When bulldozers began demolishing trees on a hillside overlooking Waynesville’s main commercial thoroughfare this summer, Byron Hickox was bombarded by a flood of inquiries from suddenly civic-minded citizens.

The highly visible slope along Russ Avenue was denuded in a matter of weeks, followed by a steady parade of dump trucks carting off soil.

“I was getting five calls a day,” said Hickox, who works in the Waynesville town planning office.

Some wanted to know what in tarnation was happening to the mountainside along the town’s most well-traveled corridor. The clear-cut is even visible from the Laurel Ridge Golf Course two miles away, pointed out Chuck Worrell, a local business owner and golfer.

“It is going to be such an eyesore,” Worrell said.

Others were simply curious what was afoot.

“People wanted to know what was going in there, and the answer was nothing,” Hickox said.

Not a Taco Bell, not a Chick-fil-A, and definitely not a Cracker Barrel. The dozers weren’t clearing the way for anything in particular. It turns out the goal of the earth-moving venture was the earth-moving itself. The soil was mined to feed a federal clean-up of contamination at a former apple orchard in Haywood County. Arsenic-laced pesticides had polluted the soil there over the decades, but it was discovered only after the land was turned into a housing development.

The Barbers Orchard site landed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list, triggering a $15 million federal clean-up, according to the EPA.

The massive operation called for digging up the top foot of soil from 88 acres, trucking it off and hauling in clean dirt to replace it with — more than 100,000 cubic yards of dirt in all.

Caroline-A-Contracting, run by Burton and Caroline Edwards of Maggie Valley, landed a $3 million contract to provide all that dirt and began looking for places to get it from. The 3.5-acre site on Russ Avenue across from Kmart — a stone’s throw from the highway and a straight-shot to Barbers Orchard — was a prime candidate.

“We purchased it mainly for the dirt,” Caroline Edwards said of the site on Russ Avenue. “We really don’t have any plans.”

The hope, of course, is that the previously forested and steep hillside is now more attractive to a potential developer looking for a visible lot on the town’s prime commercial corridor.

The site is still steep, but it has the making of a switchback driveway leading to a modest flat spot carved into the hillside about half-way up — hopefully making it marketable. So far, there are no takers, but grading only recently wrapped up.

“We are open to whatever,” Caroline Edwards said.

Selling dirt for the Superfund clean-up subsidized the cost of buying, clearing and grading the site, but fell short of bankrolling it entirely.

“By no means did we sell enough dirt to pay for it,” Caroline Edwards said of the property.

According to county property records, the site was purchased for $225,000.

The Russ Avenue property wasn’t the only one — not even the main one — used as a source for clean soil. A much larger digging operation in Maggie Valley supplied most of the clean soil, on a site owned by Burton Edward’s father, Kyle Edwards.

That site was a major nuisance to Chuck Worrell, the owner of High Country Furniture on Dellwood Road, which is located near the soil mining operation. The equipment was noisy, mud ran down the road, trucks tore up the road, and dust blew everywhere, Worrell said.

“I can’t even open the windows because the dust comes through there,” Worrell said.

Both sites were under the erosion control jurisdiction of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Wayne Watkins, a state erosion control officer based in Asheville, was assigned to monitor the work. He ended up with his fair share of calls from the public as well.

“Anytime people start cutting trees, the general public has a varying degree of sensitivity to that. Some see it as foul play and others don’t understand it is a work in progress,” Watkins said.

On a few occasions, Watkins had to ask the Edwards to fix erosion control measures, but they “responded appropriately,” Watkins said. Watkins required them to put in additional silt fences and beef up their groundcover of the bare soil in places. The Maggie Valley dirt-mining site even experienced at small slide that had to be stabilized, Watkins said.

The clock is ticking on what will be a rigorous and thorough process to replace long-time Waynesville Town Manager Lee Galloway.

A series of meetings was held in Waynesville Nov. 16-17 by the firm hired to steer the town through the process, Developmental Associates. The firm’s Stephen Straus met with aldermen, town staff, the business community and the public to gauge their perception of challenges facing Waynesville and important traits for a new manager.

“I can tell you there will be a lot of interest in this job. The town of Waynesville is in an enviable position,” Straus told about 20 community members attending one of the public sessions.

Straus said Galloway’s long tenure in Waynesville and his leadership role in state local government associations means a lot of potential managers are aware of the town and its reputation.

“We have contacted some people who are in this profession, and there are others who just know. There is lots of interest,” Straus said.

At one of the public sessions, there was universal praise for the job Galloway has done in Waynesville. Former Mayor Henry Foy touted the town manager’s demeanor in handling problems, wondering how Developmental Associates’ process will find a similar personality.

“You never see anyone come into Lee’s office who leaves mad,” Foy said. “How do you evaluate that kind of professionalism?”

Straus said perhaps the most important tool he has in finding someone who possesses similar traits to Galloway is Galloway himself.

“Quite often a community or a board does not want a departing manager’s input, but that’s not the case here. Lee has already helped me get names, and he will help look at credentials,” said Straus.

Some of the challenges facing Waynesville, according to those attending the meeting, are: aging infrastructure; continuity of land-use planning; maintaining the emphasis on walkable communities and smart growth; economic development; and realizing that Waynesville is a tourist town.

According to Straus, the town board is still working out what the salary range will be for the new manager. He hopes to post the employment ad in newspapers and professional journals after Thanksgiving and run it the entire month of December.

Following that, the plan is to start screening candidates by Jan. 9, and narrow the pool to about eight candidates. At the end of the process, Straus said the town board will likely ask up to four candidates it thinks are capable of doing the job to visit Waynesville. The board’s challenge, he said, will be to determine which of those is best suited for Waynesville.

Galloway started working as Waynesville’s town manager in March 1994 and will retire in June 2012.

A challenger for the mayor’s seat in Waynesville protested the election results this week, claiming residents of a new apartment complex were disenfranchised.

A mapping error caused temporary confusion on Election Day over whether residents of the apartment complex were eligible to vote in the town election.

Hugh Phillips, who lost his bid for mayor by 31 votes, filed a formal protest with the Haywood County Board of Elections calling for a special election that would give 81 registered voters living in The Laurels at Junaluska a second chance to cast ballots.

The protest was denied, however, after the election board ruled that there was no evidence any voter was turned away from the polls or prevented from casting ballots.

“I can’t find that we denied anybody the right to vote,” said Grover Bradshaw, a member of the Haywood Election Board.

Phillips plans to appeal to the N.C. Board of Elections.

Phillips was joined in the protest by a resident of the apartment complex, Ed Henderson, who ultimately voted in the election but not without some hang-up. Henderson went to the polls the morning of Election Day and popped his head in to ask whether his name was on the roster as being eligible to vote in the town election.

“I didn’t think I was in the city, but I wanted to make sure. They could not find me so I simply said ‘thank you’ and turned and left. I didn’t fuss or protest because I thought they very well might be correct,” Henderson said.

The Laurels at Junaluska is on the outskirts of town. The apartment complex for elderly and disabled residents was built in 2007. It’s located near the Junaluska Golf Course, off of Russ Avenue past K-Mart. This was the first town election since the complex opened.

Because of a mapping error, it didn’t show up in the election database as being inside the town limits.

Once back at his apartment complex, however, Henderson decided to double-check with the apartment manager to determine if they were in the town limits, he said.

“I have been a voter all my life. I have never missed an election,” Henderson said.

When he learned they in fact were in the town limits, he called the county election office, which put him on hold to figure out what had gone wrong.

Henderson said county election workers were “profusely apologetic.”

“They said if you will please go back down to the precinct we will make sure your vote is taken. They were very concerned that I have that opportunity,” Henderson said. “I certainly don’t perceive this as being a deliberate act. It was a clerical error.”

Meanwhile, a couple who lives in the apartment complex had also come to the polls to vote, but unlike Henderson who informally popped his head to see if his name was on the roster, they officially presented themselves to vote. Precinct workers couldn’t find their name on the list.

In practice, the couple should have gotten special paper ballots. Known as provisional ballots, they would have been set aside and dealt with after the polls closed.

Poll workers are given marching orders that no one leaves without voting, according to O.L. Yates, chairman of the Haywood election board.

“Everybody that comes in, if we can’t find them, we give them a provisional vote,” Yates said. Election workers later research whether the voter is indeed eligible, and if so, the “provisional ballots” are tallied into the results.

In this case, however, the couple became angry when their name wasn’t on the voting roster and left before poll workers could offer them provisional ballots, said Robert Inman, the Haywood County election director.

“(She) was upset and decided to leave before there was an exchange of communication that would have led to her casting a provisional ballot,” Inman said.

Even though the couple left, the poll workers called the county election office and reported the incident. They researched the couple’s name and address and discovered the mapping error. The couple was contacted and asked to come back in and vote, which they did.

The mapping error was fixed and all residents of the apartment complex were added to the voting roster by 10:45 a.m. on Election Day. Both Henderson and the couple who were initially told they weren’t on the roster came back in and voted. Ultimately, nine residents of The Laurels at Junaluska voted in the election.

“If you had been denied your right to vote we would have a problem with it because we don’t want to deny anybody the right to vote,” Yates told Henderson at a hearing on his election protest Monday, Nov. 21.

Henderson agreed there is no way of knowing whether anyone tried to vote and couldn’t, especially since the error was fixed by mid-morning.

Yet Henderson believes that everyone who lives at The Laurels was disenfranchised from the outset — simply by not knowing whether they were in the town limits in the first place.

“They had no idea they were eligible for this election,” Henderson said.

Anyone in the apartment complex who had registered to vote in the past four years had been issued incorrect voter registration cards that failed to include they are eligible to vote in town elections. Phillips questioned whether voters may have called the election office in advance of the election to see if they were eligible to vote, and being told no, never bothered to come to the polls in order to cast a provisional ballot.

Inman said that while the mapping error is regrettable and being taken seriously, the election board isn’t responsible for making sure people know whether they reside in the town limits.

Henderson pointed out that in such a close election — only a 31-vote spread between Mayor Gavin Brown and Phillips — the voters in the apartment complex could have swung the election had they voted. Only nine of the 90 registered voters in the apartment complex cast ballots.

“The 81 votes that were not cast could potentially effect the outcome for mayor,” Henderson said.

“We can’t be responsible for the ‘what if’s’ if they did and ‘what if’s’ if they didn’t,” Yates replied. “We can’t be responsible for the 81 people who didn’t vote.”

That’s the whole point of provisional ballots, Yates said. Anyone who shows up to vote gets to do so, even if they have to fill out a paper ballot and have it verified later.

“If they had gone by their precinct, they would have gotten a provisional ballot,” Yates said.

Besides, the only remedy would be to hold an entirely new election. It would be illegal to hold a special second election for a select group of residents in the apartment complex, said Chip Killian, the attorney for the county election board.

Holding a new election for the whole town would cost $10,000 to $15,000 dollars, Yates said.

Hugh Phillips said he doesn’t want to cost the county the money of holding a second election but doesn’t think it is fair that people were led to believe they weren’t in the town limits and that they may have voted otherwise.

“I hold the Town of Waynesville and Haywood County responsible for this snafu,” Phillips wrote in his election protest. “Someone in the town or county should have made known to the Board of Elections that these residents were citizens of the town and had the right to vote.”

Phillips said he got a list of registered voters from the election board when campaigning, and that list didn’t include The Laurels at Junaluska. As a result, he didn’t reach out to them with his candidate message.

Henderson made it clear in his protest that he wasn’t happy with the election outcome. He wanted Phillips to win.

But he says even if Phillips had won, he still would have filed his election protest on principle.

A baby bear went on a romp through downtown Waynesville last week before finally being cornered and captured by police officers on a preschool playground on Main Street.

The bear was first spotted on the playground of the First United Methodist Church preschool. Preschool staff called the police department then tracked the bear cub as it moved through downtown, keeping tabs on its whereabouts until police arrived.

Two blocks later, it jumped the fence of another preschool playground, First Baptist Church.

It was a stroke of luck for those trying to catch the bear. The sunken playground is surrounded by a brick wall or fence on all sides. A growing field of spectators pitched in, surrounding the playground and running interference to keep the bear confined while waiting for an animal control officer.

By now, three Waynesville police officers had arrived and orchestrated the efforts to keep the bear inside the playground, shooing and clapping at it each time it attempted to scale the wall or climb the fence. But the cub was growing increasingly agitated, fueled partly by the mounting number of onlookers with cell phone cameras encircling the playground. One spectator fetched a rope from his truck, tied a loop in it and began trying to lasso the bear cub.

With still no sign of animal control officers and no indication of how soon they would arrive, Waynesville Police Officer Kenny Aldridge decided the officers needed to act.

He jumped the fence into the playground and began working the bear cub into a corner.

“I was somewhat concerned about all the people. A small bear can still do major damage,” Aldridge said. “I was also afraid it would get spooked and get out in traffic.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Micah Phillips donned his leather gloves and began moving in on the bear. Aldridge chased the cub toward a brick wall, and as it began to scramble up, Phillips seized the moment. He dashed up behind the bear and quick as a flash grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.

The bear cub turned into a writhing, flailing ball of fur and claws, which were easily two inches long despite his stature of only 20 pounds or so. Letting go wasn’t an option at this point, so Phillips held tight, even as the bear cub extended both his paws, and reached behind his head groping for his captor. The bear’s claws closed in on Phillips’ wrist, but luckily his gloves proved just long enough — the bear’s groping claws came within half an inch of the top of Phillips’ gloves. Phillips strolled out of the playground, opened the back door of his patrol car and flung the bear inside before slamming the car door.

“I’ve never grabbed a bear before,” Phillips said. When asked how he knew his gloves were just long enough to spare his wrist from being torn to shreds, “That was just a gamble,” he said.

The baby bear’s mother was nowhere to be seen — perhaps killed, but most likely out of the picture due to the food shortage facing black bears throughout the mountains this fall. Mothers unable to provide for all their young will abandon some of their cubs. A cub going into the winter without its mother is certain death, however. The cubs don’t yet know how to find food on their own, nor do they understand how to den up and hibernate for the long winter.

Making matters worse, the bear cub had not faired well on its own and was clearly malnourished and underweight for its age, hardly equipped to survive the cold season ahead.

The bear cub was taken to a bear rehabilitation and rescue center where it will spend the winter and then be released into the wild next summer.

A discussion regarding the fate of old restrooms at the Waynesville Recreation Park has prompted town officials to take another look at its recreation master plan.

The recreation advisory committee will not just look at renovating the run-down and often vandalized restrooms but also consider the “wider use of that area,” said Assistant Town Manager Alison Melnikova.

The town wants to replace the old restrooms located between the Waynesville playground and tennis courts off Marshall Street. The brick bathhouse dates back to the town’s former outdoor pool, which was bulldozed 10 years ago.

The restrooms have been vandalized several times over the years, and despite frequent cleanings of the facilities, the inside of the restrooms were usually trashed with graffiti and occasionally the sinks and fixtures were ripped off the walls. The state of the bathrooms have been a source of complaints from the public.

In May, arsonists set the restrooms on fire. The town received about $97,000 in insurance money as a result. It could go a long way toward renovating the restrooms and adjacent maintenance storage.

“With some work, we feel that it is possible that the building might be converted for year-around restrooms and that perhaps the other space could be renovated and used for storage or even meetings for clubs or groups connected with various recreation programs,” Town Manager Lee Galloway wrote in a report for the board of aldermen earlier this month.

The town board decided to hold off on moving ahead with renovations to the restrooms, however, and instead revisit long-range plans for the park through the recreation master plan.

Currently, a chain-link fence surrounds the restrooms, and the town has put out port-a-johns for people to use instead.

The town’s master plan was created in 2006 and details possible improvements to Waynesville’s parks. The plan would turn the area near the dilapidated restrooms into a putt-putt course and indoor tennis facility.

The parks and recreation department plans to hold a public forum early next year to discuss the master plan and possible updates to the town parks system.

“The park has looked like that, as you see it, for at least 10 years,” said Rhett Langston, executive director of the Waynesville Recreation Center. “It’s certainly nothing due to lack of planning.”

However, the parks and recreation is not designed to earn much money, Langston said, and a good portion of the department’s budget has gone toward building and running the new recreation center, including purchasing new equipment and replacing the roof.

Set in the Haywood Arts Regional Theater, the cast of “Ah, Wilderness!” spent a rainy evening preparing for its impending opening night.

The actors practiced their lines and movements, making all the blunders of a good rehearsal. One of the crew sat stage left following line-by-line and interrupted to correct the actors or answer their call for “Line.”

Director Wanda Taylor sat several rows from the front with her rescue dog, Nora, at her feet, typing comments on her laptop and occasionally laughing at an amusing line or action.

“Every play that I have directed I just love directing,” said Taylor, who has been a part of HART since 1988 as both an actress and director. “It is always fun for me to watch the characters develop.”

A handful of others watched from various seats in the house.

“Ah, Wilderness!” is the only comedy written by Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O’Neill, who is more commonly known for his dramas including “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”

The play is set in New England on July 4, 1906, and focuses on life in the Miller family — particularly Richard. During the weekend, Richard, an almost 17-year-old boy, has his first experiences with love, alcohol and prostitution.

“There is an undercurrent of poignancy, sweetness to it,” Taylor said.

It is a “wish play,” she said. “This is his family the way he wished it was.”

“Long Day’s Journey Into Night” is about the family he actually had.

O’Neill was born in 1888 to two actors and spent much of his early life traveling with his parents. His brother suffered from alcoholism and drank himself to death. O’Neill was a depressed alcoholic as well. He married several times and had three children. His two sons followed a similar path of depression and addiction. Both eventually committed suicide. His daughter married the famous silent film actor and producer Charlie Chaplin when she was 18.

O’Neill died in 1953.

The Process

Steven Lloyd, executive director of the theater, chooses the season and assigns a director to each play based on who expresses an interest. “Ah, Wilderness!” was slated as the theater’s final performance of the season.

The cast began rehearsing in late September after holding open auditions, Taylor said.

“It’s a nice mixture of experienced actors and inexperienced ones,” Taylor said.

There are 15 parts in the play, eight of which are filled by people new to HART.

Miles Rice, a 22-year-old from Weaverville, had auditioned for a production at HART once before but landed his first role with the theater. Rice will play Wint Selby, a college student who gets Richard Miller into some adult trouble.

“There is a lot of growth to (the play), but there is a lot of want and need for maturity,” he said.

Rice said he has enjoyed getting to know everyone, but he is also ready to perform for an audience and get their feedback.

Bryan Nicholls, a 24-year-old Sylva native, has performed in 11 shows at the theater. Nicholls has participated mostly in musicals, which are usually over-the-top.

“To really come down to earth and play something real … is a challenge,” he said.

Nicholls said part of the reason he keeps performing at HART is because of the bond the casts form during rehearsal.

“It’s a family,” he said

In fact, some of the cast is family. It includes a husband and wife, and father and stepdaughter. The father and stepdaughter actually play father and daughter in “Ah, Wilderness!”

Once the cast was chosen, the first couple weeks were spent blocking, or planning each character’s movements. About two weeks ago, set construction began — in this case, a white house that takes up most of the stage, a dinner table with chairs and a porch with a white wicker love seat, a couple chairs and forest green rocking chair.

Last week, the actors went off-book, meaning they would have to recite their lines from memory.

With their lines mostly memorized, the cast and crew will spend this week tweaking their performance and adding little touches that make the characters seem more realistic.

“It always comes together,” Taylor said.

The play will run for two weekends in the 255-seat auditorium.

What: “Ah, Wilderness!”

When: 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11-12, Nov. 18-19; 3 p.m. on Nov. 20.

Where: Haywood Regional Arts Theater, Waynesville.

How much: $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, $8 for students, and special $5 student tickets on Thursdays and Sunday.

828.456.6322 or www.harttheater.com

All of Waynesville’s current leaders managed to hang on to their seats despite an impressive challenge mounted by a contender for mayor.

Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown nearly lost his seat to Hugh Phillips, the general manager of Bi-Lo grocery store. Brown won by only 31 votes out of a total 1,445 cast in the mayor’s race.

It was Phillips second unsuccessful attempt for the mayor’s seat.

Brown, an attorney who makes a habit of mingling with the business community and the Main Street crowd, said he has apparently not done a good job connecting with a segment of Waynesville’s population.

“Mr. Phillips and his supporters represent a very important segment of the community and perhaps I haven’t recognized that,” Brown said. “You can never get ahead of your troops as a leader. Today they said ‘Gavin, you may be leaving me behind.’”

Brown is a visionary and idea man, focused on the long-range, big picture view for the town.

“Maybe I am too big picture,” Brown said. “If you are worried about your pay check and gas bill, how do you worry about something happening 20 years from now.”

Meanwhile, as the general manager of a grocery store, Phillips comes into contact with hundreds of average, blue-collar shoppers every week, who likely formed the backbone of his constituency. In some of Waynesville’s outlying precincts, Phillips carried the vote. But the in-town precincts — with neighborhoods like Eagle’s Nest, Waynesville Country Club, Auburn Park and the historic downtown neighborhoods — pushed Brown over the edge to victory.

Aldermen Gary Caldwell, Wells Greeley and Leroy Roberson will all return to the board. They will be joined by a newcomer, Julia Boyd Freeman, who will fill the seat of Libba Feichter, who decided not to run.

Freeman said she was “giddy” after hearing that she will have a place on the board and looks forward to working with her fellow aldermen.

“I really think we will work together and be a cohesive board,” Freeman said. “I think the world of the incumbents.”

While Freeman did not run a negative campaign against the current leaders, a block of supporters did. The Waynesville-Haywood Concerned Citizens, a conservative-leaning political action committee, as well as the local Republican Party, campaigned on Freeman’s behalf — and against the incumbents. Freeman said she did not solicit their endorsement but was happy to have it.

For Greeley, it was his first bona fide election in Waynesville after initially being appointed to the town board three years ago to fill the empty seat of an alderman who passed away.

“I’m just overwhelmed and humbled by the support I was given,” Greeley said. “To get elected is a very rewarding thing for me.”

Both Freeman and Greeley agreed that the most pressing concern for the new board is the replacement of long-time town manager Lee Galloway, who will retire in April.

One of the top issues that ended up dominating the Waynesville town election, however, was Cracker Barrel — or rather the lack thereof. A great debate broke out in the weeks preceding the election over whether a Cracker Barrel was blocked from coming here by the town’s development standards. In fact, the case of Cracker Barrel, it was a matter of economics: Waynesville’s population and traffic count wasn’t big enough to support a Cracker Barrel, according to the Realtor trying to market property to the company.

But the story spread, thanks largely to a political action committee that created a web site and took out newspaper ads to get the message out.

It clearly worked for some voters, including Gladys Watson, 69, who works part-time at Walmart and was stopped on her way out of the polls Tuesday afternoon.

“I would like to see an Olive Garden or Cracker Barrel,” Watson said. “I eat out a lot. You get tired of the options that are here.”

Other voters rejected the notion that the town was somehow to blame for the lack of chain restaurants.

“I would like a few more restaurants and a few more stores, but with the economy being down, they’ve done a great job,” said Janie Benson, a voter emerging from the Waynesville library polling place.

— By Becky Johnson and Caitlin Bowling 

Mayor

Gavin Brown (I) 729

Hugh Phillips 698  

Town Board

Seats up for election: 4

Total seats on board: 4  

Wells Greeley (I) 1,133

Gary Caldwell (I) 943

Julia Boyd-Freeman 843

Leroy Roberson (I) 811

Mary Ann Enloe 736

Sam Edwards 579

The annual fall hike in the Town of Waynesville’s 9,000-acre watershed took place on Saturday Oct. 29. Around 25 stalwart hikers showed up despite the cold, wet and windy Friday overnight and socked-in, iffy-looking conditions Saturday morning, to see and learn a little about this marvelous resource that the town has preserved through conservation easements.

Dr. Peter Bates, natural resources professor from Western Carolina University, and I led the hike. Bates has been involved with the watershed easements from the beginning and has helped lead a team of biologists and scientists in creating the town’s watershed management plan. I highly recommend that anyone interested in learning about the past and present condition of the watershed landscape and/or the philosophy and science regarding the town’s management plan join one of Bates’ hikes.

For my part, I’m there to try and help people see and appreciate the native flora and fauna of the watershed. My trips are “ambles,” not hikes. We may stop to track down a warbler that sang from the treetops or to examine a wildflower or turn a stone alongside a stream bank to see what we can see.

My group, last Saturday, was shuttled in to where Allen’s Creek empties into the reservoir and hiked back out to the treatment plant. It was a relatively easy, mostly flat (for the mountains) hike of between two to three miles. We were greeted by a few snowflakes at the beginning of the hike, but it was short-lived and the clouds gave way to sunshine. The wind, however, buffeted us most of the day, filling the air with colored leaves. There were a few places during the hike, where we could see the mountaintops, covered in hoar frost and gleaming in the sunlight.

We saw some outstanding fall color up close and were able to gain a little appreciation for the subtle differences that can create dramatic red on one maple and golden yellow on another almost side by side. Most wildflowers were spent but it was easy to identify goldenrod, ladies’ tresses and others by the spent flowers and remaining stems. A few asters were still blooming. We saw heart-leaved aster, white wood aster and one large purple (lavender) aster that I immediately thought was New England aster because of its size but in retrospect could have easily been late purple aster, Aster patens. We also found one lingering gentian.

While there were no binocular-toting birders on the trip, aside from yours truly, there was a general interest. I was surprised at some of the lingering migrants we encountered, including Swainson’s thrush, pine warbler and palm warbler. There was also a group of about a dozen blue-winged teal on the reservoir and the juncos and golden-crowned kinglets had already found their way down to the lower elevations.

Despite the cool temperatures, a little stone turning near one of the creeks in the watershed turned up a two-lined salamander. It’s one that I call Eurycea wilderae, the Blue Ridge two-lined salamander, although, I think the whole group (northern two-lined, southern two-lined and blue ridge two-lined) is still in flux as to what may be species, sub-species, races etc. Another amphibian we encountered was a small (this year’s) American toad.

These watershed hikes are always a wonderful way to get outside. And getting outside in these mountains is always an enjoyable experience. If you are a Waynesville resident, these hikes allow you an up close look at this outstanding resource the town (you) owns. The town is charged with protecting its outstanding water quality and that will always be its focus. The town is also cautiously and carefully exploring the future of this watershed and as an informed and engaged resident of the town of Waynesville you owe it to yourself and future generations to learn about the watershed and be a part of shaping its future.

Now to start rumors, I understand that next spring’s hike may offer a brand new option, but the cat’s still in the bag for now.

(Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

Did Waynesville run off a Cracker Barrel? What about Chick-fil-A? Challengers running in next week’s town election say Waynesville’s appearance standards for new commercial business are deterring development.

A political action committee calling itself the Waynesville-Haywood Concerned Citizens are publicizing the claims, dedicating a web site to the cause and taking out newspaper ads.

The Smoky Mountain News attempted to chase down the facts behind the group’s claims and determine if Waynesville residents are being unjustly deprived of waffle fries and home-style biscuits.

Cracker Barrel

The rumor: Cracker Barrel was going to come to Hazelwood near exit 100 but backed out because it couldn’t erect a super tall sign on a pole visible from the highway.

Critics say: “There was a big squabble over the height of the sign between the Cracker Barrel executives and the town of Waynesville,” according to Kaye Talman, organizer behind Waynesville-Haywood Concerned Citizens.

Talman said she got her information from the property owner trying to sell to Cracker Barrel, Terry Ramey. Ramey said he never talked to Cracker Barrel himself.

“I am just going by what the Realtor told me, which is they couldn’t buy it because they couldn’t put their sign up. Somehow or other they talked to the town because that’s the reason. They won’t go nowhere where you can’t see their sign,” Ramey said.

Realtor weighs in: The Realtor for the property, Dan Womack, tried to market the site to Cracker Barrel, but Cracker Barrel said the town’s population wasn’t big enough to come here.

“They said the demographics at this point in time weren’t here, population and what all. Of course, Cracker Barrel likes their sign. They never came out and said that was an issue, but I’m sure that would have come up. But, we didn’t get that far. The conversation was that the demographics did not fit their business plan,” Womack said.

Town says: Cracker Barrel has never contacted the town.

“I have not received any specific proposal or nonspecific proposal from anyone affiliated with Cracker Barrel,” said Town Planner Paul Benson.

While the town’s sign restrictions would not allow the giant sign typically erected by Cracker Barrel, if it actually wanted to come to Waynesville, it would have approached the town to ask for an exemption.

“Waynesville would not be a company the size of Cracker Barrel’s first rodeo. They would call us up and say, ‘Hey look, we want to come to town and is there anything we can do about the sign height,’” said Byron Hickox, town zoning administrator.

Annie’s Bakery

The rumor: Annie’s Bakery, an organic and natural bakery based in Sylva, was looking for somewhere to relocate its burgeoning wholesale product line. A site in Waynesville was in the running, but development regulations killed the deal and Annie’s went to Asheville instead.

Critics say: Kaye Talman said she heard about Annie’s from the property owner who was trying to sell his vacant building to the company. But, it was going to cost $175,000 to bring the building into compliance with the town’s development standards, and it was cost-prohibitive.

Annie’s says: Joe Ritota, the owner of Annie’s Bakery, said he chose Asheville to locate his growing wholesale line because it is closer to the distributors that carry his products, like Ingles. Also, all the property he looked at in Waynesville was too expensive.

“Regardless of the land use plan, the building owners we had spoken to were asking way too much money for their cost per square foot. It was so much more competitive in Asheville,” Ritota said.

Plus, the condition of the buildings was poor and would have required a substantial investment to make the space useable.

Town says: “We just had very preliminary conversations with them. The way we left it with them was we would work with them to make it happen,” Town Planner Paul Benson said.

“It wasn’t like they said, ‘We have to do it like this’ and we said, ‘No, you can’t do it that way,’ so they left. We discussed alternatives with how they might comply with the ordinance.”

Chick-fil-A

The rumor: Chick-fil-A wanted to come to an unspecified location in Waynesville, but some aspect of the town’s ordinance was prohibitive.

Critics say: “Chick-fil-A has attempted several times. I wouldn’t speculate on the circumstances, but I do know the town of Waynesville blocked it,” said Kaye Talman.

Town says: Chick-fil-A has never approached the town. It’s unlikely they wrote off Waynesville based on the ordinance without first broaching the town.

“I would say in general if a business was serious about being here and wanted to make a positive contribution to the community they would take the trouble to talk to the town about their project. We always work with businesses to make their development happen,” Town Planner Paul Benson said.

Walgreens drug store

The rumor: Walgreens wanted to build on South Main near the new Super Walmart, but the town’s required parking lot configuration was a deal killer.

Critics say: The town required new businesses to put their parking lots to the side or rear of the building instead of in front. Walgreens wanted its parking lot in front and wouldn’t come because of that.

Town says: This is true. Walgreens tried to get an exemption for its parking lot, but the town denied the request.

“They just felt like they had to have that,” Benson said. But, that wasn’t all.

“It is hard to say if that is the biggest issue because they also had an issue with some of the design standards,” Benson said.

This is the only business Benson knows of in eight years that didn’t come here because of the town’s ordinance.

Page count of the land-use plan

The rumor: Waynesville’s land-use plan was 1,600 pages long. After a year-long review, it was modified and is now 800 pages.

Critics say: “They went from 1,600 pages, which is over three reams of paper, to 800,” said Kaye Talman.

Town says: “The former ordinance was 576 pages. The revised one is 258. I have no idea where the 1,600 number came from,” said Paul Benson, town planner.

Waynesville has spent $7 million over the past four years building a new fire station, police station and town offices — projects that have come under fire by some challengers for the town board.

Opponents point to the architecture — the brick towers on the fire house, the wood timber frames over the police department entrance — and question how much they added to the price tag.

“I think it is a little extravagant,” said Hugh Phillips, who is running for mayor.

“They may be just a bit more than we really needed,” said candidate Sam Edwards, calling the buildings too fancy. “It certainly helped prettify things, but I don’t know if that was what we should be doing right now.”

But the incumbents say the attractive building design added little to the cost and was worth it.

“I am proud of those things, and if they want to rag on me for that, guilty as charged,” said Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown.

Mary Ann Enloe, a challenger in the race, lauded the buildings and doesn’t consider them extravagant.

“I think the designs are beautiful,” Enloe said. “Why didn’t we make the justice center look like that?”

Alderman Gary Caldwell said the town actually scaled back some elements of the building design.

“It could have been far more fancy than what it is now,” Caldwell said.

The new police department on Main Street also houses the town planning office where developers and entrepreneurs come for their building permits and business licenses. It was important for it to look nice, Brown said.

“You are trying to create atmosphere when they come in to town they are impressed, that they are in a progressive arena, a place where people are doing things,” Brown said.

Criticism of the town building projects has originated from a political action committee called the Waynesville-Haywood Concerned Citizens. A web site by the group cites the “ostentatious” police department and “extravagant” fire station.

The web site questions a few others town spending priorities as well, but one of the chief examples is inaccurate. It blasts the town for spending money on fancy downtown art. However, no town tax dollars went for the public art pieces. They were funded entirely with private donations.