By Kristen Davis • Contributing Writer

The newest piece of public art in downtown Waynesville — a metal railing that depicts a mountain scene — could have been crafted centuries ago.

The artists, Richard Coley and Ben Kastner of Wilmington decided to forego modern technology and built the structure using traditional blacksmithing techniques. Starting with 20-foot pieces of metal, Coley and Kastner heated up the metal in a forge and then hammered each bar into their desired shape. No corners were cut with modern machines; even the holes in the metal were hand-punched rather than drilled.

“[Blacksmithing] is a lost art,” Kastner said. “With the machine age, everyone went to machine parts. We’re trying to take it back to the simpler way of doing it. When it’s handmade, you can really see the craftsmanship.”

What used to be straight pieces of metal are now twisted elegantly into a mountain skyline with trees, a church steeple, and three salamanders in honor of the Great Smoky Mountains as the “Salamander Capital of the World.”

The railing will be installed at the mini-park near the corner of Main and Depot streets this week. The intersection holds historic significance as the site that was once overlooked by a large arched sign that indicated the eastern entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Franklin D. Roosevelt rode beneath the sign on his way to the dedication ceremony for the park in 1934. These aspects of the town’s history inspired the Waynesville Public Art Commission’s theme for the railing — “Art Connects the Parks.”

Kastner explained that the installation could take one to three days.

“Installs are something you never really know what you’re getting until you get there,” he said. “We have to drill these 3-inch holes in the wall, so there could be unseen obstacles at the job site.”

Unexpected setbacks notwithstanding, the artists plan to have the railing installed by the dedication ceremony, which will occur at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19, at Gallery 86. According to Kaaren Stoner, the public art commission chairman, the ceremony will last about a half hour, and the featured speakers will include: Mayor Gavin Brown; a representative from Smoky Mountain National Park; Bill King, vice chairman of the Public Art Commission; and the two artists.

This project is the first public art commission Kastner and Coley have received. Kastner called it “one of the best opportunities” he and their shop have ever had. They were selected for the commission after responding to the Waynesville Public Art Commission’s call for artists throughout North Carolina and Tennessee to design a railing that could represent downtown Waynesville’s historic connection to Great Smoky Mountain National Park, beating out the other 25 artists who applied.

Kastner said he and his business partner/fellow artist/friend have been working 12 to 15 hour days to finish the project by their deadline.

“People will enjoy it for years to come, so I don’t mind spending the extra time when so many people can enjoy it,” he said. “It’s rewarding to think that it’s not just for one homeowner to enjoy behind closed doors.”

Kastner’s interest in metal-working sparked in high school when he took a welding class outside of his regular class schedule. Eventually, he and Coley, his friend since high school, attended the College of Oceaneering in California to learn underwater welding. While there, they both worked part-time at a blacksmith shop, which reoriented their interest toward more traditional ironworks.

“There’s only so much you can do with welding,” Kastner said.

He prefers the challenge that blacksmithing provides him.

“You can always get better at it, you can always learn more,” he said. “It’s always exciting to think about the things you can learn from other people. It’s not the same thing everyday like your average job.”

The “Art Connects the Parks” project is the third major public art installation to grace the streets of downtown Waynesville, thanks to the efforts of the Public Art Commission. The first project “Old Time Music,” constructed by Stefan Bonitz, was installed on the corner of Miller and Main Streets in 2008 and features two rosy-cheeked, grinning musicians — one playing banjo and the other on a washtub bass. The second project “Celebrating Folkmoot,” by renowned public artist Wayne Trapp, waves its flags in the wind on the corner of Main and East streets.

The public purse was not opened for any of the three public art projects. All were funded with private donations, Stoner said. The $20,000 commission for “Art Connects the Parks” comes from individuals, local businesses and a grant from the Haywood County Tourism.

This past June, the Public Art Commission raised much of the commission funds with its “Salamander Splash” event at HART Theater, where there was an art auction of more than 48 works of art — paintings, jewelry, pottery, quilted wall art and metal — all featuring the “Salamander Capital of the World” theme and made by Haywood County artists.

The Waynesville Public Art Commission, established in 2006, evolved out of the StreetScapes Committee, which raised funding for rotating temporary art for the town’s public spaces from 1999 to 2004. The success of the StreetScapes initiative caused enthusiasm for implementing permanent public art.

“I’d like to thank the town for giving us this opportunity,” Kastner said. “It’s opened some doors and changed the course we’re heading by getting us away from the architectural side of things and into public art. We feel like there’s more of a purpose to it because more people can enjoy it.”

Since receiving their first public art commission, Coley and Kastner applied for another one in Kinston, for which they are designing a bandstand to honor the African American Music Trail. They were selected as finalists and will turn in their design next week, Coley said.

Ingles is now one step closer to giving their Waynesville store a revamp, thanks to a decision taken by the town’s aldermen last week.

The board granted Ingles request for a conditional zoning district, which would allow the supermarket chain to go ahead with their redevelopment plans without any delays in the process.

Conditional zoning districts are slated to be part of the town’s updated land-use ordinances that will be open to public comment later this fall. Ingles, however, couldn’t wait that long, so they petitioned the board to make a decision now.

After meetings between town officials and Ingles representatives, the board seemed convinced that the grocery store wasn’t seeking to get in under the wire by pushing through a project before the updated ordinances are adopted.

Mayor Gavin Brown said that, initially, he’d harbored reservations.

“At first I had some reservations about what we were doing here,” Brown said. “At first I was a little suspect of having all that authority and all that power. The nice thing is that if we don’t like it, we don’t have to do it. It’s really our decision to make within the confines of the ordinance itself.”

Michael Egan, attorney for Ingles and also an expert on zoning, spoke on behalf of the store, assuring the aldermen that the request wasn’t frivolous.

“They didn’t just file this application out of a spirit of playfulness. It’s very important to them. It’s critical to them to get started as soon as they possibly can,” said Egan, who has helped Brevard and other local municipalities put together similar measures.

“It’s a terrific tool,” said Egan. “It’s probably the best tool that local governments now have.”

For the town, adopting conditional zoning will allow them to make exceptions to current zoning on a case-by-case, plat-by-plat basis.

“It’s very site-specific,” said Paul Benson, Waynesville’s planning director. “You can tailor it to an individual and so that makes it really a popular tool.”

It is also a powerful tool, giving the planning board and the board of aldermen the power to change and negotiate around current zoning regulations for specific businesses or individuals.

There are, said Benson, some restrictions, though.

“The most specific restriction is they can’t ask for a use that’s not allowed in the underlying zone,” Benson said, which does limit the amount of leeway that a board can offer.

For Ingles, the crux of the issue is timing. Under the current regulations, they couldn’t redevelop the site — which is in the Russ Avenue Town Center District — much beyond minor renovations without bumping up against the ordinance’s confines. Within those boundaries, developers said, it would be impossible for them to update, since the store lies on what Benson calls a “flagpole lot.” That makes parking in the back or side of the building — a stipulation for buildings in the district — difficult.

Ingles hasn’t come out with definitive plan for what it wants to do with the site, and Benson said the town won’t know for sure until their application arrives. That’s when the real negotiations over what will and won’t be allowed in the conditional zone — or even if they’ll be allowed one — will begin.

The possibility of expansion eastward into the adjoining storefront once occupied by Goody’s has been mentioned, as has the idea of a gas station, which is the formula Ingles has been following for its newer stores. At Tuesday’s meeting, store representatives pledged that the expansion would bring up to 60 new jobs to the community, in addition to temporary contracting jobs that the redevelopment would create.

Egan said that the major negotiating points of the new conditional use would likely be parking and landscaping, and said that they hope to have an application for conditional use filed with the city in time to make an appearance on the Dec. 20 planning board agenda.

“The engineer is working on those plans right now and we hope to have that application in by the end of the month,” said Egan.

The next step is for the town to evaluate the store’s application and start talks to work out exact terms. Benson said that, if the timing is right, that process could be well on its way by early next year.

Waynesville will dedicate its third public art project during a dedication ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 at Gallery 86.

The project — an artistic railing representing Waynesville’s connection with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — will be installed at the mini-park at the intersection of Main and Depot streets. Ben Kastner and Richard Coley of Wilmington will install their piece the week of Nov. 15.

The theme for the railing is “Art Connects the Parks.” This Waynesville intersection was once the location of a large arched sign indicating the direction of travel, down Depot Street, to the eastern entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The railing design contains layered mountains, handcrafted trees, a recognizable Waynesville church steeple, and in honor of the designation of the Great Smoky Mountains as the “Salamander Capital of the World,” three salamanders.

Salamander Splash, a very successful fundraising event was held June 24 at HART Theater, and the “Salamander Capital of the World” theme continued with an art auction of more than 48 custom works of art — paintings, jewelry, pottery, quilted wall art and metal made by the artists of Haywood County. The artists contributed their talent and energy to the effort to raise the $20,000 commission for the railing.

All of the $20,000 commission was raised from private individuals, area businesses and a grant from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority.

This is the third major public art installation in Downtown Waynesville. “Old Time Music,” at the corner of Main and Miller streets, and “Celebrating Folkmoot,” in front of the police station and development ofice, were dedicated in 2008 and 2009 respectively. All money for the artworks come from private donations.

Pale glimmers of subdued lighting casting shadowy silhouettes against a backdrop of muffled voices will transform the historic Shelton House from a gallery where artifacts, crafts and valuable artistic pieces are displayed in an eerie setting where ghostly tales are relayed.

The Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts at Shelton House will host the second Ghosts and Goblets event from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 23, with the storytelling program lasting approximately one hour.

Those wishing to attend, including children age 10 and up,  should come to the Shelton House Barn where small groups will be assembled throughout the evening. Goblets of wine and juice as well as light refreshments will be available in the barn before or after the visit with storytellers. Refreshments will be served until 10 p.m.

Storytellers will be situated in various rooms in the historic Shelton House and will mesmerize the audience with tales of ghostly encounters, strange occurrences and spectral visits — blurring the line between real, surreal and supernatural. No goblins or monsters will startle from behind a creaky door, but the tales relayed will impress the audience with their potential for hazy connections between imagination and actuality.

The Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts is celebrating its 30th anniversary affiliation with historic Shelton House, built in 1875.  Ghosts and Goblets is one in a series of events and fundraisers held in 2010 to support the upkeep of the house and the museum collection. Tickets are $10 at the door.  

Shelton House is open May through October, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Curator Jackie Stephens is available to give tours and introduce visitors to the history of the house, its original owners, and the extensive craft collection.

Are you artsy or interested in art? Want to engage the community and enrich public spaces through original art that celebrates Waynesville’s unique historic, cultural, natural and human resources?

Then join the Waynesville Public Art Commission, because that is exactly the mission of this nine-member board. The Public Art Commission has a vacancy and is seeking a member willing to make decisions, raise funds and help preserve and expand the public art collection.

For more information call 828.452.2491 or visit  for an application.

Waynesville town leaders are weighing whether to conduct selective logging of an old white pine plantation in the Waynesville watershed, a protected 8,000 acre tract whose creeks feed Waynesville’s drinking water reservoir.

While the town permanently protected the watershed from development and large-scale logging several years ago, it left the door open for limited forest management as the need arose. Despite public outcry, the town board maintained that limited timber harvests would be used sparingly and wisely — if at all — and only when the overall health of the forest stood to benefit.

Logging would not be pursued for purely a profit motive, they claimed at the time, nor would it jeopardize water quality of the headwaters that supply Waynesville’s drinking water.

Indeed, the logging being recommended today is being billed as environmentally beneficial.

Foresters, along with the town’s watershed advisory board, have recommended thinning out an old white pine plantation to make way for hardwood trees, which have more ecological benefits.

The harvest plan calls for cutting most of the white pine trees from a 10-acre area. The white pines are widely spaced, and hardwoods have already started growing up in the understory. Removing most of the white pines will allow the hardwoods to mature.

The timber harvest plan calls for selective cutting on another 40 acres, where the white pines are much denser and about 30 years old.

“The idea is to thin this stand,” said Rob Lamb, executive director of Forest Stewards, which has spent several years studying and assessing the watershed’s ecology to develop a long-range forest management plan.

Thinning will increase the vigor of the remaining white pine, plus let some light in to the forest floor to accelerate the re-establishment of native hardwoods.

The far more healthy and valuable stand of white pines left standing could be harvested 20 years from now while allowing for the re-establishment of natural forest at the same time.

Lamb believes it is a win-win-win scenario. He said the watershed will benefit ecologically by phasing out an old white pine plantation in favor of hardwoods, while the town will likely see some profits from the harvest. The logging company that gets the winning bidder would also make money.

Charles Miller, a Waynesville native who lives near the watershed, doesn’t like the idea, however. He was an outspoken critic of timber harvesting in any form or fashion during the debate over the issue five years ago and instead advocates a hands-off management approach.

Miller said the white pine stand is dying off anyway, and hardwoods will take over in their own time.

“The pines are dying. It would be better to have that dead wood on the ground and regenerate the soil than to go in there and destroy that,” Miller said.

Miller said logging will tear up the ground and trample the small hardwoods that have already taken root.

Miller said it is likely a done deal though, citing the outcry that ensued five years ago, to no avail.

“We turned in a petition with 600 names on it and they ignored it,” Miller said.

Town leaders voted 3 - 2 to reserve the right to conduct limited timber harvests in the watershed if deemed ecologically sound. While the watershed emerged as an election issue, those who favored forest management provisions kept their seats.

Peter Bates, natural resources professor at Western Carolina University and president of Forest Stewards board of directors said the harvest plan doesn’t jeopardize the town’s primary goals of conservation and water quality protection.

Town manager Lee Galloway said he feels the Town is ready to “take action” on the white pine harvest plan.

The recommendation comes from the Waynesville Watershed Advisory Board, which Galloway says is comprised of people knowledgeable of forestry practices as well as ordinary citizens. It is also based on a comprehensive management plan for the watershed created by Lamb and Bates,

After the comment period the town board will ultimately decide whether or not to go ahead with the white pine harvest.

“If they decide to go ahead and we advertise the timber sale it could be several months before the bid is completed,” Bates said.

Lamb said he is confident, “… we will get some good bidders.”

Want to weigh in?

Waynesville is attempting to preserve the neighborhood bounded by Walnut and North Main streets by seeking official recognition from the National Register of Historic Places.

The town recently received a grant through the Certified Local Government Program to prepare a National Register nomination for the district.

If town officials succeed, the “Spread Out Historic District” would join the Main Street and Frog Level historic districts, which already enjoy National Register status.

“We’d hate some of these older homes be torn down,” said Bette Sprecher, a member of the Waynesville Historic Preservation Commission. “We just wanted to preserve the whole area. All the things that have been torn down through the years, you gotta preserve something.”

Sprecher has been interested in historic preservation ever since her own home on Haywood Street was supplanted by the post office in the 1960s.

“It was a beautiful house. My grandfather picked out every piece of lumber in there,” said Sprecher. “We want to avoid things like that.”

Before the Spread Out Historic District can receive official recognition, however, a study must be conducted to see whether National Register status would be justified. Property owners must also decide where they stand.

Until now, there’s been a mixed reaction, according to Sprecher. Some property owners are “all for it,” while others want their homes to be left alone.

According to the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office, however, being on the National Register doesn’t mean private property owners need permission from the federal government to make changes. Homeowners in the district can freely make alterations to the property as long as they use their own money.  

The National Register status does make certain tax credits and grants available to property owners who undertake maintenance projects — whenever federal funding is available.

“The last caveat is obviously an issue right now,” said Paul Loether, National Register chief.

Homeowners must follow federal standards only if they receive this federal assistance.

Being listed on the National Register also helps local, state and federal governments in their planning processes. For example, government will make their best efforts to avoid highway construction in historic districts.

Moreover, conferring National Register status to a district is a way of honoring its past.

“It’s honorific,” said Loether. “It’s a legal recognition that a property is historic …. It’s not so much to control it, but to prevent something being destroyed that the folks in the town and neighborhood have worked so hard to preserve.”

What do you think?

A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at Waynesville town hall. Town officials will provide an overview of the Spread Out Historic District nomination and explain the National Register program to residents.

Haywood County officials foresee the historic hospital in Waynesville one day being transformed into affordable or senior housing.

“That would be my vision,” said Commissioner Bill Upton. “Something might show up that we haven’t thought of, but affordable housing is definitely needed.”

The mammoth brick building occupies an entire block, with 125 rooms and 50,000 square feet of outside space. The Department of Social Services is moving out next fall, and the county is seeking proposals on what to do with the building once vacated.

Developers have until late October to propose a new use for the hospital, but housing of some sort appears to be the commissioners’ preference.

“I felt that would be the highest and best use for that structure,” Commissioner Kevin Ensley said. According to Ensley, at least one developer has already looked at converting the building into affordable housing.

“I wouldn’t have any objection,” said Commissioner Skeeter Curtis. “We always need some housing.”

The Department of Social Services will relocate in fall 2011 to the site of the former Wal-Mart store in Clyde. Commissioners decided it’d be more cost-effective to buy and renovate the deserted superstore rather than fix up the crumbling hospital.

The old hospital was originally built in 1927 and expanded in the 1950s. County officials have said it would cost roughly $6.1 million to renovate it.

Commissioners have complained that the building will need a host of major renovations including a new roof, new windows and rewiring to accommodate the latest technology.

As the first county-owned hospital in North Carolina, however, the building may be eligible to be included in the National Registry of Historic Places, which comes with tax credits for renovations.

“I think the historic tax credits are what really makes it attractive for developers,” said Ensley.

A time of great need

Mountain Projects, a community action agency in Haywood and Jackson counties, may be on the ground assisting any developer that steps in.

“If they choose to do affordable housing, at that point, we’ll get involved,” said Patsy Dowling, director of Mountain Projects.

The agency can guide developers through the highly competitive process of receiving low-income housing tax credits from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.

Earlier this year, Mountain Projects helped launch Smokey Meadows, an affordable apartment complex in Canton. It filled up in record time.

Dowling is well-aware of the struggles that the working class faces in tracking down affordable housing, especially in recent times. She has seen the waiting list for affordable housing assistance backlogged for as long as three years.

“Our waiting list got so long we had to close it and stop taking applications,” said Dowling. “It’s back open, but the wait is tremendous …hundreds and hundreds of people in Haywood County are on the waiting list.”

Mountain Projects is helpless to help even those who walk in with their suitcases with nowhere to go.

While neighbors may be wary about living near low-income housing, Dowling said a comprehensive background check is done and clients must sign a strict 17-page lease.

“In these apartments, it’s not just anybody,” said Dowling.

Ensley agreed that bringing affordable housing to the area would only bring benefits.

“I don’t think that low-income or moderate-income housing is a negative at all,” said Ensley.

Another bonus is that the building would be put back on the tax rolls, Ensley and Dowling said. Affordable housing complexes not only pay taxes, but also create jobs.

If a developer takes on the task of renovating the old hospital, the central office for Haywood County Schools, which occupies one small section of the building, would likely be uprooted.

As commissioners await proposals, Curtis said the last thing he wants to see is the hospital destroyed.

“It’d be nice if we could save what we could of it,” Curtis said.

“A lot of our people were born there,” said Upton, who worked in the 1927 building while serving as school superintendent.

Waynesville’s town board is drawing the line at 14 Main Street closings annually.

As a result, the town has rejected a request to shut down part of Main Street to traffic for a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony.

The group organizing the memorial was hoping to close the area in front of the Haywood County Courthouse for three hours so that an American flag could be raised between two parked fire trucks during the ceremony. The group putting on the ceremony is the 9-12 Project, a political group that shares many of the philsophies and goals of the Tea Party.

Representing the 9-12 Project, Jan Sterret said she wanted to interrupt traffic as little as possible.

“I think the greatest thing is the visual of the two fire trucks with the huge flag hanging down,” said Sterret. “It would be very meaningful for a lot of people.”

But Mayor Gavin Brown, Town Manager Lee Galloway and town aldermen expressed concerns about irking the N.C. Department of Transportation with yet another closing. Main Street doubles as U.S. 276, a state maintained highway, and is not technically under the town’s jurisdiction.

Whether it’s for a street dance, International Festival Day or a block party, closing Main Street requires permission from DOT 60 days in advance.

So far, the DOT hasn’t objected to the large number of street closings in Waynesville.

“Although they don’t particularly care for it, they’ve allowed it,” said Alderman LeRoy Roberson.

But town officials fear the DOT might begin clamping down if the town adds any more closings to the list.

“Sooner or later, DOT’s going to start knocking on the door,” said Brown.

Jonathan Woodard, a DOT district engineer over Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties, said he would normally expect one or two street closings a year.

“I wouldn’t expect it to be an every weekend or once-a-month type situation,” said Woodard.

Though 14 street closings a year certainly doesn’t meet that threshold, Woodard said it really depends on which street is being closed.

Making the call

Festivals and events that have historically been part of Waynesville’s repertoire will likely continue to be approved for street closings.

“The newer ones have a tougher time, there’s no question,” said Brown.

Even the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce’s request to shut down Main Street for the inaugural Fire & Ice festival last winter was denied. The detour would take drivers down the much steeper Depot Street.

“If it was snowy or icy, that could be a hazard that we were directing people into,” said Galloway.

Waynesville’s tight budget continues to remain a concern. During each street closing, town employees must set up and remove barricades and clean up streets during the aftermath. A few extra police officers are often called in to work the events.

“We have to try to control those costs to some degree,” said Galloway.

Brown’s other reservation was that the 9-12 Project is not a legal entity that could held responsible if something went awry during the Sept. 11 memorial.

“You would rather have a group of individuals who collectively take responsibility,” said Brown. “And the 9-12 group is not organized like that.”

In contrast, the Downtown Waynesville Association — which coordinates most of the events on Main Street — is an established organization that carries a large insurance policy for its festivals.

Brown said the 9-12 Project didn’t notify the town until Aug. 17 of its request for a street closing, while the Downtown Waynesville Association applies annually for street closings every February.

“It shows me a lack of coordination,” said Brown.

With about 100 people showing up at the Sept. 11 memorial last year, town officials say the Haywood County courthouse lawn will easily accommodate the entire ceremony again. Fire Chief Joey Webb is working with the group to possibly close down Depot Street to allow a flag to be draped across two fire trucks.

Buffy Messer, director of the DWA, points out that unlike other towns, side streets can’t always accommodate events. The Apple Festival once took place on Church Street, but its slope made setting up booths challenging.

“Main Street is just on this little ridge,” said Messer. “All the side streets are sloped. Our topography is just a little different than any other town.”

The Haywood Arts Regional Theater’s next play never played Broadway, or even New York, but it is one of the most popular comedies being done today.

“Catfish Moon” by Laddy Sartin tells the story of a group of close friends who have had a break up and are working towards a reconciliation — or trying to. The entire thing is set on a fishing pier complete with cooler, beer, rods, lawn chairs and a full moon and plenty of laughs — an appropriate way to spend a summer evening.

HART’s production is being directed by Allison Stinson and will feature Jessica Bachar, Tom Dewees, Jackie Webb and Jack Ross. This is a feel-good comedy that will leave you with some things to ponder, and a greater appreciation for a full moon on a summer night.

Laddy Sartin is currently a resident of Rock Hill, S.C., and a Mississippi native. She holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Southern Mississippi. An actor and stage technician as well as a writer, Sartin has worked in theatre for the past two decades.

In the 1970’s and 80’s he appeared as an actor on a number of TV series including “Matlock,” but then he became a father and things changed. His wife had been the family’s principal moneymaker as a theatre technician working on “A Chorus Line,” but the family decided to leave the city and take a different direction. Sartin had been writing for years and he dug back into his trunk and found parts of what would become two celebrated plays, “Blessed Assurance” and “Catfish Moon.”

Sartin was the 1991-92 recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council’s Playwriting Fellowship, the state’s most prestigious individual artist award and then “Blessed Assurance” was selected for the Eudora Welty New Play Series at New Stage Theatre in Jackson, Mississippi, and was performed there in March 1995.

In the fall of 1992 “Blessed Assurance” was produced by Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., and was their entry in the American College Theatre Festival and received national attention. The play was also produced by the University of Southern Mississippi in September 1993 and by West Georgia College in February 1994.