Despite rumors that cuts at Tuscola High School in Waynesville could reduce the number of advanced courses, academically gifted students will have just as many courses to chose from next school year.

Tuscola will lose five teaching positions, which is likely what fueled the buzz among students that fewer honors courses would be offered. Parents mounted a campaign imploring the school not to cut the number of upper level classes.

School administrators say this was never the case, however.

“I think there has been some misinformation, and it just spread like wildfire,” said Stephanie Goodwin, an assistant principal at Tuscola.

To combat the rumors, the school even scheduled a mass pre-recorded phone call to parents. Robocalls are usually used by the school system to share information on everything from snow days to school-wide testing. This one assured parents there would be no cuts to advanced course offerings next year.

Kim Turpin was among the parents who voiced concerns after hearing the school was reassessing both the number and variety of upper level courses it offered. Her daughter is eyeing Stanford but to get in she would need plenty of Advanced Placement courses — essentially university-level courses that count toward the students’ college course credits.

“If you have smart kids, why wouldn’t you feed your smart kids?” asked Turpin. “They need to provide courses so they can go out in the world and be competitive.

Turpin said it is also important for the overall reputation of the school system.

“Anyone you are wanting to attract as a professional in your community, they are going to be looking at your school system,” Turpin said.

Tuscola is offering Advanced Placement, or AP courses, in four areas this year. Next school year, two new subjects will be added — so in essence there are more AP courses being offered next year, both in the variety and sheer number.

Every January, Tuscola High School surveys students to see what AP courses they are interested in for the coming school year. The line-up is built accordingly.

“Student interest drives our schedule for those upper classes,” Goodwin said. “The only way we reduce the number is if we don’t have student interest.”

Unfortunately, if there aren’t enough students interested in a particular AP course to comprise a full class, the school can’t offer it.

“There has been a reduction of funds the last two or three years in the public schools and you have to get the most bang for your buck,” said Danny Miller, the high school curriculum supervisor for Haywood County Schools. “If you had only five or six kids interested in a course, whether it is AP or say business law, it is hard to take a teacher’s block of time and dedicate it to that.”

That is the case with some AP courses, such as AP Physics and AP World History, which only have a handful of students express interest each year, so the course is offered online only.

Haywood County has roughly 2,000 students at its two high schools. While Tuscola High School historically has been larger than Pisgah, reallocation in recent years has led to a reduction in the number of students at Tuscola and an increase at Pisgah. That in turn led to Tuscola needing fewer teachers.

“Our class sizes will be larger next year,” said Tuscola Principal Dale McDonald.

The teachers taken away from Tuscola have not been added to Pisgah, however.

Despite the loss of teachers in the schools, students won’t be left without enough classes to fill their school day.

“Even with the massive cuts, we’ve had I can’t imagine that high-performing students won’t have plenty of honors or AP course offerings,” Bill Nolte, the assistant superintendant of Haywood County Schools, said. “The capacity to offer the courses has not changed.”

The students still have to be taught, and so a teacher standing in front of a particular class can just as easily teach an honors curriculum for an allotted class, according to Nolte.

While the number and variety of AP classes are based on student interest, the school also vets students to ensure they are eligible for the courses.

“You have to recognize this is a college-level class while you are in high school,” Goodwin said.

Even for honors courses, students have to qualify. The application process is based on a combination of test scores, grades in the current academic year and teacher evaluations. For honors English courses, students have to take a tailor-made test to get in. Based on those results, there will be only two honors English courses for sophomores at Tuscola next year compared to three this year.

While parents have expressed concerns that the testing has weeded out the number of students eligible for honors English, Nolte said it is important to make sure students end up in the appropriate level course at the beginning of the school year.

“Otherwise they will want out of the course midway through, and there won’t be a regular English course to jump to,” Nolte said.

Dr. Kristen Hammet, a veterinarian in Waynesville, has been an advocate of offering advanced courses in high school.

“We do need to offer the kids courses; they need to be able to get in top level schools,” said Hammet. “If these kids can’t compete, they can’t get into the Dukes and the Princetons and Davidsons.”

But, it’s more than that, Hammet said. She sees academically gifted students as a special-needs group. They crave a challenge that, if unmet, can leave them floudering and can lead to them checking out intellectually.

“These kids need these courses,” Hammet said. “It has been shown that if the gifted and intellectually and academically gifted kids are not offered courses that meet their challenge, they are at greater risk of dropping out, or become more depressed and more suicidal.”

As Lake Junaluska weighs whether to become part of the town of Waynesville or form its own town, a public forum for residents to ask questions or share comments will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26, at Bethea Welcome Center.

At stake is Lake Junaluska’s identity and the fate of a community made up of 800 homes. A task force has been formed to study the issue. The mission of the task force includes gathering public opinion, reporting findings to the Junaluska Assembly Community Council and possibly making recommendations.

The taskforce will be made up of three representatives from the community council, three from the Lake Junaluska Assembly Property Owners Organization, three members from the community and one member representing the United Methodist Church.

While Lake Junaluska is not an official town, the community already looks and acts like one. It has its own trash pick-up, water and sewer system, street maintenance and even security force. The homes that make up Lake Junaluska’s residential community pay a yearly fee for those services.

But, an aging water and sewer system and other infrastructure issues have led the community to consider joining Waynesville instead of bearing the expense alone. If the community joins Waynesville, it would see an increase to its property-tax base but would also incur the Lake’s aging infrastructure.

A group of Jackson County doctors say they want out of the two-year-old partnership with the hospital in Haywood County and instead would like to look toward Mission Hospital in Asheville as a future partner.

There have been murmurings for months that Jackson County doctors are dissatisfied with the pseudo-merger with the hospital in neighboring Haywood and might want out. But this week marked the first time a group of doctors went public.

“There is a common element of frustration with day-to-day operations, and concern about the financial viability of the hospitals,” said Bob Adams, the chief hospitalist at MedWest-Harris hospital.

Adams, backed by six other doctors, appeared at the Jackson County commissioners meeting Monday to get his message out.

Though the doctors say they ardently support Harris hospital, they are dissatisfied with the MedWest joint venture that united Haywood Regional, Harris and Swain County hospitals under a single umbrella. At the same time, the new MedWest entity signed on with Carolinas HealthCare, a network of 34 hospitals based in Charlotte.

Many doctors in Jackson and Swain now say that was a mistake — and that they don’t trust Carolinas or their own board of directors.

“MedWest is failing and needs to be dissolved. Carolinas is not an acceptable partner,” Adams said. “Mission is the only partner acceptable to the communities west of Balsam.”

Some doctors in Jackson County believe Harris has not fared well in the MedWest joint venture.

Harris is struggling financially. It has seen an outmigration of patients. Doctors, too, are leaving.

Adams said he is one of eight physicians leaving Jackson and Swain counties in coming months. The community already faces a doctor shortage, a factor partly to blame for the loss of market share in recent years.

Doctors in Jackson County also feel that the Haywood hospital is being groomed to become the flagship of the MedWest venture. They fear patients once cared for locally at Harris will be gradually siphoned to Haywood. They also feel Haywood has gotten a greater share of resources. A long-promised new emergency room remains on the back burner in Jackson — meanwhile Haywood used up MedWest’s borrowing ability by taking out a $10 million line of credit to stem a cash flow shortage.

Whether real or perceived, the Jackson medical community has long prided itself on its reputation and didn’t take kindly to the thought of their beloved local institution declining. That, along with a strong independent streak, has doctors questioning the corporate relationship they now find themselves in as culturally incompatible.

“It is clear to me that the hospital that I joined 10 years ago no longer exists, and is unlikely to rise again from its current ashes,” said Dr. Waverly Green, who is leaving the community in a few months. “I am saddened that it has come to this, and ultimately, I think the community as a whole will be left paying the price.”

Adams and Green both blamed Carolinas HealthCare System as duplicitous in bringing about Harris’ plight.

Adams said he does not trust Carolinas to look out for the interests of their local Jackson County hospital.

They say Carolinas pushed Haywood and Jackson together to advance their own long terms interests — namely to mount a competitive front in WNC against Mission, Adams said

After corralling the trio of hospitals under MedWest, Carolinas then began setting the stage for Haywood to be the lead player with Harris and Swain in supporting roles.

“Carolinas wants everything to funnel past us to Haywood and stop them from going to Mission,” Green said.

“It was Haywood-centric all along,” agreed Bob Carpenter, a former board member for WestCare and MedWest.

Carpenter resigned in a show of solidarity with the medical community.

In particular, though, Carpenter believed the board had not been given ample time to consider signing off on $10 million loan documents that encumber the entire MedWest venture for money borrowed by Haywood. Carpenter said board members were called into an emergency meeting in January and asked to sign documents they had not even had a chance to read.

“They said we had to do it to save the MedWest system,” Carpenter said.

Haywood allegedly didn’t have the funds to make payroll and needed the credit immediately.

The Jackson County medical community appealed to the management of MedWest and Carolinas as well as the hospital board of directors several times during the past six months to no avail.

“I realized we were being shut out,” Green said.

Adams has worked at Harris for 36 years and does not take lightly the decision to come forward with his views.

“Some people thought it may do more harm than good and may be more destructive,” Adams said. “A group of the physicians believe the information needs to be made public and our whole intent is to allow the community to make a decision to look further into what is going on and make their own decisions.”

Like a game of musical chairs, three Republican candidates for county commissioners are circling Haywood County and hoping they can secure one of the two places on the November election ballot.

Only two of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners seats are up for re-election this year. Two candidates from each party will advance to the general election in November.

Since three Republicans declared their candidacy, voters will have to narrow that number to two during the primary.

Among local, state and federal elections, jobs and the economy still seem to be voters’ main concern. And, the Haywood commissioners election is no different.

“We are borrowing a lot of money,” said Denny King, one of the Republican commissioner candidates. “I will not vote to raise taxes; I will not vote to go deeper into debt.”

The county has not been conservative enough with its money. For example, it should not be paying for the maintenance and upkeep on the MARC building, which is rented by elderly-focused nonprofits for $1 a year, King said. That same perk isn’t being offered to any of the other institutions that do good work in the county, he said.

“I wouldn’t expect us as a county to rent a church for $1 a year,” King said.

King also stated that he believes property owners are paying too much in taxes.

“I will support reducing the size of the burden that property owners pay,” King said.

Candidate Tracy Coward said residents are not getting enough bang for their buck when it comes to county spending. The county’s overall budget is about $65 million.

“I just don’t see where we are getting our money’s worth,” Coward said.

“In a lot of cases, they have done a good job in saving money and cutting down on expenditures, but I think there is a lot more that could be done,” Coward continued.

The current Board of Commissioners has expressed support for state legislation that would allow counties to consolidate redundant services within DSS and the health department.

Incumbent Kevin Ensley touted achievements that the board has accomplished during his current term. In particular, he noted that the board has saved money by privatizing the county landfill and maintained the tax rate despite having to make difficult job cuts.

“We have been able to make the cuts that we needed to without raising taxes,” Ensley said.

Ensley is currently the only Republican member of the five-person board.

Constituents have talked to candidates about their concerns going into this year’s election — and a main anxiety is jobs.

Coward said he can provide a “fresh set of eyes” to such concerns and will vote for what he thinks is best for the county and its people.

Young people continue to leave Haywood County because there are not enough available jobs, Coward said, and the county should work harder to help create more employment opportunities.

One way to create jobs, Ensley said, is through water and sewer projects — something he is a big proponent of. Up-to-date water and sewer systems are a must-have amenity for many businesses if they are looking at moving to a particular area. By building new and updating old systems, the county can create construction jobs and hopefully attract new businesses that will hire county residents, Ensley said.

Haywood Commissioner Republican primary: choose two

Tracy Coward, 55, Waynesville

Background: Coward is a maintenance technician at Continental and a former adjunct professor at Haywood Community College. Coward has never run for political office before.

Why are you running: “We need business experience on the board, but it seems like sometimes these folks have their own interests in mind. I was wanting to give the little man some representation.”

L. Kevin Ensley, 50, Waynesville

Background: Ensley has served on the Board of County Commissioners for eight years. He is surveyor by profession.

Why are you running: “I feel like I have provided some leadership in making sure we practice some budget austerity, which we have. I wanted to continue providing that leadership.”

Denny King, 52, Canton

Background: King is currently an engineer at BorgWarner in Asheville. He ran for county commissioner unsuccessfully one time before. This election season, King filed to run but later had second thoughts and tried to get his name taken off the ballot. “I really don’t want to comment on that. I am running to win.”

Why are you running: “I had a lot of encouragement to run, and many people in our county want a voice. They believe I will listen to their thoughts and concern.”

The Haywood County Arts Council will host its annual “Birding for the Arts” event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 28 as part of the 2012 FUNd Party Series.

The series offers an eclectic array of social events featuring delicious food, unique experiences and entertainment to benefit the arts in our community.

“Birding for the Arts” party sponsors and guides for the day are naturalist Don Hendershot, former state Sen. Joe Sam Queen and Dr. Kate Queen.

Tickets are $25 per person, and participation is limited to 35 partygoers. The registration deadline is April 26. A gourmet boxed lunch will be provided, and attendees should meet at the Performing Arts Center on Pigeon Street in Waynesville no later than 8 a.m.

Bring binoculars and rain poncho. Light hiking is involved.

828.452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org.

Finnegans Wake took James Joyce 17 years to write, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel consumed four years of Michelangelo’s time and Beethoven needed about five years to complete his Fifth Symphony.

But artists participating in one of Waynesville’s most popular art events, Quick Draw, will get just an hour to create and complete their works of art.

Now in its 11th year, Quick Draw challenges regional artists to create a finished piece, ready for sale, in under one hour. Some 40 artists say they are up to the challenge, though it’s just the two-dimensional artists who are actually under the time gun. Metal, fiber and clay artists bring a pre-completed work to be auctioned off, in addition to  the timed works, at the end of Quick Draw to support arts education in Haywood County.

“Every year I say, ‘Never again,’” said oil painter Sarah Sneedon who travels to Waynesville to participate each year from the Caesars Head area in Upstate South Carolina. “It’s a lot of pressure. You sweat it, and you worry about it, and you try to plan down to the brush strokes and colors.”

Sneedon said she grew up in a family that was not artistic, one in which her father regarded those who were artists “as bums.” That background has made Sneedon all the more eager to support art education in the schools.

“I don’t have a lot of money to give, but I can torture myself once each year,” she said.

Some artists prepare for the competition racing the clock using kitchen timers. The practice — seeing how long their envisioned works will take them — can stave off the unfortunate problem of not quite being done when the bell goes off. That doesn’t always work, however. Real life can throw some real curves even at the most prepared of artists.

Last year, Sneedon remembered, she made the mistake of picking a technically challenging composition — two girls building a sand castle by the ocean.

“We got to five minutes to go and I didn’t have an arm on one of the girls,” she said, adding that she was forced to simply paint an arm in “fast.”

This year, Sneedon plans to paint sunflowers in the mountains. She’s yet to paint a trial run of the composition in the hour slotted for Quick Draw, but Sneedon expressed confidence that when the adrenaline kicks in she’d be able to complete the painting in the time required.

Artistic travails aside, QuickDraw has gotten so popular among area artists that the event — it’s not technically a competition — is now invitation only, said organizer Faye Wagoner.

“We have been blessed in that now we have such a following among artists and attendees we have more artists who are interested than who can actually participate,” Wagoner said.

This is the only event of its kind in the region, Wagoner said. There is a Quick Draw in the Highlands area, but that one allows artists a three-hour window instead of just 60 minutes.

Wagoner described Quick Draw in Waynesville as “an exhilarating evening. It’s just a terrific evening of fun.”

Some artists, like watercolorist Ann Vasilick, enjoys the challenge and competition of working beside other artists. She has selected a landscape in the Waynesville area to paint, which is out of this well-known artist’s bailiwick. Vasilick’s is best known for her buildings and street scenes, including those of Waynesville, and they are considered highly collectible.

She said she drove around the town until finding the particular view that attracted her, used photographic elements and did thumbnail sketches on the spot. Vasilick then returned to the studio to render a full-sized sketch of the painting. When this artist is unable to sleep, she would mentally paint the scene dozens of times.

Vasilick might be painting a landscape that is a little different than her best-known works but she plans on using the techniques that got her to the party: the meticulous and loving use of light and dark, volume and texture.

“I’ll use all the same elements I always use,” Vasilick said.

Complicating the task for Vasilick is the medium, watercolors, that she works in. She must be aware of the wetness of the painting and the necessity for it to dry within the required time. Many artists have blow-driers at the ready to hasten the process.

Oil artist Joyce Schlapkohl of Waynesville is looking forward to the competition with, perhaps, a bit of dread, too.

“I love it,” Schlapkohl said. “It’s stressful but exciting. When it’s over, it is nice.”

Schlapkohl, who has participated every year in Quick Draw, said she keeps trying to prepare a bit more each time.

“That hour really zips by,” she said in explanation, adding that she no longer says “hello” to spectators or friends milling past during the event. “I just try to stay focused.”

Schlapkohl said she believes all the artists involved are painting increasingly difficult paintings for Quick Draw. When the event started, she said, it was so new and unfamiliar everyone simply ensured they had a composition that could be completed within the required hour.

Schlapkohl’s technique is to break her anticipated painting down to basics.

“And I try to pick something I’m familiar with and that I feel that I can do in an hour,” she said.

Schlapkohl said she’s had people tell her before they actually enjoy her Quick Draw paintings more than her standard work, because it’s fresher. The artist also believes there is a value, beyond the important goal of supporting arts education, to the competition: “Anytime you push yourself as an artist that’s probably useful,” Schlapkohl said.

Art comes to life at annual Quick Draw in the Mountains

WHEN: 4:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28  

WHERE: Laurel Ridge Country Club, 788 Eagle Nest Rd., Waynesville

HOW MUCH: $50 in advance

MORE INFO: www.wncquickdraw.com

The creative arts building at Haywood Community College has hit a few more snags on its way to completion — much to the chagrin of county commissioners.

The college will once again tap into its contingency fund to correct miscalculations resulting from either a lack of communication or a design faux pas. The project is still within its original budget, however.

The total project cost was estimated at about $10.2 million. A contingency fund was built into the price tag to cover unexpected costs that crop up during the course of construction, half of which has now been spent to fix several snags.

The commissioners agreed to allocate a little more than $25,000 to widen a doorway, reinforce an outside deck and construct a retaining wall as well as pay for a couple of minor miscellaneous items.

Rectifying the size of a doorway will consume about one-third of the money. The entry was too small to fit an absorption chiller, a piece of machinery that will allow the building to use solar energy to power its air conditioning.

“The architect has admitted an error,” said Bill Dechant, director of campus development. “When it is a (building) designer error, the architect or the designer is responsible for that item.”

However, the county will have to foot the bill for now. Possible reimbursement is not negotiated until the end of a project. While the architect will likely repay the college some amount, it is not known how much money HCC will receive or even what mistakes the architect will claim.

“It’s hard to say” how much, if any, money the college will recoup, Dechant said.

The architect has been forthcoming in admitting errors, Dechant added.

Unfortunately, the sizing mistake was not caught until after the doorframe had already been installed.

“I don’t understand how they would have missed that,” Commissioner Mike Sorrells said at a county meeting last week, when the college came before commissioners asking for a budget adjustment on the project to tap contingency funds.

Although the widened doorframe is the priciest error, the board seemed most concerned about an inaccurate topographical survey that mapped how water drained around the building and where it should pave sidewalks. The contractor identified discrepancies between the survey and the land’s actual conditions, and a new survey needed to be conducted — a $2,000 cost.

HCC had hired the original surveyor, but when discrepancies were found, it did not ask the company to redo its survey for free or refund the money. The contractor’s on-hand surveyor reviewed the land at cost.

Commissioners agreed that the original surveyor should have returned and reevaluated the property at no cost.

“If the survey was wrong, you need to get the surveyor out there and correct it. That’s what I would do,” said Commissioner Kevin Ensley, a surveyor by profession. “And, I wouldn’t charge anybody for doing that.”

When Commissioner Chairman Mark Swanger made a motion to approve the added funds, none of the other commissioners immediately offered to second the motion.

“I am not hearing any explanation as to why someone else has not attempted to get someone else to pay for these things. And, I think that is what we want to here,” said Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick, after an awkward moment of silence.

Considering the scope of the project, Dechant said the total amount of change orders thus far is below average. Of the total project cost of $10.2 million, the construction contract is $8.6 million.

“In terms of an $8.6 million building, the amount of change orders on this project have been extremely low so far,” Dechant said. “I think overall I have been pleased with the amount of problems that we have had on this job.”

In the end, the county board voted to release the money.

Change orders take II

These were not the first design issues that have arisen during the already controversial project.

In January, Dechant went before the Haywood County Board of Commissioners seeking approval to use more than $262,000 in contingency funds. Most of it went to a water pump needed to provide adequate water pressure for the building’s sprinkler system.

Architects from the Raleigh-based Innovative Design erred when studying the water pressure earlier in the planning process. They tested the pressure in the main water lines running through campus a few hundred feet below the building site. As water flows up the hill to the new building, it loses pressure — a fact the architect did not factor into his plans, Dechant said at a previous commissioners meeting.

Last year, the commissioners and college administrators battled for months about the scope of the creative arts building project, before settling on a plan.

The new facility will house studio and classroom space for students studying the creative arts, such as pottery and woodwork.

“I know there was a lot of discussion about the building, and ‘Why this? Why that?’ And, I know my opinion, and I am sure the rest of the board’s opinion is too, is ‘How much more?’” Sorrells said.

Money to pay for the new building is coming from a quarter-cent sales tax approved by county voters more than four years ago to fund improvements to Haywood Community College’s campus.

The president of MedWest-Haywood hospital suddenly stepped down this week after three-and-a-half years on the job.

Mike Poore’s tenure at the helm of MedWest-Haywood was marked by an aggressive strategy to restore a crisis of community confidence, rebuild plummeting finances and compete head-to-head with the much-larger neighboring Mission Hospital in Asheville.

The news that Poore was resigning came as a surprise to the medical community and hospital’s board of directors, who met for two-hours Monday to digest the news.

Dr. Benny Sharpton, a long-time surgeon in Haywood County, said the medical community is going to be disappointed at the loss.

“The medical staff was not only comfortable but optimistic with his leadership,” Sharpton said. “He opened up lines of communication that had been broken it he past. He had an open door policy. Not all CEO’s have good rapport with their medical staff.”

Poore will be best known for rescuing the hospital after a tumultuous period when it failed federal inspections and was forced to essentially shut its doors for four months in 2008. The previous CEO, David Rice, who had become a lightning rod of controversy even prior to that crisis, stepped down and Poore stepped in — not only filling a leadership void but also putting the hospital on a path to recovery.

“Within a relatively short period of time, we had regained the market share we had lost. That is not a small feat,” said Dr. David Markoff, an ophthalmologist in Haywood County. “I have enjoyed working with Mike. I am sorry to see him leaving.”

Poore’s family man persona and regular presence at civic and social functions not only built rapport for the hospital but made him generally well-liked around town as well.

“Mr. Poore is one of the finest men I have ever known,” said Dr. Charles Thomas, an oncologist in Haywood County and a hospital board member. “He has done us a wonderful job. We accepted his resignation with deep regret and lots and lots and lots of thanks and platitudes.”

While Poore’s departure seems amicable, many in the medical community are left asking “why now?”

Poore, 47, does not have another job lined up. Depending on where he goes next, his family may stay in Haywood a while before joining him to avoid being uprooted. His son, a football player for Tuscola High School, will be a senior year next year, while his daughter will be a sophomore. His wife is involved in various community civic groups.

Poore is receiving a severance package but the terms aren’t public for now.

Poore said he will look for another hospital CEO position.

“I am a hospital administrator. That is my animal,” Poore said.

Turn-around man

There wasn’t any detectable tension between Poore and the Haywood medical community or hospital board.

But, Poore technically had another boss as well. He answered to Carolinas HealthCare System, a network of 34 hospitals based in Charlotte that MedWest joined two years ago.

Carolinas didn’t have a problem with his performance either, according to John Young, the vice president for Carolinas HealthCare’s western region who Poore reported to.

“This moment is Mike’s choice. This is not because of anything,” Young said. “It is just a certain period of time when it is time for somebody else to come in.”

By all accounts, Poore was dealt a difficult hand when he took the job.

“We will always remember his great leadership in getting Haywood Regional Medical Center back up and running,” said Fred Alexander, the chairman of the full MedWest board of directors.

With no patients to speak of, the hospital’s cash reserves had plunged so low that it had less than a month of operating revenue left when it reopened its doors. Patients who had turned elsewhere for medical care during the closure had to be lured back. And, the historically robust medical community in Haywood County, which had rallied around the hospital, needed reassurance they still had a future in Haywood County.

“He has worked so hard in the past several years to bring this entity, our hospital, upright again,” said Jean Burton, chair of the MedWest-Haywood board and a Cooperative Service agent in family and consumer sciences. “We were so knocked down a few years ago, and Mike worked tirelessly around the clock and has really stuck to the priorities he set.”

With the crisis in the rearview mirror, Poore led the hospital into a new partnership with neighboring hospitals in Jackson and Swain counties. The three hospitals formed a joint venture under the new MedWest banner. At the same time, MedWest joined the Carolinas HealthCare Network.

“I came to the hospital at a time of transition. We have gone through that transition during the last three-and-a-half years. It is just time for me to move on to other things,” Poore said.

Poore’s tenure isn’t uncharacteristically short for a hospital CEO. While the average time at one hospital for a CEO in North Carolina is longer, nationally it is 3.8 years, Poore said. Poore’s time at Haywood was just under that.

“It is not unusual for that turnover, but especially in a circumstance where you have a transition of bringing two organizations together to form MedWest,” Poore said.

There are always rivalries, even if friendly ones, between neighboring hospitals, Poore said. Bringing together two medical communities to act and think like a single entity can be difficult and challenging, he said.

As is sometimes the case in corporate mergers or turn-arounds, the person to affect change does not stay on as the long-term leader, Young said.

“Mike was the man to move the ball,” Young said of Poore’s role during the past three years.

Poore’s total compensation package was $444,000 a year.

Bumps in the road

Poore’s tenure wasn’t without snags, however. His honeymoon period began to fade in recent months, as the financial recovery initially witnessed under Poore began to backslide.

Despite a workforce reduction of 52 employees last year, MedWest has embarked on another round of cuts — 120 positions will be eliminated by July 1.

“It is what we need to do to right-size our organization with the reality of the revenue coming in today,” Poore said. Poore said MedWest is operating under austerity measures until the tide turns.

The layoffs amount to about 5 percent of the 2,100 employees across MedWest, including all three hospitals plus the 16 doctor practices now owned by MedWest.

In the midst of the financial troubles, MedWest-Haywood has seemingly been on a building and spending spree during the past year — from the very necessary replacement of a broken down generator to the very optional construction of a new surgery center.

In the end, MedWest-Haywood saw its cash-on-hand dip so low it had to turn to Carolinas HealthCare for an emergency $10 million line of credit. It was the first time Carolinas has ever loaned money to any of the 34 hospitals in its network.

While Poore defended the loan as no big deal, as Haywood has no other debt on its books, getting bailed of a cash-flow crunch by Carolinas clearly wasn’t ideal.

The loan was precipitated by a series of unexpected costs. Namely, MedWest-Haywood spent more than $10 million to replace a broken generator, upgrade its electronic medical records system and pay out judgments in two lawsuits dating to the previous administration.

Like Poore, Young characterized MedWest-Haywood as a victim of circumstances. Nonetheless, it revealed just how critical the financial status had become.

Build and they will come

While some costs indeed couldn’t be helped, Poore also oversaw an expansion campaign far more voluntary in nature.

A hospice center, a new surgery center and a new urgent care center are in various stages of construction, costing MedWest-Haywood a total of $2.35 million. The amount put up by the hospital is a fraction of the total cost — the lion’s share was paid for by the non-profit hospital foundation and a private group of physician investors.

MedWest also has new MRIs, a new diagnostic lab and new heart catheterization services.

“The hospital is very well positioned to serve patient needs and to grow and to prosper,” said Dr. Charles Thomas, an oncologist in Haywood County and former chief of staff of the hospital.

Young agreed.

“Mike started us down a track. A lot is already in place,” Young said.

The attention Poore gave to MedWest-Haywood didn’t sit well with some doctors in Jackson County, who felt their hospital was being slighted in favor of making Haywood the flagship of the MedWest system, another bump in the road for Poore in recent months. Disatisfaction among the Jackson medical community led to Poore being replaced as CEO of MedWest-Harris and relegated to being over MedWest-Haywood only.

Perhaps the most expensive piece of Poore’s expansion campaign was buying out several Haywood doctors’ practices. The exact cost of the private transactions are not known, but up-front costs aside, the newly bought doctor’s practices will continue to be a drain on the bottom line for another year or two before turning the corner. The hospital has to foot the bill for salaries, equipment, and overhead before the billing for patients begins to pay off.

While costly and perhaps outside the hospital’s realistic budget, it had to be done, according to Dr. Benny Sharpton, a long-time surgeon.

Mission Hospital in Asheville was courting the same physician practices, and Haywood had to make a competing offer. So Poore acted swiftly despite perhaps not having the money to do so.

“It was done in an extremely short period of time primarily due to outside threats from Mission hospital trying to siphon the loyalty of our doctors off,” Sharpton said. “He took that on in a difficult time. It needed to be done. It had to be done.”

While Poore has taken criticism from some for overspending or failing to enact austerity measures sooner, others disagree. When faced with embattled finances and dwindling market share, MedWest-Haywood had a choice. It could retrench and scale back. Or it could move forward with guns blazing.

Rather than resigning Haywood to being a rural second-fiddle hospital in Mission’s shadow, Poore chose to push Haywood onto a bigger stage.

“He has already laid the foundation,” said Cliff Stovall, a MedWest-Haywood board member. “The person that does all the spade work doesn’t always get to enjoy all the glory.”

The track set in motion by Poore will hopefully continue by the leadership team still in place, said Stovall.

“As much as I hate to see Mike ago, we are glad to have the people he put in place,” said Stovall, a retired army colonel who now works in tax preparation.

Poore assembled a nearly all-new management team for the hospital after he was hired, bringing on board more than a dozen vice presidents and department heads within his first two years.

Poore gives credit to the entire team for the advances that have been made.

“I am so proud of the accomplishments the team has made,” Poore said. “I feel like I am leaving this in good hands on a go-forward basis.”

An artistic marriage of fine gardens and fine art is on display now at Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86, with “Gardens, Mountains and Streams: An Artist’s View of the Haywood County Garden Tour” showing through April 28.

This intertwining of what constitutes two of life’s great passions for many people is the brainchild of Susan Greb, a master gardener in Haywood County, and is the work of the Haywood County Arts Council and the Haywood County Master Gardener Volunteer Association. The two organizations spearheaded the effort to create this unique show.

“The call went out to different artists — in all different mediums — and it all came together,” said Greb, who serves as one of the event coordinators. “It’s a really fun kind of exhibit.”

The Haywood County Master Gardener Volunteer Association selected the 12 exhibiting artists through a competitive process. Artists’ subject matter was focused on six private gardens to be featured on a June 23 garden tour in the county. The artists, working from photographs, were challenged to incorporate gardens, mountains and streams into their works.

“We were wondering how we could promote the garden tour,” said Cynthia Morris of the Haywood County Master Gardener Volunteer Association, explaining that artists were asked “to pick some facet of the gardens they really wanted to represent.”

Last year alone, more than 500 people participated in the Haywood County garden tour.

The art and gardens partnership includes a rain barrel project with the Haywood Waterways Association. That group is supplying rain barrels and the Blue Ridge Water Media Society and local high school students are painting them. Former arts council board member and volunteer Mary Alice Lodico is spearheading the rain barrel project.

This aspect of the show emphasizes the environmental component to gardening; the painted rain barrels will be available for purchase at $150 each during the Gallery 86 show and on the day of the garden tour. Sales benefit the Haywood Waterways Association and the Arts Council. Custom orders are also available.

The multi-partnership exhibition grew organically from a simple idea to the work of many people and groups.

“We’ve always looked for opportunities to partner with other organizations,” said Kay Miller, executive director of the Haywood County Arts Council. “And I thought this was a great idea.”

Miller described the exhibit as a true showcase of artists.

“We have a wide range of skills of the folks involved in the show,” Miller said. “And everybody has done a great job.”

Hearing from the artists

For the artists, the project brought some special challenges. Metalworker Teresa Sizemore created an 18-inch tall exquisitely designed and rendered butterfly resting on black-eyed susans.

Sizemore is mainly self-taught but has taken a number of courses at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown.

The photograph she worked from did not include the blue butterfly — that she envisioned herself and added to complete the metal sculpture “and make more of a scene,” she said.

Sizemore hand-painted the butterfly’s body; the metal is recycled from a scrap metal shop in Asheville.

“I try to use as much recycled material as I can,” Sizemore said.

She first sketched out a blueprint of sorts and then used either metal shears or a plasma cutter to complete her work.

Sizemore described metal as “forgiving.”

“I really like working in metal because you can do anything you want,” she said, adding that you can cut out, grind out or add to metal as needed.

Susan Livengood, who studied art in college but took a bit of a detour for a time raising a family, worked in acrylics. She’s more used to working in oils, but time constraints solidified her decision to work in a slightly different medium. The artists picked their photographs in December. That didn’t leave a lot of time for the artists to actually compose and paint or work in whatever medium they are accustomed to working in.

“There just really wasn’t time for oils,” said Livengood, who has studio and gallery space in the old Fines Creek School.

Livengood, who has painted many flowers and botanical works, was lucky enough to have first choice of the photographs because she happened to be in town visiting on the day they were made available. One of her pieces is a close up of red flowers, the other is a more abstract composition of a stream with a Hindu-like statue at the top.

“I was more trying to catch the peacefulness of the water,” Livengood said. “It was kind of a Zen spot.”

Livengood’s pieces underscore her devotion to working in color: both pieces are vibrant expressions of garden scenes and are distinctly personal.

The artists involved

Nancy Blevins, silk dye painting, watercolor, mixed media; Scott Bradley, painting; Barbara Brook, painting; Rebecca Hellman, fused glass; Ansie Holman, clay; Suzanne Leclaire, painting; Susan Livengood, painting; Cheryl Megivern, painting; Lycia Murray, painting; Teresa Sizemore, metalwork; Mary Elizabeth Stith, painting; Kaaren Stoner, clay.

Want to go?

Who: Haywood County Arts Council

What: Gallery 86 exhibit entitled “Gardens, Mountains & Streams: An Artist’s View of the Haywood County Garden Tour.”

When: Wednesday, April 4 through Saturday, April 28. An artist’s reception will be held Friday, April 13 from 6-8 p.m.

Where: Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 at 86 North Main Street in Waynesville.

Admission: Free

For more information about the garden tour call the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service center at 828.456.3575. Garden tour tickets are available at the Arts Council’s Gallery 86 and other outlets.

Haywood County commissioners this week gave their blessing to a $10 million line of credit for the MedWest-Haywood hospital, ending a delicate dance in the finer points of contract law that has spanned the past three months.

The loan was needed to solve a serious but short-term cash flow crunch brought on by a concatenation of unexpected costs. MedWest-Haywood had turned to the powerhouse of Carolinas HealthCare System, a network of 34 hospitals that Haywood is part of, to help bridge the gap.

The status of the loan has been in limbo, however, as county commissioners wrestled with whether to allow MedWest-Haywood to put up the hospital building as collateral. While highly unlikely, if the hospital failed to pay back the loan it could be foreclosed on. The worst-case scenario concerned county commissioners, preventing them from initially signing off on the loan.

Without commissioners’ blessing, the loan was in limbo. The county’s measure of control over the hospital building dates back to its original status as a public hospital — a status county commissioners felt compelled to protect.

Commissioners finally arrived at a series of caveats that would allow the loan to go forward.

“It protects the county’s interest but allows for a way forward for the hospital,” County Commission Chairman Mark Swanger said.

Commissioner Mike Sorrells agreed.

“We wanted to provide the hospital with the means to get over get over this bump in the road, as it is being called, but continue to maintain a viable county hospital,” Sorrells said.

MedWest-Haywood CEO Mike Poore said the hospital is not in dire financial straits, but it is operating under austerity measures and has been forced to lay off some employees as it regains its footing from a series of set-backs.

Poore pointed out that the $10 million loan is the only debt the hospital has — compared to its annual operating revenue of $110 million and a building worth $70 million.

“To have an organization with that little debt ratio in today’s world is really amazing,” Poore said.

Collateral with caveats

Swanger stressed that the process has in no way been adversarial between the county and the hospital.

“I think I can speak for everyone up here when I say we want the hospital to succeed and thrive,” Swanger said at a county meeting this week. “We have an obligation to protect the county’s interest and taxpayers’ interests, but the process of doing that has not been adversarial.”

Poore said he would “echo that.”

“The commissioners have been asking the right questions and doing their fiduciary responsibility, but the whole time the interest is how can we help our hospital along,” Poore said.

Specifically, the county agreed to let the hospital put its building up as collateral if the county is given the first right of refusal, so to speak. Should the hospital default on its loan, Carolinas HealthCare System could not foreclose without coming to the county first.

The county would be given the option of paying off the loan itself. The hospital would then be on the hook with the county to pay back the loan rather than to Carolinas.

“Should there be a default rather than just a normal foreclosure, they first have to give the county notice,” explained Haywood County Attorney Chip Killian. “The county has six months after that notice to kind of figure out what they are going to do — to decide whether they want to purchase the note and in fact be the lender instead of Carolinas.”

If the county indeed decides to bail the hospital out, it would have another 12-month window to put together a financing deal to “satisfy and cure the default.”

The caveats written into the loan drew on the best contract-writing skills Haywood County Attorney Chip Killian could muster.

“There is a lot of legalese in this document, but I had to craft this out of whole cloth because I had never seen anything like this before,” Killian said.

A ‘perfect storm’

Poore said that the need for a loan isn’t a sign of financial insecurity.

“We had several events that were what I would describe as a perfect storm of cash issues,” Poore said. “The clock ran out on us. There were too many things that hit us at the same time.”

MedWest-Haywood had to spend $1 million to replace a broken generator, $1.6 million on a wrongful firing lawsuit by group of emergency doctors and $8 million on a new computer system to handle electronic medical records.

The hospital also spent an undisclosed sum in the past year buying up private doctors’ practices that were being courted by Mission Hospital in Asheville. MedWest-Haywood feared long-term repercussions of a patient drain if it didn’t make a competing offer.

“It is a lot more complicated than ‘the hospital is in some economic trouble,’” said County Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick said. “There have been a lot of hurdles we have had to get over. I hope we are at the point we are making that turn.”

Meanwhile, however, the hospital has already spent $7 million of the $10 million loan. Carolinas Health System had already extended the loan to MedWest-Haywood — and Med-West Haywood had begun spending it — before they realized the county’s blessing was needed for the collateral.

Carolinas could have retrenched and frozen the line of credit when the county didn’t promptly sign off. Instead, Carolinas allowed MedWest-Haywood to keep spending against the line of credit, allowing the balance to grow to its $7 million mark.