A trio of projects will launch renewed efforts to save the eastern hemlock following awards of $75,000 under the Hemlock Restoration Initiative.

Sunburst Trout Farms in Haywood County has received a $150,000 matching fund USDA Value Added Producers Grant.

With a mix of Western song classics and zany send-ups, Riders in the Sky will return to the Western Carolina University stage as they kickoff the Galaxy of Stars series at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee.

The 13th annual RailFest will be held Sept. 12-14 at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad depot in Bryson City. 

The 6th annual Youth Arts Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.

Christian music group Phillips, Craig and Dean will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

To the Editor:

Thom Tillis is one slick fellow. During his debate with Sen. Kay Hagan last Wednesday, he slithered right around the Hobby Lobby issue.

Rather than say whether he agrees that employers should be allowed to deny contraceptives to their female workers, Tillis said the pill should be available over the counter without prescription.

And he implied that he’s in agreement with the American Medical Association about that. But that’s definitely not what the AMA means about making contraceptives more widely available.

The AMA is peeved with pharmacists who claim conscience for refusing to fill contraceptive prescriptions. It’s asking for laws requiring pharmacies to either dispense them or refer patients immediately to competitors who do.

Imagine Tillis, who tried to defund Planned Parenthood, voting for a law like that. Or Justices John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy upholding it.

The AMA has not endorsed routine over-the-counter contraception. For some women, the pill has health consequences requiring a physician's counsel and access to alternatives such as diaphragms and IUDs. 

Moreover, if a drug can be had without a prescription insurance no longer covers it and it is no longer eligible for a medical tax deduction. Nor would the price necessarily be significantly cheaper.  

So what Tillis proposes would likely reduce insurance spending by employers and raise out-of-pocket costs to women. 

There is, of course, a strong argument that employers shouldn't have anything to say about what health care — contraceptive or otherwise — their workers deserve. A single-payer health insurance system is the answer to that. But one doubts that Tillis would agree.

The overriding issue in this election is who North Carolina's junior senator will actually represent. Yes, Hagan votes with President Obama more than 90 percent of the time. But so does every other Democratic senator.

North Carolina is far better off with a senator who supports our president than with one who would vote with the Koch Brothers 100 percent of the time.

Martin Dyckman

Waynesville 

By Avram Friedman

Last year Becky Johnson of The Smoky Mountain News interviewed me about Evergreen Packaging’s plans to convert their electrical power plant from being fueled by coal to natural gas. This transformation was being touted as an advancement that would greatly improve regional air quality as it decreased operating costs due to currently less expensive natural gas. Further incentive was the promise that state government funds, about $12 million, would be made available to subsidize the renovation.

More than 100 shoppers flocked to downtown Sylva on Sept. 5, dollars in hand, to flood the fire-damaged district with an influx of business. Organized by Venture Local, a Franklin organization dedicated to promoting local business, the cash mob drew people from across Jackson and Macon counties. 

“It’s a great event. All these people — that’s a lot of money,” Franklin Mayor Bob Scott said as he left the steps of the old Jackson County Courthouse, where the group had gathered. 

An Aug. 21 fire that started in Trevalino’s Restaurant damaged nearby businesses, causing the temporary closure of a portion of Main Street and some businesses to relocate or close until they get back on their feet. The goal of the cash mob was to show support and help struggling businesses meet those elusive bottom lines. 

“Lots of times tragedy, I think, brings out the best in people. Sometimes bad things that happen to someone provide an opportunity for someone else to be helpful,” said Sylva resident Dottie Hoche while en route to the shops. 

— Holly Kays, staff writer 

A program titled “Touching the Face of History: The Story of the Plott Hound” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Jackson County Library.

This fascinating story of the Plott family and the Plott hound, bred for bear hunting prowess, is a classic American tale of adventure with roots deeply entrenched in North Carolina soil and American history and culture. And it is a story that award winning author and historian Bob Plott, the great-great-great grandson of Johannes George Plott, is uniquely qualified to tell. 

Bob Plott has published several books on hunting and the premier big game hunting dog breed in America, and he is a descendent of the Plott family that bred this specialized hound.

828.586.2016. 

Runners looking for a wilderness challenge will get their chance with the Second Annual Cashiers Trail Mix Mountain Run Experience Saturday, Sept. 13.

Bryson City Bicycles has been named one of America’s Best Bike Shops of 2014. Awarded by the National Bike Dealers Association, fewer than 300 shops out of over 4,000 across the country can claim this honor.

Nantahala Kids Club, a program designed to engage kids in paddling, will kickoff a six-week outdoor recreation program Sept. 8.

Waynesville resident Jennifer Jacobsen recently crossed the finish line of the Ironman Louisville, a challenging race that involves a total 140 miles of swimming, biking and running, in a time of 15 hours, 43 minutes and 8 seconds.

The fracking issue is exploding in Western North Carolina as a public hearing on proposed oil and gas rules in the state draws closer.

Look for special coverage in next week’s issue of The Smoky Mountain News on what the proposed rules mean. We hope the issue will serve as your guide to the fracking debate, and specifically to the pros and cons of the pending rules that will lay the groundwork for oil and gas extraction.

Fracking critics have claimed the spotlight in recent months with a bevy of meetings, speakers, film screenings and discussions. This week, however, fracking supporters got a voice at a forum hosted by N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, billed as the real story on fracking. Due to press deadlines, the forum could not be included in this week’s edition, but it will be included in next week’s special coverage.

Venue change for fracking hearing 

A public hearing on North Carolina’s proposed oil and gas rules will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at Western Carolina University.

This is a change in venue from the original location of WCU’s Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. University officials opted for the change in venue, according to a press release from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 

Registration for those who wish to speak starts at 4 p.m. The deadline for written comments goes through Sept. 30.

Opponents to organize around talking points

The Canary Coalition, Clean Water for North Carolina and Jackson County Coalition Against Fracking will hold a training session from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva to help fracking opponents hone effective talking points in advance of the upcoming fracking hearing.

The hearing will be a forum for people to recommend specific changes to the proposed rules rather than a place to take a stand as pro- or anti-fracking. The training session will cover the law that passed this summer lifting the ban on fracking in N.C. and the newly proposed rules and guidelines for hydraulic fracturing. Known as fracking, the process involves injecting water mixed with sand and a chemical cocktail into a deep wellbore in order to extract natural gas from the rock below. 

The Canary Coalition, 828.631.3447 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Because of its success last year, the Haywood County Arts Council is bringing back its planned giving exhibition, ArtShare, from Sept. 4-27 at Gallery 86 in Waynesville. 

This unique project is a service to help art collectors or estate agents sell one or more pieces of art with the proceeds being split between the collector and the Haywood County Arts Council. Collectors may want to sell art for a reason such as down-sizing a home, a death in the family, moving to a new home, or a change in one’s taste in art. ArtShare is not designed for direct sales from the creating artists.

The seller will receive 70% of the proceeds and the Haywood County Arts Council will receive 30% as a seller’s commission or the seller may choose to donate the entire proceeds of the sale to the Council.

An opening night reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 5 at Gallery 86. There will also be another showing at HART Theatre from Sept. 25 through Oct. 12.

The Jackson County Arts Council will be sponsoring an Art Talk by local artist and board member Clint Hardin that will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at the Jackson County Library in Sylva.

A production of Neil Simon’s Broadway hit “The Odd Couple” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5-6 and at 3 p.m. Sept. 7 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Guest artist James Rester, principal horn player with the Reading Symphony Orchestra and Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, will perform a recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.

To the Editor:

How can you tell if a politician is lying .... his lips are moving. It’s an old joke; but, as with most humor, there is some truth. When the Republicans took over governing North Carolina in 2010, they made a many promises. So how did it work out?

The conservative battle cry was, “We will cut your taxes.” So, in the next few years the largest tax cuts in modern history of North Carolina were enacted. All these cuts were based on the theory that big tax breaks for wealthy individuals and big corporations would generate greater tax revenue.

So far, just this year, state tax revenue is down more than $630 million, and most experts expect that deficit to get even worse by the end of this fiscal year. And when the second set of tax breaks take effect next year, the state will be even deeper in the hole. There will be less money for schools, roads, public safety, the court system, health care and everything else. And, by the way, unless your income was over $87,000, your overall taxes went up.

Jobs, jobs, jobs. Only Republicans know how to create jobs, they say. It has been almost four years now and, so far, the unemployment rate in North Carolina has not even kept up with the national average. According to the official state labor statistics, 60 percent of the drop in unemployment is due to 105,600 workers dropping out of the labor market. Only 45,000 North Carolina unemployed workers found work in the last fiscal year; many earning less than previously.

Why are companies, large and small, taking their new jobs to other states? Our deteriorating  education and health care systems, our failure to improve our aging infrastructure and our hostile political environment, are red flags to most companies. Our Tea Party controlled, penny-wise and pound-foolish state legislature is chasing the good jobs away to the more progressive states.

“We promise to fix the broken Medicaid system.” So how did that promise work out? First, let’s remember that under the Democrats, the system was one of the best in the country. Then the Republican legislature repeatedly underfunded it, creating the crisis they promised to fix. Mismanagement, software program bugs, and an incompetent leadership, have, in the last two years, made matters worse. It has created a real crisis for those who depend on Medicaid.

All this could be remedied if the legislature had accepted the expanded Medicaid offered by the federal government. We still will be paying for this benefit with our federal taxes even if we don’t accept the money. The total loss to the state over the next 9 years is estimated to be $51 billion. If you are one of the almost half a million of this state’s citizens who don’t have health care because of this political move, then you truly know that this is another promise not kept. 

So if you don’t mind being continually lied to, then keep these politicians in office.   

Louis Vitale

Franklin

To the Editor:

As one who blew the whistle on Osborne Farm Inc., I can attest that PETA’s footage shows what I saw week after week: cows wading knee-deep through their own waste, which splashed onto their udders right before they were milked, and forced to eat in that manure and to lie down in that feces-filled yard every night. The wire purportedly now keeping cows from the deepest manure was strung up as the farm’s management prepared for a state inspection. Ironically, when I put a wire up weeks earlier to try to keep cows away from the manure, management took it down.

 I blew the whistle because I worried for cows like “2,” whose protruding skeleton and overgrown right hoof I repeatedly reported to farm management, to no avail. I risked a job I needed because I was worried for cow “188” — whom I named Maggie — who grew so thin she was little more than skin and bones and who could not keep up with the herd, limping along instead. I called PETA because even when I told the farm owner about a cow whose pus-filled sore smelled so strongly that it made another worker nauseous, I never saw any veterinarian show up to care for her or any of the cows.

It’s a shame that the suffering of Maggie and the rest of the cows at Osborne Farm — some of who bled from the nose and had hoof ailments, mastitis, and other ailments — has become lost in a ridiculous guessing game about a video that accurately depicts reality at the farm.

Gna Wyatt

Whittier

A Celebration of Women in Methodism will begin at the World Methodist Museum at 3:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at the World Methodist Museum in Lake Junaluska.

After winning a nationwide voting contest to land a $50,000 prize, Haywood Pathways Center is looking for volunteers to pitch in on a three-day work project Sept. 25-27 to make its prison renovation project a reality. TV personality Ty Pennington will be there Sept. 25, lending his enthusiasm and expertise as part of Haywood Pathways’ contest winnings. 

Liner notes for the new album released by the Great Smoky Mountains Association — “Carroll Best and The White Oak String Band: Old-time Bluegrass from the Great Smoky Mountains, 1956 & 1959.”

A tour of four historic gem mines will give a view into Franklin’s past, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 30.

Following a gem mine introductory presentation, tour-goers will get in their own vehicles and caravan to historic mines in the Cowee and Burningtown areas. The gem industry has played an influential role in Macon County’s past, though it has declined in recent decades. 

$5 per vehicle donation requested. Carpooling encouraged. Meet at the Historic Cowee School, a.k.a. Macon Heritage Center. Hosted by Friends of the Rickman Store. 828.349.7476 or 828.371.7689.

A forum organized by N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, will give the public a chance to learn more about shale energy rulemaking, exporation and development in North Carolina at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Jim Womack, former chairman of the Mining and Energy Commission, will be the featured speaker, followed by a question-and-answer panel discussion with fracking experts. 

Topics will include:

• Guidelines from the N.C. General Assembly.

• The organizing and rulemaking process of the MEC.

• Known information about shale energy deposits in the Triassic Basin.

• Potential benefits of developing shale resources.

• Myths about shale energy development, or fracking.

Following Womack’s presentation, Davis will moderate a question-and-answer session between the audience and a guest panel of experts on the N.C. shale energy program, environmental issues and related legislation. Information including peer-reviewed papers, videos, books and maps will be available for audience members to take home. 

Questions must be submitted in writing on blank index cards and will be drawn at random. No signs are allowed inside the building. 

828.524.1598. 

Jim Costa, executive director of the Highlands Biological Station, will close out the Highlands Biological Foundation’s summer Zahner Conservation Lecture Series with a talk titled “The Force of Admiration: Wallace and Darwin on the Evolutionary Trail,” 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4 at the Highlands Nature Center. 

A major freestyle paddling competition will come to the Nantahala Gorge Sept. 4-6, with top freestylers from across the continent converging on the Nantahala River’s famous “wave” to vie for the title of Pan American Champion.

More than 350 runners streamed down Main Street in downtown Waynesville last Friday evening for the annual Main Street Mile. Top male runners crossed the finish line in just over 4 minutes.

A monument built to commemorate a popular 1800s watering hole has long been hidden by ivy and vines, but an Eagle Scout project by Joey Rolland has restored the Pigeon Gap Watering Hole outside the Bethel community of Haywood County to its former glory. 

Author Michael Beadle will present an illustrated talk focusing on the history of the town of Canton and, specifically, the town’s annual Labor Day Celebration at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

Beadle will address aspects of Canton’s development in conjunction with the growth of the Champion paper mill. The other focus of his talk, the Labor Day event, has been taking place in the town since 1906 and is one of the largest events of its type in the state.

Beadle writes poetry, history, fiction and journalistic pieces. He has published more than 1,500 articles in newspapers and magazines in North Carolina and is the recipient of several honors from the N.C. Press Association. As an author of local history, he has written or co-written four books about Haywood County, including a comprehensive history of the county. His most recent work is a collection of historic Canton photographs.

The event is being held in conjunction with WCU’s interdisciplinary learning theme for the 2014-15 school year, “North Carolina: Our State, Our Time.”

Free.

828.227.7129.

Local residents will have an opportunity to learn interesting and historical details about their family quilts during the Quilt Discovery Evening from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

With new equipment secured from onsite craft brewing, Southwestern Community College will host a brewing program from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Thursday from Sept. 4-Nov. 20 in Sylva. 

Country megastar Tim McGraw will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, at Harrah’s Cherokee.

The 44th annual Smoky Mountain Folk Festival will be held Aug. 29-30 at the Stuart Auditorium in Lake Junaluska.

To the Editor:

Ah, August. Vacation time. Yeah!!  

Never mind that ISIS is beheading its way through Syria and Iraq. That Christians are being driven into death or despair. As our esteemed leader said a few weeks ago, referring to ISIS; “The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a JV team puts on Laker uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant.”  Surprise — looks like they put on Chicago Bears uniforms and need to be taken seriously.  

Can you imagine the State Department being surprised, with John Kerry at the helm? The same John Kerry who recently was ignored by diplomats from Egypt and Israel when cease-fire talks were held. A perfect moment to display his impotence as diplomatic spokesman for a country rapidly earning third-world status.

How I yearn for the days when Hilldebeast (Kerry’s predecessor) was “resetting” our relationship with Russia. Just push the reset button (“reset” was misspelled in Russian) and Putin will be our friend. Remember a couple of years ago when the commander-in-chief was heard through an open microphone appealing to Dmitry Medvedev to allow him space on the contentious European missile defense issue, claiming he could be more flexible after his reelection? I wonder how the folks in Eastern Europe feel about that.

We have every right to advise others how to manage their affairs and protect their borders. After all, we’re doing such a stellar job of protecting ours. With the cartels and coyotes running the show, killing our border agents and ushering in disease and drains on our already depleted treasuries, surely we are the go-to experts.

When the going gets rough, our president and Congress get going — on vacation, that is. After all, it is August.

Don Swanson

Franklin

To the Editor:

Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and other Republican state legislators voted not to expand Medicaid. Early studies showed this would be a costly mistake. However, a new study completed by the largest non-profit organization devoted entirely to advancing health care for the public, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shows just how costly this would be for North Carolina. The state will lose $51 billion in federal funding between 2013-2022. The North Carolina portion of Medicaid expansion totals $3.1 billion. The report shows that for every $1 a state invests in Medicaid, it will receive $13.41 in federal funds.  

The governor and state legislature have put forward the “big lie” that the state Medicaid program is too broken to be expanded. The facts simply don’t show a broken system. Data from the Kaiser Foundation show that “the average annual growth in NC’s Medicaid program has declined for the last 20 years.” “Current annual cost growth for Medicaid in N.C. is actually the lowest in the nation and much lower than the national average.”  (http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/06/12/nc-medicaid-success-four-charts-and-one-letter/).

Our state simply cannot afford to give away $51 billion in revenue. This is an awful economic decision. In addition, the fact that we as a state are letting on average four of our citizens die every day starting Jan. 1, 2014, because we are denying 414,000 of our citizens adequate health care is morally appalling and simply wrong. Davis and other legislators can pass a bill tomorrow to change this disastrous decision. Please contact him to correct this travesty.

Ed Morris, MD, PhD

Franklin

To the Editor:

Western North Carolina is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The majestic mountains, the lush green forests and valleys, the small family farms, waterfalls, rivers, streams, along with the pristine sky all inspire us on a daily basis. We treasure this natural abundance, and like all inheritance, we must be wise stewards for our future generations.

Unfortunately, there is a fundamental threat to all of this:  hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” This could destroy it all. 

Fracking is an industrial process using millions of gallons of our pristine mountain water mixed with toxic chemicals pumped underground at extremely high pressure to break apart natural gas-infused shale rock thousands of feet below the surface.

Each well turns 3 to 5 million gallons of clean water into a poisonous stew. There is no “safe” treatment or disposal of the hundreds of millions of gallons of permanently-polluted water that return to the surface. 

 There has been a huge increase in earthquakes since fracking began in Oklahoma, according to CNN. 

 Well water has been permanently poisoned in many areas that that have been fracked in Pennsylvania, where more than 100 cases of pollution were confirmed over the past five years. Also, radioactive radium levels were about 200 times greater in sediment from a creek where wastewater was discharged from a treatment plant than in sediment upstream from fracking, according to USA Today.

Expensive homes have become uninhabitable and worthless as a result of toxic air pollution caused by fracking in Texas, where nosebleeds, migraines, vision problems, nausea, rashes and vomiting were caused by a neighbor’s fracking wells, according to CNN.

We don’t need huge trucks rumbling by our homes at all hours, clear cutting for new roads and pipelines criss-crossing our fragile mountainsides over our state, federal and private property. We don’t need 20-foot-tall gas flare-offs lighting up the night sky and the whine of giant compressors keeping us up night after night.

 Proponents of fracking tell us that it is safe, if done correctly. In a perfect world, where cost-cutting, corrosion and human error don’t occur, fracking might be safe. 

There are no rules, no promises, no regulations, no penalties and no amount of money that can fix fracked groundwater. Once the ground water is contaminated, it is poisoned forever. That risk is unacceptable.

These are facts, and those of us who love this place don’t want fracking here.

 Our homes are our greatest investment, our greatest achievement, our greatest gift to our children. Let us preserve this gift for future generations. Tell our county commissioners. Tell our state legislators. Just say no to fracking.

 State Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, now claims that fracking probably won’t come to WNC, yet the law he cosponsored was designed so that we local citizens can’t block it. In November, we need to retire Mr. Davis and the other legislators who voted for this. We need to outlaw fracking before it starts, before it’s too late. 

Dan Kowal

Franklin

To the Editor:

I’m really not surprised about the Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, quote, “I’m getting really frustrated with these people. You can never make them happy” in your recent article about the teacher pay raise. Sen. Davis has shown his disrespect towards teachers (“these people”) in so many ways.

He voted to eliminate longevity pay, an incentive for teachers with 10-plus years of experience to stay in the classroom. He voted to devalue educators who work on continuing their education by eliminating extra compensation for advanced degrees.  

He voted to make teaching much more difficult by cutting funding for teacher assistants, at-risk student services, textbooks and instructional supplies. He co-sponsored a Senate bill to eliminate public school teacher tenure. Anything which harms teachers also harms students.

In addition to his votes against teachers, Sen. Davis has shown his disrespect for public education in general. He voted to transfer public school funds to private schools, a law which has recently been declared unconstitutional. The Superior Court judge who ruled the law unconstitutional declared, “The General Assembly fails the children of North Carolina when they are sent with public taxpayer money to private schools that have no legal obligation to teach them anything.” It is clear that Sen. Davis does not think that public education in North Carolina is a priority.

If you think that public education in North Carolina is a priority, I urge you to learn about Sen. Davis’ opponent in this November election. Jane Hipps spent more than 38 years in public education. She knows firsthand what it means to be an educator and the actions required to restore quality public education to give our children a foundation for the rest of their lives. 

Learn about the specific actions she will take by visiting hippsforsenate.com.

Carole Larivee   

Waynesville

The Haywood Helps 2014 Gala Event will be from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 28. The event is a fundraiser for the Hazlewood prison project.

The gala will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. There will also be a live and silent auction of items donated from local artisans and merchants. 

Tickets to the gala are $100. Attire is business casual. The event will be held at the Laurel Ridge Country Club, located at 49 Cupp Lane in Waynesville.

The old Hazelwood prison is a defunct property on the cusp of reincarnation. A collective of organizations under the umbrella of Haywood Pathways Center — including Haywood Christian Emergency Shelter, The Open Door and Next Step — intends to transform the prison into a homeless shelter, soup kitchen and halfway house. 

While the prison project has given some nearby residents pause, it has also been hailed as valuable to the community. The project recently won $50,000 in a contest sponsored by the home loan company Guaranteed Rate; in addition to the $50,000, TV personality Ty Pennington will assist with the project. 

Haywood Helps is a non-profit organization that brings individuals, the private sector, educators and the faith community together to address issues of poverty.

A fracking forum has been scheduled for Sept. 2 in Franklin. The forum, moderated by Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, will address shale energy rulemaking, exploration and development in North Carolina. 

1889 — Cullowhee Academy opens with 18 students and 1 teacher

By Randall Holcombe • WCU 

The little school that was the forerunner of Western Carolina University was called Cullowhee Academy. Its location is marked by a stone memorial, erected in 1934, that sits in a garden area between the university’s steam plant and Breese Gymnasium. The memorial honors Robert Lee Madison, who was 22 when he taught his first class of 18 students at the academy on Aug. 5, 1889. 

The streets of downtown Waynesville will soon receive a look-see from a group of folks who really care about the streets of downtowns. The North Carolina Main Street Program is hosting its fall Main Street Managers meeting in Waynesville Aug. 20-22.

Main Street managers — who oversee downtown revitalization and marketing efforts throughout the state as part of their individual Main Street Programs — will come to Waynesville to network and attend workshops. They’ll also be paying close attention to the host town. 

“They want to see what downtown Waynesville’s doing,” said Buffy Phillips, executive director of the Waynesville Downtown Association. “They definitely want to check us out.”

Liz Parham, director of the state Main Street Program, agrees. 

“We’re looking for all aspects of Main Street revitalization,” she said. “Building rehabs, that kind of thing.”

This is not the first time the Main Streeters have visited Waynesville. They’ve hosted meetings here twice before.

“We move it around, from the east to west,” said Parham. “And we have not been to Waynesville in a number of years and it’s a good chance to get back and see the changes.”

The Main Street managers will begin their stay in Waynesville with a reception at the Wells Event Center. Conveniently, the event center will serve as an easy conversation piece among the revitalization crowd, as the recently renovated property previously housed a newspaper printing press and before that, a pool hall. 

Work sessions will also be held at First Baptist Church. The managers will cover topics such as infrastructure and tourism, zoning and food trucks.

“A little bit of everything, really,” Parham said. 

 — Jeremy Morrison, News Editor

Paul Carlson, director of Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, will close out the six-week Tuckasegee Nature Series with a talk titled Conserving the Natural and Cultural Histories of the Southern Blue Ridge, 6:30 p.m. Aug 28 at the Jackson County Library’s community room.

The public will get a chance to paddle Lake Logan at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Lake Logan boathouse. A tour of the lake will include information on its history and the varied ecosystems and species contained in the 300-acre preserve. 

 The three authors of Seasons in a Wildflower Refuge will be at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville, 3 p.m. Aug. 23, to meet their readers, sign books and talk about native plants. They’ll cover which species flourish in this region, the importance of the 25-year-old Corneille Bryan Native Garden in Lake Junaluska and the need to include native plants in the landscape, while also sharing growing tips.

The book started as an attempt from long-time gardeners Janet Lilley and Linda McFarland to share prints by Dorothy Peacock of the native plants in the Corneille Bryan Native Garden, and they invited their friend and mentor Dan Pittillo, retired botany professor at Western Carolina University, to help. 

“This handsomely illustrated guide, enhanced by botanist Dan Pittillo’s insightful descriptions, has considerable value not only as a guide to this Garden but also to the native flora in the region as well,” George Ellison observed in his comments on the book.

Janet Manning, garden director, 828.778.5938.

The 20th annual Friends Across the Mountains telethon brought in $200,000 for Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park last week. The dollars will go toward the nearly $1.6 million the park needs this year to protect black bears, heal hemlock trees and preserve historic buildings. Since 1995, the telethon has raised $3 million to support the park. 

Online donations are still open at www.friendsofthesmokies.org. 

Students in Western Carolina University’s Introduction to Public History course will show off the fruits of their labor during the Big Birthday Bash 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at the A.K. Hinds University Center Lawn, an event celebrating 125 years of history at WCU. The students produced a historic walking trail and map of WCU’s points of interest, bringing meaning to the longtime structures that students pass by every day.