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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

www.lakejunaluska.com/peace or call 828.454.6656.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.254.7046 or  www.ashevillesymphony.org.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tickets are $20 each.

www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.

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

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

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

828.452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org.

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

Amission is $8 and includes dessert.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.497.3945 or southwesterncc.edu/finearts/.

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

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

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

828.586.4009.

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.524.7683 or www.artscouncilofmacon.org.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.454.6702

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.349.6887.

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

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

828.452.6789.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To the Editor:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Redman

Sylva

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

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

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

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

800.222.4930 Opt. 2.

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

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

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

828.227.7129.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This talk is free and open to the public.  

828.251.6415.

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

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

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

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

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

www.appalachiantrail.org/discover.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue Ridge Books will host local author Nathan B. Tracy at 3 p.m. on Nov. 12 as he introduces his new book, Pack Leader Down.

The novel follows a marine insurance adjuster marked for murder by a drug gang as he sails down the west coast of Florida. His boat sails, with him badly wounded, into the everglades. A pack of dogs befriends him, fighting off the drug gang and guiding him through the swamp.

Tracy has owned a home in the Fines Creek area of Haywood County since the early 1980s. He worked as a marine insurance adjuster in Florida for 30 years, handling claims on ships, barges, tugs, fishing vessels and yachts. He now prefers his garden, his tractor, his chain saw and, of course, his word processor.

828.456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.

Cullowhee resident and staff writer for the Crossroads Chronicle David Joy will read from his new book, Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.

Growing Gills is not just a book about a man and his deep-loved hobby. It is a thoughtful and graceful book about finding comfort with self through nature and among his gilled friends.

Ron Rash says of Growing Gills, “If any human could grow gills, it would be David Joy. His lifelong connection to fish is vividly realized in this book, in large part because of his poetic language and sensibility. Growing Gills is a book that will be relished by anyone interested in our connection to the natural world.”

828.586.9499 or www.citylightsnc.com.

Western Carolina University’s original radio broadcast adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula” will be staged at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

Tickets to the event, which begins at 7:30 p.m., are $10 and went on sale Tuesday, Nov. 1.

“This generation of young people is really interested in vampires, thanks to the ‘Twilight’ series, and it is time they learned the truth about Dracula,” said Don Connelly, head of WCU’s communication department, who wrote the script and is producing the show. “Although many of us think of the story of Dracula as a vampire jumping out from behind a tree and biting someone on the neck, Stoker’s novel is truly an involved, dark and fascinating mystery – one in which Dracula does do terrible things, but also pays dearly in the end. Our 60-minute radio show will authentically reflect the time period in which the story is set and is true to the original 1897 novel.”

“Dracula” is being presented by the Department of Communication, Department of English, Honors College, School of Music and School of Stage and Screen. The show is appropriate for adult audiences.

828.227.2479 or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

Canton library to celebrate Native American Heritage Month with a program on Cherokee history and culture

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

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

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

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

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

Program participants will be invited to examine a few of the Cherokee items that Timberlake describes in his memoirs, and to enjoy refreshments generously provided by the Friends of the Library.

828.648.2924.

“Legendary Hunters and Hounds of the Great Smokies” will be the subject of the next Liars Bench at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center auditorium.

Artists taking part in this month’s performance include Gary Carden, Barbara Duncan and Paul Iarussi, along with guest artists William Ritter and Liz Nance. A special guest artist, Bob Plott, will also appear with one of his famous Plott Hounds.

Regular cast members include Carden, Lloyd Arneach, Iarussi, Duncan, Dave Waldrop, and the show’s mascot, Bodine. The Liars Bench recognizes established regional artists and performers and also encourages new talent.

The Liars Bench was created in the early summer of 2010 by Carden to promote Southern Appalachian storytelling, music, poetry, drama, and folk arts.

The next The Liars Bench will feature “A Balsam Mountain Christmas.” It will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15.

The Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) will show the award-winning film “Life Above All” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 at the Fine Arts Theater in Asheville.

Lauded by critics at the Cannes Film Festival, the film tells a story of courage in the face of AIDS and stigma in contemporary South Africa.  

Just after the death of her newborn baby sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee. Sensing that the gossip stems from prejudice and superstition, Chanda leaves home and school in search of her mother and the truth.

In a review in Time Magazine, Mary Corliss wrote, “… Alone among the films at Cannes, ‘Life Above All’ was one that had critics cheering like school kids in a 10-minute standing ovation and wiping tears from their gimlet eyes. It has the high art and big heart of any award-worthy film ….” 

Tickets for “Life Above All are $10 or whatever attendees can afford and will be available at the door. 828.252.7489 or www.wncap.org.

A group of distinguished North Carolinians — including WCU’s Ron Rash — will receive the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor the state bestows, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the N. C. Museum of History.

Rash’s work shows his deep respect for mountain people, language, history, and culture. He is the author of 14 books, which range from novels to collections of short stories to volumes of poetry. The holder of the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at WCU, Rash has reaped a harvest of prizes, among them the Novello Festival Novel Award, the O. Henry Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Award, and the Frank O’Connor Award. In 2004 his life and work was the focus of the annual literary festival at Emory and Henry College, and in 2011 he was inducted into the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

Other honorees this year are Charles E. Hamner Jr., of Chapel Hill and H. Martin Lancaster of Raleigh, both for public service; Trudy F.C. Mackay of Raleigh, for science; and Vollis Simpson of Lucama, and Branford Marsalis of Durham, both for fine arts. The Awards are administered by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources

For a complete list of recipients and to learn more about the awards, go to www.ncculture.com.

Students in Western Carolina University’s Creative Life Living-Learning Community will present an exhibit titled “Transitions” in Gallery 130 at the Fine Art Museum that explores the theme of transitioning to college life through color, values, individuality, leadership and group dynamics.

The exhibit will be open from Wednesday, Nov. 9, through Monday, Nov. 21, and will kick off with a ceremony on Nov. 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. that is free and open to the public.

Students in the Digital Culture Living-Learning Community have worked collaboratively to create a video documentary of the process to plan and install an exhibit, and will be capturing reactions to the exhibit from attendees in the gallery. The video, when complete, will be featured on the Fine Art Museum’s website at http://fineartmuseum.wcu.edu/.

The event is sponsored by the Fine Art Museum, First Year Experience, Western Carolina Peaks and the Office of Leadership and Student Involvement. For more information, contact Glenda Hensley, director of First Year Experiences, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.2786.

The Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University will host a holiday sale of handmade items and a Fall Family Day from 3-7 p.m. on Nov. 10.

Both events are free and the public is invited.

The second-annual Handmade Holiday Sale will include wine and appetizers beginning at 5 p.m. in the Star Lobby, adjacent to the museum. The sale is an opportunity to buy directly from artists including WCU students and staff and community members. All items are priced at less than $100 and include silk scarves, ceramics, jewelry, knitted wear, soaps, note cards and more.

The Fine Art Museum will host a Fall Family Day from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 19. This will be an opportunity to view the art exhibits currently on display at the museum, activities including a scavenger hunt and opportunities to create works of art, as well as music, stories, snacks and prizes.

The Fine Art Museum’s hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. The museum also is open one hour before Fine and Performing Arts Center Galaxy of Stars performances. For more information about these events, contact Denise Drury, interim director of the WCU Fine Art Museum, at 828.227.2553 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Visit the museum online at fineartmuseum.wcu.edu.

Glass artist Rebecca Hellman will show her works in jewelry and fused glass at Leapin’ Frog Gallery in Waynesville on Nov. 11-12.

Hellman has come to produce glass items after many years of working in other mediums such as painting, pottery and stained glass.  

“I have combined my past art experience and incorporated them into my designs to give me what I feel is a unique style,” she said.  Her creations include tabletop designs, wall art, furniture and freestanding sculpture as well as jewelry.  Pearls, precious and semi-precious gemstones are the focal points of her jewelry pieces.

Hellman will be on hand from 6-9 p.m. on Nov. 11 and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Nov. 12.  The public is invited. 828.456.8441.

Haywood County’s Kids Advocacy Resource Effort will host its second annual Fall Festival of Trees fundraiser and live auction on Friday, Nov. 18., at the Laurel Ridge Pavilion.

The fundraiser begins at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail hour and entertainment by local musicians. Dinner will be served around 6:45 p.m. with a live auction to follow. Local artists, merchants, and creative folk will contribute ornately decorated trees, centerpieces, and other handmade creations for the live and silent auction which will immediately follow dinner. All proceeds will directly benefit KARE’s programs.

KARE is celebrating its 20th year of service to the children and families of Haywood County. Tickets can be purchased by either calling the KARE House at 828.456.8995 (Ask for Tara or Angela) or via paypal on KARE’s website at www.karehouse.org. Follow KARE on Facebook to get a preview of the auction items.

www.facebook.com/KAREHouseWaynesville or 828.456.8995.

The Jackson County Green Energy Park was featured on the Facebook page of the National Endowment for the Arts [NEA] on Oct. 27. The NEA asked the public to nominate arts organizations for a spotlight feature, and here are five words used in the GEP’s nomination: “Innovative, environmental, educational, visionary, Leader.” Live glassblowing and metal smith demos are given regularly. Classes available. For group demos and a tour of the facility and gallery please call 828.631.0271 to schedule. For more info about JCGEP visit www.jcgep.org. 

Paul Bourcq of Franklin and Chris Lee of Bryson City won first place in the 26-team Rumble in the Rhododendron fly-fishing tournament.

The event showcased the special catch and release, fly-fishing only section of the Oconaluftee River on the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Competitors from North Carolina and Georgia made up the majority of the entrants into this year’s event, but participants from as far away as Pennsylvania and Colorado rounded out the field.  

“The Rumble in the Rhododendron is a great weekend of competitive fly-fishing on a portion of the best trout water East of the Mississippi River,” said Matthew Pegg, executive director of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce. “With that said, competitors, volunteers and spectators all share a weekend in the mountains during the peak of our fall color season, so the backdrop to the tournament was just fantastic.”

Chris Lee, of the winning team, was well prepared for the tournament and said, “This was a great competition with competitors coming in from all across the United States. They had the opportunity to experience some of the best fishing in the Smoky Mountains. My team was lucky to come out on top.”

The Cherokee Chamber of Commerce hosted tournament, in association with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Fish and Wildlife Department and with assistance from the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team.

fishcherokee.com or 828.497.6700.

Nantahala Outdoor Center opened the doors late last month on a retail and outdoor activity concept shop, NOC Asheville, inside The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.

“Our presence was well received by The Grove Park Inn’s guests, and we look forward to launching our unique variety of outdoor activity programs in the near future,” NOC Asheville General Manager Ross Ryan said. “We’re delighted that NOC’s products and services are adding value and scope to the already rich guest experience.”

The shop’s retail space provides quality outdoor gear, fine casual apparel and local souvenirs for local Asheville residents, as well guests of The Grove Park Inn. Guests can shop men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear and accessories from leading outdoor brands. NOC provides an on-site activity concierge for hotel guests.

A community grand opening event is scheduled for NOC Asheville at The Grove Park Inn in Spring 2012. www.noc.com or www.groveparkinn.com

You can escape the confines of pavement for a fast-paced adventure along wooded trails and past lakes and mountains on the 15-mile Jack Rabbit Trail system in the Nantahala National Forest.  

Join the Western North Carolina Alliance from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Nov. 12 for this guided mountain bike ride Along the way, learn about sustainable trail building and eat lunch on Lake Chatuge. Located in Clay County near Hayesville. Beginners are welcome.

Cost is $10 for WNCA members; $20 for nonmembers. If you need a bike it will cost $40 extra. Register by Nov. 4 if a bike is needed. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.258.8737.

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee’s annual fall celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in Rainbow Springs along the Upper Nantahala River.

The day includes live music, activities for kids, cross-cut saw and fly-fishing demonstrations, a hay ride, nature walk, native and mountain cultural demonstrations, and the conservation award presentation.

All activities are free; including a meal of chili, hotdogs and dessert.  

From Franklin take U.S. 64 west toward Hayesville for 13 miles. Take the second driveway on the left after you pass the intersection with Old 64 (the road that goes to Standing Indian Campground). Look for signs to the event.  

Since 1999 LTLT has helped conserve over 10,000 acres of land, including 35 miles of Little Tennessee River frontage, multiple headwater streams in the Balsam, Cowee and Nantahala Mountains, and a number of family farms including the largest working farm in North Carolina west of Asheville.  

828.524.2711.

A series of hikes through next year will take hikers to each of the 41 areas identified as “Mountain Treasures” within the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests.

The Wilderness Society is teaming up with the Carolina Mountain Club on the hikes, designed to showcase wonders of the national forest and set the stage for the upcoming U.S. Forest Service management plan revision — a massive study of forest operations from logging to recreation to wildlife habitat. The process happens every couple of decades and has major implications for how the forests will be managed. The hikes will help gather information about each area, plus increase the number of people with direct connections to these places.

The first two hikes are Dodson Knob on Nov. 6 and the Bald Mountains hike Dec. 4. The hikes are free and open to the public, but RSVP with the hike leader if you are not a club member. For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or to read about the particular hikes go to www.carolinamountainclub.org, click on “hike schedule,” then “weekend all-day.”

Sign-up for 2010 crop-year losses begins Monday, Nov. 14, through your local USDA Farm Service Agency.

“Producers across North Carolina experienced natural disasters during the 2010 crop year, causing hardship and financial losses to their agricultural operations,” said Becky Williamson, executive director of the federal farm agency for Jackson/Macon counties. “The SURE program provides assistance when disaster strikes.”

To qualify for a Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments payment, a producer’s operation must be located in a county declared as a disaster for 2010, and have at least a 10-percent production loss affecting one crop of economic significance. Producers with agricultural operations located outside a disaster county are eligible for SURE benefits if they had a production loss greater or equal to 50 percent of the normal production on the farm.

38 North Carolina counties received a 2010 disaster designation.  

Swain and Jackson County producers wanting information on program eligibility requirements can contact the Swain/Jackson County FSA office at 50 Main Street Federal Building in Bryson City, or call 828.488.2684 ext. 2, or visit www.fsa.usda.gov/sure.

The history of agriculture in these mountains will be explored at one of three upcoming programs by Curtis Wood, an author, editor and professor emeritus from Western Carolina University’s history department.

Some 50 percent of Appalachia’s earliest European settlers were “Scots-Irish,” the largest ethnic group among early settlers. These pioneer farmers introduced crops from their homeland such as sweet potatoes, tobacco and apples, as well growing native vegetables to the Americas such as corn and squash. Typical livestock included hogs, cattle and sheep. Wood will focus on the evolution of Appalachian agriculture into the 20th century.

The programs are:

• Nov. 8 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Swain Extension Center located on 60 Almond School Road, Bryson City.

• Nov. 9 from 9:30-10 a.m. at the Jackson Extension Center, located on 538 Scotts Creek Road, Sylva.

• Nov. 10 from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Cashiers Library, 249 Frank Allen Road, Cashiers.

828.586.4009 or 828.488.3848.

The seventh-annual Autumn Juried Group Exhibit of the Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association has opened at the Biltmore Estate’s Deerpark Inn, through December.  

There are 25 images in the juried group exhibit depicting the vibrant colors of fall, the beauty and starkness of winter, and the rich, natural diversity of WNC. The photographers represented in the exhibit belong to the Asheville Region Chapter of The Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association and live in Western North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The nature photography club meets monthly, goes on photography outings, hosts educational seminars and workshops, and exhibits of members’ work.

For more information about the group, see www.cnpa-asheville.org.

Wendy Dingwall will introduce her new Yvonne Suarez mystery series with the first installment, Hera’s Revenge, at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5 at City Lights in Sylva.

Travel agent Yvonne Suarez will take you around the globe as she stumbles onto events that lead her to taking on the role as amateur sleuth.

When an airport employee turns up dead in baggage claim upon their arrival in Athens, the Pinkerton Travel Group gets off to a rocky start.

828.586.9499.