The second case of rabies in eastern Haywood County in less than a week has been confirmed, marking the fourth case so far this year in the same general area of the county.

Two cases were in skunks and two were in raccoons. Before this year, only five cases of rabies had been confirmed in Haywood County since 2006.

In the most recent incident, a Canton area resident discovered a skunk in their barn, exhibiting unusual behavior. According to the incident report, the skunk was off balance and falling down. The skunk was killed and sent to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services laboratory, where it tested positive.

Also last week, a group of hunting dogs got into a fight with the raccoon. The raccoon was killed and the owner of the dogs reported the incident. Tests on the raccoon came back positive.

Two vaccination clinics have been scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, July 6 and 7, at North Canton Elementary School. According to North Carolina law, all dogs and cats four months old and older must be vaccinated against rabies.

“There is really no better way to protect family members from rabies exposure and avoid the high expense associated with treatment and keeping pets quarantined than getting and keeping your pets vaccinated,” said Haywood County Health Director Carmine Rocco. “Even if you don’t live in the area where these incidents occurred, it’s a good idea to bring your pets over to be vaccinated.”

828.456.5538 or 828.452.6675. Information on rabies is also available on the web at www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/rabies or at www.cdc.gov.ncidod/dvrd/rabies.

Western Carolina University’s Academic Success Program (ASP) is working with associates from the Sylva Wal-Mart for a day of service from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, to help benefit several local community-based programs.

It will be held in the parking lot behind Wal-Mart’s garden center and will include a variety of fundraising events. A carnival with food, games and inflatable jump houses will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is open to children of all ages. Paws, the WCU mascot, will be there to greet the community as they enjoy the day’s festivities.  

A benefit concert, featuring The Mixx, will be held after the carnival from 5 to 8 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Community Table and REACH of Jackson County as well as Full Spectrum Farms, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Skyland Care Center and CuRvE. People who come to this year’s Day of Service will have the opportunity to shop for a wish list provided by the Community Table and REACH. Wal-Mart will provide a matching grant of up to $1,000 for each agency in addition to helping offset the cost of the event.

828.227.7184 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.2217 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Haywood County Volunteer Center awarded Judy Smith of the Fines Creek Community Association’s MANNA food bank program as the outstanding Volunteer of the Year. Also recognized were:

• Patricia Stevenson with the Good Samaritan Clinic and John Hawkins with Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice and Palliative Care.

• In the youth category, Susan Nations won through her work at the Kids at Work! Program.

• In the faith-based category, Alice Fisher received the award with her work with the Community Kitchen.

• The group award was given to Haywood Middle Academy and Donna McCullough for their work with Meals on Wheels.

• The Director of Volunteers award was given to Jeanne Naber for coordinating over 200 volunteers for Meals on Wheels.

A cooking program called “Fresh Ways with Local, Seasonal Food” will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, as part of the Good Cooks series in Sylva. Chef Lindsay Kent with Rosebud Cottage in Franklin and will focus on fresh and local ingredients used in quick and easy meal preparation. She will also offer tips on short cuts, knife skills and easy ways to make meals more flavorful without adding lots of sugar, salt or fat. Participants will get to sample four dishes she will prepare.

To attend, call 828.586.4009 by July 18. Held at in the Community Service Center.

MedWest Health System is breaking ground on a new outpatient services center  at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 11, on the MedWest-Haywood campus.

The new outpatient services center will include imaging services, lab services, endoscopy, two outpatient surgery rooms and two procedure rooms, as well as rehabilitation services. Women’s diagnostic services also will be located in the new building, including digital mammography, breast MRI, ultrasound, stereotactic breast imaging, the Nurse Navigator service and bone density testing.

Patients previously had to go to the hospital to receive these services. The outpatients center will provide for a quicker, smoother and easier patient experience.

There also will be space for two physician practices.

MedWest is also opening an urgent care center in Sylva on August 1, and an urgent care center in Canton in December. An inpatient hospice unit at MedWest-Haywood scheduled for completion in November.

Democrats are crying foul over new Congressional district lines that with seemingly surgical precision slice the City of Asheville, a liberal stronghold, out of the 11th Congressional District.

The maps, drawn by state Republican leaders in the the GOP-dominated General Assembly, are no doubt a political move, according to Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University.

“This is the game that both parties play,” Cooper said. “They know exactly what they are doing.”

The new 11th Congressional District would include Mitchell, Avery, Caldwell and Burke counties. In exchange, the district divests itself of Asheville and eastern Buncombe, as well as Polk County. The mountain district will shift from 43 percent of the voters being registered Democrats to 36 percent.

The result: a far more conservative voting base, and much more difficult re-election campaing next year for three-term Democrat Congressman Heath Shuler of Waynesville.

Shuler seized the district in 2006 over eight-term incumbent Charles Taylor, R-Transylvania County, and has easily won back his seat every election since. His opponent last fall was considered an admirable opponent, and the year was a watershed for Republicans, but even then Shuler handily kept his seat with more than 54 percent of the vote.

That may not be the case in 2012 given the new district lines, however. Shuler is one of several previously Democratic-leaning districts that has been infused with just enough GOP voters to tip the balance.

As for what to do with all those Democratic voters? The best bet is to lump as many as possible into as few districts as possible. In otherwords, pick a few Democratic-leaning districts to be sacrifical lambs. Stack them heavily with Democrats, while spreading Republican voters around to have just enough of an edge in as many districts as possible.

“Any vote after 50 plus one is a wasted vote,” Cooper said. “The reason you do that is not to dominate a few districts but to win a lot of districts by a little bit.”

All the while, however, the districts must make geographic sense or else risk being overturned in a court battle. If the other party can prove gerrymandering and show that districts are not geographically “compact,” a lawsuit over the district lines is likely.

In this instance, Cooper doesn’t think the new mountain districts cross that line. He sees the districts being geographically close enough to be bullet proof in court, yet still achieving their purpose of favoring Republicans.

“They did a great job of it. The more I look at the more impressed I am,” Cooper said.

Mike Clampitt of the Swain County Republican Party said the redrawing wasn’t tit-for-tat as it might appear — Democrats have a long history of gerrymandering districts in North Carolina — but a case of putting likes with likes.

“This balances the playing field,” Clampitt said. “Asheville is more like the Greensboro and Charlotte area.”

That metropolitan, urban mindset is at odds with the rural understandings and needs of the bulk of the 11th Congressional District, Clampitt said.

Members of the opposing party see the situation differently, however: “Democrats will not take this lying down,” promised Janie Benson of the Haywood County Democratic Party.

“I’m stunned, because the distance between Caldwell county and Cherokee county is so great,” Benson said, adding that the redistricting proposed by Republicans is a “blatant” attempt to wrest the district from Democrats.

“Frankly the redistricting maps that I’ve seen just look unfair,” she said. “The Democrats, to my knowledge, have never been so obvious in whatever they were doing. This just seems almost like a punishment, and it feels that way somewhat.”

In addition to threatening Democrats hold on the 11th Congressional District, Democrats could also lose control of the 7th, 8th and 13th districts.

But Kirk Callahan of Haywood County, a self-described conservative, believes Republicans might be missing the mark some. While cautioning he hasn’t had time to fully assess the potential voter fallout, Callahan thinks the growing bloc of unaffiliated voters could actually dictate who wins and who loses.

“They are key,” Callahan said. “A candidate has to earn the votes, because they are not going to be swayed by party labels or an appeal to party loyalty.”

Callahan, by way of example, pointed to Taylor’s defeat, saying he was dismayed by the longtime congressman’s unabashed support of earmarks.

“That didn’t sit well with me, because (earmarks) really corrupted the budgeting process,” he said.

Lawmakers will vote on the redistricting plan in a special session that starts July 25.

Across the state, there were five districts that posted major geographical shifts. Four are seats currently held by vulnerable Democrats that have now seen the scales tip in their district to favor Republicans — as is the case with Shuler’s district. The fifth that showed the biggest changes was held by a vulnerable Republican, but is now more solidly Republican.

“It is really clear they targeted these vulnerable Democrats,” Cooper said.

Shuler’s new district would be the most Republican-leaning district in the state when judging by those who voted for McCain over Obama in 2008.

Shuler is a conservative Democratic at best — others considered him a DINO, or Democrat In Name Only — and plays well with conservative Southern Democrats and even many Republicans.

But under the new district lines, even that may not be enough, Cooper said.

“For Shuler to win he would have to practicaly completely separate himself from the Democratic party,” Cooper said. “This is going to be a really intersting race.”

Why the new voting maps?

Every 10 years, along with the census, state legislative and Congressional districts are redrawn to reflect the population change. As the population grows, so does the number of people each elected leader represents.

The state’s Congressional District will need to grow from the current 619,177 people to the 733,499 each, plus or minus 5 percent.

Since growth was more robust in urban areas, districts in rural regions like Western North Carolina will have to expand geographically to take in the required number of people.

Under the proposed new maps, which sever Asheville from the district, it would lose 9,000 Democrats and gain 26,000 Republicans.

The Department of Justice issues guidelines governing how states can and can’t be carved up, and they must approve a map before it can be put into action.

Currently, redistricting is done by legislators and is a highly partisan affair. With every redistricting comes a court challenge from one side or the other, claiming that the lines are unfair.

But under new legislation recently passed by the state House, the process would become staff-driven, with a simple up-or-down vote by legislators. It’s based on a system long used by Iowa, where no redistricting has been to court in the four decades since the system was put into place.

The measure is now headed to the Senate.

Speak up

Weigh in on new Congressional districts

A public hearing on the new Congressional district maps will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 7, at  Western Carolina University in the Cordelia Camp Building.

It is one of nine across the state on the same day and time. There is also one in the Ferguson Auditorium at A-B Tech.

The hearings are sponsored by the Joint House and Senate Redistricting Committee, and anyone wishing to comment can sign up online at www.ncga.state.nc.us or in person the day of the hearing.  Written comments can also be submitted on the North Carolina General Assembly’s Website.

Blue Ridge Books will host Rick McDaniel, the author of An Irresistible History of Southern Food: Four Centuries of Black-Eyed Peas, Collard Greens, & Whole Hog Barbeque, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 9.

McDaniel has been a working journalist for 30 years and a full-time food writer for more than a decade. Coconut cakes, vegetables fresh from the garden and abundant Sunday dinners flavored his upbringing in a small North Carolina town in the 1960s. A member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, he is dedicated to preserving Southern culinary heritage by collecting and publishing historical recipes.

He has been a consultant to the producers of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network and Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations on the Travel Channel, as well as a Southern Regional panelist for the James Beard Foundation’s chef and restaurant awards.

McDaniel explores the history of over 150 recipes, from Maryland stuffed ham to South Carolina chicken bog to New Orleans shrimp Creole.

828.456.6000.

The Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival will be held July 7 through 10 in Highlands.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 7, author and interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein, will speak at The Farm at Old Edwards. Tickets for the lectures are $65 per person.

From 6 to 8 p.m. that evening there will be a flower show preview and Frank Stella: American Master opening reception at The Bascom. This is a first peek at the floral, horticultural and photography exhibitions that comprise the flower show. Tickets are $50 per person and will include cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres.

On July 8 and 9, five gardens in the Highlands Country Club area will be featured on a garden tour. Parking for the tours will be at the Highlands Civic Center, where participants will be shuttled to houses. Tickets are $80.

The admission-free flower show will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10, at The Bascom.

Mountains in Bloom benefactors will also tour the Southern Highlands Reserve at Lake Toxaway from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 10. The Southern Highlands Reserve is a private native plant garden and research center dedicated to the preservation, cultivation and display of plants native to the Southern Appalachian Highlands.

Benefactors are also invited to a “Some Enchanted Evening” Benefactor Party on Sunday, July 10, featuring music by Jim Gibson of Hickory Cove Music. A seated dinner will follow.

828.526.4949 or visit www.thebascom.org.

Musicians Larry and Elaine Conger will host the 12th annual Mountain Dulcimer Week, to be held Sunday, July 17, through Friday, July 22, on the campus of Western Carolina University.

This week-long residential program draws dulcimer enthusiasts from around the country for a week of dulcimer music, training, fun and fellowship.

Attendees spend mornings developing their playing skills and afternoons choosing from electives that allow them to explore different facets of the versatile mountain dulcimer.

Larry Conger is the author of eight books of dulcimer arrangements and has been featured on numerous recordings, including “Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer II,” “National Champions” and “Great Players of the Mountain Dulcimer.” He presents dulcimer programs in the public schools as a participating artist for the Tennessee Arts Commission and Kentucky Arts Council.

Elaine Conger’s musical career includes playing keyboards and singing backup for country music artist Faith Hill. With her husband, Conger now owns and operates a music studio that offers instruction in piano, guitar, drums, voice and mountain dulcimer.

828.227.7397 or visit dulcimer.wcu.edu.

Al Jardine and his Endless Summer Band will fill the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts with summer music at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 9.

The band is led by Al Jardine of Beach Boys fame and features a number of stage musicians who toured with the Beach Boys.

Jardine is a founding member of the Beach Boys, of which he was a part for 35 years. Jardine was the band’s rhythm guitarist and harmony vocalist and sang lead on Beach Boys favorites “Help Me Rhonda” and “Then I Kissed Her.”

Jardine released his first full-length solo studio album, “A Postcard from California,” in June 2010. The album contains contributions from fellow Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, David Marks, and Mike Love, along with guest appearances from Neil Young, Steve Miller and others.

Tickets are $35. 866.273.4615 or visit www.greatmountainmusic.com.

On Saturday, July 9, Grammy-award winner Laurie Lewis will give an after-dinner performance at Cataloochee Ranch.

Lewis is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and fiddle player from California. Her performing companion is ace mandolinist-singer Tom Rozum. Their 1996 CD, “The Oak and the Laurel,” was nominated for a Grammy and Lewis’ stage shows are known for their musical virtuosity and front-porch friendliness.

Her songs helped shape the template for the modern bluegrass-pop style.

The cost of the evening event, which includes dinner, will be $40 per person or $20 per person without dinner.

For reservations call 828.926.1401.

Pete Friedman will bring his music to the Jackson County Public Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, with a program of jazz and blues tunes on electric and acoustic guitars.

Friedman has been playing guitars for 47 years and is a musician, composer and guitar teacher. For the past nine years he has been accompanying the choir and pianist at Whittier United Methodist Church. Prior to that, he played in many bands during the 60s, including underground groups and a psychedelic band called the Second Foundation in New York City. He has played lead guitar for singer/songwriter Kath Bloom and many others.

This program is free to the public and is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Main Library. 828.586.2016.

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will host and sponsor a free performance of The Liars Bench, a Southern Appalachian variety show, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 7.

The Liars Bench was founded by Sylva writer and storyteller Gary Carden in June 2010, and the show’s cast has been presenting monthly programs at City Lights bookstore in Sylva for the past year.

The upcoming performance at the museum, titled “On the Wings of a Snow-White Dove,” will have old-time religion as the theme. Carden, artistic director and host for the shows, will perform “Go Down Death” with musician Steve Brady. The White Sisters of Franklin will present gospel music favorites and Will Peebles, director of WCU’s School of Music, will demonstrate shape-note singing, with audience participation.

The show also will feature Mary Fowler, a spiritual singer from Liberty Baptist Church, and Paul Iarussi, a claw-hammer guitar player recently featured on the History Channel.

The Mountain Heritage Center will host another Liars Bench performance on at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4, with the theme “Cherokee in a Changing World: Traditional and Contemporary Legends and Lore.”

828.227.7129.

The World Massage Festival will hold its 6th annual festival from July 14 to 17 at Western Carolina University.

The festival allows the local community to experience various types of massage, learn about massage therapy as a profession, speak with massage schools and network with the industry’s world class instructors and therapists from around the country.

It is open to the public, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Hundreds of health and massage-related products will be on displayed, demonstrated and offered for sale.

Sweet Serenity will be offering a wide variety of massage techniques at $1 per minute.  All proceeds will be donated to the Shriner Children’s Burn Hospital in Greenville, S.C.

336.957.8997 or visit www.worldmassagefestival.com.

The Groovy Movie Club will show the film “Amish Grace” at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 8. A mostly organic potluck dinner will precede the screening at 6:15 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and it meets at Buffy Queen’s home in Dellwood.

The mission of the Groovy Movie Club is to show excellent films, both feature and documentary, with a message. A discussion will follow for all who wish to participate.

828.926.3508 or 828.454.5949 to make reservations and get directions or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Tim Lynch will lead off the 2011 Franklin Folk Festival at 9 a.m. on July 16 at the downtown gazebo stage in Franklin.

Lynch is the leader of the Tallahassee-based band Sojourn and has played for decades in Florida. Sojourn has a newly released CD titled Lilting Banshee that will be for sale and the proceeds will be donated to REACH of Macon County.

Lynch specializes in traditional Appalachian and other American roots and Celtic music and storytelling. He sings and plays the guitar, mandolin, dulcimers, banjo, mandolin and bouzouki and will often be joined by musical friends.

Lynch has played at the Franklin Taste of Scotland and Franklin Folk Festival and hosted the festival’s jamming tent over the past few years. He again will be playing and serve as one of the 2011 Taste of Scotland Festival.

The Highlands Motoring Festival is scheduled for July 15 to 17, in downtown Highlands.

The festival will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening, July 15, with early registration and cruise-in activities. There will be prizes awarded and items will be available for purchase.

Saturday features a car show scheduled 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park. Participants will be vying for Best of Show and Top 25 awards. The public can participate in the judging by voting for the People’s Choice Award. In addition to the automobiles, there will be food, entertainment, raffles, Highlands Motoring Festival promotion items for sale and many pets seeking homes.

The event will also feature the Bridgestone Racing Simulator; the simulator will provide the public the opportunity to test their driving skills on a high-speed road course. Activities continue Sunday with a road rally and brunch. Cars and their owners will gather on Main Street at 9 a.m. for instructions and directions. The road rally is open to everyone and any type vehicle. Participants will depart Main Street about 9:30 a.m. for a three-hour tour of local mountain roads that includes drive-by visits to three waterfalls.

The road rally will conclude with a meeting at the Ugly Dog Pub for award presentations.

This year’s event will provide financial support to the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society.

There is no admission fee to attend any of the activities. Registration fee for car show participants is $25 per car for prior registrations and $35 on the show date. Participation fee for the road rally and brunch is $15 per person.

Visit www.highlandsmotoringfestival.com or www.highlandschamber.org.

The Mountain Artisans Summertime Art & Crafts Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 2 and 3 in the Ramsey Center at Western Carolina University.

This year’s event has 115 exhibitors showcasing contemporary and heritage art & crafts. An array of items will be displayed for sale, including fine art, woodworking, pottery, weavings, paintings and gourd art. Heritage crafts such as shaker brooms, pine needle baskets and folk dolls will be available, along with heirloom fabric items.

Admission is $3 for adults. Children under 12 are admitted free. Free parking is also available.

828.524.3405 or visit www.mountainartisans.net.

Brian Bartel, a local artisan who has spent the last 14 years developing his technique in woodworking with hand tools, will present a demonstration at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, at the Jackson County Public Library.

Bartel started woodworking in 1997 and uses methods of joinery virtually unchanged for a thousand years. Most of his tools are at least 100 years old. Today in his wood shop, Bartel is producing a line of high-end rustic furniture, reclaiming unwanted barn wood.  

Bartel is a member of Handmade in America and has spoken and demonstrated throughout Western North Carolina. He has shown his craft at Mountain Heritage Day and was commissioned through the Grove Wood Gallery to produce high-end custom furniture pieces.

Most recently, he has begun teaching a series of classes dedicated to the art of fine woodworking, focusing on craftsmanship, quality and hand tools at Southwestern Community College.

This program is free to the public and is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Main Library. 828.586.2016.

Witnessing a wild fox is not necessarily a cause for alarm, nor are all foxes rabid or dangerous, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

However, residents should not approach, touch or disturb foxes or their dens. In most cases, people should do nothing when seeing a fox. But if a fox has become habituated to people and is causing a problem, make noise by yelling, banging pots and pans and setting off legal fireworks to chase foxes from yards and neighborhoods. It is necessary to be aggressive and repeat these actions if foxes do not leave.

To prevent problems with any type of wildlife: don’t feed wild animals, clean up pet food, secure trash and barbeque grills, establish protective barriers to keep wildlife from entering basements and crawl spaces where they might build nests or dens, keep pets secured or indoors, clear overhanging tree limbs that wildlife could use to enter a structure, clear fallen fruit from around trees and inspect property annually.

For more information, visit ncwildlife.org and click on “Nuisance Wildlife” or download “Coexisting with Foxes.”

A talk titled “The Southern Blue Ridge at this Moment in History” will discuss growth in the mountains and its impact on farm and forestland at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 7, at the Highlands Biological Station.

The talk is part of the Highlands Biological Foundation “Think About Thursdays” summer event series.

The speaker, Paul Carlson, executive director of the Little Tennessee Land Trust, will talk about the collapse of steep-slope land values, the legacy of substandard road systems and what it means for the future of mountain development, and how these issues tie together with biodiversity and future conservation planning for Western North Carolina.

The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust is co-sponsoring the event, and Executive Director Dr. Gary Wein, will give an introduction.

828.526.2221 or visit www.wcu.edu/hbs.

This upcoming July 4 is a “free fishing day” in North Carolina. Everyone — residents and nonresidents — can fish in all public waters without purchasing a fishing license.

All other fishing regulations, such as length and daily possession limits, as well as bait and tackle restrictions, apply.

“Free fishing day is a great opportunity for families to enjoy some quality time together on the water and it is a relatively inexpensive activity that anyone, no matter what their age or skill level, can enjoy,” said Kyle Briggs, a program manager with the commission’s Division of Inland Fisheries.

A trip for seniors, age 50 and above, to see the elk in Cataloochee Valley will be offered on July 13 by the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department.

Participants should bring cameras, binoculars and folding chairs; they should also bring their own dinner.

The trip will leave the Waynesville Recreation Center at 2 p.m. and return by 9 p.m. $5 for Waynesville Recreation Center members and $7 for nonmembers. Space is limited to the first seven to register.

828.456.2030 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The MedWest-Haywood Triathlon has returned this year with a new summertime date, attracting seasoned triathletes looking for a challenge as well as newcomers just getting their feet wet in the multisport arena.

The race will be held Saturday, July 9, starting from the MedWest Health and Fitness Center in Clyde.

It is the perfect race for new triathletes and those who aren’t wild about open-water swims. The race features a 300-yard pool swim, a 10-mile bike leg and a 5K run. Both the bike and run courses offer scenic views of the area, and both are fast.

Those who raced Haymed before should note the run course has been reversed this year. Maps and cue sheets for both courses can be found at the race page at www.GloryHoundEvents.com.

Registration is limited to 250 athletes.

The Cherokee Runners Moonlight 5K and Fun Run will be held on July 4 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. The run/walk will be followed by the tribe’s Fourth of July celebration and fireworks. The fun run will begin at 7:15 p.m. and the 5K will begin at 7:45

The race will help fund the Cherokee Runners Summer Running Camp, and 20 percent of entry fees will be donated to the Cherokee Special Olympics. The 5K will be a certified USA Track and Field course along well-lit streets through downtown and toward the Casino. There will be one water stop at the turn around/halfway mark.

The pre-registration cost is $15 and late registration is an additional $5. The registration form is online at www.active.com/running/cherokee-nc/4th-of-july-moonlight-5k-2011. Registration and check-in will be from 6 to 7 p.m. on race day. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Learn the basics of canning through workshops offered by the Jackson County N.C. Cooperative Extension Service during the month of July.  

These are hands-on workshops designed to give you experience in processing foods. The class size is small, and participants will take home a jar of canned food. Classes will be held in the conference room of the Community Service Center in Sylva.  

The schedule is as follows:

• Boiling water bath canning, Tuesday, July 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. or Wednesday, July 6, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

• Pressure canning green beans: Tuesday, July 26, form 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. or Wednesday, July 27, from 9 a.m. to noon.

• Canning tomatoes: Thursday, July 28 from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Cost for each class is $5. Copies of the Ball Blue Book will be available for an additional $6. 828.586.4009 to register.

When you walk into an automotive shop you don’t expect to see men in crisp white lab coats and surgical masks sporting plastic green gloves. But Pete Wolosin’s Engine Performance II class at Southwestern Community College is anything but ordinary.

Wolosin and his students are making biodiesel fuel. And they are doing it with used cooking oil from the college’s culinary arts kitchen.

“I’ve got to prepare these students for the future, and that future includes alternative fuel sources,” said Wolosin.

Wolosin’s students learn first-hand the chemistry involved in the biodiesel process, which includes cooking oil, methanol and potassium hydroxide.

“If you don’t mix it properly, you will end up making soap,” Matt Holland, a SCC student from Sylva, said, holding up their first batch, a two-liter bottle full of soap. “We learned quickly what not to do,” he said.

The class used a funnel to pour the mixture of cooking oil, methanol and potassium hydroxide into another container to shake it. After shaking, the mixture changed color and eventually settled into two distinct layers: the bottom is a waste byproduct of glycerin and the top is the biodiesel.

“Not one war has been fought over this oil,” said student Art Zanotti of Sylva.

A weeklong Environmental Camp for ages 10 to 15 offers a full lineup of hands-on nature exploration and fieldtrips.

The camp, put on by Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department, will be held July 18 through July 22 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Town of Waynesville Horticulturalist Jonathan Yates will lead the camp. Learn about soil, trees and plants while visiting waterfalls, going on hikes and exploring Western North Carolina.

All campers need to bring a rain poncho and lunch each day. The cost is $60 for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or $72 for nonmembers. Registration is open now at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

828.456.2030 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To the Editor:

The patronage politics of roads, money, power, and ethics in North Carolina is a strange creature. Individual North Carolina Department of Transportation board members may not receive direct compensation (nor anyone related to them to the first degree) for a road-building project in their districts; yet that is not the whole story.

Every four years the DOT board members are re-appointed (or not) to their districts by the governor. Often, these re-appointed board members have given thousands of dollars to gubernatorial candidates’ campaigns. These DOT commissioners have given money, not necessarily out of their own pockets but through many $100, $200, and $300 contributions that the individual board members receives from other constituents (private citizens, paving companies, architectural firms, etc.). This is called “bundling.”

Many of these smaller (some not so small) contributors do have a stake in the board member’s re-appointment because of either jobs they hold with the DOT or companies who are regular contractors with the DOT. They consequently are dependent upon the DOT board being able to “fast track” certain projects and to informally steer certain projects to these contributors.

Of course the governor has a hand in all this — larger now since Gov. Beverly Perdue centralized more DOT/roads decision-making power in Raleigh back in 2009. Power and perquisites always flow from the governor’s mansion to campaign contributors — always.

Do the Southwestern Community College campuses in Jackson and Macon counties need these multi-million dollar “driveways,” as Jackson County Commission Chairman Jack Debnam calls them, complete with expensive overpasses that only allow for limited on/off access to major roads? No. More economical road designs are possible.

It is not “for the children” — it never has been and never will be. Yet because of the political patronage (jobs, money and power) at stake, these projects will probably get built. Under the state’s ethics statutes, is it legal? Yes. Is it truly ethical? No. But who cares? It is only yours and my money. And money is always the bottom line.

Carl Iobst

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

It is with astonishment that I have been following the flurry of recent articles in the newspapers detailing Jackson County commissioner chair Jack Debnam’s one-man crusade against building an access road on the Southwestern Community College campus.

Mr. Debnam is new to county government, but should he be reminded that his first duty is to serve and represent ALL the constituents of Jackson County, and this includes SCC? For more than 40 years the college has provided a valuable educational opportunity to the people in Jackson County and the surrounding area. As both an educational institution and one of the largest employers in the county, the college has had a positive impact on many lives.

Several weeks ago in an informal discussion regarding safety issues on the SCC campus, Mr. Debnam made a statement to me that, “If a disaster happens at SCC, you folks could just run through the woods.” What a callous and hurtful statement from someone elected (and paid) to serve all the people of Jackson County, including those who because of various handicaps or infirmities cannot “run through the woods.”

For the past 15 years I have been responsible for taking and transcribing the minutes at SCC Board of Trustee meetings. I can assure you that safety has been the primary concern with the connector/loop road and has been discussed frequently. The primary purpose of the minutes is to record actions and resolutions, not a word-by-word narrative discussion.  Narrative is used only for clarification purposes. Safety was not mentioned because it is such an integral part of the road that I did not feel it necessary to include in the record.   

The road is also not a recent concern for Southwestern. The need for an additional access road on the Jackson campus has been an issue for most of my 33 years at the college. In 1994 (17 years ago), the college officially made it part of its master plan, citing safety concerns.  It was also detailed in subsequent college planning documents and correspondence.

One cannot help but wonder — what are Mr. Debnam’s true motivations? Is there a personal vendetta involved here? Is he using his position as an elected official to represent other interests besides those of the taxpayers of Jackson County? Perhaps these are some of the questions that should be asked.

My feelings about this one-man crusade against a community college whose only purpose is to serve and educate the community — well, to borrow a quote from Mr. Debnam, “This stinks so bad, I can hardly stay in the room.”

Sharon Grasty

Waynesville

To the Editor,

We North Carolinians are very fortunate people. Our Republican majority state legislature had the courage to make the necessary cuts in the state budget to close a $2.5 billion deficit. By reducing spending by more than $1 billion, North Carolina’s government will live within its means, preventing the bankruptcy that threatened our state and continues to threaten our nation and states and counties throughout the country.

However, ever since the budget debate began and the legislature overrode Gov. Beverly Perdue’s veto, numerous naysayers have been critical of the spending cuts, but especially those in education. You would think that the education budget was reduced to $0!

What is actually true is that the legislature trimmed bloated areas in education in favor of increasing funding for K-12 programs. The budget fully funds classroom teachers and teaching assistants, makes important education reforms, while also protecting other core state services. The education reforms will lower class sizes by hiring 1,100 additional teachers, pay teachers based on merit, and ensure students can read.

A bill to eliminate the charter school cap was signed into law. North Carolina parents will soon have more choice and control over their children’s education. Presently there are only 99 public charter schools in North Carolina — not enough to meet the needs of about 20,000 students on a waiting list. Finally, North Carolina families will start getting the public education choices they deserve.

Money from the federal government, states and counties has poured into education for years. What do we have to show for it? A high level of school dropouts, middle and even high school children who cannot read, students who must take remedial courses in college before they are able to handle college level material, disgraceful disciplinary behavior in classrooms including teachers molesting students, and subject matter that includes time spent educating students on condom use.

I read these statistics from a writer who lamented that “in 1954 the U.S was No. 1 in the world in elementary school enrollment, math and science and college graduates. Today we are 19th in science, 24th in math, 79th in elementary school enrollment and 12th in the world in the number of college graduates.” That record tells me that just throwing more money at education does not work!

Thank you, North Carolina General Assembly, not only for reforming education but for reducing spending, cutting taxes for job-creating private small business and for taxpayers, reforming costly medical malpractice laws and for finding a reasonable solution to our state’s financial woes. Your efforts have provided us with more school choice, the potential for job creation, lower medical costs and the opportunity to keep our money in our pockets.

Carol Adams

Glenville

For the second time in as many months, strong winds ripped part of the roof off the school library, known as the media center, at Smoky Mountain High School in Jackson County.

Repairs are estimated at more than $700,000, Associate Superintendent Steve Jones said this week. The school’s insurance policy through the Department of Public Instruction is expected to cover the costs.

In April, winds during a strong storm lifted one section of the three-sectioned roof, damaging books in the nonfiction area. That part of the roof was temporarily repaired, Jones said, and the flooring replaced. The “temporary” portion of the roof hung in there during the second big storm earlier this month, remaining intact.

However, another section — in the middle this time — pulled loose, and water dumped in on 12 computers and the fiction selection, Jones said. The new flooring has to be replaced, too.

A structural engineer has evaluated the building, and determined it is safe, Jones said. The first storm most likely damaged the overall integrity of the media center’s roof, which is why the second storm ripped off yet another section.

The roof was built in 1963.

“Those were unusually strong winds,” Jones said. “It was just the luck of the draw.”

Repairs are scheduled to start soon.

— By Quintin Ellison

Public health officials have reported that a child in Macon County has contracted LaCrosse Viral Encephalitis, a potentially serious illness carried and transmitted by mosquitoes.

While other mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus are found across the state, LaCrosse is largely confined to Western North Carolina. The disease is rarely fatal, but a Transylvania County girl died as a result of infection in 2001. And in 2009, a child in Cherokee died, adding new emphasis to health officials’ efforts to warn people about the potential dangers of LaCrosse.

There were 13 confirmed and potential cases identified in WNC in 2010.

Cherokee, in particular the Big Cove community, and Black Mountain — for unknown reasons — are recognized in the medical community as hotspots for the illness, said Dr. Penny O’Neill, a pediatrician with Sylva Pediatric Associates. But, as the case in Macon County shows, the dangers exist anywhere in the region.

The big month for outbreaks is usually August, but with one in WNC already identified, “we’ll go from now until the first killing frost” with outbreaks of LaCrosse, O’Neill said.

Stan Polanski, physician’s assistant for Macon County Public Health, said the child with LaCrosse is recovering. The last diagnosed case in Macon County was more than five years ago, he said.

Regionally, about 20 cases are reported each year.

“For every case we confirm, there are probably 20 to 50 unrecognized cases,” Polanski said.

In Cherokee, public health officials have crafted a two-part response to the problem.

On one side, they’ve long been educating parents, kids and the community at large on how to prevent mosquito’s and eliminate standing water that serves as breeding grounds.

“We’ve done mitigation in the community with everything from actually going out and doing community assessments to emptying stale water containers,” said Vickie Bradley, deputy health officer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Last year, the tribe also started a program in concert with Cherokee Indian Hospital to support families that are struggling with the long-road to recovery from an encephalitis infection. Dr. Anna Eastman, a consultant from the United Kingdom where there is an established post-infection support program, has come to Cherokee to train tribal health workers.

The danger posed by encephalitis is greatest for babies, O’Neill said, because they can have potentially devastating neurological issues. The intensity of the illnesses seem to vary from year to year, she said, but emphasized there is one important step people can take: Use DEET.

O’Neill said parents often express concerns about the mosquito repellent, but “the danger from DEET is potential — the danger from encephalitis is real.”

The object, the pediatrician said, is to eliminate mosquito bites, not just reduce the number received.

By Quintin Ellison and Colby Dunn • Staff writers

LaCrosse Viral Encephalitis

Symptoms occur from a few days to a couple of weeks after being bitten by an infected mosquito. These symptoms include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting. In more severe cases, convulsions, tremors and coma can occur. Children under 16 years of age and the elderly are the most susceptible to the disease.

To reduce mosquito breeding areas:

• Remove any containers that can hold water.

• Keep gutters clean and in good repair.

• Repair leaky outdoor faucets and change the water in birdbaths and pet bowls at least twice a week.

• Use screened windows and doors and make sure screens fit tightly and are not torn.

• Keep tight-fitting screens or lids on rain barrels.

Haywood Habitat for Humanity is holding an open enrollment through July for prospective new-home partner families.

Applicants interested in purchasing a Habitat house must meet the following criteria: resident of Haywood County, income of $20,400 to $30,120 and a good credit history, housing need, and willingness to pu in 400 hours of labor/time.

838.452.7960 or www.haywoodhabitat.org

A program exploring the history of Lake Juanluska and its influence on Haywood County will be held at 9:30 a.m. on July 11 at the Bethea Welcome Center.

The Junaluska Woman’s Club will host the talk by Ernestine Upchurch called “Remembering Haywood People, Places, and Connections in Lake Junaluska Season.”

One of the many stories that Ernestine will share is the tale of a skydiver who jumped out of a plane over Lake Junaluska as church services dismissed one Sunday. He was able to escape from the prank undetected in a rowboat, but there was a chase. She will also speak about growing up in Haywood County. 828.454.9474

The Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company has awarded a $500 scholarship to Candace Erin Ridley, a Smoky Mountain High School graduate whose father works at Jackson Paper.

This fall, Ridley will enter Southwestern Community College, where she is enrolled in the physical therapist assistant program. Jackson Paper has been awarding college scholarships annually to the children of its employees since 1992. Recipients are selected based on their grade point average, letters of recommendation, and school and community activities and honors.

Smoky Mountain OB/GYN will hold a patient appreciation day from 1 until 4 p.m. Saturday, July 9.

All past, present and future patients are encouraged to attend. There will be a magician, face painting, watermelon, a cakewalk, balloons and refreshments. Attendees will also have a chance to meet the new nurse midwives, Melanie Emery, CNM and Anne Karner, CNM, and visit with existing providers, Dr. Janine Keever, Dr. Anton Van Duuren, Ellen Howard, CNM, and Betsy Swift, CNM.

828.631.1960.

The Jackson County Public Library will hold a “yard sale” on Saturday, July 9, from 8 a.m. until noon inside the old library.

Items in the sale include free-standing bookshelves, chairs, tables, desks, filing cabinets and some miscellaneous items from the old library, prior to the move to the new facility.

Each sale item will be tagged with a cost. Prices are non-negotiable. Cash is the only acceptable form of payment. Buyers are asked to bring vehicles to remove the items by the close of the sale at noon. No pre-sale viewing will be allowed.

Cackleberry Mountain’s yearly charitable campaign has returned, and through it, you can purchase a raffle ticket for $3 to benefit The Good Samaritan Clinic of Haywood County, a nonprofit medical clinic serving adults in Haywood County.

The clinic provides life-changing health care and mental health services to many who are struggling financially to make ends meet. All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the clinic. Raffle tickets available through June 30. 828.452.2432.

Steve Brown, the former head of the Haywood County Schools Foundation, has been named the director of foundations for three hospitals under MedWest Health System in Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties.

Brown said he is excited about the opportunity to work on behalf of health care in the region. His father, Dr. Alan Brown, was a prominent and dedicated doctor in the community and founder of Midway Medical Center. He remembers his childhood playing in the unused areas of the old hospital while his dad worked.

With 11 years of experience in all phases and development as executive director, Brown said he is excited about developing a 10-year strategic plan to help MedWest Health System grow.

“This is an opportunity for me to spread the good word about MedWest to people who know and trust me,” Brown said.

Patsy Dowling, the executive director of Mountain Projects, has been appointed to serve on the Haywood Community College Board of Trustees.

Dowling was appointed to the HCC board last week by Haywood County commissioners. She is one of 12 college trustees.

For 13 years, Dowling has been director of Mountain Projects, a nonprofit agency that administers social assistance programs for the elderly, disabled and poor. She has been active in numerous civic organizations.

Dowling was nominated for the post by Mark Clasby, the county’s economic development director.

Haywood Community College and Haywood County Schools have signed an agreement between the schools that will give high school students credit at HCC for certain courses.

More than 35 courses are included in the agreement, which will be recognized by HCC if they got a grade of “B” or higher and a proficiency level of “93” on the VOCATS, and recommendation of their instructor. Some courses included are: Business, Web Design, Marketing, Masonry, Construction, Drafting, Allied Health, Horticulture, Networking, and Welding.  

828.627.4500 or www.haywood.edu/high_school_programs or 828.456.2400.

On the second Mondays of the month, City Lights Bookstore in Sylva hosts the Sylva Monday Mingle with free appetizers, free massage and free tastings in the café from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The third Mondays of the month are game nights with games in the bookstore, and Cornhole and Washers in the café from 6 to 8 p.m. The third Thursdays of the month are Coffee with the Poet at 10:30 a.m., while the fourth Tuesdays of the month are Yappy Hour & Puppuchino Day with Pups on the Patio from 6 to 8 p.m. The proceeds from coffee drinks that day benefit ARF, an animal rescue organization.

www.citylightsnc.com

There will be four different Family Clay Day workshops on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning July 8 at Southwestern Community College’s Swain Center.

In the July 8 workshop, participants will create Dr. Seuss Houses. On July 15, Clay Critters will be created. July 22 will be Face Jugs, where participants will learn to create a jug and put a face on it. The final workshop on July 29 will deal with Treasure Boxes. Children ages 8 to 12 are invited and class size is limited.

828.488.6413

The Art League of the Smokies will meet at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 7, at the Swain County Center for the Arts. A DVD with Tom Lynch titled “Secrets of Painting on Watercolor Canvas” will be shown to exhibit various tips and techniques for working on watercolor canvas with any water media.

Some tips and techniques that will be demonstrated in the DVD are: preparation of the watercolor canvas, wet on wet, bright over dark, texturing techniques, variety of edges, dry brush, pure color highlights, use of natural hair brushes, dry lifting, tape resist, liquid frisket resist, gallery wrap edges and spray fixative finish.

Anyone interested can attend free of charge. 828.488.7843

As part of a summer series of music, Lee Knight will visit the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City for an evening of traditional music and storytelling at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 30.  

Raised in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, Knight became interested in folk music while in high school. During college, he became familiar with the music and stories of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, learning them people who had them as part of their culture and community for generations. He has also collected songs and stories from other parts of the world, including England, Scotland, Central Asia, Columbia and the Amazon region of Peru.

This program is free and open to the public. 828.488.3030 or visit www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

Mountain Artisans Arts and Crafts Show will be at Western Carolina University’s Ramsey Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., July 2 and 3. William H. Roy from Macon County will be at the show to unveil his Uncle Sam folk art statue and will also be selling his one-of-a-kind sculptures. Other Macon County participants will include Hugh Franklin, who will be demonstrating pottery throwing and Janet Anderson, a glass artist.

New exhibits this year will include Arlene Ball, who paints ornaments, and Betty Cabe, who creates corn shuck dolls. Neal and Nanci Hearn will be back with glass boxes, copper sculpture and jewelry. Steve Simonelli, a master woodcrafter, will be present along with Laura Nelle Gobel, who will demonstrate traditional quilting on her lap frame. Other items that will be available are: pine needle baskets, weavings, goat milk soap, and woven cotton rugs and soup mixes from Louisiana. Contemporary crafts will include jewelry, glass art, woodcraft and sculpture. Demonstrators will be making brooms, blacksmithing, and basket weaving.

Admission is $3 for adults and children under 12 are free. Parking is free and concessions are available. 828.524.3405 or visit www.mountainArtisans.net.

The 3rd Annual Steve Whiddon Music Fest will be at 6 p.m. on July 8 at the Grandview Lodge. The proceeds from this event will benefit the four animal non-profit agencies in Haywood County, Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation, Save the Animals Rescue (STAR) Ranch, HAWA Spay/Neuter and The Francis Fund. Featured artists will include The Steve Whiddon Band, Karen “Sugar” Barnes and Dave Magill, Angie Toomie, Bobby Wallace Country Classics, Susan Costine and more, plus a few big surprises.

The event will be held inside the Grandview Lodge and on the wrap-around porch. Haywood Equipment Rental is donating tents, tables, and chairs for additional space. The fish fry buffet dinner will be served following a short skit by the four animal non-profit agencies along with an introduction of animals available for adoptions.  

Tickets are $25. 828.421.1290 or visit www.grandviewlodgenc.com.

Galleries in Sylva and Waynesville will stay open late this Friday, July 1, for evening art walks held the first Friday of the month.

This month in Sylva, the Hallway Gallery will feature fresh paintings of blooming rhododendrons representing late spring. Just for summer inspirations include paintings of mountains, lakes, waterfalls and beach scenes of a realistic style.