:

Every two or three years I read in the newspaper that a homeowner shot an intruder. Typically, the homeowner hears a noise during the night, gets his gun and flashlight and goes downstairs with his wife hanging on his shoulder. He opens the door to the garage and sees a man trying to steal his new Cadillac and he blows him away.

The perpetrator is not armed, and the homeowner is now on trial for manslaughter and facing several years in jail. These scenarios happen all the time across the country because people think that they have a license to kill anyone in their home. Just last week, a local jerk told me: “If I shoot someone on my porch, I will drag him in the house so I am covered”. 

This is a common misperception. In North Carolina, we have a Castle Law that allows certain protections in your home, your place of business or in your vehicle. It includes the camper or tent you use when camping. The law makes the assumption that if someone is in the process of breaking into your home, they are not doing so to sell you a Bible. The law presumes there is an intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence, and you have a right to shoot them while they are in the process of breaking in, if you fear you will lose your life. 

Once the person is physically in your home, the circumstances change. If the perpetrator is armed with anything that can cause serious physical harm or death, and you fear for your life, you can shoot them. However, if there is no sign that they are armed, and they are simply there to steal something, you may not shoot. You can use physical force to protect your property, but not deadly physical force. 

For example, say you come home from shopping one evening, open your door, and you see two guys in your living room holding your new HD TV in their arms and about to walk out. If there is no sign that they are armed, you may not shoot them. Remember, we have no death penalty for larceny or grand theft, regardless of the value of the item.

In any situation where an intruder is armed with anything that could kill you, even a screwdriver in his hand, you can shoot to protect your life. You must be able to state that you feared for your life and the facts must back up that statement.

In North Carolina there is no “citizens arrest.” There is no provision to shoot someone who decides to flee, armed or not. It will be difficult for you to explain exit wounds in the perpetrators chest, or why you shot an unarmed person. In this area, you would have to be nuts to break into an occupied house because most homeowners have a gun for protection. 

It is the drugs that give the criminal the false courage to do so. The drugs also give the criminal a false sense of security. He believes you will not shoot him, especially if you are a woman, or are old, and very often they will charge at you to take your gun away. Warn them to stay back, and if they come at you, and you fear for your life, you may shoot to protect yourself. It takes eight hours to explain these laws in the Concealed Carry Pistol Permit classes. In any event, where you may use a firearm to protect yourself there is a firm requirement that you understand the laws of self-defense, whether or not you want a concealed carry pistol permit. The basic rule is that you must be in fear of losing your life!

Jim Sottile

NC Certified Firearms Instructor

Franklin

Macon County commissioners unanimously approved the first round of bids to begin construction of a $3.8 million sports complex in Franklin.

The county will pay CTech, a Franklin-based engineering company, $49,750 for site plans, geotechnical engineering and construction oversight. Commissioners also accepted two bids from Ritter Architecture, another Franklin company. For $10,000, the company will design a building to double as a concession stand and scorer’s booth, and $6,000 will go toward designing a pavilion. 

The bids are the first concrete step the county has taken toward turning a 48-acre property it bought last year for $550,000 into a tournament-level ballfield complex. Last month, commissioners decided in a split vote to go ahead with development plans estimated to cost $3.3 million. The result will be a full-on recreation park complete with eight baseball and softball fields, a soccer field, a nine-hole disc golf course, hiking trails and picnic shelters. 

Proponents of the project hail it as an opportunity to engage the county’s youth in sports, while bringing dollars into the community through baseball and softball tournaments. Its detractors contend that those economic benefits are trumped up and that it’s not wise to sink money into a massive capital project during a recession. 

— By Holly Kays

The Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, taking place March 27-30, will feature six leadership speakers from across the globe. The speakers will talk about the role faith communities have in combating disease, violence and poverty — often the causes of poor health. 

Dr. Christoph Benn, former member of the Global Fund, will be a keynote speaker at the conference. It will also feature local speakers, workshops and panels, including a presentation by practitioners of alternative spiritual approaches to health care.

Benn moved to southern Tanzania in 1988 to work as a doctor-in-charge at a rural hospital — young people were dying unexplained deaths. This was just at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic that would hit Africa.

Benn has more than 20 years of experience in global health, including stints as a clinician in the United Kingdom and as deputy director of the German Institute for Medical Mission, during which time he helped to initiate several pilot projects to implement antiretroviral treatment in Botswana, Kenya and Russia. 

Those efforts by Benn led in part to the establishment of The Global Fund in 2002, an international financial institution that so far has mobilized $40 billion dollars and developed partnerships between government, civil society, the private sector and communities living with the diseases to fight AIDS, TB and malaria in more than 140 countries. 

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a key supporter of the fund, has contributed or pledged $1.4 billion, and President Obama pledged up to $5 billion dollars over the next three years.

In addition to Benn, other conference speakers include: 

• Dr. Gary Gunderson, vice president of Faith and Health Ministries at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem.

• Dr. James Cochrane, professor in the Department of Religious Studies and senior research associate in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

• Dr. Henry Perry, founder of Andean Rural Health Care and senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, presiding bishop of the Raleigh area of the United Methodist Church.

Organizers of the conference view the event as an ongoing response to God’s call to peacemaking and reconciliation. Affirming the community of Abrahamic faiths, the conference seeks to work in partnership with Christians, Jews, Muslims and members of other religious traditions to advance the work of reconciliation and peace. 

www.lakejunaluska.com/peace or 800.222.4930.

The Macon County Sheriff race will be short and sweet. Incumbent Sheriff Robbie Holland, a Republican, only faces one challenger, Bryan Carpenter, also a Republican. Because the two candidates are in the same party, the primary election will decide the race.

Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran will have an easy primary season, with no Republicans challenging his bid for a third term in office. But four Democratic challengers are fighting it out during the primary. Here’s a look at those candidates:

Franklin is one step closer to getting its first microbrewery, which plans to set up shop in the former town hall building on Main Street.

The Franklin town board voted unanimously last week to lease and possibly sell the old town hall building to The Lazy Hiker, a brewing company owned by two Macon County men. 

The Lazy Hiker would lease the building for $1,250 per month for the first year and $2,500 per month thereafter, according to the 10-year contract approved by the town.

At any point along the way, the brewery could exercise an option to buy the building outright for $325,000. That’s less than the building’s 2013 appraised value of $725,000, but more than the highest offer the town has received so far, $200,000. 

There’s a 10-day window for higher bids on the property to be submitted before the deal is signed.

— By Holly Kays 

Swain County

Swain Commissioners

What’s up for election? All five seats on the county board are up for election, including four commissioner seats and commissioner chairman. Both Republican commissioner candidates here automatically advance.

About the race: As usual, there’s a deep bench of candidates running for Swain commissioner. And in this Democratic leaning county, where it’s rare for a Republican to win local elections, the Democratic primary is always the most packed. The winners in the Democratic primary nearly always prevail come the general election. All five sitting commissioners are Democrats and are running for reelection.

This is the last year that all the commissioner seats will come up for election at the same time. Going forward, the terms will be staggered — instead of all the seats being on the ballot every four years, half the seats will be up for election at a time, with alternating seats up on the ballot every two years. This year’s commissioner election will set the stage for staggered terms. The top two vote getters will serve a full four years. But the third and fourth highest vote getters will only serve two years before their seats are up for election again. They will resume a four-year election schedule after that, with alternating election cycles established.

Swain voters approved the switch to staggered terms in a ballot question in 2012. It passed with 2,912 voters in favor of staggered terms compared to 1,930 against.

Swain Commissioner

Democrat

•David Monteith is the longest serving county commissioner with 16 years on the board. Retired Ingle’s market manager and a school bus driver.

•Donnie Dixon, a machinist at Conmet manufacturing plant, has been on the board for four years, plus a previous term in the 1990s.

•Steve Moon, owner of a tire shop, has served for 8 years.

•Robert White, retired school superintendant, has served for eight years.

•Correna Elders Barker 

•Ben Bushyhead, a retired department director in Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians government. He narrowly lost in the 2006 election for the county board.

•Thomas Ray Simonds, foreman at Owle Construction

•Vida Cody, former county finance director who sued the county for wrongful firing

•Danny Burns, a Pepsi Cola technician 

Republican 

•Carolyn Bair, retired grocery store cashier and fast-food worker.

•Lance Grant II

Swain Comm. Chairman

Democrats

•Phil Carson, on the board for eight years and chairman for the past four, works with his family-owned plumbing business.

•Boyd Gunter, 63, recently retired medical technologist at the VA Hospital in Asheville.

Gunter ran for commissioner four years ago but lost. He lives in the Alarka area. He believes the county’s outlying communities are not currently represented on the board.

Swain Sheriff

About the race: Sheriff Curtis Cochran has served two terms as sheriff. And like his reelection campaign in 2010, he will once again face a suit of challengers, although not nearly as many this go around. When Cochran first won in 2006, the victory was narrow but impressive, as one of the few Republicans to ever serve as sheriff in this predominantly Democratic county — and given his odds as a novice lawman against the sitting sheriff at the time, who was a career law enforcement. Cochran’s first term was a bit rocky, with controversies including inmate escapes, a money-losing jail, and political feud with county commissioners. But his second term has been calm. Can Cochran hang on to the seat again?

Republican

• Sheriff Curtis Cochran

Democrat

•Chuck McMahan retired in 2010 from the North Carolina Highway Patrol after 27 years of service. The candidate said he would like the opportunity to work to keep Swain residents safe. “I think there’s a need and I think I can make a difference.”

•George Powell has taught martial arts for the past three decades, currently overseeing the Shotokan School of Martial Arts and two regional non-profit Christian martial arts organizations. The retired police officer and detention officer previously ran for sheriff eight years ago. If elected, Powell said he would “hold officers accountable for their actions” and “get back to the basics of community policing.”   

•Larry Roland currently works at the Microtel Inn in Bryson City and previously worked for the state prison system. The candidate believes the current powers-that-be are “abusing their powers.” “It’s just time for a change. That’s what everybody says, it’s time for a change.”

•Rocky Sampson 

Unaffiliated

• Odell Chastain is a retired law enforcement officer who has worked at both the city and county level. Chastain said he is seeking office “because I’m a patriotic American and I see that our rights and our liberties are being taken away from us.”

Macon County

Macon Commissioners

What’s up for election: One seat in the Highlands district and two seats in the Franklin district.

About the race: There are three commissioner seats up for election in Macon County: one seat for the district representing the Highlands area and two seats for the district representing the Franklin area. All three incumbents are running.

Do I vote in all the districts, or just mine? Every voter in Macon County gets to vote for every commissioner seat, no matter where you live in the county. While the county is parceled up into three territories for the commissioners race, the geographic districts only apply to the candidates. Candidates must live in the district of the seat they are running for, but that’s the only import of the districts.

Macon commissioner: Highlands district, one seat

Republican 

•Jim Tate is seeking reelection because he wants to “ensure that Macon County will continue to be a great place to live and call home through low taxes, great schools, safe communities and efficient services.” He is president of Tate Landscaping Services, and has served on numerous Highlands town boards.

•John Shearl is a business owner — J&J Lawn and Landscaping Services and Shearl Produce — and former Highlands volunteer firefighter. Currently serving on the Macon County Planning Board, the candidate is seeking a the Highlands commissioner seat with an eye on “lower taxes, limited government and less regulation.”

Democrat

•Michael David Rogers owns a landscaping business. If elected, he plans to focus on attracting business to the area, as well as environmental issues. “I love the mountains and the water and I just don’t like seeing it be trashed out and destroyed.” 

Macon commissioner: Franklin district, two seats

Republican

•Ron Haven, a motel and inn owner and sitting commissioner, said he intends to “keep taxes low” and work to improve the community for future generations. “I’ve got an interest in watching my children grow up and have opportunities in life.”

•Gary Shields, a retired educator and Vietnam veteran, said he feels a sense of  “civic responsibility” to his home. “I care, I care about Macon County. If you’ve got the time, the energy and the want-to, you need to be involved.”

Democrat

• Ronnie Beale is a two-term commissioner who previously served as chairman, and is a leader in the NC Association of County Commissioners. He is president of a construction company and previously served on the planning board.

Libertarian

• John Martin is a “semi-retired entrepreneur” who has worked in the insurance and real estate fields. He wants to “facilitate a better tomorrow” through “long-term sustainable growth.” He intends to work to “keep taxes low” and ensure Macon County is “business friendly.”

“Good jobs in Macon County are getting tougher for people to find today and citizens deserve better.”   

Macon Sheriff

About the race: Since there are only two candidates — both Republicans — whoever wins the primary will be the ultimate winner, since there would be no Democratic challengers to face come fall.

•Robbie Holland, 47, has served as Macon’s sheriff for the past 12 years. He intends to continue the stint.

“I want to continue serving my community and making a difference,” Holland said.

•Bryan Carpenter, Republican, 30, is a local business owner. He is running for office in an effort to “bring the hometown feeling back home.”

Jackson County 

Jackson Sheriff 

About the race:  This promises to be one of the most hotly contested elections in the region this year. Current Sheriff Jimmy Ashe will step down and that has thrown the floodgates wide open for contenders — nine in all.

Candidates were going public months before the official candidate sign-up period in February. And several had turned in their election finance paperwork far in advance so they could start their campaign wheels turning.

Ashe would have been a vulnerable candidate had he decided to run, due to lack of public visibility in recent years and a series of public relations stumbles and controversies.

Democrats:

•Steven Lillard, assistant police chief at Western Carolina University

•Chip Hall, chief deputy in the sheriff’s department

•Glen Biller, a Haywood sheriff’s deputy

•Robin Gunnells, who has a custom truck cover business and has worked in a variety of law enforcement positions

•Doug Farmer, a Sylva police officer

•Michael Gosnell, private security guard in Highlands, with a variety of law enforcement positions over his career 

Republicans:

• Curtis Lambert, a Sylva police office

• Jimmy Hodgins, a retired logger

• Mary Alice Rock, a bail bondsman 

Jackson Commissioner

What’s up for election? Three of the five seats on the board.

About the race: There was a major power shift in county politics four years, after an upset election ushered in a slate of conservative-leaning candidates. Three sitting commissioners, all Democrats, were ousted by three challengers.

It’s hard to say whether the election four years ago was an indictment of the progressive policies of the commisioners at the time, or whether it was trickle-down effect from a national Republican tide that election year.

This year, Democrats are trying to take back the seats they loss, and voters will have a chance to endorse or oust the new leadership that took over four years ago.

Do I vote in all the districts, or just mine? Every voter in Jackson County gets to vote for every commissioner seat, no matter where you live in the county. While the county is parceled up into four territories for the commissioners race, the geographic districts only apply to the candidates. Candidates must live in the district of the seat they are running for, but are elected by voters countywide.

Commissioner chairman

•Jack Debnam, the current commissioner chairman and a Realtor. As an unaffiliated candidate that belongs to neither party, Debnam must gather 1,200 signatures of registered voters to get on the ballot. He has until June. 

•Brian McMahan, a Democrat, previously served as commissioner chairman but lost to Debnam in 2010. The 39-year-old chief of security at Balsam Mountain Preserve is now seeking a rematch.

Jackson commissioner: district that spans from Dillsboro to Qualla 

•Charles Elders, a Republican and sitting commissioner, is the owner/operator of Elder’s Superette. 

•Joe Ward, a Democrat and farmer, is retired from CSX Transportation. 

Jackson commissioner: district that includes Sylva and Scotts Creek

•Doug Cody, a Republican and sitting commissioner, has worked in the insurance industry for 29 years. “I feel that we’ve done a good job and there’s still more to be done, and I want to be part of that.” 

•Boyce Deitz, a Democrat, is a retired teacher and football coach. He coached former U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler as a high school quarterback, and later went to work for the congressman. 

“I have a passion about where I live, our culture and the mountains. People back in the coves and hollers don’t have a voice and I feel that they need one.”

Get an early start on this year’s garden by renting a space for seed flats in the greenhouse at the Old Armory in Waynesville.

Plant your seed trays and then bring them to the greenhouse, where they will be watered daily. Fetch your sprouted seedlings to take back home come planting season.

The cost is $5 per tray with a maximum of five trays per person. Space is limited. Reserve a spot by March 24.

Stop by the armory Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. or Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

828.456.9207 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District has announced the winners of its annual poster and essay contests.

Third- through sixth-grade students participated in the poster contest while the essay contest was open to sixth-grade students. About 200 students participated. This year’s theme was The Living Soil. The first-place poster winner advanced to the Area 1 contest in Waynesville, where they will compete against 15 other Soils and Water Conservation Districts of Area 1. 

Interactive activities for kids have been installed along a 1.3-mile section of trail at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, which has officially joined the network of Kids in Parks TRACK Trails.

“The TRACK Trail provides an educational experience for families that can be accomplished at their own pace,” said Jonathan Marchal, the arboretum youth education manager. “Opportunities for kids to explore their natural world and get their hands dirty are essential, and that’s what the TRACK Trail provides.”

Kids hike with the help of Turtle Tales, which lets them experience the trail from the point of view of Shelly, an eastern box turtle. 

A grand opening for the trail will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 22. There will be a pond exploration, scavenger hunt for soil invertebrates, backyard bird watching advice, butterfly hunt and a tour of the EcoLab classroom.

There are several other kids’ TRACK Trails in the region, developed by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation with funding from a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation grant.

Brochures with suggested adventures and activities are available for each trail, and children can earn prizes for TRACKing their hikes in online nature journals on the Kids in Parks website.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office reminds the public that gathering ginseng on the Nantahala National Forest without a permit is illegal. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to rove the Oconaluftee River Trail, Mountain Farm Museum and fields along Newfound Gap Road near Oconaluftee Visitor Center at the main N.C. entrance to the park outside Cherokee.

A major paddling race will be held on the Nantahala River March 22 and 23, with around 60 of the country’s top slalom paddlers coming from as far away as Colorado, Texas and Washington.

MedWest Haywood will hold another series of community meetings in April and May. Feedback collected from the community during an initial round of public meetings last spring will be shared during the upcoming events.

Last year, Medwest Haywood Health System hosted meetings in an effort to learn how it might better serve the community. 

“I continue to be interested in knowing how our community thinks we are doing, because this is their community hospital,” said MedWest President and CEO Janie Sinacore-Jaberg. “I want to know the good as well as the cases when maybe we didn’t meet expectations, because if we don’t know about it we can’t fix it. We are here for one reason only; to provide safe, excellent care to our community. And it’s important to me that I get out and hear what people have to say.”

The first meeting will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., April 2 in the auditorium at the Haywood Community College. A second meeting will take place from noon until 1 p.m., April 8, at the MedWest Haywood Health and Fitness Center. The third meeting is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m., May 1 at the town hall in Maggie Valley. The final meeting will take place from 6 to 7 p.m., May 5 at the Colonial Theater Annex in Canton. 

Community members may R.S.V.P. by calling 828.452.8883 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To the Editor:

As I discuss the upcoming District 50 senatorial campaign with my neighbors, it is becoming clear to me that they are deeply troubled by the current senator from Franklin.  They are especially disappointed in his unwillingness to support our public schools. They know that the tactics being used by Republicans in the North Carolina legislature now are part of a long-range plan to privatize education. Almost all local school systems recognize this fact and realize they must steel themselves for a struggle against these ill-advised attacks.

Ron Robinson is a voice of reason. He knows that our public schools face great challenges. He wants to work to meet those challenges rather than run from them. He knows that the latest technology must be made available to our students. He knows it is wrong for vouchers to bleed money out of the public schools for which they are constitutionally mandated.

Ron pledges to work with a proven system of public education. He will make every effort to raise all teacher salaries to at least the national average. He will push to restore due process and, thereby, provide a sense of security for them when political changes come about.

I urge you, your friends and family to vote for Ron Robinson in the upcoming election. 

Dave Waldrop

Sylva

To the Editor:

Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. The recent edition of The Smoky Mountain news said this: “Carla Miller, the chair of the Macon County Republican Party, admits there is a right-wing faction of the party, but said that faction does not represent the party as a whole. Miller specifically cited the Freedom Works (sic) group as being outside the mainstream of the local party.” Curiously, unless I am mistaken, Miller and her husband have attended at least the last three FreedomWorks meetings, and I’m sure they are welcome and encouraged to continue. Evidently, they felt attending so worthwhile they invited Commissioner Jimmy Tate to attend the most recent meeting, which he did.

FreedomWorks exists to provide conservative ideas in contrast to the Republican Party, which seems to have strayed from the reservation. I became a registered Republican in 1956 and have voted Republican in every election, national and local, since. Shortly after arriving in Macon County, I was asked to run the Republican Party Men’s Club, which I was pleased to do. Later, I was elected Chairman of the Macon County Republican Party.  Sometime after I served my term, the principles of the party changed to the extent that I felt compelled to start the Macon County Chapter of FreedomWorks.  

Further quoting the SMN, concerning the challenge of Gary Shields’ residency: “I see this as being the Freedom Works (sic) people retaliating against moderate Republicans and Democrats, saying you are not going to take away our one candidate.” This statement was made by Corey Duvall, Macon County Democrat chair. I am curious how a Republican lodging a challenge against a Republican involves the Democrats in any way. I guess the wisdom of a 22-year-old is beyond my understanding.

I like Gary Shields. We have been more or less friends since I came to Macon County 20 years ago. I hope we continue to be on good terms. I like him and respect him. We just differ in our politics. He describes himself as “purple,” I describe myself as “red.”

Don Swanson

Franklin

The acclaimed classical music duo of Alyona Aksyonova and James Waldo will be featured at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 24, in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.

The concert is a benefit for the United Christian Ministries of Jackson County and the WCU Honors College’s student study abroad fund. A reception will be held following the evening concert.

Aksyonova, a pianist from Russia, and Waldo, an American cellist, met and began playing together while attending graduate studies at Mannes College in New York City. Based in Manhattan, the duo is beginning its second season of professional engagements this spring, including performances at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, and appearances in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The program for the concert will include works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Ayumi Okada, Alexander Scriabin, Chandler Carter and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Funding for the A.W. Duo’s appearance at WCU is being provided by Dr. Mark Whitehead and his wife, Kathy Whitehead, both members of the Honors College’s Advisory Board from Highlands.

Prior to the March 24 performance, Aksyonova and Waldo will present a workshop focusing on the business aspects of their artistic lives at 4 p.m. in the Catamount Room of WCU’s A.K. Hinds University Center. The workshop is open to the public.

Tickets are $5 for students and $15 for all others.

828.227.7383 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A celebration of Appalachian storytelling, music and drama, The Liar’s Bench will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 20, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

Storyteller Gary Carden will begin the program with his opening monologue, followed by singer and instrumentalist Paul Iarussi and Cherokee storyteller Lloyd Arneach. Carden will then present a preview of his new play, “Tuckasegee Rising.” The staged reading, which expands upon the material presented at the Mountain Heritage Center last June, will feature narrator Tom DeWeese, as well as Newt Smith in the role of the Pied Piper, with additional commentary by Carden and Dave Waldrop.

This dramatic work-in-progress owes its origin to the historical account of the drowning of 19 African-American chain-gang laborers in the Tuckasegee River on December 30, 1882. The event took place while they were working on the Cowee Tunnel, a vital component of the newly constructed Western Carolina Railroad, which marked the 19th century onset of industrial development in the Appalachian region.

Free.

828.227.7129.

Highly-acclaimed Christian rock bands Audio Adrenaline, Kutless, Finding Favour and Shine Bright Baby will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, March 21, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Audio Adrenaline formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University. In 1999, their third album “Bloom” was certified gold. Soon after, they were asked to open for DC Talk on their Jesus Freak World Tour in 1999. The group co-founded a venture called the Hands and Feet Project. As part of this organization, Audio Adrenaline helped build an orphanage in Haiti. 

Kutless has sold over three million records worldwide and released their most current album, Believer, in 2012. Believer debuted at number one on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. 

Tickets start at $15 each.

www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

The 17th Annual Greening Up the Mountains festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in downtown Sylva.

Renowned country group the Zac Brown Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at Harrah’s Cherokee.

Americana/country act The Malpass Brothers will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

Jackson County Republicans have been busy during the winter season finalizing plans for their 2014 annual county convention, the NCGOP Convention and arranging for offices in Cashiers and Sylva. The annual convention and precinct meetings will be held on Friday, March 21 at the Jackson County Senior Center Heritage Room in Sylva. The 2014 Republican headquarters offices, slated to open on or around April 1, are located in Cashiers, at Laurel Terrace on Highway 64 East, and in Sylva at 58 Sunrise Park. These locations were also used as Republican offices in 2012. 

Registration for the county’s fourteen precinct meetings begins at 5 p.m. Participants will elect precinct officers and select delegates and alternates to attend and speak for Jackson County at the county, district and state conventions. To be eligible, delegates and alternates must live in Jackson County and be registered Republicans as of January 31, 2014. 

The convention features two speakers. Michelle Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, is expected to report on what will be offered at the state NCGOP Convention to be held in June in Cherokee. Nick Tennyson, chief deputy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and former mayor of Durham, will also be speaking.  

Also at the convention, Republican candidate attendees will be available to meet, greet and answer questions. Among the candidates expected to attend are Jackson County commissioners Jack Debnam (unaffiliated), Doug Cody and Charles Elders. State Senator Jim Davis, U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows and District Judge Donna Forga, all in reelection races, will also attend. Primary race candidates slated to attend are Dodie Allen, Mike Clampitt and Aaron Littlefield for election to District 119 of the state House of Representatives and three candidates for Jackson County sheriff,  Jimmy Hudgins, Curtis Lambert and Mary Rock.

Jackson County Republican Party Chair Ralph Slaughter of Cashiers, who will be heading the convention committee, has announced that “Republicans, conservatives, constitutionalists, unaffiliateds, Libertarians and Tea Party members interested in attending the Convention are welcome” 

Reservations may be made by calling 828.743.6491, or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Further information may be found on the organization’s website, www.jacksoncountygop.com.

By Melanie Threlkeld McConnell • Correspondent

Here is a simple solution for stimulating the economy in this country: give women equal pay for equal work, said author and activist Gloria Steinem, during a recent speech at Western Carolina University.

Students and visitors to the Western Carolina University campus, whether in a car or on roller skates, will soon have a few dollars more of incentive to follow the school’s rules governing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The WCU Board of Trustees approved an increase for a number of citation fees during its March 7 meeting. 

A new bakery and bistro is coming to downtown Sylva. The Perk & Pastry Bistro will offer a wide array of pastries and baked goods, espresso drinks, breakfast, lunch and house-made gourmet grab-and-go items. The new business plans to open in early April.

The new bakery — a venture being launched by City Lights Café owners Bernadette Peters and Pat Thomas — will be located at 506 W. Main Street, the former Main Street Bakery and Annie’s Bakery location. With the loss of Annie’s, followed by the closure of Main Street Bakery, Peters and Thomas feel there is a need in downtown Sylva for a sustainable bakery.

“Having been involved with the Main Street Sylva Association and having started City Lights Café three years ago, we realized that the town needs more restaurants and retailers in order to thrive,” explained Peters. “The Association formed a committee to recruit key businesses to Sylva and highlight our town. We decided to step up and be a part of that by reopening the bakery.”

The Perk & Pastry will feature plenty of gluten-free and traditional sweet and savory baked goods. A new self-service bar will be added to for convenient in-and-out purchases of coffee, pastries, salads and sandwiches. A full service espresso menu will be available as well as locally made goat cheese, house-made salsas, salads, hummus and soups. Made-to-order breakfast burritos and bagel sandwiches will be offered for breakfast, as well as some of Main Street’s most popular cold sandwiches, paninis and salads.

As the owners open the new bakery, City Lights Café will no longer be open for breakfast during the week. The café will continue serving lunch and dinner seven days a week, including breakfast and brunch on the weekends.

For more information, call 678.643.3899 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The trio of Christian ministries and advocates for the disadvantaged looking to transform the old state prison in Hazelwood into a place of renewal will look to the community to guide its next steps. 

“We hope to look at the total community and seek to identify gaps in services to meet basic human needs,” said Patsy Dowling, executive director of Mountain Projects, which is a nonprofit that carries out a host of social service programs. 

The groups will meet with interested community members at 4 p.m. March 18 at the Haywood County Senior Resources Center on Elmwood Way in Waynesville. The interactive meeting will cover many aspects of the project, including fundraising. 

The vision is for the old prison on Brown Avenue to become a transitional home for recently released inmates, a temporary shelter for homeless people and a second location for Open Door Ministries to serve hot meals to those who need them. Organizers are currently working with Haywood County commissioners, who support the idea, to come up with a lease and a Memorandum of Understanding.

The Cullowhee Rock & Rumble Fest will attract college students from a several state area for a rock climbing and bouldering competition at Western Carolina University on Saturday, March 22.

The sixth annual event will be hosted by the WCU climbing team and Base Camp Cullowhee. It is sanctioned by the USA Climbing Collegiate Climbing Series, but students enrolled at any college or university can participate. Points are awarded for successful sends, with deductions based on the number of falls.  

Competition begins at 10 a.m. at the Campus Recreation Center on Base Camp Cullowhee’s climbing wall. 

828.227.3633 or www.basecamp.wcu.edu.

A documentary about natural gas “fracking” in America, “Gasland Part 2,” will be screened in Sylva on Saturday, March 22, at the Jackson County Public Library.

A presentation on fracking will be held at 6:30 p.m. by Clean Water for North Carolina, with the film starting at 7 p.m.

Last year, the N.C. legislature sanctioned a feasibility study on natural gas extraction in the mountains, prompting attention from state and regional environmental groups.

The free screening is being sponsored by The Canary Coalition and www.occupywnc. 828.631.3447 or www.canarycoalition.org.

With spring around the corner, campgrounds and secondary roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are reopening for the year. The schedule for facilities on the N.C. side of the park is:

• Scenic roads: Clingmans Dome Road will open on April 1; Heintooga Ridge and Balsam Mountain roads will open on May 23. 

• Campgrounds: Big Creek, Deep Creek, Cataloochee campgrounds will open April 11; Smokemont campground will open May 15; Balsam Mountain campground will open May 23;

• Horse Camps: Cataloochee will open April 4 and Big Creek on April 11. The Smokemont Riding Stable will open March 22.

• Picnic areas: Collins Creek picnic area will open on April 4; Big Creek picnic area will open on April 11 and Heintooga picnic area will open on May 23.

Jim Costa, a biology professor at Western Carolina University and the Director of the Highlands Biological Station, has been nominated for the Roosevelt-Ashe Conservation Awards to be given out by Wild South later this month.

The awards recognize and honor outstanding work to protect wild places and wild things in the South. Nominees hail from five Southern states and exemplify dedication and passion for environmental conservation. 

“It takes working together with partners all across our region to provide landscape-level protection,” said Benjamin Colvin, Wild South’s Development Director. “We believe it is vital to recognize and celebrate the incredible work being done to unite voices for environmental protection, to promote conservation science and education, to advocate for wildlife, and to protect cultural heritage on public lands.”

An antique window was stolen from an historic cabin in the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The volunteer battalion of the Watershed Association of the Tuckaseigee River is looking for new recruits to help monitor water quality in creeks and rivers in Jackson and Swain counties.

A dicey section of the long-distance Benton MacKaye hiking trail that forced hikers to walk along the side of a narrow highway in Graham County will soon be re-routed off-road as a proper trail should be.

Trail runners will scramble, scratch and claw their way to the 5,810-foot summit of Pinnacle Park in Sylva during the annual Assault on Black Rock trail run held Saturday, March 22.

By John Beckman • Columnist

After the hard winter of sub-zero temperatures, heavy snows and power outages our region and much of the nation has seen in 2014, I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of people desperately hoping for an early spring. For them, the end of winter — with frozen pipes, cars in ditches, wet muddy clothes and way too much “emergency living” — cannot come soon enough. 

It's not just the usual lot of spring-fevered gardeners and farmers chomping to get the first peas and mustards in the ground, or the hikers, birders and climbers looking for a chance to enjoy their hobbies with fewer chances of freezing to death. People in the construction and landscaping/grading business are likewise hoping for a stretch in the weather when the ground is neither frozen solid or too soupy to work, if you can get to the job to start with.