Spring and summer mean more time outdoors, but they also mean tick season. Ticks can carry serious diseases like Lyme disease, so take these steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. Haywood County Environmental Health offers these simple tips: 

• Dress Smart:

Wear long sleeves, long pants and closed-toe shoes. Tuck pants into socks to keep ticks from crawling up your legs.

• Use Repellent:

Apply EPA-registered insect repellents that contain DEET, picaridin or permethrin (on clothing only).

• Stay on Trails:

Avoid tall grass, brush and wooded areas where ticks thrive. Stick to the center of hiking trails.

• Check Yourself and Pets:

After being outdoors, do a full-body tick check. Don’t forget behind the knees, underarms and scalp. Check pets, too.

• Shower Soon:

Showering within two hours of coming inside can help remove ticks and reduce your risk of infection.

• Remove Ticks Promptly:

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick close to the skin and pull upward steadily. Clean the bite area with alcohol or soap and water.

• Stay safe, stay vigilant and enjoy the outdoors responsibly.

For more information, visit cdc.gov/ticks.

Full-time residents of Haywood, Jackson and Buncombe counties can save money playing golf at Lake Junaluska Golf Course with a seasonal rate discount card. 

People can get their Lake Junaluska Summer Activity Passes now. Enjoy admission to the lakeside pool all summer long as well as discounts on recreation, shopping and dining at Lake Junaluska. Passes are valid from May 24 through Sept. 1, 2025, and are now available online at bit.ly/LJSummerPasses. 

The National Park Service has selected LeConte Lodge L.P. as the concessioner for the new contract to provide services at LeConte Lodge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This contract will be effective for 10 years from 2025 to 2035. 

Lake Junaluska’s Spring Plant Sale will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym.  

For sale will be a few thousand plants, including an assortment of annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables, hanging baskets and several varieties of native plants from the Corneille Bryan Native Garden, said Melissa Marshall, Lake Junaluska director of grounds. 

Equipment and personnel have arrived in Haywood County to begin removing debris at 22 sites along the Pigeon River. 

The initial focus of the debris removal will be on things like downed trees, appliances and vehicles that, if dislodged and sent downstream, could cause further catastrophic damage.

Youth who exhibited livestock at the N.C. State Fair are eligible to apply for N.C. State Fair Junior Livestock Scholarships.

The application period is open through March 1. Up to 25 $2,000 scholarships are available, in addition to one $2,500 Farm Credit of N.C. Premier Scholarship.

The N.C. Forest Service has reinstated the requirement for open burning permits in Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties. 

North Carolina Amateur Sports announced that the Cycle North Carolina Mountain Ride is headed to Jackson County Aug. 1-3, 2025.  Registration for the 2025 Mountain Ride is now open at ncsports.org. 

Organizers with the Mountain State Fair sponsored by Ingles Markets are busy preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fair with the new entertainment and an expanded Got to Be NC Pavilion featuring 22 new outdoor vendors.