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Approximately 20 volunteers and staff will converge at Suli Marsh on the Little Tennessee River Greenway from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23, to eradicate exotic invasive plants smothering and crowding out native plants in natural areas.
Some volunteers will work in the standing water of the marsh (in waders) while others will work around the edges of the marsh.
Western Carolina University’s Service Learning Center hosts several days of service throughout the year to engage students in organized activities designed to enhance their understanding of course content, meet community needs, develop career-related skills, and become responsible citizens.
The Friends of Panthertown will hold its monthly Trail Work Day on Oct. 23.
Volunteers should meet at the Salt Rock parking area at 9:30 a.m. Tools will be provided and no experience is necessary.
The trail group will hike less than 5 miles and will be finished before 3 p.m. Visit the volunteer homepage at www.panthertown.wordpress.com/volunteer/ for more information on what to bring, how to prepare and what to expect. You can also sign up to receive an e-newsletter and get on the Friends of Panthertown mailing list by updating your e-mail subscription in the menu box on the right side column of the website.
Clayton Jordan is the new Chief Ranger for Resource and Visitor Protection at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“I am honored and excited for the opportunity to join the team at the Smokies,” said newly appointed Chief Ranger Jordan. “The park has an incredible staff with a great reputation for accomplishing so much every year to protect this world class park and to provide a safe, enjoyable experience for the millions of visitors who come to experience it.”
Jordan comes to this position most recently from Gulf Islands National Seashore, Fla.-Miss., where he served as the chief ranger since November 2006. He also played a vital role in the unified command of the recent Mississippi Canyon oil spill response along the Mississippi-Alabama-Florida coast. He was the U.S. Department of Interior’s second-in-command to the joint federal, state and private effort, as well as being a point person to NPS Director Jon Jarvis during this effort.
Former Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Merrill D. (Dave) Beal, 84, died on Sept. 21, at his home in Eugene, Ore.
Beal’s final National Park Service (NPS) assignment was as Smokies superintendent from December 1978 to 1983. He also served as assistant superintendent from 1969-1972.
“One of Dave’s major accomplishments during his tenure at the Smokies was his involvement in completing the park’s General Management Plan, a core planning document that continues to guide park managers in balancing visitor use and facility development with preservation,” said park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson. The document described the future operations of the park after the major work was done in completing construction of park’s facilities, i.e., roads, trails, picnic areas, campgrounds, for visitor use. A draft of the document was released to the public one year after Beal took the park’s top job.
“Dave will be remembered for his effective leadership skills and his positive approach in dealing with park neighbors and stakeholders,” said Ditmanson.
The Haywood Heroes 5K Road Race and 1-mile Fun Run honoring emergency service personnel who gave their lives in the line of duty will be held Saturday, Nov. 6, in Canton.
The race is sponsored by the Canton Lions Club and the Development Association. It will begin at the Canton Armory at 9 a.m. and follow a route through Canton’s historic neighborhoods and downtown district. The 1-mile Fun Run for children will begin at 10 a.m.
A monument will be erected to memorialize those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice to help individuals in need and to keep our county safe.
Cost is $20 in advance, or $25 day-of for the 5K and includes a T-shirt. The fun run is free. Day-of registration will begin at 7 a.m.
www.gloryhoundevents.com or 828.508.9608.
Editor’s note: In April 2009, the non-profit organization Wild South was notified by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that it and partner organizations Mountain Stewards and the Southeastern Anthropological Institute had been awarded a grant to complete a project called the Trails of the Middle, Valley and Out Town Cherokee Settlements. What began as a project to reconstruct the trail and road system of the Cherokee Nation in Western North Carolina and surrounding states became a journey of geographical time travel. The many thousands of rare archives scattered across the eastern United States that proved “who, what, why, when and where” also revealed new information as to what transpired on and around these Cherokee trails that we were mapping.
Look for a second article on this project in next week’s Smoky Mountain News.
By Lamar Marshall • Contributing writer
It was a hot day even at 5,000 feet elevation when we parked the car at Indian Gap on the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains and began mapping the route of the ancient Indian Gap trail that connected the Cherokee claims and hunting grounds of Kentucky with the Middle and Out Town Cherokee settlements.
Armed with 10 years of research, 50 years of cross-country experience, maps, GPS, food and water, the two-person Wild South team (Duke intern Kevin Lloyd and myself) started south toward Qualla Boundary, home of the Eastern Band of Cherokees, which lay about 14 miles away. Of course, it would take many days to map the route across the rugged terrain we were about to encounter.
We slid down the mountainside on slick, rocky talus, grabbing hold of tree after tree to prevent us from falling. Eventually our descending compass course intersected the bed of the Oconaluftee Turnpike, a road that was built along portions of the Indian trail in the early 1800s. We attempted to walk along the centerline of the long-abandoned roadbed that contoured down the mountain towards Beech Flats.
I am sure that the original and oldest sections of the trail followed the drainage up where it crosses modern U.S. 441. More than one early record notes that Cherokees rode and walked straight up and over the mountains. The English complained that they couldn’t follow the steep Cherokee trails on horseback, so they switch-backed up the mountains to lessen the grade. Some of the trails between deadly mountain precipices were so narrow that terrified horses, on approaching from opposite directions and being forced to pass one another, rubbed each other’s hair off. As Cherokee trails were enlarged and upgraded for pack horses and wagons, they were sometimes lengthened to lessen the steep grades.
What had begun as a fairly open road soon vanished in chest high stinging nettle and treacherous, hidden, wet rocks. We inched our way along, sliding our boots over the slick rocks and taking GPS waypoints every few hundred yards, our legs burning like fire. The quarter mile of nettles yielded to a hundred years of encroaching rhododendron and mountain laurel thickets that obviously only rabbits, short bears or the Cherokee Little People could negotiate. We climbed over, detoured around and eventually found that the best way to move ahead and make progress was on our bellies. Our backpacks hung up on the lowest limbs and we detoured around steaming piles of bear scat. The black bears, it seems, regularly used the old turnpike as a main travel-way.
This didn’t make us feel overly safe as we would certainly be eaten before we could extract ourselves from the impenetrable thickets. True, the bear would probably only have gotten one of us, but as I was 61, I’m not sure that I could have outrun a 20-year-old intern. He attempted to scare any rambling bears whom we might run into by yelling “Heyyyyyy Bear.” I wondered if the numerous raw garlic cloves on my sandwiches would repel large omnivores or just make their mouth water for a human condiment.
The weeks of fieldwork went by and we negotiated more of the same on other trails. One trail over the Snowbird Mountains crisscrossed a creek 18 times within a couple of miles. I left Kevin at lunch one day to GPS a trail and was jogging back thinking how tough and in shape I was for an aging redneck. At that instant I tripped on a branch, dove headlong and hit the rocky trail face first, GPS, pen, and trail book scattering in every direction. I bruised both shins and every one of the thousand rhododendron snags that my shins hung up on the rest of the day reminded me that “pride goeth before a fall.”
I got stung over a dozen times by yellow jackets on four different days, and was near hypothermia from a blinding rain storm that took us by surprise on Chunky Gal Mountain. We never stepped on a timber rattler, though old timers warned us religiously to beware, the mountains were full of them and that a strike from a large rattler could knock a full grown man to the ground. After seeing a road-killed ratter that looked like the leg of a hog, I dug through my many boxes of old, outdoor gear and found my camouflaged snake leggings. Being a flat-land Alabama refugee, I didn’t think I would need those up here in the mountains. I was wrong.
Those were some of the harder days, but the many sunny days of immersion in the wild Appalachian mountains overshadowed them. I leaned up and became much stronger with the intense climbing up and down mountains and tangles of laurel and rhododendron. This is not easy work. Researching and documenting Indian trails requires an extensive knowledge of cross country navigation, surveying skills, historic map collections, and state and federal archives and physical ability.
It took many years of studying rare historic maps, records and documents to lay the groundwork that would enable us to produce a master map whereby we could overlay a network of old Indian trails on top of modern roadmaps. What is beginning to unfold is clear evidence that the main arteries of our 20th century road system were built directly on Cherokee trails and corridors. The evolution of our modern highway system originated from a continent-wide, aboriginal trail system that connected Native America before De Soto, Columbus, the Vikings and all other uninvited visitors who used the words “first discovered” even though these words were misnomers. It is obvious that Indians discovered America several thousand years before Europeans invented the sail and recruited sailors to transport their illegal immigrants.
With the mapping of these trails, we can now begin to add a missing dimension to the emerging story of Cherokee geography and hopefully come up with a snapshot of the cultural and ancestral landscape. This mechanical beginning will not be complete without the help of the older generation of Cherokee people and the collective memory that recalls the trails and roads that their parents and grandparents used.
After a year and a half, trails have been mapped across the Great Smoky, Nantahala, Cowee, Snowbird and Blue Ridge Mountains. A subtotal shows that there are about 148 miles of known Indian trails and corridors on the Pisgah, Nantahala and Cherokee national forests. U.S. Forest Service Archaeologist Rodney Snedeker has assisted Wild South in the trails research and plans to incorporate the final maps and reports into forest planning as required by the National Historic Preservation Act. Though many trail-beds have been erased by agriculture and development, some trails were simply abandoned in the forests or survived as unpaved forest service roads. Others became our modern paved roads and major highways.
Success is measured by the identification, interpretation and designation of a historic trail. Wild South began historic trail mapping in north Alabama where 200 miles of Cherokee Indian trails were researched, identified and field mapped. Several hundred yards of the original Cherokee wagon road from Gunter’s Landing to Fort Payne was discovered in the woods of Guntersville State Park. Working with the Alabama Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association, the findings were incorporated into a 300-page report that documented the removal of 1,100 Cherokee Indians in 1838 from Fort Payne, Ala., to the Tennessee state line. Other state Trail of Tears groups are mapping additional sections of the route between there and Oklahoma. To the Cherokees who were forced west, the trail became known as “The Trail Where They Cried.”
The same trails that had been here for millennia were used by migrating settlers before and after the time of Indian Removal in 1838. By then, most foot and horse trails had been improved for wagons. A number of them were “cut out” by American armies during the Cherokee War of 1776 to 1786. Many of the roads that were here in 1838 were used in the Civil War, and those used in the Civil War were still in use when the U.S. Geological Survey began its systematic topographic mapping in the 1880s, providing us with a snapshot of the 19th century road system.
Next, these same roads were graded, graveled, widened and paved for automobiles. Some major Cherokee trails remain deeply entrenched on National Forests and private lands. Before the era of blasting away mountains and arbitrarily laying interstates from points A to B, people followed the natural, flowing geography of the land through valley corridors, mountain gaps and shallow fords. Therefore, Indian trails represent original America, long before the era of strip malls and lifeless ribbons of asphalt.
By walking these ancient trails, we are traveling through corridors of time. Today, people can stand in the deeply worn recesses of these travel ways and look at the surrounding mountains with the assurance that they are seeing from exactly the same viewpoint, the shapes, colors, ridge tops, balds and wooded slopes that were seen by the Cherokee a thousand years ago as he or she walked in this same spot. I once rode by horseback down a remote and high mountain trail deep in the Smoky Mountains behind three Cherokees at dusk. There was a distinct feeling that this moment could have been in the year 1700, and we would soon smell the smoke of a hundred fires as it hung suspended over an Indian village in a valley below.
Along these trails are the blood, sweat and tears of those who lived, laughed and died here. Their bare feet, moccasins and horses hooves touched the earth that yet remains. The trails were the travel arteries of the land and they are fibers that connect this generation with the history of the land.
The history, like the rugged mountains, is rough, challenging and not always easy to revisit. Most people living in WNC know little of the story of its painful settlement and the events that transpired across the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Few people are aware that the most powerful army in the world invaded what would become Macon and Jackson counties in 1761 and burned 50 or more towns of the Cherokee Nation in order to make them subservient to the King of England. Or that in 1776 those British-Americans who were rebelling against the King would send three armies comprised of militia from three colonies and the help of Georgia to burn 36 more Cherokee towns to destroy the Cherokee-British alliance and punish the Cherokees for attacking illegal settlements and encroachments on Indian lands.
In 1820 there were Cherokee citizens, in Macon and Jackson counties who had their family farms stolen out from under them by locals who defied federal law and trampled the Constitution. When these U.S. citizens got an attorney and defended their private property rights through legal recourse, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the illegal sales and confiscation. The citizens were paid a pittance and kicked off their land. They were forced to moved away and after that, forced to move away again. If this happened today, the public outcry would ring from coast to coast. It would be illegal, unthinkable and no doubt the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn such an insidious violation of constitutional rights.
Yet it happened to Cherokee citizens, and because they were a non-white minority, they were stripped of the very rights that were guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The white minority and missionaries who tried to fight for Indian rights were overwhelmed by the public tide of greed and racism.
Authors Michael Beadle and Peter Yurko will discuss and sign copies of their new pictorial history book, Waynesville, from noon to 2 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Cackleberry Mountain Gift Shop.
This is Beadle’s second Images of America book and Yurko’s first. Beadle is a poet, journalist and touring writer-in-residence living in Canton. Yurko has a passion for history and lives in Waynesville with his wife, Nicole.
Waynesville is available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at 888.313.2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.
If you’ve got a young reader who has difficulty reading to parents or teachers, the Haywood County Public Library may have a new approach to consider — reading to a friendly, non-judgmental canine.
Puppy Tales, a program designed to encourage children to read by providing a certified therapy dog who will lie next to them and listen while they read, is now available by appointment on Tuesday afternoons and on Saturday mornings at the Waynesville library branch.
Assistant Library Director Sharon Woodrow said she is excited to be offering the program to Haywood County children. Puppy Tales currently has three certified therapy dogs — Myles, an Australian shepherd trained by Kristen Walker; Bodie, a Shelty trained by Joy Newton; and Lily, a Shih Tzu trained by Susan Hale.
“Around the country, programs similar to this one have been very successful in helping children improve their reading skills, sometimes by as much as 16 percent,” Woodrow said. “The children like being with the dog, so they begin to view reading in a more positive way. Over time, their confidence improves because they are practicing their skills.”
The program is aimed at children in grades 1-5. Appointments are available by contacting Donna Surles at 828.356.2519. Each session is for 20 to 30 minutes per person.
All dogs that participate in the program are certified.
Author Barbara Dumas Ballew will be signing copies of her novel, George’s Creek to Georgia, on Oct. 23 at PumpkinFest in Franklin.
Ballew, an accomplished genealogist and storyteller from Franklin, takes readers back to a simpler time in her novel, a time when a young illiterate pioneer purchased land for his first farm, met the woman of his dreams, and started a family. Ballew’s great-grandmother Lurana, one of Elijah’s children, took on the strong nature of her father, persevering even when her parents died and she and her husband were left homeless expecting their first child.
To the Editor:
Some of us may be confused about the many judicial contests. However, the name of one candidate is important to remember — Steve Ellis is running for the Davis seat in the 30th Judicial District, which comprises Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.
Steve Ellis has the most experience of any candidate — 25 years of courtroom experience in a wide range of cases, including three years as assistant district attorney and more than six years representing the Haywood County Department of Social Services in its court cases for abused and neglected children. For an appointment to an open judicial seat last year, Steve received the most votes from the attorneys of our seven-county district, more than twice as many as the next candidate. This shows that attorneys in the district, including prosecutors and defense attorneys, know Steve would be a fair and impartial judge.
Steve is a Lay Leader for the First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. He is a member of the board of directors of Wilderness Trail, a backpacking ministry and is a former youth sports coach in his community. He is not associated with any special interest group.
Please remember Steve Ellis when you go to vote.
Carole Larivee
Waynesville
To the Editor:
Here are some disturbing trends.
The top 20 percent of the wealthiest individuals own 93 percent of America’s private wealth.
The top 1 percent own 43 percent of the money.
The bottom 40 percent own less than 1 percent.
Over 42,400 American factories have either moved overseas or closed between 2001 and 2009.
Over 32 percent of our manufacturing jobs went overseas. Millions more were lost in mega mergers of companies.
Yet Former President Bush and Vice President Cheney along with the Republican Party leadership decided that it would be good to give the richest people a huge tax reduction which is supposed to end this year but the Republicans running for office want to extend it or make it permanent while the Democrats do not.
The most devastating economic recession in America’s history began with the Bush Republican administration which, along with the super rich/super smart people of Wall Street, now wants you to believe that their Republican Party will save America and bring back jobs?
Folks, this is not the America I fought for or believe in. It is time we check into Freedom Works, the Tea Party movement and Republican candidates to see how much money is being given to them by these super rich people who only represent 1 percent of the vote but control 43 percent of the money.
This election, ask yourself if you want to give the keys back to the Republican Party so they can drive the country into another economic ditch. This election should be about cleaning up the Republican Party so it does not worship on the altar of mega capitalism, which is destroying this country.
Your vote can change America and get your job back, but not if we put the Republicans back into control. It will take years to clean up the hypocrites and bring fresh new untainted candidates into the Republican Party. The Democrat Party should also begin house cleaning, but they did not create the mess we are in today — they just have to deal with it.
Larry Stenger
Franklin
To the Editor:
Who is Ron Robinson? He must be someone who has powers beyond those of the mortals he wants to “educate.” He has never been to a meet the candidate’s event, forum, or any other event where he could really be informed about which he speaks, yet magically he knows all about what is in the minds and hearts of the opposition commissioner candidates.
He even knows that Cody Elders is one person instead of two (wrong). He knows that Cody, Debnam and Elders said they supported an early revaluation of property (a flat-out lie) even when they were all opposed to that because it was a waste of the taxpayer’s money. He knows that they want to turn over our beautiful mountains over to evil private enterprise that “would treat our mountains like coal mine operators treat the mountains of West Virginia,” (a lie) even though all of them supported sensible controls.
Most sensible people would think it was wrong for government to make 25 to 30 percent of anyone’s land worthless. How much of grandpa’s land do you want big brother to manage for you Ron? How much green space and steeper land do you want to donate to the county but continue to pay the taxes? Just how much of these mountains do you actually own — 1,000 acres, 500 acres, 50 acres, 10 acres (am I getting closer)? How much do you claim? Are the owners of that property aware that it is really yours? Maybe you should just claim what land the state, federal, and local governments own in Jackson County, which is around 50 percent.
Mr. Robinson also must be an economics guru as is our current commissioner’s chairman, Brian McMahan. They seem to think that government salaries or any government expenditure does not “drain” county revenue. They seem to think there is a pool of money that is not depleted if you take some out of it.
Or they could just slap a 1 percent land transfer tax on us so they can have more to spend.
My friends, when it takes the average property tax bill of over 100 Jackson County citizens to pay the salary (not counting perks and benefits) of County Manager Ken Westmoreland, that is a drain by any definition. The ignorance of simple economics by these two would be amusing if one of them was not holding our purse strings.
Ron “knows” that the county expenditures have been reduced by 10 percent over the last year when in reality it is less than 5 percent. Could the $2 million (25 percent) fall in sales tax revenue have anything to do with that? That fall in sales tax revenue makes up over 3 percent of the total budget. He “knows” that Jackson County owns shiny vehicles. Apparently he does not know we own around 200 of them — many of which are driven for personal use, even though they are non-emergency vehicles. How much does gas, tires, oil, insurance, depreciation, etc. cost each taxpayer? Ask Ron, he must know.
He “knows” that the county can’t break up massive building projects into smaller ones, allowing our local contractors to obtain bonding to bid on the jobs. He “knows” that no contractor west of Charlotte was found to be qualified to build the building at SCC. He “knows” that Jackson County had to contribute no money toward the construction of the building at SCC even though it is listed as a line item on the 2010-2011 budget.
Ralph Slaughter
Jackson County
Haywood Regional Medical Center, Harris Regional Hospital and Swain County Hospital have taken the next step in the affiliation that joined the three hospitals under the MedWest umbrella. The hospitals will now be known as MedWest-Haywood, MedWest-Harris and MedWest-Swain. MedWest is an affiliate of Carolinas HealthCare, the largest healthcare system in North and South Carolina.
“As we continue to work through our affiliation agreement, it became important to unite the medical staff and employees at each of our hospitals with a single name, while at the same time allowing each campus to retain its individual identity,” said Mike Poore, MedWest CEO.
MedWest is beginning to undergo signage changes to reflect the new name, although the process will take time. MedWest recently unveiled its new logo to employees and physicians, after undergoing an extensive market research study that involved a large-scale consumer perception survey and focus groups among staff and physicians.
Together, MedWest-Haywood (170 beds), MedWest-Harris (86 beds), MedWest-Swain (48 beds) and an outpatient clinic in Franklin employ 2,100. There are 230 physicians on the medical staff.
The Small Business Center of Haywood Community College will offer a free seminar entitled “Turning your Hobby into a Business” on Tuesday, Oct. 26, from 6-8 p.m. It will be held on campus in the Student Center Building, first floor.
In this two-hour interactive seminar, Gregory Paolini will address some of the most common concerns about making the transition from hobby to business, plus he’ll share some of the benefits you can enjoy by entering the business arena.
Paolini designs and creates handmade wood furniture at his home in Haywood County. His work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, and newspapers, including the preeminent Fine Woodworking Magazine.
In addition, Paolini has authored freelance articles and advice columns for several publications, including Woodwork, Fine Woodworking, and Cabinetmaker magazines. Taunton Publishing will release his woodworking book and video in the spring.
828.627.4512.
The Swain County Sheriff’s Office has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice under the 2010 COPS Hiring Program.
The grant, in the amount of $125,811.00, will cover one officer position for a three-year period. The grant will be used to pay the wages and related benefits for the officer during that time. As part of the grant, Swain County will be required to retain the officer for one additional year after the completion of the grant period.
Commissioners will have to act to accept the grant before it can become effective.
Haywood Animal Welfare Association is holding a Microchip Clinic, Saturday, Oct. 30 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Vance Street Park behind Bi-Lo in Waynesville. For the cost of $15 the pet will be registered for life with HomeAgain. Pet owners should sign up for time slot ahead of time by calling 828.452.1329.
Haywood County Recreation & Parks Department is now accepting registration for the 2010-11 Kids Recreation Basketball League.
Designed for ages 5-15, the recreation basketball league guarantees that each child will get the opportunity to play at least half of every game. The program focuses on learning the game where each age group has adapted rules to ensure the development of skills, such as 8-foot goals for ages 5-8.
Registration fee includes a NBA replica jersey for each child to keep, practice one night a week, one practice game on Dec. 4, eight official games and a completion certificate. Practice begins the week of Nov. 15 and the last scheduled game is Feb. 12.
Early registration of $40 for first child and $75 for two children ends Sept. 24. Regular registration of $50 for first child and $95 for two children will be from Sept. 27 – Oct. 8. Registration forms are available online through the Recreation Department link at www.haywoodnc.net or at the Haywood County Recreation & Parks Dept. office at 81 Elmwood Way (former MARC Building). Scholarships are also available upon special request.
828.452.6789 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The second annual “Coats 4 Folks” program in Swain County will continue through Oct. 31, and winter clothes can be dropped off at collection boxes in all county buildings.
Organizers are collecting gently used coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, gloves, scarves, etc., to forward to the Swain County Family Resource Center. As in the past, the center has sorted and made these items available to the public. Swain County Family Resource Center Director, Melissa Barker has announced that they will begin distributing items on Fridays, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. beginning Oct. 22.
If there are severe hardship cases that dictate immediate attention, persons are urged to call Mike Clampitt, 828.736.6222 to make arrangements. “Last years coats program was a great success”
For further information, contact Mike Clampitt at 828.736.6222 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Live and Learn program “The Genetics of Addiction” will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21, in the Gains Auditorium of the Welcome Center at Lake Junaluska. The program is designed to aid in understanding addiction.
Experts from the Healthy Haywood Substance Abuse Team will be on hand to teach about addiction.
This program is sponsored by the Junaluskans, an organization of people who live at Lake Junaluska or are friends of Lake Junaluska.
828.452.2881 ext.450.
The Haywood Heroes 5K Road Race and 1-mile Fun Run honoring emergency service personnel who gave their lives in the line of duty will be held Saturday, Nov. 6, in Canton.
The race is sponsored by the Canton Lions Club and the Development Association. It will begin at the Canton Armory at 9 a.m. and follow a route through Canton’s historic neighborhoods and downtown district. The 1-mile Fun Run for children will begin at 10 a.m.
A monument will be erected to memorialize those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to help individuals in need and to keep our county safe.
Cost is $20 in advance, or $25 day-of for the 5K and includes a T-shirt. The fun run is free. Day-of registration will begin at 7 a.m.
www.gloryhoundevents.com or 828.508.9608.
The Haywood County Health Department is offering flu vaccines on a walk-in basis, with no appointment necessary, to people ages 19 and older.
The walk-in vaccines are available from 9 a.m. to Noon Monday-Thursday and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Nov. 30 at the Health Department, located at 2177 Asheville Highway. People who are ages 18 and younger, or who can’t come during walk-in hours, may schedule an appointment to get the vaccine by calling the health department at 828.452.6675.
The cost will be $28 for flu vaccine and $35 for flu mist. The health department will accept full payment in cash, check and from the following insurances: Medicare, Medicaid, Unicare, Humana, NC Health Choice, Today’s Option Pyramids, Medicare PPO insurances, Railroad Medicare, Aetna, BCBC of NC insurances, BCBS NC state Health Plan – if the policies covers vaccines. The Health Department will not be able to bill any other insurances including Tricare. Clients are asked to please bring their insurance cards with them. Pneumonia vaccines are not currently available.
For more information, call the Haywood County Health Department Flu Hot Line 24 hours a day at 828.356.1111 or the health department at 828.452.6675 and pressing Option 5.
A Halloween event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Best Buy store in Waynesville to benefit Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation.
Pets dressed in Halloween costumes can have their photos taken with their owners for a $5 donation to Sarge’s. Photos will be printed immediately.
“These photos will be fun to share with friends and family and to include in Thanksgiving or other holiday cards,” said Barbara Buck, coordinator of the event.
There will be treats available for children and pets. Complementary face painting will be provided by Carmela Egan.
“We will have other surprise activities for the day, information regarding Sarge’s and photos of cats and dogs available for adoption,” Buck said. “I hope the community will come out to enjoy this event sponsored by Best Buy to benefit Sarge’s.”
For information call Sarge’s at 246.9050 or visit www.sargeandfriends.org.
Complimentary demonstrations on how to build a gingerbread house will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 1, in Grand Ballroom C at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
The demonstration is in preparation of The 18th annual National Gingerbread House Competition which will be held at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa later this year and awards more than $12,000 in cash and prizes
Pastry experts from The Grove Park Inn, Chef James Hall and Blue Ridge Dining Room Sous Chef Lance Ethridge-Padilla will demonstrate and guide participants in the necessary techniques for success. Recipes, entry forms and other useful information will be available at the demonstration. Watch and learn the skills of designing, baking and decorating your very own gingerbread masterpiece!
For information call 800.438.5800, 828.252.2711 or visit www.groveparkinn.com.
Storyteller and writer Gary Carden’s Liars Bench programs will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23 at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva and again at 6 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Waynesville Library.
Appearing this month are: Steve Brady, musician and actor, who will be telling the ghostly tale of the White Owl at High Hampton; Lloyd Arneach, who will tell the Cherokee myth of Spearfinger; Barbara Duncan, who will sing a few tragic ballads about doomed lovers; Paul Iarussi, who will do several ballads that date back to the 40’s; Dave Waldrop, who will perform song and dance; nd Carden, who will tell the wondrous tale of an Irish lad that lost his manhood and gained a family.
Arneach will not be at the Waynesville program, but Carden will recount the Spearfinger story.
The program is free, although a hat is passed. For information email Carden at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Rhonda Vincent and Gene Watson will perform Oct. 29 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. They will perform their No. 1 single, “Staying Together,” and other duets, as well as both artists performing full shows with their individual bands.
Famously crowned as “the new queen of bluegrass” by the Wall Street Journal, and indeed the most decorated musician in that field, Vincent’s music is actually much more inclusive and accessible than that banner would suggest, incorporating savvy contemporary touches while drawing deeply from the haunting mountain soul of classic Monroe-styled bluegrass. The presence on Taken of special guests ranging from Dolly Parton to Richard Marx to Little Roy Lewis affirms Vincent’s wide-ranging vision.
Vincent, this year’s Bluegrass Entertainer of the Year and eight times Female Vocalist of the Year, headlines this super show with her band of super pickers, “The Rage.”
Watson is a singer in country music’s grand tradition and has the skill to give powerful vocal performances and draw all the emotion from his selected material effortlessly. Gene has remained true to his Texas music roots for the best part of 30 years and is a standard bearer for honest, traditional country music.
Tickets from $20 to $30 on sale at the Center’s box office, Dalton’s Bookstore in Franklin and Waynesville, at GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Percy Sledge will bring his distinctive voice and style to Eaglenest Entertainment in Maggie Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23.
Sledge will forever be associated with “When a Man Loves a Woman,” a soulful ballad he sang with wrenching, convincing anguish and passion. Sledge sang all of his songs that way, delivering them in a powerful rush where he quickly changed from soulful belting to quavering, tearful pleas.
That voice that made him one of the key figures of deep Southern soul during the late ‘60s. Sledge recorded at Muscle Shoals studios in Alabama, where he frequently sang songs written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn. Not only did he sing deep soul, but Sledge was among the pioneers of country-soul,.
Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
Tickets are available at the venue box office and by phone at 828.926.9658. For information visit www.eaglenestnc.com.
Guadalupes in Sylva will be hosting a “Country Music Get Down!” on Friday, Oct. 22, featuring the Dan River Drifters of Jackson County and Jacob Jones of Nashville.
This fall celebration will be sponsored by the Nantahala Brewing Company.
The Dan River Drifters consist of Jesse and Zach Lapinski on mandolin and guitar, Andrew Lawson on vocals/harmonica and guitar, Tim Sheehan on banjo and Adam
Bigelow on upright bass. This high-energy band mixes old time and traditional influences w/ upbeat original tunes.
Nashville musician Jacob Jones is coming off a year in which he released two albums with Electric Western Records and toured from coast to coast.
The Arc of Haywood County is holding its second annual “Arc”toberfest from 7 to 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29, at The Gateway Club in Waynesville from
Tickets are available for $50 per person and include heavy hors d’oeuvres and dancing to the music of “A Social Function.” Proceeds from the event will be used to offset state mental health budget cuts to The Arc programs and services.
Tickets can be purchased at The Arc office at 407 Welch St. in Waynesville or by calling 828.452.1980 ext. 300. The Arc provides residential serves for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For information visit at www.arcofhaywood.org.
Gospel group, Blue Ridge, will host a unique night of music beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 at The Smoky Mountain Center of the Performing Arts in Franklin.
Blue Ridge will perform all their songs including the hits “One Nation,” “I’m Going to Heaven” and “Back to the Well.” In addition, Blue Ridge will perform alongside a 200-voice gospel choir. The choir will be singing their own favorites as well as backing Blue Ridge on many of their gospel and patriotic favorites.
Blue Ridge is a versatile music group that began as an outgrowth of a county-wide youth group in Franklin, and has since crisscrossed country with their contagious style of gospel music.
Tickets $10. For information visit GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615.
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.
The changing face of Appalachia is the subject of an upcoming photography exhibit at the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University.
“Seeing Rural Appalachia,” large-format photographs by Mike Smith, will run Sunday, Oct. 24, through Friday, Dec. 17. The public is invited to a free reception beginning at 2 p.m. Oct. 24.
Smith’s photographs expose the human impact on the landscape, from aged, weather-softened farm buildings that seem to be an organic part of the landscape to the jarring reality of big, bright, new gas stations. His photographs of rural Tennessee show the lush beauty of the land while they reveal the suburban encroachment that threatens much of rural Appalachia. This exhibit collects Smith’s work from the past five years.
“The natural mountain landscape immediately made a profound impression on me when I arrived in East Tennessee in 1981. So did the rural lifestyle of the population,” Smith said. “Weeks after I arrived, I began my attempt to define both with my camera. I continue that effort today.”
Smith is a professor of art at East Tennessee State University, a Guggenheim Fellow and a founding member of the Appalachian Photographers Project. His works have been acquired by major U.S. museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum. His monograph “You’re Not from Around Here: Photographs of East Tennessee” was published in 2004, and he’s exhibited work at the Whitney Museum and San Francisco MoMA.
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 and selected Saturday “Family Art Days.”
For more information, contact Denise Drury, curatorial assistant, at 828.227.3591 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Visit the museum online at fineartmuseum.wcu.edu.
Western Carolina University will mark five years of art and entertainment beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center with a gala featuring art, music and a theatrical revue of songs by George and Ira Gershwin.
Festivities move indoors at 7 p.m. for a performance by WCU’s resident Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, followed by a 7:30 p.m. curtain time for “’S Wonderful.” The new off-Broadway revue transports the audience to different places in different decades with scenes set in New York in the ’20s, Paris in the ’30s, Hollywood in the ’40s and New Orleans in the ’50s. Musical numbers include classics such as “Swanee,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “Nice Work if you Can Get It,” “Summertime,” “I’ve Got Rhythm” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”
“It is time to celebrate and reaffirm the magic of this facility,” said Robert Kehrberg, founding dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts at WCU and member of the committee that began planning the facility.
The gala, recognition of past FAPAC achievements as well as a look ahead, will begin with an outdoor cocktail reception held under tents in the FAPAC courtyard. Reception guests will experience the unveiling of WCU’s new outdoor sculpture exhibition and have the opportunity to preview a Fine Art Museum exhibit of contemporary images of Appalachia by photographer Mike Smith.
Tickets to the Gershwin revue plus entry to the cocktail reception $100. Orchestra seats for only “’S Wonderful” $50; club seating $35; and balcony seat tickets $25.
To buy tickets or for information call 828.227.2479 or fapac.wcu.edu.
A concert and free symposium to raise awareness of the intersection of environmental, health and indigenous issues related to mountain destruction will be held Thursday and Friday, Oct. 21-22, in the theater of the A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University.
WCU’s Division of Educational Outreach and Cherokee Studies Program are sponsoring the first “Rooted in the Mountains: Valuing Our Common Ground” with the Center for Native Health, which initiated the project.
The concert will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday and will feature entertainment by Sheila Kay Adams, Tawodi Brown, John John Grant, Kate Larken, Sue Massek, Paula Nelson and the WCU Porch Music Club. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7.50 at the door, with proceeds benefiting iLoveMountains.org.
The symposium, free and open to the public, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. Keynote speaker, Silas House, an acclaimed writer and National Endowment for the Humanities Chair in Appalachian Studies at Berea College, and other presenters, including Clara Sue Kidwell (enrolled member of the White Earth Chippewa tribe), director, American Indian Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Evelyn Conley (Keetoowah), chair, Indigenous Education Institute; Tom Belt (Cherokee), WCU Cherokee language instructor; Heidi Altman, associate professor of anthropology, Georgia Southern University; Marilou Awiakta (Cherokee), author; ethnobotanist David Cozzo, a WCU faculty member and director of the Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources; and Brian Byrd, WCU assistant professor of environmental health will be present.
Other sponsors include WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center, Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, the Canary Coalition and the Tuckasegee Community Alliance.
Preregister online at www.wcu.edu/27734.asp; for information, contact Pamela Duncan, symposium co-chair, at 828.227.3926.
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.
ColorFest, Art of the Blue Ridge, will be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Oct. 23 in downtown Sylva.
The annual event will host some of the most accomplished artists in Western North Carolina.
ColorFest is produced by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia in partnership with the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Jackson County Visual Artists Association.
By Brittney Burns • SMN Intern
Sylva native Matt Stillwell spent the last week of September as the opening act for country recording artist Luke Bryan’s 2010 Farm Tour.
In fact, the 35-year-old Stillwell has spent the past year touring all over the Southeast, playing shows with other well-known country acts such as Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson and Darius Rucker.
Even with his growing success as a Nashville recording artist, Stillwell never forgets his roots and family in Jackson County.
“I don’t think I have changed, just grown,” he said.
Stillwell is a graduate of Western Carolina University, where he played baseball and made it to the SoCon Championship game. Before becoming a Catamount, Stillwell played baseball for the Mustangs at Smoky Mountain High, and before that he was proud to call himself an Eagle at Fairview Elementary.
Although his first professional music experience was in gospel, Stillwell soon began the transition to country so that he would have a broader audience and greater appeal. He admits that music appealed to him most because the hit it made him with the ladies, and Stillwell continues to flash his trademark smile at his performances, which he calls “really big parties.”
Stillwell’s early musical influences were the likes of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. Today, Stillwell combines those outlaw country/southern rock roots with modern country to create his own unique voice. That sound is showcased on his newest album, Shine Deluxe.
It is because of the love and support of his family and friends that Stillwell believes he has done so well in his career. Several members of Stillwell’s family still live in Sylva including Madge and George Stillwell, his parents, brothers Jeff and Luke, and Polly Wilson, his grandmother. Stillwell lives in Nashville, but returns home as often as possible to visit.
“I get home whenever I can. For the last couple of years that has been about every two months or so. If I’m close, I’ll always try and stop through town even if it’s just to eat, sometimes just a hug,” said Stillwell.
Coming back to his hometown keeps him grounded, said Stillwell.
“It is important for me to come home because that’s where I love to be, not just because of my family but because of friends and because that has shaped who I am is in Sylva and Western North Carolina.”
Stillwell often references Sylva and his family in his music; in one song he sings about meeting his brothers at the Coffee Shop, and in his “Dirt Road Dancing” music video he features his brothers’ dance moves.
Stillwell thanks his family for giving him the values and motivation to work hard for what he wants; his entire family has always worked hard for what they have, and that has taught him how important that is.
“Both mom and dad completely sacrificed everything for me and my brothers, and that has meant the world to us. They gave us the confidence to do whatever we dream of, and I will never be able to repay them for that,” Stillwell said.
Both Stillwell’s brothers and his father have construction companies, and have always been up before dawn and come home after dark in order to be successful. His mother was a school teacher and got three boys out of bed, to school, and to ball practice every day.
When Stillwell began focusing on his musical career, the Sylva community welcomed him and supported his efforts.
“Sylva has always given me support and a place to come and play and build a following and momentum in my career. Even when I was just learning to sing, write and play, the entire town has always been good to me and that gave me confidence and something to build a career on,” Stillwell said.
On a wider spectrum, WNC has also welcomed Stillwell and has given him the small town morals and close-knit values that has helped shape who he is as an artist.
“It has given me a region, not just a town, that I am proud to say I am from and promote. There are great venues in WNC to play and there is a great history and beauty in the region. It’s great to be able to say I am from there and all that goes with it: the people, the landscape, and the pride of the area,” he said.
Sttillwell started singing in his church choir, and the Southern soulfulness and bluegrass influence is very apparent in all of his music. Stillwell hosts an annual event, Shinefest, in Fontana each summer. Shinefest highlights local artist as well as advertises various types of moonshine.
Stillwell chose the beautiful mountains around Fontana for reasons which can’t be found anywhere else.
“I did pick it [Fontana] to keep it local; there is something about these mountains that is completely unique. Moonshine is a part of the culture and Fontana embodies that; the Smoky Mountain, the cabins, the lake, the location all plays a part in the setting of Shinefest. It would be really hard to recreate the atmosphere in another area. I think you could recreate the music and party side of Shinefest, but not the atmosphere. Having everyone in one place and there for one common reason is incredible and I think it would be tough to have that somewhere else.”
Stillwell is visiting Sylva to perform at the new bar, Bottoms Up, on Friday, Oct. 22. He chose this date to return to his hometown to perform the day before the WCU/Appalachian State game, a day important to his alma matar and the community that helped raise him.
Stillwell’s continuing success has certainly not changed him. He is still thankful for the small town where he was born, and where he will always call home.
Stillwell said because of his career opportunity, “I’m more confident in who I am and I’m completely happy with what I do for a living; I’ve been able to understand that I am truly blessed to have that in my life, I don’t take that for granted at all and hope that it shows in what I do and who I am.”
See him live
Matt Stillwell will perform on Oct. 22 at Bottoms Up in Sylva.
Derek Roland’s presentation about the effort to create a comprehensive planning document for Macon County suggested that a progressive document might come out of the planning process. But it was evident from the ensuing question-and-answer session [see main article] that it would form a basis for difficult discussions to come.
“The process is in its beginning stages,” Roland said. “The board came up with a plan skeleton, with ideas for what they thought should be in it.”
Roland said the planning board intends to work extensively with citizens of Macon County, holding meetings in communities.
“Land use is the central issue,” he acknowledged. “The key is knowing where we are now, knowing how much growth we can sustain, what the current infrastructure is and future needs will be.”
From 1990 to 2009 the county’s population grew 44 percent, Roland said, adding that that hot rate represents a trend to consider, though the growth rate has fallen off and projections take that into account.
“For 2009 to 2029 growth is projected to be 30 percent — 46,191 people, or 89.61 people per square mile,” he said. “That’s considerably below the state average of 120 people per square mile, but it’s still much more that in 1991.”
Given those projections, Macon residents need to determine the future of their community, Roland said. At the moment, though, building permits — a leading indicator of growth — are off 35 percent from a year ago, he said.
“That presents a perfect opportunity to plan,” Roland said. “Growth’s not coming in faster than we can blink an eye. We have time to sit back and put something in place. So we have a chance now to determine growth rather than growth determining what it’s going to look like for us.”
You can’t stop ... growth
Growth, while inevitable and desirable, is also what presents the challenges that good planning seeks to address, Roland said.
“The comprehensive plan seeks to identify land currently suitable and feasible for growth, with the least impact on taxpayers,” he said. “The questions are: ‘When will growth begin to strain the county? At what point will it put strain on infrastructure, public facilities, on agriculture, on land we want to preserve, and on public services?’”
Roland said the board wanted to identify the things that set Macon County apart from the rest of the world — its recreational opportunities, its scenic beauty, its streams, trails, farms.
“We want to identify what we want to preserve,” he said, adding that current generations shouldn’t have to talk to their children and grandchildren about the beauty that used to be here. They should be able to point to it, and reminisce about the good times they had there.
At the same time, the county needs to develop economically and create jobs for those future residents.
Our children should be able to work here and prosper without having to go to Charlotte to get a job,” Roland said.
By Tim Campbell • Guest Columnist
Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company has been a proud part of Sylva and Jackson County since 1995. Our community’s highly-skilled and dedicated workforce, solid infrastructure, good business climate and quality of life all combine to make the area a great place to work and live.
We are pleased and fortunate to be able to build on the success we’ve had at Jackson Paper by establishing a new operation in Sylva, Stonewall Packaging. Announced in April, the new venture will take the fluted corrugating medium being made from 100-percent recycled paper at Jackson Paper and linerboard from other manufacturers to produce corrugated sheets of cardboard.
The more than $17 million investment in Stonewall will create 61 new jobs over the next three years. The jobs will pay an average of $39,344 not including benefits. Jackson County’s average annual wage is $27,820.
Renovations are already under way on Scotts Creek Road at the old, 200,000-square-foot Chasam Building, which will house the new Stonewall operation. One natural gas boiler that meets or exceeds industry standards for emissions will power the facility. Production is expected to begin there in late fall.
In Phase 2 of the Stonewall project, the company will build a new mill similar to the 139,000-square-foot Jackson Paper manufacturing facility, including a wood-fired boiler and stack. The new mill, to be located on a site adjacent to Jackson Paper, will produce linerboard from 100-percent recycled cardboard. Although we may be permitted to do so, there are no plans to use any fuel source other than wood at the Stonewall mill.
Phase 2 could begin in two to three years, but is contingent on the economy and the demand for the product continuing to grow.
Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company was established in 1995, but the mill sits on an industrial site that has been home for more than a century to various manufacturers, including Mead, which operated a paper mill for nearly 50 years. Federal rules governing the discharge of effluent resulted in closure of the Mead operation in 1974. Subsequent owners converted the mill to the production of 100-percent recycled corrugated medium with a closed-loop water treatment system and began the work of cleaning up the site.
Since 1995, Jackson Paper has invested significantly in facility and machine upgrades at the mill and has systems in place that meet or exceed government mandates and regulations for air and water quality.
Unlike most paper mills, Jackson Paper does not use fossil fuels to fire its boiler but burns waste-wood. The boiler generates steam that powers the turbine-driven paper machine and dryers, and heats the plant. A pollution control scrubber prevents wood ash from leaving the boiler.
With an annual output of more than 100,000 tons of corrugating medium, the mill is the largest producer of 100-percent recycled paper in the state of North Carolina.
Jackson Paper diverts approximately 109,000 tons of Old Corrugated Containers (OCC) – or cardboard – from landfills annually. That’s the equivalent of 72 million boxes the size of an average microwave.
Jackson Paper’s closed-loop water system and treatment facility allows the plant to reuse the large quantities of water needed in the papermaking process, resulting in zero discharge of waste into the stream or sewer.
Many of Jackson Paper’s environmental practices have been recognized by government and business groups, both inside and outside the paper industry. Most recently, the company earned the Sustainable Forestry Initiative designation of the Forest Stewardship Council for its recycling efforts.
Jackson Paper takes very seriously its role as good and responsible stewards of our environment and our communities, and we are committed to applying those same guiding principles and practices as we move forward with the Stonewall project and creating more jobs for the people of this region.
(Tim Campbell is President and CEO of Stonewall Packaging and Jackson Paper Manufacturing Co., an independently-owned mill in Sylva that produces 100-percent recycled paper used by independent box manufacturers to make the fluted layer of corrugated boxes. With 119 employees, Jackson Paper is one of the largest private employers in Jackson County.)
Construction will soon begin on a medical office building on the Harris Regional Hospital campus in Sylva.
The new 45,000-square-foot, three-story building will house physician practices, allowing for growth of the medical community. The building will also house an outpatient laboratory and x-ray to make access easier for patients.
“Currently most of the physician office space on the Harris Regional Hospital campus is occupied, so we’re very excited about the development of this new building which will provide the opportunity for our medical staff to grow and for hospital related functions to expand, so that we can better serve the community” said Mark Leonard, CEO, WestCare Health System.”
As a testimony to the growing medical community, WestCare has recruited 11 new physicians and seven new physician assistants during the past six months.
The medical office building is being built by a private entity who will in turn lease space to doctors.
No capital or foundation money from WestCare is involved. WestCare will ground lease the land to the developer, Colony Development Partners of Charlotte.
Colony Development Partners said there is enough demand in the Jackson County medical community to support the building.
“We’ve pretty much got the building almost 100 percent leased with physicians at the hospital,” said Heath Knott of Colony Development Partners.
Colony Development Partners is a full-service turnkey healthcare development company. Its portfolio includes speculative medical offices, hospital-sponsored medical office buildings, surgery centers and single-practice medical office buildings.
Knott called the planned building a “Class A” medical office building. It will have covered patient drop-off and two gurney-sized elevators.
Adequate data lines and power outlets are particularly important in the building’s design as the health care industry transitions away from paper charts and to electronic medical records.
“WestCare is on the forefront of electronic medical records, which are an integral part of medicine moving forward,” Knott said. “To be able to use the Internet securely and access servers is critical to medical operations today.”
WestCare Health System is in the process of affiliating with Haywood Regional Medical Center and Carolinas HealthCare System, a network of 25 hospitals headquartered in Charlotte.
The Cherokee Nation and Harrah’s pulled out all the stops to mark start of construction on a third hotel tower at the tribe’s casino — an addition that will make the property the largest hotel in the state.
The $633 million work is also the largest construction project in the state, according to Lynn Minges, assistant secretary of tourism, marketing and global branding, who came from Raleigh for the breakfast event and groundbreaking last Friday (July 10).
Also speaking at the event were Principal Chief Michell Hicks of the Eastern Band of Cherokees; Norma Moss, chair of the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise; Darold Londo, senior vice president and general manager of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel; John Payne, Central Division president of Harrah’s Entertainment; and Ken Leach, executive vice president of Turner Construction, the company building the hotel tower.
At a breakfast before the groundbreaking, Hicks expressed his view that the massive expansion effort — adding 532 luxury rooms — will grow and transform the property into “a world-class entertainment and tourism destination.” He also noted that the timing of the project is fortuitous.
“Despite the economy, the expansion will position the property perfectly — and ahead of the competition — when the economy rebounds and we can welcome new customers anxious for world-class entertainment, accommodations and service,” said Hicks.
Hicks praised all those whose vision helped lead to undertaking the project, and thanked family, friends, fellow officials and other supporters for their help. At one point in his remarks he acknowledged getting “choked up” as he saw how Cherokee was creating a brighter future for current members and their descendants.
Elected officials from around the region who attended the event included Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and county and town commissioners from surrounding Western North Carolina counties.
Upon completion in 2012, the third tower on the 37-acre property will incorporate luxury accommodations and high-end suites, a 3,000-seat events center, entertainment and VIP lounges, a 16,000-square-foot spa, an all new state-of-the-art digital poker room, an Asian gaming room, a variety of new restaurant and retail outlets, and new hotel and casino parking garages.
Harrah’s Cherokee is also renovating its current casino facilities and doubling the size of its casino floor to 150,000 square feet while increasing video and table game capacity. The design of the new facilities will utilize the Eastern Band of Cherokee’s large and important collection of Native American art portraying local culture. Significant investment is also being made in sophisticated technology and an array of group services ranging from business and conference support to elaborate catering services.
Turner Construction, the tower’s builder, is a leader in its field in the United States, with construction volume of $10.8 billion in 2008. Other major Turner construction projects include Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden, as well as the Burj Dubai in United Arab Emirates, the tallest high-rise in the world. The tower was designed by Cunningham Group of Minneapolis, Minn.
Last year Cindy Gilbert took her Polk County band students to China to perform. This year she is bringing the world’s music to them — thanks to Folkmoot USA and its drive to expand its presence in Western North Carolina.
Gilbert jumped at the chance to host an international folk group at the high school’s 750-seat auditorium at Columbus, one of Folkmoot’s three new venues this year. As the Polk County High School director of bands, Gilbert knew the value of a Folkmoot performance and agreed to help make it possible when the local arts council couldn’t.
“I really try to bring any type of cultural art, especially cultural music, to my kids and to my community,” the award-winning band director said from her home in Landrum, S. C., just across the border from Polk County. “I was willing to do whatever they needed me to do.”
That is just the kind of enthusiasm Folkmoot’s board of directors was looking for when it decided to expand Folkmoot’s international reach in Western North Carolina, receiving a $37,500 grant to do so.
“This was a grant that was received a year ago,” said Karen Babcock, Folkmoot’s new executive director. “Last year’s festival expanded into three new venues and this year we’re adding three more.”
Besides Polk County in the Tryon/Columbus area, performances will be held for the first time at Burnsville Town Center at Burnsville in Yancey County and Moore Auditorium at Mars Hill College at Mars Hill in Madison County.
This year’s festival runs from July 16 through July 26 and features performers from Serbia, Greece, Netherlands, Romania, Mexico, Togo, Spain and Israel. Host sites are Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, Maggie Valley, Canton, Clyde, Highlands, Bryson City, Cullowhee, Asheville, Columbus, Burnsville, Marion, Mars Hill, Flat Rock and Franklin.
Debbie Lavela, Folkmoot’s ticket manager, said the 36-member board was looking to expand Folkmoot’s footprint in Western North Carolina to generate new audiences for the festival and help raise its profile and ticket sales — stifled by a sluggish economy and rising gas prices.
Even with ticket sales and support from Friends of Folkmoot and sponsorships, not all expenses were being met, said board member David Stallings. But board officials hope that new grants will help the organization to reach fresh audiences and untapped financial supporters.
“We have a very smart board,” Lavela said. “We knew we had to expand into some new counties, into some places we had not been, some new areas like Polk County. Burnsville just wanted us, so we knew we were going to have the support from the local people.”
George Nero, auditorium manager for the Burnsville Town Center, credited Sen. Joe Sam Queen (D-Waynesville), for recognizing a good fit. The Burnsville Town Center opened in 2005 and seats more than 400 people, serving as the area’s convention, community and performing arts centers.
“Joe Sam really had the idea of putting us together,” Nero said. “We had an economic development summit for [Yancey] county at the center ... and he was talking about what a nice place this would be for a Folkmoot event. We agreed we’d really love to have one and we could probably get the crowd to come. This area is supposed to have the highest number of artisans per capita in the United States. That’s everything from pottery makers to dancers to musicians to everything. We have a built-in audience and should do fairly well with group sales. We’ve already had several sell outs with bluegrass and gospel groups.”
Queen said expanding Folkmoot is the next step for the 26-year-old festival, which officially became North Carolina’s International Folk Festival, thanks to legislation he crafted and pushed through the legislature.
“We’ll go as far as time and our radius allows us to sleep and eat and gather our wits about us,” he said.
Expanding Folkmoot also makes a “big difference in the way Western North Carolina thinks of itself,” he said.
“We are hosting the world. We are a world-class place. It’s great to have different counties pull together for Folkmoot. It’s our state’s official international festival and it’s a regional festival,” said Queen.
The Toe River Arts Council, which promotes the arts in Yancey and Madison counties, was so happy to have Folkmoot its members spearheaded the group sales effort and recruited volunteers to serve as ushers and help in other positions.
In Polk County, six of Gilbert’s band students will serve as ushers during the performance, and her school-based volunteer group, Friends of the Band, will sell concessions at intermission. It’s a win-win situation, Gilbert said, in more ways than one. “It’s a wonderful auditorium, plenty of room and very convenient for the public. The kids will be there in their dress clothes and it will help them with their community service,” she noted. “They’ll help elderly people get to their seats and show them up to the balconies.”
For Folkmoot to expand, the board had to look carefully at ways to shuffle and trim performances in other communities, with minimal negative impact and without raising ticket prices, a task the board performed remarkably well, Lavela noted.
“The only thing we really eliminated this year was Stecoah Valley in Robbinsville. Stecoah was the longest distance we had to travel, and that was a problem,” Lavela said. “We just couldn’t make the schedule fit this year. We’re still on good terms and just because we didn’t go this year doesn’t mean we won’t go in the future. Considering what we had to do, I really think it turned out great.”
The board also cut one of two performances at Blue Ridge Community College at Flat Rock and reduced the number of countries that will perform at various Haywood County venues, Lavela said, sending those one or two shaved from the Haywood County schedule to Burnsville, Mars Hill or Polk County.
“We’re scheduling Family Night again this year because we really believe in that,” Lavela said. “It’s an interactive family performance on the lawn. People bring blankets and children have the freedom to run around. Two countries will perform and afterward the performers will come down off the stage and show dance steps and answer questions.” (For a complete Folkmoot schedule, check the Web site at www.folkmootusa.org or see the schedule in this section.)
Getting kids outside and away from a computer is part of what drove Gilbert to so eagerly accept the job of introducing Polk County to Folkmoot.
“We’re in a technical age and these kids are sitting around playing computers and video games and it is definitely a discovery time,” she said. “But these things (international performances) are not really brought around to them unless it’s on the Internet. But to see it live is a totally different perspective.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for everybody. My kids get the opportunity to see this entertainment from all over the world. They are not having to travel anywhere but to the high school. You can’t get any better than that.”
By Melanie Threlkeld McConnell
Forget Europe. Haywood County is where the action is for Karen Babcock this summer, and she couldn’t be happier. Well, give her a piece of dark chocolate and she could be.
Babcock is the new executive director of Folkmoot USA, North Carolina’s official international festival. A seasoned traveler, Babcock has spent several summers exploring the Netherlands and neighboring countries with her sister, an international civil rights lawyer, who teaches law for two weeks in July at the University of Amsterdam.
But this July will find Babcock in the throes of Folkmoot, Western North Carolina’s international house party. Hired just seven months ago to lead Haywood County’s biggest tourist draw, Babcock has found that telling people she’s with Folkmoot gets her warm fuzzies from everyone she meets. And it’s more than just good ol’ fashion Southern hospitality.
“They clearly love Folkmoot. There’s just an incredible positive attitude about Folkmoot here,” Babcock says. “I don’t see that people are taking it for granted. I see that people fully realize the value to the community.”
That’s good news for Babcock, who is looking for new sources of revenue now that budget constraints have forced Haywood County officials to slash the festival’s budget by $20,000 this year. “I think about fundraising 24 hours a day,” Babcock says. “We have a lot of the same sponsors as last year, I’m happy to say. Some have leveled out their sponsorships from last year, but we have some new ones, too.”
Some of those include much — needed in-kind contributions, such as catering the all — important volunteer recognition dinner in the fall, she adds.
“We have found that in some cases cutting costs is just as important as raising money. But we like to raise money, too,” she says.
Babcock hopes that expanding Folkmoot’s reach will bring in new audiences and grow the appreciation for the 25-year-old festival’s cultural contributions to Western North Carolina. “The more people we can get in front of and get this incredible international experience to, the better,” she says.
This year the festival will send performers to three new venues: Moore Auditorium in Mars Hill, Burnsville Town Center in Burnsville and Polk County High School in the Tryon area, near the South Carolina border.
Babcock has also stepped up marketing efforts by expanding her media outreach to South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. She says she is trigger ready to help the media get the information they want when they want it, a detail not to be taken lightly.
“A consistent marketing program always pays off. You have to pay attention to and be responsive to media requests,” she says.
On the home front she has increased the exposure of Folkmoot’s logo so that it is prominently displayed and advertised throughout the community. She’s even getting children in on the act by supplying them with — you guessed it — Folkmoot tattoos for the international parade through downtown Waynesville.
Since she arrived last December, Babcock, 48, has immersed herself in the people and places of Western North Carolina and found much to her liking, especially the chocolate shop in downtown Waynesville. “I eat chocolate every day,” she admits. She’s also thrilled to have a concentrated arts and theater arts community, great coffee shops and yes, that chocolate shop that now sells gelato.
Babcock left suburban Maryland and a job as the associate director of the nonprofit Ladew Topiary Gardens to settle in rural Western North Carolina at the urging of friends who had already moved here. She came for a visit and liked what she saw.
“Haywood County reminds me of the places I haven’t been,” she says. “The mountains are just beautiful and amazing and calming and inspiring. I love the outdoors so a place like this is just heaven for me.”
But Babcock discovered that rural living in Maryland wasn’t quite the same as rural living in Western North Carolina. “I come from a rural area 30 miles from Baltimore,” she says. “The community was huge that I was working with at my last nonprofit. The difference here is you know everybody and everybody knows you. That’s quite a different mindset to get your head around. But it’s very nice that people wave at everybody.”
Babcock also is learning to work with a small staff, compared to her last job, which means more multi-tasking for her. She shares the Folkmoot office space with two part-time employees. Hundreds of volunteers keep the festival running.
Though this world traveler with a taste for international cuisine, art and outdoor adventure won’t be sipping wine along the Seine this summer or bicycling through Holland as she has in the past, Babcock has found that Haywood County can hold its own for her. When she needs a fix, she’s got the spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway, the Chef’s Table pasta, which rivals any in Tuscany, and the Chocolate Bear, which satisfies that one-of-a-kind craving as well as Belgium’s famous trademark delicacy. Trust her on this; she’s experienced them all.
And if she feels a few pangs of homesickness for Amsterdam come summer? Well, blessed serendipity. Guess who is part of the Folkmoot lineup this year? The Netherlands. There’s just no place like a new home.
Artist Wayne Trapp has been selected to be the artist for the third public art piece. With an installation date scheduled for early November, the new piece will be placed in the landscaped area between the two retaining walls outside the new Waynesville Police Station located at the corner of Main and East Street.
The theme for this piece is Folkmoot — chosen to honor the international dance festival that has been such a vital part of the community for over 26 years. Folkmoot is a theme that represents the WPAC mission to “engage the community and enrich public spaces through original art that celebrates Waynesville’s unique historic, cultural, natural and human resources.”
The WPAC wanted a work of art that could convey the color, movement, energy and drama of this event and requested that artists interpret these elements in their design proposals.
Of the six artists who originally submitted qualifications, three finalists were selected to present detailed drawings and models to an advisory panel of citizens and town officials. These individuals were selected for their knowledge of public art installations, artistic knowledge and community history. Taking into consideration the verbal and written comments from the advisory panel, Trapp was chosen or the Folkmoot piece.
Trapp is a celebrated sculptor who has worked in stone and steel for years, creating lavish, even colossal outdoor pieces for corporate clients and public places. His interpretation of the Folkmoot piece will be a bold and dramatic statement and a lasting reminder of the friendships created abroad and at home that are a significant part of Waynesville and this festival.
During his presentation to the advisory panel, Trapp made the suggestion that children or other community members could be invited to design the colorful, moving flags that will become part of his permanent sculpture. Each flag could be an original, graphic design, not representative of any specific country. His suggestion was well received by the advisory panel and will be used in his execution of the Folkmoot piece.
As with the inaugural art piece, “Old Time Music,” located in the heart of downtown Waynesville, at the corner of Main and Miller, funding for this project will be provided by area businesses, community and art supporters and an award from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority.
Waynesville’s second public art piece is also part of the Waynesville Police Station project and is planned for the plaza in front of the new building. In January, the WPAC sponsored a contest for Tuscola High School art students. They were asked to create a paver design for the plaza taking into consideration the history of the building site. The purpose of the competition was to give the students experience with the public art selection process, and at the same time, and for no extra cost in the building project, create a second piece of permanent public art for the town. The young artists used architects specifications and site plan as a reference. Upon submission, the students’ designs were reviewed by the WPAC and project architects (ADW of Charlotte) and three finalists were selected. The three finalists gave formal presentations to a committee of citizens and town officials who made the selection of the winning design, “A Patchwork Community,” by Courtney Boessel. Courtney’s design was presented to the Town Board in February for final approval.
Anyone who would like to make a donation to the Folkmoot or future projects, or for more information about the WPAC, contact the Downtown Waynesville Association at 828.456.3517 or Mieko Thomson, WPAC commission member, at 828.226.2298.
By Joann B. Poindexter • Special to The Smoky Mountain News
The Franklin Folk Festival will celebrate the region’s cultural heritage with music, historical re-enactments and preservation information during an all-day celebration from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 18 in downtown Franklin.
This year’s theme, “Exploring Our Natural Heritage,” highlights the importance of the mountains and associated rich natural resources in shaping Appalachian culture. Sponsored by the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County (FHAMC), the festival is held each year in downtown Franklin on the third weekend in July
This year’s celebration of mountain heritage actually kicks off at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 17, with Macon County’s own Patton String Band. They will be joined by the Rye Holler Boys at the Downtown Gazebo for 90 minutes of entertainment. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs, which will also come in handy for Saturday’s Picking on the Square. Friday’s music is sponsored by the Arts Council of Macon County.
Early Saturday morning the streets of Franklin and public areas around the Macon County Courthouse, the First Baptist Church, and the new Town Hall will be lined with exhibitors demonstrating the way early mountaineers lived and celebrated life. More than 100 volunteers will take part in more than 50 live demonstrations of quilting, wood carving, tatting, churning, spinning, weaving, and splitting shingles — creating by hand a wide variety of objects needed for everyday life.
Adults and children who come to the festival will have opportunities to participate in or observe a wide variety of activities such as playing games, splitting boards, stringing beans, entering contests, and taking part in musical jam sessions.
A large contingent of environmental and natural heritage participants will take part, including the Little Tennessee Watershed Association, the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, the Nantahala Hiking Club and Friends of the Greenway. The groups will be on hand to share their knowledge and to showcase their missions.
A new festival addition is the Heritage Alive Mountain Youth Talent Contest, sponsored by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia. The contest will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Downtown Gazebo Stage. Participants must complete applications by July 8. Entry forms are available at the Macon County Chamber of Commerce and online at www.spiritofappalachia.org.
The 25th North Carolina Civil War Re-enactors will be camped all weekend within walking distance of downtown Franklin. This popular group will participate in the parade, hold mock battles, and conduct candlelight tours at their camp.
At an old-time “Front Porch” setting, Macon County’s senior citizens will share their memories as they are videotaped so that future generations can hear their stories. This is a favorite gathering place for those who want a glimpse into the past through the eyes of those sharing their own experiences and stories about life in Franklin and surrounding communities that were told to them by their parents and grandparents.
Another highlight of the festival is the Heritage Parade which takes place Saturday at 11 a.m. Working in partnership with the Early Farm Days Engine and Tractor Club, the festival features a Power Parade from the Macon County Fairgrounds to the Main Street of Franklin, where it becomes part of the popular Heritage Parade.
For more information call 800.932.5294 or visit www.mcncfha.org.
Duke Energy has begun work preparing a site along the Tuckasegee River upstream of the Dillsboro Dam in order to start dredging the river there.
While virtually everyone agrees the dredging is a good thing in and of itself, the fact that it is a prerequisite to tearing down the dam next year leaves all aspects of the project mired in controversy.
A site adjacent to the river along the slow-water pond created by the dam was cleared on July 1. It will be used as a staging area for siphoning out sediment backlogged behind the dam. A series of settlement ponds will separate sediment from the river water, allowing increasingly smaller particulate and fine organic matter to settle out before water flows back into the river.
An estimated 100,000 to 120,000 cubic yards of sediment have accumulated behind the Dillsboro Dam. Duke was mandated by the state to remove at least 70,000 cubic yards before it can tear down the dam to keep the sediment from washing downstream.
The dredging “is something they should have been doing for years,” said John Boaze, a biological consultant with Fish and Wildlife Associates and an opponent of dam removal. And, “I hope that when they get it done in Dillsboro they’ll move to Bryson, Lake Emory in Franklin, Mission over in Clay County,” Boaze said, listing some of Duke’s other dams that also have backlogged sediment behind them.
Boaze is concerned that Duke only has to remove 70,000 cubic yards rather than all of it.
“From the river’s standpoint, removing the sediment would be a good thing. They should remove it all,” Boaze said. Boaze said there was no basis for the state to arrive at 70,000 cubic yards as the magic number.
Kevin Barnett, an environmental specialist for surface water in the state Division of Water Quality’s Swannanoa’s office, said he thinks 70,000 cubic yards is sufficient to protect downstream water quality when the dam is removed. Barnett’s concern, however, is making sure sediment doesn’t end up getting transported downstream during the dredging process itself.
“The number of cubic yards removed is less important as opposed to how much material is transported downstream that would negate the intended effect of the work,” Barnett said.
To ensure this, Barnett said he would be checking — and Duke would be regularly reporting — on turbidity both upstream and downstream of the dredging work in order to monitor downstream deposition of sediments.
At the dredging site, Duke corporate spokesman Andy Thompson in Charlotte said the endangered Appalachian elktoe mussel could benefit from the dam’s removal, as upstream and downstream colonies would be able to mingle and create a larger, more viable population.
“I don’t really go along with that theory. We’ve already got mussels upstream and downstream,” Boaze said. “You’re going to mostly kill the ones downstream” due to habitat disruptions from the dam’s removal, no matter how carefully done.
Boaze said a better idea is to leave the dam but to create bypass waterways alongside it.
“I have a design: a fish passage put in place allowing them to go upstream and downstream, and kayakers to go downstream,” Boaze said.
Duke initially said they would do the dredging as part of the dam-removal plan if they could find a market for the sediment to offset the cost. But heightened attention to the project led the state to end up requiring the dredging.
All for naught?
The removal of the dam is in question, however, as Jackson County has moved to condemn the site. Jackson would like to seize the dam and adjacent shore to create a river park, which would serve as a scenic and recreational attraction. Jackson would also like to operate the dam as a form of green power.
Asked why Duke is proceeding with the dredging when it might be blocked from removing the dam, Thompson said Duke is confident the attempted condemnation will fail.
“It does not appear to Duke that Jackson County would be allowed by the applicable laws to condemn the Dillsboro Hydroelectric Project,” Thompson said. “Under the Federal Power Act, a hydroelectric plant can only be condemned by a county or municipality for the generation of hydroelectricity.”
Thompson added that state law does not provide for the use of condemnation to acquire a hydroelectric facility for power generation purposes. He said Duke “will certainly vigorously oppose any attempt by the county to condemn the Dillsboro Dam.”
County Manager Ken Westmoreland wasn’t concerned about Duke going to the trouble and expense of doing the beneficial dredging even while they might end up being prevented from removing the dam.
“The dredging is overdue. They should have been doing it under their previous license,” he said. “Our position is they’re simply doing it in compliance with their existing license — that they’re obligated to do periodic cleaning and dredging at all of their facilities.
Despite the dredging, Westmoreland says nothing is a fait accompli.
The removal of the dam is still very much in question,” Westmoreland said.
The compromise
The proposed dam removal arose as a compensatory move by Duke in exchange for renewing federal permits for power-generating dams on other rivers throughout the region.
Removing the Dillsboro Dam to restore the section of the Tuckasegee to free-flowing status was offered by Duke as a benefit in exchange for the impacts of the other dams. However, the county and some area residents prefer to retain the historic dam. Other critics say dam removal does not serve as adequate mitigation, particularly for Duke’s dams on other rivers.
The Last One, a locally produced documentary film featuring moonshiner Popcorn Sutton, received an Emmy at the 35th Emmy Awards Southeast ceremony on June 27 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The film depicts Sutton distilling his final batch of illegal liquor, while interviews with Appalachian folklorists, storytellers, and noted authors explore the role of moonshine in Appalachian history and identity. The affable Sutton dominates the film, weaving explanations of points of craft with stories of a lifetime of experiences in the moonshine trade.
Popcorn Sutton’s fame grew exponentially this past March when he committed suicide following a series of highly publicized moonshine busts. He was scheduled to report for an eighteen-month prison term and elected instead to end his life. Obituaries appeared in publications around the country including the Washington Post and New York Times. Neal Hutcheson, producer and director of The Last One, comments, “Popcorn’s death underscores the cultural preservation value of films like The Last One, a fact that I doubt escaped the Emmy selection committee.”
The Last One was produced by Sucker Punch Pictures and funded in part by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council and United Arts of Wake County. Hutcheson is best known for his collaborations with the linguist Walt Wolfram at N.C State University, including the popular documentary Mountain Talk, which laid the groundwork for several further documentaries including the PBS release The Queen Family, The Last One, and a dramatic film, Gary Carden’s The Prince of Dark Corners.
The Last One premiered in November 2008 in the Southern Lens series on ETV in South Carolina, and is currently shown in regular rotation on UNC-TV in North Carolina and on the Documentary Channel nationwide.
What is a fish weir?
Fish weirs are long, low rock walls built in the riverbed, extending from opposite shores and shaped like a giant funnel pointing downstream. They are the visible remnants of an ancient form of community fishing practiced by the Cherokee hundreds and possibly thousands of years ago. Amazingly, the ancient weirs held up over the centuries and still exist across Western North Carolina’s wide, gently-flowing valley rivers.
How did they work?
To work a fish weir, a long line of women and children would form a chain across the river and scare the fish downstream. The fish would be forced into the ever-narrowing funnel and eventually into a trap waiting at the mouth of the weir. Basket frames were likely constructed out of river cane and loosely woven with branches and cane strips to fill in gaps.
Historical accounts, oral tradition and trial-and-error efforts of re-enactors have pieced together a picture of how the weirs were likely operated. The women would sometimes tie branches to long river cane poles and smack and swat the water as they moved through the water toward the weir.
When were they used?
Weirs were likely used during low water periods, since high water can both obscure the weirs and make it more difficult for the people in the water, said Mark Cantrell, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who has been a student of fish weirs.
Since Cherokee villages were stationed along river banks, Cantrell surmises the Cherokee would easily know when a migration was moving up or downstream.
“If they looked out and saw a pod of these fish they would say ‘Hey, let’s go out and herd these things down,’” Cantrell said.
While funneling fish into a downstream trap is the commonly known use for weirs, they also came in handy when fish migrated upstream to spawning grounds. Migrating fish naturally hug the shoreline where currents are gentler. When the fish confront a weir, its diagonal line forces them closer and closer to the shore, Cantrell said.
Fish traps could be placed at these constriction points. While the fish could wriggle over and through the weir, it would delay them enough to make fishing easier, Cantrell said.
How much did they catch?
While the weirs had the ability to rake in huge numbers of fish, the Cherokee were sensitive not to over-harvest.
“They had generations of experience. They knew about how much their community could take and have that fish population sustained,” said Russ Townsend, a tribal historic preservation officer in Cherokee. “They would occasionally take in abundance and not take again for a couple of months.”
Cantrell said the weirs offer a clue to just how many fish once lived in the river — far, far more than today. There must have been massive numbers of fish migrating up and down the river to make a weir harvest a worthwhile undertaking, enough to feed a village not only that day but to store.
“They are visible evidence that there were once large migratory fishes in abundance,” Cantrell said of the weirs. “It gives us an idea of what our restoration goals should be.”
Who used them?
Fish weirs occurred in great numbers. One stretch of the Little Tennessee has 13 weirs over seven miles that are still visible today. Fish weirs were likely controlled by the clan or village that constructed them. There are some records of the Cherokee leasing use of the weirs to settlers. Later, when land was taken from the Cherokee, government appraisers assigned dollar values to the fish weirs when calculating compensation they were due. That’s a sign fish weirs were considered a tangible asset under the ownership of a particular family.
White settlers, of course, were quick to take up the use of the weirs. Along the Tuckasegee in Webster, Jim Allman has heard stories about his great-grandfather using a fish weir in the river beside their farm as far back as 1864.
“He would trap fish in the fall of the year and salt them down for winter,” Allman said.
Rather than forming a chain across the river to rake in a big harvest, Allman’s great-grandfather would set a trap at the mouth of the weir and see what turned up. His grandfather continued the practice until 1947, when the law changed making it illegal to trap fish.
While today’s fishermen are partial to the big fillets like brook trout and small-mouth bass, Cherokee used even the tiniest fish, like silversides and shiners, drying them on long strings or making them into stews.
Myrtle Driver, a Cherokee elder, has a recipe for fish stew that has been passed down through her family. Gut the fish, but you can leave the head and skin on. Bake them slowly for a long time, although she isn’t sure how long.
“We don’t time it. We just look at it. We don’t measure either,” Driver said.
Once the bones have become soft during baking, put them, in a pot of boiling water and season with fatback grease and salt.
“The bones will become so soft you can eat them. They just fall apart,” Driver said.
Local residents and tourists have a new resource to help them support the farms and farmers of Haywood County.
A recently unveiled brochure and map lists more than 30 locations to buy local produce, plants, trout, and more. The featured sites include farm stands, tailgate markets, nurseries, and others. The brochure also lists farm-related events, such as the Canton Mater Fest.
“Whether you are looking for fresh vegetables, a Christmas tree, or a day of fun for the whole family, this brochure will help you find your way,” says George Ivey, who coordinates the Buy Haywood project, which helps to promote local farm products.
The brochure is available at the Haywood County Visitor Centers in Balsam and Canton, the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, and the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Office. You can also view and print a copy online at www.buyhaywood.com/farmmap.
By Michael Beadle
On a quiet perch atop Bethel Cemetery, two unmarked graves are all that’s left of a pair of Confederate soldiers who left Haywood County to fight a war far, far away, only to return and be shot down as intruders.
The graves of William Pinkney Inman and Johnny Swanger — it’s hard to say who’s body lies where — are located in front of the headstones of Joshua and Polly Inman, Pinkney’s parents. The real-life Pinkney was the inspiration for Charles Frazier’s best-selling fictional novel, Cold Mountain, about a war-weary, wounded soldier named Inman who journeys home to Haywood County to be with his true love.
Bethel Cemetery was one of 10 sites on this year’s annual Cold Mountain Heritage Tour, a weekend trek through Haywood homes, churches, farms, businesses and cemeteries teeming with rich history and local color. Guides at each site discussed the historical significance of these places while visitors were able to ask questions and learn more about the families, traditions and stories embedded in Haywood County’s past.
On Saturday, June 27, tour-goers were given an extra surprise this year at Inman’s Chapel, where author Charles Frazier greeted fans and recounted stories about his Inman ancestry and the book and movie that made this mountain community world famous. The chapel is referenced in Cold Mountain as the place where Inman and his love, Ada, first meet. Built in 1902 by one of Pinkney’s brothers, James Anderson Inman, it had fallen into disrepair after decades of no longer being in use.
However, a few years ago, Inman family members and community volunteers helped finish a restoration of the chapel. The massive effort included replacing rotted out chestnut beams and a weakened foundation, installing new wiring and lights, building new pew benches that fit the design of the original church, stripping off interior paneling and ceiling tiles to find the original wood, replacing the roof with metal shingles, and removing a sizable colony of bats.
“To get it saved was really important to a lot of people,” Frazier said. As an Inman descendent, he took pride in doing his part to repair the church, painting under the eaves of the exterior and helping match the funds that paid for the church’s restoration.
Frazier had not been to the chapel since the restoration was completed. He’s hoping to return for the Inman Chapel homecoming in mid-August. For now, he’s been working on his third novel (about a year away from sending to his editor). His second novel, Thirteen Moons, was a fictional account based on the life of Haywood County-born entrepreneur, legislator and Confederate colonel William Holland Thomas, who became an Indian agent helping the Cherokee to establish land claims in Western North Carolina that eventually became the Qualla Boundary for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Frazier has strong family roots in Haywood County. He’s the great great grandson of James Anderson Inman. Frazier spent his early summers under the shadow of Cold Mountain.
“I always just liked the name of that mountain,” he said, inspired by what little he could find about the story of his ancestor, Pinkney Inman, as well as the Chinese poems of Han-shan, whose named means “Cold Mountain.”
Frazier’s father, a longtime educator and principal, was educated at nearby Cecil Elementary School. His grandfather, Andrew MacDonald Frazier, was passing through the area after a logging job, walking to Waynesville, when he spotted a pretty young lady named Jessie, sitting on the front porch of a house. “Watch me,” he said to a friend, “I’m gonna marry that girl.” Frazier tells the story after viewing his grandparents’ gravestones — both stand behind Inman’s Chapel.
A few new touches to the chapel include wagon wheel frames for the entrance railing and hanging metal light fixtures that resemble candle holders. The sky-blue hue of the wooden ceiling has been restored, as James Anderson Inman would have included in the original design.
“It made him feel closer to God,” said Cheryl Inman Haney, a descendent of J.A. Inman and one of the Inman Chapel guides during the Cold Mountain Heritage Tour.
A newly released book by Cheryl’s sister, Phyllis Inman Barnett — At the Foot of Cold Mountain: Sunburst and the Universalists at Inman’s Chapel — features stories and photos of the Sunburst logging community, the Upper Pigeon Valley, and the history and legacy of Inman’s Chapel.
Unlike many Protestant denominations at the time that preached with brickbat fervor, the Universalists did not believe in an eternal hell, Barnett explained. They focused on community service. Thus, the missionaries at Inman’s Chapel kept a well-stocked library at the nearby Friendly House that also included adult education programs, a summer school, a day care clinic and North Carolina’s first free health clinic.
Despite such facts, Appalachia is still forced to dispel negative stereotypes of poverty and ignorance portrayed in movies and the media.
Quite to the contrary, Inman relatives would explain, in the early 1900s, the Sunburst logging community near Inman’s Chapel had a population in southern Haywood County rivaling that of nearby towns such as Canton and Waynesville, and trains stopping in the community brought books, culture and refinement that anyone in America might wish to have at that time.
Part of the Haywood history tour is not only to invite people to discover these sites, but to set some of the records straight, as history can often prove to be the tangled vines of speculation and opinion wrapped around fixed posts of dates and families.
Today, for example, William Pinkney Inman’s unmarked grave at Bethel Cemetery does not include a Confederate flag flapping at its side since he was considered a deserter. Many other unmarked graves just beyond Inman’s are those of slaves. Perhaps it’s fitting that Pinkney’s grave lies on a spot of earth where visitors may find perspective to see the mountains that define a man. To the south, one can catch a glimpse of Cold Mountain, the peak that inspired an award-winning story about Inman. In the opposite direction stands Big Stomp Mountain, where Inman and Swanger drew their last breaths, shot down by the Home Guard.
As local historians explain, Inman had seen plenty of war and was captured by the Union and sent to the Andersonville of the North — a crowded prison known as Camp Douglas in Chicago, Ill., where hundreds of Confederate inmates died of disease and starvation. In order to be set free, prisoners were required to take the Union Oath, swearing off allegiance to the Confederacy. This, apparently, is what Inman did.
As he and Swanger made their way home from Tennessee, supposedly in Yankee uniforms (the only clothes they had, since they had been prisoners), they were shot by the Home Guard, a band of local militiamen (sometimes viewed as vigilantes). The scene is portrayed in the Cold Mountain novel and later in the 2003 Academy Award-winning movie, starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger. When Inman’s father heard the news that his son had been killed just four miles from home, he set out in a horse and cart and carried his son’s body back to receive a proper burial. Joshua Inman would lose four of his six sons in the war.
In an effort to help preserve the history of Bethel Cemetery, Allison Cathey will be cataloguing all the grave stones in the cemetery and creating a grid map to record who is buried and where. Cathey plans to finish the project for her Girl Scout Gold Award by the end of the year.
This year’s Cold Mountain Heritage Tour, organized by the Bethel Rural Community Organization, also included stops at the J. Frank Mann Century Farm in North Hominy, the Hoey/Smathers House in Canton, Bethel Cemetery, Bethel Presbyterian Church, the Blanton-Reece Log Cabin, Inman’s Chapel and its cemetery, as well as several sites in Waynesville, including Mast General Store, the Masonic Lodge (currently The Gateway Club), the Way House (currently Persnickety’s and Women in the Moon), and Green Hill Cemetery. Local musicians provided entertainment at Riverhouse Acres Campground. The annual tour has also produced several booklets and a Cold Mountain Heritage DVD. For more information about the tour or to purchase Cold Mountain Heritage DVDs or booklets, go to www.bethelcomm.org/purpose.html.
