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

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

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

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

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

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

828.524.7683 or www.artscouncilofmacon.org.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.454.6702

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.349.6887.

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

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

828.452.6789.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To the Editor:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Redman

Sylva

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

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

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

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

800.222.4930 Opt. 2.

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

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

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

828.227.7129.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This talk is free and open to the public.  

828.251.6415.

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

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

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

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

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

www.appalachiantrail.org/discover.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.

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

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

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

828.586.9499 or www.citylightsnc.com.

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

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

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

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

828.227.2479 or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.648.2924.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Both events are free and the public is invited.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

www.facebook.com/KAREHouseWaynesville or 828.456.8995.

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

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

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

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

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

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

fishcherokee.com or 828.497.6700.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.524.2711.

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

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

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

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

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

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

38 North Carolina counties received a 2010 disaster designation.  

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

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

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

The programs are:

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

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

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

828.586.4009 or 828.488.3848.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.586.9499.

Charles Dodd White will read from his new short story collection, Sinners of Sanction County, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Originally from Atlanta, White now lives in Asheville and teaches English at South College and is on the creative writing staff of the Hindman Settlement School’s Appalachian Writers Workshop. He is also the author of a novel, Lambs of Men.

“Charles Dodd White is an exceptionally talented writer and these stories secure his place as one of

Appalachia’s best short story writers. He’s the real deal,” said Ron Rash.

Students living in Reynolds Residence Hall of Western Carolina University are seeking new or used books as part of a project to donate them to students at Smokey Mountain Elementary School.

The students are trying to collect 1,000 books by Nov. 18 and are asking people to:

• Donate a favorite childhood book.

• Donate new or gently used books.

• Donate money for book purchases.

• Help spread the news about the book drive.

Books may be dropped off at Reynolds Residence Hall or Scott Hall on the campus of Western Carolina University. Students will pick up books for those what can’t get to campus.

For information or to have books picked up contact Jean Bowen through email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.4642.

To the Editor:

Recent political ads by the Waynesville-Haywood Concerned Citizens contain materially false representations.

There has never been any Waynesville town money or taxpayer money used for the public art pieces described in their ads. These works have been paid for in full by private donations, donations made after many hours of hard work on fundraising.

The Waynesville Public Art Commission (WPAC) is very fortunate to have Mayor Gavin Brown and the board of alderman’s full support in our effforts to make our lovely mountain comunity a place where our residents and visitors love to be. The public art is a wonderful addition to our serene mountain beauty and is made possible by all of those who wish to add to the beauty of Waynesville.

We are very sorry to see anyone supporting and endorsing people for public office who do not take the time to obtain the correct facts before having erroneous and misleading political ads and information published.

Jan Griffin

Chairman, Public Art Commission

To the Editor:

I appreciated your article “Meet the candidates: Who’s who in Waynesville’s race” (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/5412) regarding the upcoming elections, and I am particularly grateful for you drawing my notice to the Waynesville-Haywood Concerned Citizens (WHCC) political action committee — a group to which three candidates are aligned.

A visit to the WHCC website brought some amusement, such as the commentator who saw the sculpture next to the police station as a “progressive socialist statement.” In the 1950s the Brits were concerned about a Red under every bed, but at least ours are apparently in art studios, which must be less claustrophobic for them.

More seriously, the website also contains what I would term falsehoods and hypocrisies. In the former I would include that the street art was privately, not publicly, funded, something you referred to in your article, and also, the claim that Waynesville is $19 million in debt, a claim repeated in bold type in the WHCC advertisement on page 14 of The Smoky Mountain News.

However, from my layman’s reading of the town’s financial statement, (http://www.egovlink.com/public_documents300/waynesville/published_documents/Departments/Finance%20Department/2009-2010%20Audit%20Report.pdf) it has debts of $19 million, mostly liabilities for long-term loans for things like electric substations, which is a completely different thing, and similar to a homeowner having a mortgage. The WHCC’s claim therefore suggests either an inability to read simple accounts, a belief that most people with a mortgage are financially incompetent, or, an economy with the truth.

As for hypocrisy, saying, “most people don’t ride bikes or walk to shop” and therefore what’s the point of making streets “walking friendly,” smacks of an erosion of individual choice and an increase in governmental control, things that the group is supposed to be against.

Most disconcerting, however, is the portrait the group paints of Waynesville. It is certainly not the town I live in and am happy to call home. There’s no disputing that unemployment needs to be reduced, but is having a raft of franchised food outlets the answer? Maybe in the short term, but if they draw customers from locally owned restaurants and ultimately destroy the charm and uniqueness of Waynesville by turning it into Anywhere, USA, it would be a hollow victory.

We are blessed with more stores and restaurants, many of which have recently opened, than a town of 10,000 people would normally have because of visitors who come here because we don’t have a chain store on every corner. Jobs yes. At any price? No.

Finally, I would add that I am a registered independent, and proud of it, since independence is an important trait — after all, it’s the reason this country was created. The WHCC claim there is “no one elected or employed by the Town of Waynesville qualified to tell Walgreen’s, Cracker Barrel, Chili’s…how to do their business,” may or may not be true, but it’s irrelevant. What we need are people independent enough to tell Walgreens, etc., how Waynesville does its business, and to support local enterprise without being beholden to corporate America, a completely different skill set, and one not visible in the WHCC and, by extension, the candidates aligned to them.

Colin Reeve

Waynesville

To the Editor:

As a member of the Waynesville Public Art Commission from September 2006 to March 2011, I am very concerned about the misinformation presented in the ad placed in the Oct. 26/Nov. 1 issue of The Smoky Mountain News by the Waynesville-Haywood Concerned Citizens-PAC (page 14), on behalf of the following three candidates — Hugh Phillips, Sam Edwards and Julia Boyd Freeman.

During my 4.5 years on the commission I served as treasurer for two years and chair of the commission for one year.

The monies to purchase Old Time Music ($20,000), Celebrating Folkmoot ($20,000) and the Art connects the Parks Railing ($20,000) at the mini park, Main and Depot streets, was all donated by private individuals, local businesses and the Tourism Development Association.

No Town of Waynesville money was spent to pay the artists for their creations.

The Town of Waynesville does support the work of the commission with some funds, but the money spent to solicit art works, provide lighting, and install the works is minuscule compared to the benefits derived from these unique and special artworks that enhance our town.

I find it amazing that a group supporting candidates would place an ad before checking all their facts, and that the candidates would not do the proper research before allowing their names to be included.

Please help to set the facts straight. 

Kaaren Stoner

Haywood County

To the Editor:

Homework counts. I like to think that candidates running for the Waynesville Town Board would be interested in checking public documents to support or reinforce their point of view. Facts from public documents concerning our entrance corridors such as South Main and Russ Avenue are important to enhance the visitor experience to distinguish Waynesville from “Anywhere USA” and build a better economy.

Public documents on quantity of permits in 1990s are about equal to permits issued after adoption of the LDS in 2003 in our 3 regional centers — Hyatt Creek-South Main, Russ Avenue, and Dellwood/Junaluska — so design standards are not a deterrent nor are they a “undue burdens” on business development.

Of course building permits don’t always equal a “new” business; sometimes it is simply a face lift, or repurposing with a different tenant.

If candidates have read our UDO, (approximately 300 pages, they would know the town also allow business expansion — by our ordinances — using conditional use (the future expansion of Ingles is a current example). Also, Chapter 13 gives other tools to mitigate these concerns of nonconforming design elements and site features.

The review process started in March 2009 to study the UDO. A lot of volunteer time and effort went into amending, organizing and making the UDO “user friendly.” The town board adopted the revised UDO in spring 2011. The board is open and welcomes input. Candidates should show up and attend various board and commission meetings — the door is always open.

Facts matter.

Philan Medford

Waynesville

Registration is still open for the fourth annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, “Poverty, Abundance, and Peace:  Seeking Economic Justice for All God’s Children,” on Nov. 13-15.

Speakers for this year’s conference include Sen. George McGovern; David Beckmann, executive director of Bread for the World; Bishop Nkula Ntambo of the Katanga Conference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Michael Ayuen de Kuany, one of the “Lost Boys of the Sudan.”

“Beckmann, Senator McGovern and Bishop Ntambo each bring a long history of effective involvement in issues related to peace, poverty, and hunger,” said Garland Young and Wannamaker Hardin, Chair and vice-chair of the Peace Conference. “They will help us explore ways to be more effective in our witness and involvement in seeking peace and justice for all. The inter-faith approach to peace will continue to be an emphasis of this conference with Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders taking part.”

In keeping with the commitment of the Peace Conference to interfaith peacemaking, the conference will also feature an interfaith panel featuring  Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars on the topic, “Our Sacred Texts Speak to Us in Regard to Peace, Justice and Economics.”

For more information on the Conference and to register go to www.lakejunaluska.com/peace or call 828.454.6656.

Newly released statistics compiled by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show more than 79,000 breast reconstruction procedures were performed in 2008, a 39 percent increase compared to 2007.

Yet according to a recent report, almost 70 percent of women who are eligible for the procedure are not told about reconstructive options.

The majority of women are not aware that there is a Federal law, the Womens Rights Law of 1998, which requires insurance companies to cover breast reconstruction following mastectomy or partial removal of the breast, according to the report.

“At the time of diagnosis, a patient should be immediately referred to a full team of physicians — including a plastic surgeon — so she can determine which, if any reconstruction option is best for her,” said Dr. Laurence Arnold of Asheville.

The third annual Native American Heritage Expo will be held at Western Carolina University beginning Nov. 7.

All events held throughout the week are free and open to the public.

The Native American Heritage Expo will explore the rich and vast culture of the Native American experience. Its’ series of programs will be held in the A.K. Hinds University Center and include discussions about Cherokee health, first amendment rights of tribal newspapers and Indian identity.

The event kicks off with a free lunch at 12:20 p.m. Monday in the UC Grandroom.

RSVP at 227.2615 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Driver Safety Program is offering a free, four-hour classroom course to all veterans and their spouses, regardless of age, from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30.

It will update participants’ knowledge of roads, traffic laws, vehicles, identify the most common crash situations and cover how to reduce the chances of having a crash.

The class is open to non-veterans at a cost of $12 for AARP members and $14 for nonmembers. Instructors will set up a class at a veterans’ meeting place, a local church or community center, if there are at least six participants.

Call the following instructors: Sandra Waltzek, Jackson County, 828.743.7910; Ardis Thomas, Swain County, 828.488.2523; Robert Justin, Macon County, 828.369.2829; and Carol Kashmer, Haywood County, 828.926.8948.

With about half of the bricks for the first section of the Western Carolina University Catamount Legacy Walk commissioned, facilitators are expanding publicity efforts in hopes of having the first section installed before spring commencement.

A fundraiser for a student emergency fund, the Catamount Legacy Walk honors each $125, tax-deductible donation with a 4-by-8-inch, reddish-orange brick paver to be engraved with a customized message from the donor and installed on campus.

Eighty percent of each Catamount Legacy Walk donation goes directly to the student emergency fund, with the remaining amount used for maintenance of the walk and Alumni Tower.

About 50 bricks have been commissioned for the Catamount Legacy Walk so far.

828.227.7234 or legacywalk.wcu.edu.

Tourism groups and projects that want to apply for a 1 percent funding grant from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority have until 5 p.m., Nov. 7, to the town subcommittees in Maggie Valley, Waynesville, Clyde and Canton.