Christi Marsico • Staff writer

Bright colors and inventive images offering a kaleidoscope of memories and historic moments will be showcased in “Visions of Freedom, an exhibition of Alabama Folk Artists,” at Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 this month and next to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the President’ís inauguration and Black History Month.

The paintings explore the fight for the Civil Rights led by key leaders of the South such as Martin Luther King, Jr.

The central theme of the exhibition is Dr. King’s famous speech:

“I have a dream that one day ... right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers ... ”

While the theme is freedom, the artistic style has been categorized as “folk art,” which HCAC Executive Director Kay Waldrop describes as a “certain style of artwork that’s from the roots — the deepest part of a person — where the innocence of a person comes through.”

Ted Oliver, the curator of “Visions of Freedom,” has traveled 1500 miles to commission all the artists in the exhibition.

There will be at least 30 to 40 pieces of art on display and for sale, and Oliver described folk art as “art created by self-taught artists who are pursuing a personal vision.”

When collecting these works, Oliver noted many of the artists told him this was a challenging and rewarding project that they would have not done on their own.

“It’s a fresh perspective on how far we have come in dealing with inequalities, but how far we still need to go,” Oliver said.

The featured artists include Bernice Sims, Chris Clark, Tres Taylor, Michael Banks and Jimmy Lee Sudduth who have brought to life an evocative and emotional collection of American history.

Bernice Sims

Among the five Alabama artists celebrated, Bernice Sims’ artwork has become known as a standard in the folk art world.

Sims’ painting, “Selma March” was reproduced as a U.S. postal stamp in 2005.

Demonstrators demanding an end to discrimination gathered in Selma, Ala., in 1965 and marched to the state capital of Montgomery, which was 50 miles away.

Painting from personal memories, Sims remembers when she paid to pay a poll tax of $1.50 to vote.

“I just didn’t understand that,” Sims said in an interview with The Smoky Mountain News.

Sims recalled long sheets of paperwork littered with questions “ìdesigned to keep you back.”

Despite obstacles such as being followed by the Ku Klux Klan, she helped register over 300 blacks and whites to vote proving, “It wasn’t a waste of time for me.”

Born on Christmas Day in 1926, Sims was raised by her grandparents in Hickory Hill, Ala. Married at 16, she became the mother of six children and after her children were grown, she pursued painting.

Having the TV on in the background is part of Sims artistic process.

“I like to hear voices. I can work better and most of the time it’s on the news,” Sims said.

Painting with acrylics, she favors bright cheerful colors and strives to create the same colors she had when growing up.

“Folk art is everyday activities the way we use to live. Country people don’t worry about fancy — they just want to be themselves. The stuff I use in my paintings is like the way I use to live —making clothes, cooking and washing the old-fashioned way,” Sims said.

Sims’ grandchildren had her “all torn up” recently as they painted over one of her paintings for the exhibition.

“After repainting the dabs of red and black, I got out the fly swatter and their eyes got big and I didn’t have no more trouble,” Sims said.

Sims paints mostly in the afternoons, but her inspiration can appear anytime.

“These things pop up in my mind at night, and I get up and sketch them or get up and do it. I can’t copy anything, and I do my best with what I know whether it’s a baptism or a waterhole,” Sims said.

Tres Taylor

Tres Taylor began painting 10 years ago after working as a biochemist and doesn‘t consider himself a folk artist but is inspired by folk art.

Taylor, who does consider himself an “armchair activist,” feels like civil rights are something we have to keep upholding and was “thrilled” to be involved in this project.

“I think it’s one of the greatest movements of our time, and a challenge for me because I am not a black man, and I was not in the civil rights movement,” Taylor said.

After being asked to contribute to the exhibition, Taylor went to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

The artist couldn’t keep the phrase “halleluiah” out of his mind after watching a freedom writer’s video at the institute.

He purchased a Smithsonian collection of songs, “Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966” on CD from the museum’s gift shop and headed to his studio.

“The music was uplifting, powerful and inspirational for me,” Taylor said. “Singing bonded them together and is what made them powerful and unafraid of a scary situation.”

Connecting the joy of music to his art, Taylor began creating his mural by taking 16-foot pieces of tar paper and dividing them into 11 panels.

He began painting a journey of portraits of men, women and monks. The monk is a spiritual symbol for Taylor.

He drew a road that meanders through the 11 panels, painting icons that were important to the civil rights movement like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, and the word “halleluiah” is spelled out among the panels.

Painting with house paint and putty, Taylor added a three-dimensional feel to his mural which took him a week and half to paint.

Taylor spent one month researching and connecting to this project spiritually.

“This is a real honor to do this, and I believe folk artists are people who don’t have worldly sophistication, but at the end of the day make art out of something that’s laying around,” Taylor said.

Robben Ford and the Blue Line: Handful Of Blues

No, it’s not out of print, nor is “Handful Of Blues” all that hard to find. But when one of your favorite CDs finally succumbs to age and years of mishandling, it’s a lovely surprise to find a “new old” copy staring back at you in the used rack. This was just the case recently, when no amount of cleaning or buffing would allow the last three tracks of this stunning modern blues release (from 1995) to play in their entirety.

Ford’s style is a crafty amalgamation of fiery, stinging blues guitar in the Bloomfield vein and a jazzy harmonic sophistication. There are potent smatterings of rock and soul to be found in that mix as well. Somehow, though, Ford is able to never lean to far in any direction — he stays centered in the blues, but is so crafty at sneaking some very forward thinking “un-blues” lines into his phrases that you never get the feeling he’s a jazzbo in disguise. The opening track, “Rugged Road,” prominently displays this trait — it’s an up-tempo burner that features his burnished but biting tone in a series of amazing solos. Vocally, Ford often divides listeners into the “like it/leave it camps,” and admittedly, a gravelly belter he’s not. But the guy’s got a great voice anyway, smooth and controlled.

The other thing (as if there were merely a few) that separates the guitarist from the blues guitar pack is his neck deep sense of groove — the guy’s a machine. Combined with a rhythm section consisting of remarkable players like bassist Roscoe Beck and drummer Tom Brechtlein, it makes for not only a lesson in stunning modern blues soloing, but also how to make a power trio truly rock. Their cover of the classic “Chevrolet” is old sock funky and deep, deep blue. The instrumental “The Miller’s Son” is a smoking reworking of Clapton’s “Steppin’ Out” framework, and he masterfully reads “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” into a smoky blues/pop tune.

One more thing, and don’t get wrong for saying this, but Robben Ford is one of the few modern blues guitarists that sound NOTHING like the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan. As fine as the Bonamassa’s and Duarte’s out there are, they’re still treading on all too familiar ground. Ford, in the best way, is a different animal altogether.

Sugar: Copper Blue

If we were to reset the “wayback machine” to 1992, and went looking for some crunchy, literate — oh, how I hate this term — ‘post punk’ pop, Bob Mould’s Copper Blue would be an excellent find. From the ashes of Husker Du, Mould decided to slow things down and push the melodies to the forefront, but in doing so kept the guitars roaring and the tunes damn smart. And sometimes disturbing — the grave and darkly sarcastic pixies-esque “Good Idea” will have you tapping your foot and staring at the lyric book in sheer horror.

Being a sucker for smartly crafted, hooky tunes and great guitar tones, it was Sugar’s later release, File Under Easy Listening that initially hipped me to Mould’s overall brilliance as a musician and songwriter. Almost hate to say it, but to my ears Copper Blue is an even better album, though the earliest.

Maybe its Mould’s knack for creating these sunny sounding, chiming songs and sticking disarmingly tortured lyrics beneath the layers of harmony that makes this music stand up so well seventeen years later. Though you can hear differences in the mastering qualities, it’s hard to say that much of this sounds dated at all- save for the synthesizer patch in “Hoover Dam” possibly. But songs like “The Act We Act” and “Changes” manage to deal with the intricacies and difficulties of relationships and loss while somehow making you feel as if you’re speeding down the interstate on a warm day with the windows down. And those of you of the correct music consumption age back in ’92 surely recall the band’s one radio and MTV hit, “If I Can’t Change Your Mind.” Jangly, hummable and sad as can be. Great stuff.

On a completely different note, I recently picked up the book Jazz Country by Nat Hentoff and found it a remarkably enjoyable, if short, reading experience. Originally published in 1965, it chronicles the story of a talented young trumpet player named Tom Curtis and his attempts to enter the world of jazz. The story dates itself, often beats you over the head with its message, but it still manages to be a wonderful and insightful tale written by someone that understood the culture and mindset of jazz musicians. Tom wants to play jazz, but finds himself initially shut out by the players he admires because of racial tensions at the time. As he’s trying to wrap his mind around the whole thing, get his chops to the point they need to be, decide whether to go to college or play in a band, the kid manages to figure out who he really is and meet some amazing people along the way. Yes, predictable. But you should still read it if you like jazz and have a few hours to kill. It’s well worth the effort.

(Chris Cooper can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

It was around 1:30 a.m. on an exceptionally rainy Wednesday that Bruce and Lorraine Donin’s world came crashing down.

One minute, the senior couple from Florida was enjoying a peaceful night listening to the creek rush past their three-story home. The next, they were crawling their way through a twisting, tumbling nightmare, desperately trying to escape the mudslide that turned their house into a pile of rubble. The Donins ended up on their roof, which was sitting on the ground — miraculously unscathed, and badly shaken.

The 300-foot landslide that slammed into the Donin’s house in the Wild Acres subdivision in Maggie Valley originated from the property of their uphill neighbors, Edward and Pamela McAloon, also of Florida. The McAloon’s house was teetering on a whopping 83 percent slope — one that was deemed dangerous three different times before the house was built.

The mudslide that destroyed the Donin residence has sparked a renewed debate over building in the mountains and just whose to blame when something goes wrong.

In the Donin’s case, pinning a culprit isn’t easy. Though the county, private engineers and the McAloons themselves were all aware of the potential instability of the McAloon property, a lack of regulations in place at the time meant no one had to do anything about it.

And unless that changes, say slope ordinance advocates, there will likely be more destructive landslides in the future.

“As there’s an increase in the amount of development on steep and unstable slopes, I think we’ll see an increase in the number of similar incidents,” said Bill Eaker, environmental services manager for the Land of Sky Regional Council.

Who’s to blame?

County documents show the McAloons apparently ignored warnings that their property posed a potential risk for a landslide.

When the McAloons embarked on building a second-home in Wild Acres, they didn’t have much to work with. The remarkably steep lot was barely more than half an acre, leaving little room for shoehorning a house pad on the property.

They sought advice from private engineers at Alpha Environmental Sciences, who were the first to issue a warning about the stability of the site in July of 2005. The engineers visited the site specifically to evaluate the stability of its slopes. They identified two slopes that posed a risk. “This area will most likely continue to erode until the slope gives way and slides,” the engineers said of the first. Of the second — “due to the steep grade of the slope, there is potential for a slide.”

The same concerns were expressed when county officials inspected the property in October 2006 for erosion control compliance, a standard part of the construction process.

“We have concerns about the slope just past your home. It appears to be exhibiting signs of failure. Please have your plan designer, or another qualified person, have a look at it,” wrote erosion and sedimentation control inspector Tim Surrett.

But months later, there had been no move to remediate the unstable slopes. The county’s final erosion inspection in January of 2007 included a statement recommending that the owners seek professional help assessing the long-term stability of the slope.

While the county clearly had concerns over the hillside’s stability, Haywood’s slope ordinance had not yet been passed, and county officials couldn’t force the property owners to do anything.

“Our people were sitting there saying ... we think you’ve got an awfully steep slope, and that you need somebody to look at it,” recalls Mark Pruett, the county’s director of erosion and sediment control.

David Wijewickrama, a Waynesville lawyer retained by the Donins, says the McAloons are to blame for ignoring the repeated warnings.

“Even though they’d been warned, they had not followed the recommendations,” he said. “So what I see there are potential charges of negligence, such as negligent infliction of emotional distress. There are a variety of allegations that we can make against them.”

The McAloons could not be reached for comment.

In any case, out-of-staters from flatter terrain may not fully understand the risks of building in the mountains.

“It’s not something in their thinking that areas are prone to slides,” said N.C. Rep. Ray Rapp (D-Mars Hill), who has advocated for a state-wide steep slope regulation in the N.C. General Assembly.

Individuals unfamiliar with mountain terrain who are building here should get help from local professionals, Eaker suggests.

“We strongly encourage folks considering buying property or building in steep slope areas to retain the services of professionals that are here in this area, that are familiar with the mountain environment and how it works, and what the limiatations are,” he said.

But just who to pick can be daunting. Eaker suggests programs like Clear Water Contractors, where contractors who have undergone training in best building practices are listed on a Web site.

Gordon Small, a former employee of Haywood Waterways and advocate for smart building in the mountains, said there should be a public database that lists the citations that contractors have received.

“Not all builders and developers are equal,” he said. “I would like to see a public list on the Internet of citations issued. Over time, you’ll have a whole lot better people doing the work.”

County’s hands tied

If the McAloons were buildin on their property today, they would fall under Haywood County’s slope ordinance, which gives the county teeth to address slope stability concerns — teeth the county lacked just a couple years ago. Under Haywood’s ordinance, slopes over a 35 percent grade require an engineer to certify their stability.

“We have that slope ordinance in place now, which could very well have prevented the problem that recently happened,” said Pruett.

People have come forward since the adoption of the ordinance with requests to build on slopes as steep as that on the McAloon property, and now the county can make them comply with additional stability measures.

“We’ve not turned them down, but we’ve required them to submit a plan or do something else to modify the slope,” said Mark Shumpert, the county’s engineer. If a private engeineer signs off on the slope, the county generally agrees.

“For the most part, if the engineer signs off, we’re not going to argue with them — just make sure they submitted the information we need,” Shumpert said.

Shumpert said no slopes built on since the adoption of the ordinance have failed.

In theory, the hoops put in place by Haywood County’s slope ordinance might deter individuals from building homes on steep slopes. But if people are determined enough and have the cash, there’s still nothing to stop them.

“You can drive around parts of the county and realize there’s not really anywhere that can’t be built on — it comes down to financing,” said Shumpert. “A structural engineer can do you up a whopper of a home plan that costs more than the house itself.”

Though Haywood County’s slope ordinance still allows for steep slope development, it’s much more regulation than some counties have put in place. Neither Macon nor Swain counties have a slope ordinance.

The state’s role

A bill introduced by Rep. Rapp in the General Assembly would put in place a statewide steep slope ordinance modeled after Haywood’s. The bill, dubbed the Safe Artificial Slope Construction Act, stalled after meeting stiff opposition from the North Carolina Homebuilders Association and the North Carolina Realtors, and wasn’t brought up in the most recent General Assembly session. Rapp says the Maggie Valley landslide has reinforced the need for statewide regulations.

“What has happened with the Maggie Valley situation, is it just helps reinforce the need for this,” he said. “I don’t think we can be dismissive anymore of the dangers that are involved by continuing to ignore this issue.”

Rapp says a statewide ordinance would provide a method of protecting mountain slopes, especially in counties that lack any such regulation.

“I think we have a checkerboard pattern of ordinances up and down the ridges. Some communities have standards that go way beyond what’s called for, but other counties have absolutely nothing,” he said.

The bill would give counties with no regulations a chance to adopt an ordinance of their own, but if they didn’t the state would impose minimum criteria. Rapp said he had already been planning to reintroduce his bill prior to the landslide in Maggie Valley.

“I had been talking with different local groups to see what kind of support I might generate as well as some of the legislators who had been resistant to the original bill, to see what they found most objectionable and how we can make it a little more palatable,” he said.

Rapp says the two powerful lobbying forces — the homebuilders and Realtors — who opposed the bill took issue with the requirement that an engineer be hired if slopes exceeded a certain threshold. He argues that the additional cost is well worth it to prevent a total loss like that suffered by the Donins.

“These are very expensive homes being built on these slopes, by most standards, and if there is an additional cost of $1,200 or $1,400 that goes into having an engineer study and soil samples that may be required, that is well worth the lives and property that would be saved,” he said.

But Alan Best, president of the Haywood County Homebuilders Association, says his group has additional concerns.

“Why is the rest of the state mandating what we are regionally addressing? How does Raleigh or those other counties or other representatives understand what’s happening in WNC?” he said. “Is it something we need statewide when it’s something unique to Western North Carolina?”

However, many counties aren’t addressing it on their own, and the bill would force them to step up to the plate.

Another state initiative targeting landslides is the Landslide Hazard Mapping Program. The program, started after the 2004 hurricanes, aims to map potential landslize hazard zones as a tool for developers. But the program is moving at a snail’s pace because the funding is slow to materialize.

Rick Wooten, senior geologist with the North Carolina Geological Survey, said the landslide maps would have pinpointed the risk of the area where the Maggie Valley landslide occurred.

“Our maps would have picked up that spot as an area where debris flows could potentially go,” said Wooten.

The state program has recently secured more funding, which will allow it to continue mapping mountain counties. Next on the list is Jackson County, followed by Haywood County in 2010. Macon County has already been completed.

Slides without devastation

In the event of any landslide, there’s question of whether anything really could have prevented it. After all, landslides have been a naturally occurring geological phenomenon in the mountains long before humans set foot here.

“These mountains have shallow soils and rocks close to the surface. You get enough rain and saturate the soil to the point where it liquefies, and you’re always going to get some landslides,” said Shumpert.

But most experts agree that slope construction exacerbates the problem. Ground that has been disturbed can’t hold as much water, said Wooten, and therefore increases the chance that it will liquefy and become a landslide.

“No, you won’t ever stop all of them, but you can limit them, and you can minimize how bad they’ll be,” Shumpert said.

How?

“With enough planning and engineering, quality construction, and building on slopes that aren’t so crazy high and steep,” he said. “But it depends how much money you put into it, and how risky the area is where you’re building on a slope.”

The mountain where the Donin landslide occurred may qualify as a risky area. A landslide in the same subdivision killed a woman in 2003. And in the 24-hour period that the Donin slide occurred, another landslide on the back of the same mountain in the Villages of Plott Creek subdivision sent large volumes of mud into Plott Creek, turning the water into mud for a couple of miles.

“There’s been a lot of activity in the mountain right there,” said Pruett.

But careful building practices and slope regulations could prevent that activity from wreaking havoc, added Rapp.

“We certainly can’t control natural events, but we can have an impact on their effects,” Rapp said.

By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer

Born 16 minutes apart in the Bethel community of Haywood County, twin brothers Travis and Trevor Stuart have been immersed in music since childhood.

“Music was all around us growing up,” Travis said.

Sharing that mountain music with others continues as the brothers perform in Western Carolina University’s concert/jam session series with an old-time and bluegrass concert at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 8, in the auditorium of WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center. Performers of old-time and bluegrass music are invited to bring their instruments and take part in the jam session that will follow.

The brothers, 40, continue to reside in Haywood County where they learned to play old-time mountain music 30 years ago from masters such as Byard Ray, the Smathers family and Red Wilson.

“We play a lot of tunes from around this region and are really based in fiddle tunes and music for dancing, which has a lot of drive,” Travis said.

Travis plays the banjo and Trevor plays the fiddle. Being twins has helped their technique, as they can easily swap the melody and rhythm parts of songs.

Growing up playing together, the Stuarts learned from people who were in their seventies and eighties, and Travis said not many children their age were learning how to play old-time fiddle tunes.

“We are different from bluegrass because our tunes are older and unique to this region — a style that is Western North Carolina that’s different from Kentucky—It’s the way people flavor their notes here.”

Continuing to share their heritage, the brothers teach the next generation of old-time musicians at Haywood County’s Junior Appalachian Music Program.

In the summer time, they are busy as full-time musicians performing at dances, concerts, festivals and music camps.

Recently, they have traveled throughout the U.S. and to England, Germany, Ireland, and Russia performing and sharing their style of traditional old-time music and culture.

During their travels, Travis was surprised how many people knew about Appalachian music as well as their familiarity with the old masters, noting that “people move here to learn this kind of music.”

Having appeared on numerous other old-time recordings, the Stuart brothers have two CDs of their own — “Pretty Little Widow” and “Mountaineer.”

With an upcoming old-time Irish weekend planned in Nashville and another trip to Europe, the brothers are in process of putting together a new CD.

While their concerts feature old-time music, they enjoy playing different instruments and performing with other bands and musicians such as Martha Scanlan.

After their concerts, the Stuarts look forward to the pickers and singers who join them in playing the mountain music.

Reflecting on his musical upbringing, Travis emphasized how important listening is when learning to play.

“My advice to those getting started is to immerse yourself into it, go to where people play, sit back and listen,” Travis said.

For more information on the Stuart brothers visit www.thestuartbrothers.com.

In 1957, a Russian immigrant burst onto the scene with a novel and philosophy that today remains one of the most influential, and controversial, works in American culture.

The book was Atlas Shrugged, and the author was Ayn Rand.

Born in Russia in 1905, Ayn (rhymes with “mine”) Rand emigrated to the United States at age 20. Rand penned her first major work, The Fountainhead, in 1943, but it wasn’t until the debut of Atlas Shrugged that her philosophy called objectivism — with an emphasis on self-interest, small government and capitalism — began to gain a major following.

Rand’s philosophy stemmed from her upbringing under a Communist regime. The daily horrors she witnessed, including mass starvation and death, would forever change the way she saw the world.

“Rand was deeply affected by her life under a totalitarian socialist regime before she fled the USSR, and she believed at the root of that ‘evil empire’ was the philosophy of self-sacrifice and service to the greater good,” said Stephen Miller, a Western Carolina University economics professor, in an email to university officials.

Rand was in awe at the capitalist system in place in the United States and the opportunities it afforded, and became a devout believer in capitalism as the sole successful system of government. In her works, Rand rails against altruism, or the belief that acting for the benefit of others is right and good.

“Every man — is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life,” was the essence of Rand’s philosophy, according to the Ayn Rand Institute.

Critics call the ideas that Rand espoused selfish.

“Rand’s own writings are filled with tirades against altruism, especially to distant global strangers; and philosophically, that is quite opposite to the moral concern for the stranger or the ‘other’ person that is stressed in most moral and religious ideals,” says Darryl Hale, a professor of philosophy at WCU. Hale argues that Rand doesn’t carry much “clout” among philosophers, who generally regard her as an intellectual lightweight.

Of course, not all agree that Rand’s ideas are without merit. Although controversial, they’re at least worth studying, says Miller.

“It is not hard to argue that she carried her ideas too far, but it is hard to argue that she was wrong about the dangers of basing social organization on the principles of altruism and self-sacrifice,” Miller said. “It is a fundamentally interesting question: ‘If altruism can lead to horrible consequences, is it such a good thing?’”

Regardless of whether one agrees with Rand, the fact that her ideas continue to generate debate after half a century is noteworthy.

By Carl Iobst • Guest Columnist

2008 was an interesting year. Not the worst on record, but tough enough. 2009 presents us with some unique challenging opportunities that have never been seen before — sort of a test of our ‘Americanness.’

Considering all the recent political shouting and posturing about “change we can believe in” and “country first,” how much can we really expect from our elected and appointed officials? Not as much as you might believe. Ultimately, without you and I doing the heavy lifting nothing — except higher taxes and less freedoms — is going to change.

All change is from the bottom up. We have to change our thinking and our actions. This is a cultural paradigm shift. We have to change the behaviors of those in government who are supposed to carry out our demands for “a more perfect union.” Remember, they’re accountable to us.

All change is local. I’m going to hit you between the eyes with a startling fact and you can accept it or not — true lasting, effective, and meaningful change can only happen when it comes from you and me. Anything else is just a fad, a mirage. That’s right. If we don’t make it happen, it is not going to happen.

True change starts here in Jackson County. And you and I will make it happen. Everyone wants open, honest government. Everyone wants clean air and water and enough elbow room to raise our children in. After all, we live in the country not the city. It is stupid and destructive to build cities on mountains. Can you say landslide?

Real change is happening now. Right now, groups of people are banding together in Jackson County to fight the developer-destroyers and other fads that could turn Jackson County into an unlivable wasteland. What you do this day, this year matters. You count. This is your chance to clean up our air and water and to protect our land. We can make democratic and social justice a reality here in our home — the valley of the Tuckasegee.

Join us.

Iobst is secretary of the Jackson County Citizen Action Group (http://jacksoncountycitizenactiongroup.blogspot.com/, P.O. Box 2212, Sylva, N.C., 29779.)

By Chris Cooper

Truth be told, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of — here’s the old fogey coming out — “electronic” music. I hear bleeps and bloops, repetitive motifs that are often harmonically half baked and build and build into mostly nothing, and as far as lyrical content is concerned- what lyrical content? Now, my point of reference is a little limited, because if you genuinely dislike something, you’re really not going to pursue much of it. I hate brussel sprouts, had a bad experience as a child with them, and thus never ate them again. So I’m not the prime candidate to ask for advice on brussels sprouts. Or electronic music.

That being said, musician/photographer/writer Michael O’Shea’s Kinjac project hasn’t left my CD player since he dropped off an advance copy. 7 Years Bad Luck is a rare combo of ultra tweaked samples, live drums and bass, distorted vocals and sometimes hyper politically charged intent that initially left me scratching my head before fumbling for the “play” button again... and again. It’s not often that a disc comes along (especially one from a genre of music I typically avoid) that leaves me as dumbfounded as this one has. Of course to anyone more familiar with the style than I, the influences and points of reference are most likely obvious. But to my “guitar/bass/drum/keys/vocal” oriented ears, this stuff sounds intriguingly and almost uncomfortably different.

“The Fall” builds for three minutes before the vocals kick in. It’s that whole “going somewhere” thing again — and go somewhere it does. Structurally, it’s a pretty interesting trick; save the verse for the last minute of the song. Thematically, this is fairly dark stuff as well. Many tunes seem like studies on finding hope among an immense lack thereof, with verses and choruses tangled upon themselves until really, they’re neither. Repetition is used for impact, melodic ideas are shifted and twisted each time they come around again — on the one hand, this is pretty confusing stuff for the “pop” trained ears. On the other, that’s likely why it works as well as it does.

And in the “creepy aural nightmares” corner, we have a disorienting chromatic accordion melody fighting with fuzzed out drum’n’bass on the appropriately titled “Terror.” The sequencing of the tracks on 7 Years Bad Luck is crafty as well, where one song starts and another stops is often a mystery; long instrumental sections give way to sudden bursts of noise, then part of a verse, then everything goes haywire again. “I Walk” operates on such a principle- you think you know what’s happening for minute or so, then you’re wondering if it’s still the same song. A cut that’s sure to stand out is O’Shea’s sampling of Dennis Kucinich’s fierce “Wake Up America” speech into the album’s closing track, which is preceded by an ominous instrumental track cleverly entitled “Optimism.”

Let’s make it clear that Michael O’Shea is this whole project. Every knob that was turned, string plucked (or beaten into submission), microphone placed, vocal delivered; every bit of recording and mastering was done in a modest home studio by O’Shea. And the quality of production made one of the rarest of occurrences happen: while spinning 7 Years Bad Luck at work, a customer stopped in the middle of the store, stared at the speakers, and asked me with widened eyes “What are we listening to?” This wasn’t a new major label release. This is, frankly, pretty challenging stuff. By a local musician. The look on that customer’s face something akin to having been hit by a truck, and really liked it.

If this is any indication of what’s to come on the local music scene for the New Year, consider me inspired. Release date for 7 Years Bad Luck is Jan. 20 — yes folks, Inauguration Day. I’d strongly recommend seeking this one out.

(Chris Cooper can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

By Bob Scott

Steal a loaf of bread to feed your family and you go to jail. Steal $50 billion from investors and you get to stay in your luxury New York apartment under electronic monitoring.

Senators and House of Representatives members will give themselves a $5,000 pay raise this year by not voting for it. That way the “honorables” can tell their constituents “I didn’t vote for that raise.” My solution to the issue of politician’s pay raises is to allow the American public to vote whether politicians should get a raise and how much. After all, the public is supposed to be their employer.

Congress has recklessly given bailouts to companies and banks with little or no accountability to where the money is going. Some of it will undoubtedly save American jobs, but it’s a good bet lots of it will be used to continue the lavish life styles of top executives. Who will bail out the Americans who are the victims of this total lack of ethical behavior?

Newspapers are filled with ads for gated communities so that the privileged class will not have to mingle with people like me. Well, to set the record straight, I’m not sure I want to mingle with you folks either.

A second Gilded Age is upon us. There have been published accounts of executives making over $30,000 an hour while running companies into the ground. There are lots of families who would love to make $30,000 a year.

In New York, Caroline Kennedy wants a Senate seat. Apparently the children of the privileged class believe they are entitled to such by birth. Didn’t we fight some kind of war with England because we had had enough of that monarchy and privileged/ruling class stuff?

The governor of Illinois allegedly wanted to sell President-Elect Obama’s Senate seat for $1 million. That being the case, I guess my seat on the Franklin Town Board would be proportionally worth about $3.99.

Somehow I got an invitation to the Governor’s Inauguration Ball. To be seated with the big wheels I would only have to come up with several thousand dollars. But that’s where we are now. We have to pay to rub elbows with our elected officials.

The only way I could get to see a congressman or senator would be to show up at their office with a large campaign contribution or hire a well-paid lobbyist.

Want to become a millionaire? Just get elected to Congress or the Senate. The money will follow. The problem is you’ve got to be a millionaire to run.

Harry Truman was probably the last president to go home without all the trappings of the imperial presidency we have now allowed our lawmakers to create. I have read that he had to buy his own stamps after he left office. Can you imagine George W. Bush having to buy a stamp?

Here’s another proposal on my New Year’s rants list. I would like to see every national politician be required to spend one month every year away from the adult Disney World Washington has become. During this month, they would be required to work with local officials who are trying to figure out how to keep budgets within check, fix infrastructure, provide services such as fire, police, water, sewer, health services and education. Local officials struggle daily to maintain essential services without placing greater tax burden on the citizens’ backs.

We have elevated politics to a profession instead of a public service. It’s all about money. The minute these folks get to Washington they start campaigning for re-election rather than paying attention to their constituents. It’s time to change the system to one where a politician can only serve one six-year term and then have to come back home and live under the laws they passed like the rest of us do.

There are a lot of things wrong in this nation. Some see the great dream of our radical, brave and idealist founders fading. Students of history will tell you there are parallels between what is happening in America today with what afflicted other great nations of the past that faded into oblivion.

We can fix things. It will require great personal sacrifice at every socio-economic level; not just by putting the sacrifices on the backs of American workers. American workers are already making sacrifices — through no fault of their own. The sacrifices should be put on the backs of the incompetent and corrupt people who created this mess.

Duty, honor and country. It’s not old fashioned. But it’s time to put it back into vogue.

I just hope the bourbon holds out. Happy New Year!

(Bob Scott is a Franklin alderman and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer

David Bromberg, the well-known vocalist/guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, was headed home for a quiet evening with his family this New Year’s.

“New Year’s is not a big deal for me, and I‘m resolved not to make any resolutions,” Bromberg said during an interview with The Smoky Mountain News.

Bromberg has left his mark on the music scene over four decades by working with artists such as Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Willie Nelson.

Known for his versatile approach as a session guitarist in the 1960s for folk and country legends, Bromberg retired from recording and extensive touring in 1980. However, his career has be reinvigorated as his comeback CD “Live New York City 1982,” (released in 2008) received high praises.

His 2007 CD, “Try Me One More Time,” was his first in 17 years and received a Grammy nomination for “Best Traditional Folk Recording.”

Raised in Tarrytown, N.Y., he started playing guitar when he was 13 and eventually became a musicology major at Columbia University.

Drawn to the Greenwich Village folk scene, Bromberg absorbed performers and was inspired by his teacher, the Rev. Gary Davis.

“He was the greatest guitar player that ever lived,” Bromberg said. “Since he was blind, I would lead him to concerts and churches.”

Bromberg began to incorporate the intensity of sermons into his guitar playing, noting he’s not alone in his preaching style.

“I play guitar solos and try to preach with rests and pauses, starting and finishing on unusual beats to create tension,” Bromberg said.

“My audiences know me,” Bromberg added.

It wasn’t long until Bromberg became a “hired gun” guitarist for recording sessions, playing on hundreds of records by artists including Dylan, The Eagles, Ringo Starr and Carly Simon.

Bromberg acknowledged it was a pleasure to play with such an array of talent, noting “Bob Dylan is really a genius.”

Among his first albums, Bromberg wrote “Holdup” with former Beatle George Harrison. Other co-written tracks included songs with members of the Grateful Dead.

Bromberg is currently an artist-in-residence in Wilmington, Del., where he established a retail store and repair shop, David Bromberg Fine Violin specializing in high-quality instruments.

Bromberg is looking forward to performing his first Asheville show at The Orange Peel on Jan. 15, and he will be backed up by his wife, Nancy Josephson, who is the leader of the female trio Angel Band.

By Jim Janke

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series on growing plants from seeds. Today we talk about the benefits of growing plants from seeds, and what seeds need to germinate. Next week we’ll discuss how to get them growing. And we’ll wrap up the topic in 2 weeks with examples of plants that are easy to grow from seeds.”

I started a packet of dianthus seeds on a whim almost 30 years ago. The plants grew well indoors and bloomed profusely the first year outside. I was hooked. Now I start 30 or more types of seeds indoors each year, including annuals, perennials, vegetables and herbs. This series of columns will help you grow plants from seeds yourself. It is easy and fun.

Why grow plants from seeds?

If you want several (or more) plants of the same variety, starting plants from seeds can save you money. A packet of 30 tomato seeds might cost $2.50, from which you can reasonably expect to get at least 20 plants. Including growing media, containers, and the electricity to power a grow light or two, those 20 plants are likely to cost less than 50 cents each. What you are going to do with all those tomatoes, though, is a topic for a cooking column.

Or if you need two dozen marigolds, you can grow them from seeds for less than $10, when those same plants would cost $30 or more at the home center or nursery.

Another big advantage for growing plants from seeds is that you have access to many more varieties of flowers and vegetables. Home centers and nurseries typically stock only the most popular varieties. Seed catalogs have a tremendous selection.

For example, Stokes Seeds’ online catalog lists 127 different petunias in as many as 31 different colors and color mixes. They also list 100 different tomatoes, including beefsteak, cherry, plum, heirloom, greenhouse, and novelty types. Other seed companies have similar offerings.

What seeds want

(No, this isn’t a Mel Gibson film on horticulture.) The conditions both inside and outside the seeds must be favorable for germination. All seeds need water and air. Most have a specific temperature range that they like best. Lettuces like cool temperatures to germinate, while tomatoes do better in the 80° range. Many seeds — especially smaller ones like petunias and begonias — require light to get started.

Some seeds benefit from a dramatic change in the internal or external environment to help break dormancy. For example, parsley germinates better if you soak the seeds for a week before planting. Snapdragons and carnations benefit from putting the seed packet in the freezer for a day or two. Geraniums need to have their seed coats cut (although many geranium seeds come with this already done.)

In order to germinate the potential for producing a plant must be contained within the seed itself. This seems obvious, but seeds can lose their viability through age, or exposure to moisture, cold or heat. Each seed packet should indicate the year for which the seeds were packaged. Some seeds can be stored for many years, while others lose their viability quickly. Until you get some experience, using fresh seeds will improve your chances.

All of this sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. Seed packets have guidelines for when to plant, planting depth, the best temperature range, and if any assistance is needed to break dormancy. Catalogs from Stokes, Johnny’s and Territorial also have detailed seed starting information.

Jim Janke is a Master Gardener Volunteer in Haywood County. For more information call the Haywood County Extension Center at 828.456.3575.

A trout-fishing tournament open to all ages will be held March 26 in Cherokee from daybreak until 5 p.m.

The tournament features $10,000 in cash prizes. The Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and the fish and wildlife management department of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is sponsoring the tournament.

Registration is $5; a valid Cherokee fishing license is also required, which is a separate cost for those not already possessing one. Registration ends at 10 a.m. the day of the tournament, at the Cherokee Fair Grounds.

In the next six weeks, depending on weather conditions, rangers in the Pisgah National Forest plan a prescribed burn in the Pink Beds area of Transylvania County.  

The burn area will be up to 2,000 acres in size. The purpose is to get rid of downed limbs and trees that could become a catalyst for forest fires and to improve wildlife habitat.

Forest Service Road 1206 (Yellow Gap Road),  476 (Wolf Ford Road) and sections of the Pink Beds Loop trail (118) and Barnett Branch (618) trail might be closed during the burn.  

Approximately 24,000 acres of prescribed burns are scheduled this year on the four national forests across the state. The Pisgah, Appalachian and Grandfather ranger districts in Western North Carolina are working towards increasing the amount of acres treated annually as budgets allow.

Prescribed fire is a valuable wildlife and forest management tool, rangers say. Many ecosystems throughout North Carolina include fire-adapted species. Many native plants and animals need fire in their habitats to reduce competition from invading species, and to add nutrients back into the soil.  

Prescribed burns can reduce buildup of shrubs and dead wood. Burning the same tract of land on a rotation of every three to seven years reduces the buildup of vegetation (fuel), decreasing the chance of severe wildfire. Smoke from wildfires usually has a greater impact on nearby communities and carries more pollutants than smoke from controlled burns.

Prescribed burning also helps support strategic goals of restoring ecological systems to their natural resilience, restoring native vegetation and protecting people and resources from catastrophic fires.

The Tuckaseigee Chapter of Trout Unlimited will conduct basic fly-fishing courses at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Jackson Street in Sylva through May.

The classroom sessions run the first and second Thursday of each month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the church. These two sessions include the basics of mountain trout fishing, and will be followed with a half day on a local stream for those who decide to take up trout fishing and purchase the necessary equipment to fish.

Experienced fishermen will teach the classes. Participants will be asked to make a donation of $50 to St. John’s Church for expenses, and to help support Trout Unlimited in supporting youth attending fly fishing camp in the summer.

Adults who want to learn to fly-fish should be in reasonably good physical condition, and youth should be of an age that they can operate independently, or attend with a paying parent.

The course requires no previous experience in fishing and requires no equipment for the first two sessions.

828.631.2613 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Spring is nearly here, and the running calendar proves it. Here are some 5Ks coming up in the next few weeks.

• Meadowbrook Cubs on the Run 5k and fun-run held March 19 will benefit Meadowbrook Elementary School’s physical education department in Haywood County. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. The race starts at 9 a.m.; the fun-run at 10 a.m. A health fair in the gym is set that same day from 7:30 a.m. to 1l a.m.

The race costs $20, a t-shirt is included in the entry fee for the first 150 people who signup. 828.646.3445. www.mes.haywood.k12.nc.us.

• The Western Carolina PEAKS 5-K Night Race will begin at 8 p.m. Friday, March 25, at Western Carolina Univesrity in front of Scott Residence Hall. The race is sponsored by the PEAKS program, part of WCU’s Department of Residential Living, and proceeds will benefit Relay for Life. $15. 828.227.3232.  

• The Spring Sprint 5-K, also at Western Carolina University, will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 2, hosted by the WCU Physical Therapy Student Association. The race will begin at the campus picnic area. All runners will receive a post-run breakfast, T-shirts and gift bags. Cost is $12 for students and $15 for others. 828.380.1347.

A daylong course in beginner beekeeping will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Swain County N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Bryson City.

The school is sponsored by Smoky Mountain Beekeepers, representing Jackson, Swain and the Cherokee Indian Reservation, and the extension service.

Topics will include basic bee biology, how to get started in beekeeping, insect and disease control, and more. Afternoon sessions include a panel discussion and demonstrations by local beekeepers.

Robert Brewer, University of Georgia’s Apiculture Extension Coordinator, will lead the bee school. Brewer is a certified international honey judge and cofounder of the Young Harris Beekeeping Institute

Cost is $15 prior to April 1, and $20 at the door. Includes lunch and reference materials.

828.586.5490

A growers’ fair will be held April 16 in Dillsboro to benefit Full Spectrum Farms, a nonprofit devoted to supporting those in the autism community.

The fair will be at Monteith Farmstead, the site of last year’s popular Appalachian Growers Fair. The farmstead is located between Dillsboro and Sylva, across from Dillsboro Court.

Vendors are needed. Booths cost $30, and registration closes April 1. Make checks payable to Full Spectrum Farms, Inc. Send signed applications and a check to  

Full Spectrum Farms, Inc., 3101 Old Cullowhee Road, Cullowhee N.C. 28723.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.293.2521.

Watch world-class paddlers compete in both downriver and slalom competitions in the season’s first major competitive event on the Nantahala River March 26-27.

Paddlers from across the country will be compete in the Bank of America U.S. Open, which serves as a qualifying race to make the USA Canoe/Kayak team. Nantahala Outdoor Center is hosting the event, while the Nantahala Racing Club is the organizer.

There will be two events: whitewater slalom, where competitors must weave through a series of gates hung over the river, and wildwater racing, where competitors paddle down a section of river in the fastest possible time.

In slalom competition, competitors are allowed two runs of the course, which are usually paddled in less than two minutes each. The paddlers negotiate 20 gates and get a two-second penalty if they touch one and an insurmountable 50-second penalty for knocking a gate by more than 45 degrees, proceeding in the wrong order or passing through upside-down.

Wildwater racing features both a Sprint competition, where the course is 500-750 meters long, and a Classic competition, which could be up to nine miles long. In wildwater racing, all paddlers compete in one run, head-to-head.

Go to noc.com for more information and click on events.

The 2013 World Freestyle Kayaking Championships being held in the Nantahala Gorge are still two years away, but planning must start now if the region wants to be ready in time.

The freestyle kayaking championship will bring thousands of international visitors to the region, as well as lots of international media coverage. The region will get a trial run of sorts in 2012 when the Junior World Cup Freestyle championship comes to the Gorge.

A forum for tourism-related businesses to talk about preparations for the major influx will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center in Graham County.

Participants will learn what the event entails, how to participate as a tourism partner and how best to leverage the events to encourage tourists to return to the area.

Among the speakers will be Kelly Miller with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce to talk about the lessons he learned as 1996 Olympic Marketing Manager for the Atlanta Chamber; David and Betty Huskins will present the preliminary marketing plan for the events.

Registration preferred. 828.479.3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Western Carolina University’s Base Camp Cullowhee has teamed up with local kayak manufacturers to host its sixth annual kayak demo day on the East Fork of the Tuckaseigee River at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 19.

Attendees will be able to try out the newest models of whitewater kayaks and get tips on kayak skills from area instructors. The event also includes a freestyle competition called the “Slab Town Throw Down” and a ducky race.

The river rapid called “the slab” can be accessed from Shook Cove Road about 2 miles from the intersection with Highway 107. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.3633.

A Wilderness First Aid course will be held at Medwest Health & Fitness Center in Haywood County from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 26 and 27.

Learn how to respond to a variety of emergencies in remote locations such as hypothermia, wounds, infection prevention, altitude-related illnesses, burns, neck and spinal injuries and other topics. It is a recommended course for all outdoor enthusiasts such as fisherman, game hunters, climbers and hikers and persons whose occupations require frequent exposure to the remote outdoors.

All participants must possess up-to-date Basic CPR certification in order to enroll in Wilderness First Aid.

Cost is $120 per person. 828.452.8056.

City Lights Bookstore in Sylva will feature local authors of poetry and nonfiction in the coming week.

Coffee with the Poet will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 17, with Brent Martin. Martin, the featured poet, lives in Cowee and works in forest conservation with The Wilderness Society. His published poetry collections include A Shout in the Woods (2010), and Poems from Snow Hill Road (2007).

WCU authors will be the focus of an event at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 18. The bookstore will host a reception celebrating recent books by the WCU faculty.

The first featured authors will be Elizabeth Heffelfinger and Laura Wright, co-authors of Visual Difference: Postcolonial Studies and Intercultural Cinema, published by Peter Lang Publishers. The reception will also honor Bill Anderson, Jane Brown, and Anne Rogers, co-editors of the Payne-Butrick Papers, a multi-volume collection devoted to Cherokee history and culture up through the Removal, recently published by the University of Nebraska Press.

Heffelfinger is assistant professor of English and coordinator of the Motion Picture Studies Program in English at WCU. Laura Wright is associate professor and director of graduate studies in English at WCU. Bill Anderson is professor of history emeritus, Jane Brown is instructor in anthropology, and Anne Rogers is professor of anthropology, all at WCU.

586.9499.

Author Leanna Sain will give a reading at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville from 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 26.

Sain is the author of the mystery trilogy, which includes Gate to Nowhere, Return to Nowhere and Magnolia Blossoms.

Sain’s most recent book, Magnolia Blossoms, is set during the Civil War. The plot takes the reader to the Union shelling in Charleston harbor and to Atlanta as it burns. Each of Sain’s books is full of action, suspense and romance.

In addition to writing and painting freelance portraits, she co-owns Barewood Furniture and Heartland Amish Furniture with her husband.

828.456.6000.

To the Editor:

An absence of vision and leadership in Washington is threatening the very existence of our nation. Our national defense, economy and our entire way of life is based upon the availability of economical energy. Special interests have kept us from developing our own resources and made us dependent upon nations that do not have our best interests at heart.

It is appalling that our elected leaders sit by and allow us to be held hostage by foreign powers and show such a dismal lack of vision. Vision seems to be only as far as the next election cycle. Even now, with the Middle East in severe turmoil, we do not interpret this as a serious threat to our national security and use it as a wakeup call to take action within our own borders.

The primary responsibility of the President of The United States is to take timely and appropriate action to protect the nation and our constitution from all threats, both foreign and domestic. To this end, I call upon the President to immediately convene a joint session of Congress and declare a National Emergency. By Executive Order, all barriers to energy exploration must be suspended and an immediate national priority established to fast track every step in the licensing and permitting processes to allow for the exploration and extraction of energy resources and the construction of nuclear power generation facilities. The results would be staggering in the investment by private industry, massive job creation, international respect and the confidence of the American people. This action alone would cause the international price of petroleum to plummet.

Without decisive action taken now, our country will soon be at the mercy of unstable nations who have no history of having ever shown mercy to anyone including their own people. Is this what we will leave our children? Is this what our soldiers in uniform gave their lives for?

Please call or email your U. S. senator and sepresentative and urge them to bring this issue forward. We are staring at an oncoming national emergency, frozen in place, with “deer in the headlights” expressions while watching the TV coverage of turmoil in the Middle East. Wake up, we do not have time to waste.

Bruce Gardner

Waynesville

To the Editor:

I find the stories regarding the downsizing of personnel at WCU deeply disturbing. As an alumnus, be it one from many years ago, I am ashamed of my university, particularly in the way the dismissals were handled. I call on all alumni to write letters to the administration expressing your own feelings about the methods used.

I can’t help but think that the university community could have come together and used their good minds to create innovative solutions to this problem. I have read accounts of businesses where employees urged reductions in their salaries rather than see their co-workers dismissed. I don’t know if that strategy would work in the university system, but I am firm in my belief that faculty and students together could find a way.  

If nothing else, the methods used to notify those whose jobs were lost drastically need changing. There appears to be no compassion, only legal protection for the university. And, I don’t buy the notion that supervisors were only following orders. Surely, one’s own humanity would come to the surface and time could be spent preparing a long-term employee for what is going to take place.

The fact that the writing center has been affected is appalling! It is my understanding that the center remains open with a full-time associate director and other personnel.

To me, however, losing someone who has been there for 10 years can’t help but weaken the program. There is something akin to institutional memory that gets lost in situations like this. I do not know the persons involved or the center.

However, I do know that writing is a life-long endeavor. Learning to write for different disciplines, learning the functions of writing, and the structure of writing, not to mention things like spelling, punctuation, grammar, and word use can trip one up throughout life. In fact, I am sure if someone took this letter apart, good advise would follow on ways to make it better.

There is a myth that resides on every university campus that if university students were trained to write well in elementary school and high school, that they would be fully formed writers when they enter university. Good writers are formed by writing across the curriculum through early education on. Many public schools do not follow that principle.

Therefore, writing should be a part of all syllabi on campus, woven into the subject matter. And certainly, if there is help for students, such as a writing center, it and the people who work there should be nurtured.

Other than alumni letting the administration know how you feel, I urge the university community to demonstrate visible and public support for those who have lost their positions. It really is time for people to shed their fear and stand up.  

Linda Watson

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

I ask that our newly elected Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, lead the way for the state Republican representatives and vote no to the unneccessary imposition of a government issued Voter ID on North Carolinians. This will ultimately be an outrageous and uncalled for expense for our state budget as well as for those who can ill afford but will be expected to obtain these IDs.

I have supplied your office with just one of several available studies on the ultimate cost this will impose on all our taxpayers. Studies, readily available on the Internet conclude this is not a cost effective effort. Even studies that do not specifically state the ultimate expense of implementation waffle on the actual benefit of such a bill.  

In short, the proposed bill will not be a solution nor a deterrent to what is a virtually non-existent problem, so why create a taxpayer expense?

Your email response was that our sources differ, however did not detail or provide a link to any source where you find proof other than non-specific references. This appears as a ploy to block the vote of a select segment of North Carolinians. This same ploy is now being foisted as a cost-cutting effort on the public in so many other states.

You further stated that we could therefore agree to disagree. That would be fine under other less important circumstances that would not negatively impact many of our citizens, or the state budget. What’s needed is a bonafide “do-good solution” for real and present problems! A solution that actually creates jobs, supports education, benefits our environment, and other truly pressing needs. This bill is a only a “feel-good solution” to a mythical problem of extensive voter fraud.

So no, we can’t simply agree to disagree – you have a vote, I do not. My option as a voter is to request that you utilize your vote to its highest and best purpose to benefit our state and our people.

Shirley Ches

Franklin

Tourists and visitors can now pick up a free copy of the 2011 NC Mountains Visitors Guide from the Jackson County Travel & Tourism Authority. The 36-page, full color guide details hiking, rafting, fly fishing and other outdoor activities in Cashiers, Cherokee, Cullowhee, Dillsboro and Sylva. It includes shopping, dining and lodging information as well as a pull-out map of hiking trails and waterfalls. The guide can be viewed online.

www.MountainLovers.com or 800.962.1911.

The inaugural Golf Classic hosted by the Wesley Foundation at Western Carolina University is coming April 16 to the Lake Junaluska Golf Course.

The classic will include a shotgun start at 1 p.m., and will be captain’s choice. The entry fee is $200 per team of 4, or $50 for an individual who will be put on a team upon arrival. The fee includes 18 holes of golf, a gift bag, a post-tournament cookout and chances for prizes.

The funds raised at the Golf Classic will be used to continue a variety of ministry efforts for the Wesley Foundation.

Sue Heckert at 828.293.9215, or Jay Hinton at 828.368.4235. www.wcuwesley.com

A viewing of Davis Guggenheim’s film, “Waiting for Superman” will be held at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, in the Waynesville library auditorium.

A discussion will follow after the movie on the issue of school choice.

The movie is a real-life documentary about the lives of five  kids and the heart-breaking situations they (and thousands more) face every day because American public educational system is failing them.

Parking at the library is limited — please park in the First Methodist parking lot on Boyd Avenue, which runs down beside the Library.

He move is free, and is sponsored by the Haywood County 9-12 TEA Party.

The Haywood County Arts Council held its 13th Annual Student Honors Recital on Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville.

More than 100 audience members enjoyed a wide range of performances at the Haywood County Arts Council’s at the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville.

Students gave performances including: classical and contemporary piano, voice and brass. Performers were David Kevin Barker, Sidney Gaddis, Madison Garris, Andrew Hammel, Katelyn Hammel, Caitlin Hines, Anthony Huber, Ann Kram, Christopher Lile, Jesse Lloyd, Keegan Lucky-Smith, Isley McClure, Sadie McClure, Catherine Patten, Jordan Santoro, Corey Schiffhauer, Andrew Summers, Daniel Tran, Peter Tran and Caroline Vargas.

Students were from the studios and classrooms of the following teachers: Andrea Adamcova, Carol Gore, Lori Hammel, Mildred McSwain, Elisabeth Price, Roberto Robles (English teacher, Tuscola High), Jennifer Santoro, Travis Stuart (Junior Appalachian Musicians program), and Anna Watson. Mrs. Watson coordinated the recital, Craig Summers and Jennifer Santoro served as accompanists and stage manager was Rob Watson. The reception was provided by the teachers and members of the Haywood County Arts Council’s piano committee.

Of additional interest, recital participant Ann Kram (district Poetry Out Loud champion) was recently named one of nine finalists at the North Carolina Poetry Out Loud Recitation Competition in Raleigh. Old-time banjo player Keegan Lucky-Smith is one of four old-time music student apprentices selected by the North Carolina Arts Council this school year. Keegan is a member of the Haywood County Arts Council’s after school Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program.

For more information about the Student Honors Recital visit the website at www.haywoodarts.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Haywood-County-Arts-Council/58526773784 or call the office at 828.452.0593.

Part class, part performance, the Taste of Home Cooking School is coming to the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24. Tickets are $10.

Chef Michelle Roberts will teach 10 new recipes, from snacks, dips and appetizers to entrees and desserts. She’ll also demonstrate tricks of the trade and have fun with cooking gadgets that will make life easier.

All participants will learn new recipes and will receive a free gift bag.

866.273.4615 or visit GreatMountainMusic.com.

The Pirate’s Ball, an annual gala to raise funds for Folkmoot, will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, April 2, at the Laurel Ridge Country Club.

The evening will be emceed by Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown and auctioneer Richard Hurley. Guests can come dressed as pirates or wear any tropical-themed attire. Prizes will be awarded for the best pirate costumes.

The event will feature hors d’ouevres, desserts, dancing and the chance to rescue community leaders ‘kidnapped’ for $500 ransoms.

Tickets are $50 per person.

877.365.5872 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society will hold its next monthly meeting at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 25, at the First Baptist Church in Waynesville. The annual dinner meeting will be in the fellowship hall with dinner prepared by the women of First Baptist Church.  Reservations are required at a cost of $12 per person.

There will be a short business meeting at 7 p.m. followed by a program presented by Bobbie Jaynes Triplett Curtis entitled “The Bright Forever,” a one-woman play written by local playwright Gary Carden.

828.456.3923. Leave a message giving the number of requested dinners, a contact name and telephone number.

“Jazz It Up,” a concert by saxophonist Lloyd Weinberg and vibraphonist Paul Babelay, will be presented at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 17, in the main hall of the Macon County Public Library.

The program spans jazz styles from Dixieland, Latin and swing, to contemporary works, including classics like “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Take the A Train,” with an audience participation tribute to Saint Patrick’s Day.

Light refreshments will be served. Admission is by donation. 828.524.7683 or visit www.artscouncilofmacon.org.

A St. Patrick’s Day Irish Buffet Fund Raiser will be held at the Station Restaurant and The Storytelling Center in Bryson City from 5 p.m., with storytelling to begin at 7 p.m., on Thursday, March 17, hosted by The Storytelling Center of the Southern Appalachians.

The buffet will feature traditional Irish dishes, such as corned beef and cabbage, Balleymaloe stew, Colcannon and Bangers, shepherd’s pie and soda bread. The price of the buffet is $9.95 plus tax. A donation is requested at the storytelling event, to be held after dinner. Theme for the evening is “The Irish in the Southern Appalachians.”

Western Carolina University musical theater students will present Cole Porter’s classic musical “Kiss Me, Kate” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 24 to 26, and at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 27, in the Fine and Performing Arts Center.

The play chronicles the complicated relationships on and off the stage of a group of theater actors as they prepare a production of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.”

Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and $5 for students.

828.227.2479 or visit theatretickets.wcu.edu.

Kids who love to sing and are in first through 12th grades next year are invited to Open Rehearsal Night for Voices in the Laurel Children’s Choir.

There will be singing, fun, instruments, food and audition information. Open rehearsals are Tuesday, March 22, at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Waynesville. Rehearsals are held by age group: Treble Makers (first and second grades) 4 to 4:45 p.m.; Concert Choir (third through fifth grades) 5 to 6 p.m., Chamber Choir (sixth through 12th grades) 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

Voices in the Laurel is Western North Carolina’s renowned youth choir, made of regional students from elementary through high school. The group offers an authentic program that focuses on providing young people quality choral education in fun and innovative ways. Categories of musical styles vary from gospel and hymns to jazz, international, Celtic, and traditional folk music. The mission of Voices in the Laurel is for choristers to develop skills and confidence that will stick with them for life.

828.734.8413 or visit www.voicesinthelaurel.org.

Blood, Sweat and Tears will appear at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 19. Chuck Negron, former lead singer of Three Dog Night will also appear with the group.

Racking up sales in the millions, BS&T earned multiple gold albums, 10 Grammy nominations, and won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The world was introduced to Chuck Negron and Three Dog Night in 1969 by the breakthrough million seller “One.” Driven by Chuck Negron’s solo lead vocals on four million selling singles, three #1 records, five top-5 hits and seven top 40 hits, Negron put and kept Three Dog Night on the charts for six years.

Tickets are $45. 866.273.4615 or visit GreatMountainMusic.com.

The next Winter Barn Dance at the Bascom in Highlands is scheduled for 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. The evening will be to honor veterans and tickets are $5 per person. Admission for honorees is complimentary. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

828.526.4949 or visit www.thebascom.org.

The 9th Annual “Whole Bloomin’ Thing” Spring Festival Committee is now accepting applications from local growers, artisans, and wellness-and-nature-related professionals for this year’s event, to be held on Saturday, May 7, in Waynesville’s Frog Level.

E-mail to request an application. Applications are due March 31.

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The Tuckasegee Tavern, a new tavern on Depot Street in Bryson City, is opening its doors for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 17, featuring musical guests Aaron Plantenburg and Larry Barnette.

The bar will also host a Relay for Life Benefit on Saturday, March 19, with music by DJ Kevin Parker and their Grand Opening Party is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, featuring Big House Radio, with special guest Kenton and Kelly.

Weekly events include movies at 9 p.m. each Monday, karaoke with The Big Choago at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and team trivia from 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

828.388.9880 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Groovy Movie Club will show the film “Secretariat“ at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 18, at the home of Buffy Queen in Dellwood. A mostly organic potluck dinner will precede the screening at 6:15 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

The Groovy Movie Club meets the second or third Friday of every month to show excellent films, both feature and documentary, with a message. A discussion will follow.

828.926.3508 or 828.454.5949 for reservations and directions or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The following statement was issued by the Swain County Board of Commissioners after the DSS board failed to take action Tuesday night to suspend employees named in an SBI investigation:

The Swain County Board of Commissioners is extremely disappointed with the actions of the Department of Social Services Board. During the last Commissioner’s meeting the Board asked the DSS Board to temporarily suspend employees that had been named in the investigation.  This is a procedure that is followed in most Counties in North Carolina.  It has never been the intention of the Board of Commissioners to accuse anyone of wrong-doing, but suspending the employees would help authorities with the State conduct an unbiased investigation and have more flexibility to do their job.

These suspensions would help DSS regain the trust of the community.  The Commissioners feel that the DSS board members are not working for the citizens of Swain County. The DSS Board did not vote on this issue at their Tuesday night meeting.  The Board of Commissioners feel that the needs of the children should have more priority than the needs of the Director or employees.

Therefore, the Commissioners urge all the current DSS Board members to immediately resign, so that these positions can be filled with people who are not afraid to put the best interests of children and families of Swain County first at all times.

Biologists recently confirmed white-nose syndrome at a third site in North Carolina, meaning two counties are now positive for the disease that has killed hundreds of thousands of bats in the eastern United States.

The disease was confirmed late last month in Yancey County. It was previously discovered in a retired Avery County mine and in a cave at Grandfather Mountain State Park.

“We knew that white-nose syndrome was coming and began preparing for its arrival, but we have a lot of work to do to address the impact of this disease on bats and our natural systems” said Chris McGrath, wildlife diversity program coordinator in the N.C. Wildlife Commission’s Wildlife Management Division.

While much remains to be learned about white-nose syndrome, there is evidence that people may inadvertently spread the fungus believed to cause the disease from cave-to-cave. Therefore, the most important step people can take to help bats is staying out of caves and mines.

While there are no known direct human health effects of the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, the impact upon humans, other wildlife, and agriculture as a result of declines in bat populations could be substantial. Bats play a significant role as night-flying insect predators.

At this time, the fungus appears to grow on bat skin in the cave environment during hibernation. Infected bats may spread the fungal spores to other bats and roosts during the warmer summer months; however, the fungus only grows in a narrow range of temperatures (41 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit) in high humidity conditions.

The Rev. Daniel P. Matthews of Waynesville has been selected as the new board chair of Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the first from North Carolina since the regional organization’s inception in 1993.  

Matthews and his wife, Deener, own and operate the Swag Country Inn on the border of the national park in Haywood County. They also serve on the foundation board of the Haywood Regional Medical Center. Matthews is rector emeritus of New York City’s Trinity Episcopal Church on Wall Street, and currently serves as trustee and co-chair of the development committee for The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Matthews’ 17-year tenure with Trinity included serving as an advocate for and commentator on the church’s post-Sept. 11 mission, which included a 24-hour center of refuge and relief for eight months after the attack. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his leadership during that period.

Other changes to the board of Friends of the Smokies include the election of Nancy Daves of Knoxville, Tenn., as a director. Stephen W. Woody of Asheville, founding vice chair, now serves as treasurer. Dale Keasling of Knoxville is vice chair, and Knoxville’s Kay Clayton is the board secretary.

Friends of the Smokies in a nonprofit organization that has raised more than $31 million to support educational programs, historic preservation projects and more.

Visit the organization’s website at www.friendsofthesmokies.org/aboutus.html.

Western North Carolina Alliance has put together a panel of experts to talk about white-nose syndrome, a disease that threatens our bat population.

The program will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, at the University of North Carolina in Asheville at the Humanities Lecture Hall.

The panel will discuss how white-nose syndrome is being treated, implications of the infestation and what it means to the rest of us. An audience question and answer will follow the panel discussion.

On hand will be Bill Stiver, a wildlife biologist for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Chris Nicolay, an associate professor of biology at UNC Asheville; Dan Henry of the National Speleological Society an Flittermouse Grotto of Western North Carolina; Susan Loeb, a research ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Research Station; Ben Prater, associate director of Wild South; Gabrielle Graeter, a wildlife diversity biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission; and Sue Cameron, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The panel will be moderated by Susan Sachs, Education Coordinator at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

White-nose syndrome was recently identified in WNC’s bat population, the first appearances of the illness in this state. This disease is believed to be caused by a fungus, Geomyces destructans, which is estimated to have killed more than a million bats in the eastern United States between 2006 and 2010. The disease can kill up to 100 percent of bat colonies during hibernation and could result in the extinction of numerous bat species 828.258.8737 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A free workshop will be held March 25 on the voluntary agricultural district programs and farmland protection planning for counties and municipalities.

The workshop (rescheduled from March 18) will be at the Haywood County Center in Waynesville from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Topics will include and overview of estate-tax changes, farmland protection plan development, agritourism and other economic development opportunities, nuisance protection, condemnation and eminent domain.

These workshops are for board members, program staff, planners, farmers and others from counties and municipalities with these type programs, or those considering adopting such programs.

www.ncadfp.org/2011_VAD_Workshops.htm.

While there is no fee for this workshop, there is a voluntary lunch donation.

A St. Patrick’s Day “green” fundraiser is set for Saturday, March 12, from 6-9:30 p.m. at Nantahala Brewery in Bryson City.

The brewery is on Depot Street. There will be Irish music by Bean Sidhe (“Banshee”), plus Celtic jamming. Bring a covered dish to share. Cost is $10 for members of the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River; $15 for others. There will be a cash bar.

Reservations are appreciated but not required. 828.488.8418 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Don’t have a greenhouse, or worried your cat will destroy any new plants? Then get an early start on this year’s garden by letting the folks at Old Armory Recreation Center Greenhouse take on your plants.

The greenhouse will open March 14 at 7 a.m. Trays can be rented at a cost of $5 per tray. The maximum allowed is five trays per person.

Hurry, because only 200 trays are sold. You provide the seeds. Trays will be watered everyday, and you can check on your plants during operating hours. The hours are Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

This program is conducted on a first come first serve basis. Reservations must be made in person at the facility.

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

Still haven’t checked out the national treasure of hiking trails in our backyard in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? Or haven’t ventured beyond one or two trailheads?

Join Friends of the Smokies hiking enthusiast and author Danny Bernstein and a panel of Smokies hikers at REI in Asheville at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9, to learn more about the ins and outs of hiking in the Smokies. From a leisurely stroll along the Oconaluftee River to a two-night backpack along the Appalachian Trail, our adventurous panel has endeavored to hike all the trails in the Smokies.

Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library will have hundreds of books, DVDs, CDs and other media on sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 16.

Fiction and nonfiction, reference materials such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, children’s books, an assortment of maps, and books in the sciences, technology, social sciences and humanities will all be on sale.

Prices will be 25 cents for paperbacks and $1 for hard copies. Only cash purchases will be allowed.

Visitors coming to WCU for the sale may park in any available campus parking space, except for reserved spaces.