Runners will take to the streets of downtown Waynesville as the inaugural Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon starts from Main Street at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 2. 

Haywood Community College just became the only two-year community college in North Carolina to offer a forest management technology program accredited by the Society of American Foresters, a national organization for professional foresters.

Registration is now open for the fifth Wilderness Skills Institute, a training program for Wilderness stewardship and management, held at the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah National Forest.

Lake Junaluska was only 39 degrees on Jan. 31, but 120 people still braved the cold to participate in Haywood Waterways Association’s Third Annual Polar Plunge.

Two open houses this month will offer the chance to meet and greet the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent, Cassius Cash, who had his first day at work this Monday (Feb. 9).

A nonprofit organization, Catch the Spirit of Appalachia wishes to once again provide four opportunities for a scholarship in the amount of $500 each for Appalachian Studies to be presented to four deserving seniors in the Western North Carolina counties.

• The Annie Lee Bryson Memorial Scholarship is for a local student who has declared a major or minor in Appalachian Studies or related studies with an interest in traditional crafts.

• The Mary Jane Queen Memorial Scholarship is for students who have declared a major or minor in music, with an interest in the traditional music of the Appalachian Mountains.

• The Elmer & Irene Hooper Memorial Scholarship is for high school seniors who have demonstrated excellence in volunteerism and leadership. 

• The Founders Scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit or potential within the visual arts, writing or history, with consideration of financial need.

Applicants must submit a completed application and all supporting documents to the guidance counselor of the applicant’s school by March 10 in order to be considered for this year’s scholarship awards. Home-schooler applicants should complete the application and send it to CSA, 29 Regal Avenue, Sylva, N.C. 28779, also by March 10. The application may be downloaded at www.spiritofappalachia.org.

828.631.4587.

A collection of images by acclaimed photographer Tim Barnwell that reflects the musical and craft traditions of the Southern Appalachian Mountains is currently on display through April 1 at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.

The Downtown Waynesville Association is seeking heritage themed vendors for the fifth annual Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration that will take place Saturday, June 13.

Renowned classic rock act Heart will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Harrah’s Cherokee.

Jackson County commissioners will spend $100,000 on a storage room at the Cashiers library for the Friends of the Cashiers Library to house used book donations.

Haywood County Schools will be offering signing bonuses for teachers in hard-to-get fields starting next school year.

QUESTION: Do you do talks for the public and if so, what is the cost?

Answer: Yes! I frequently do presentations on nutrition and food related topics for various non-profit groups, students, and community organizations. I request that you have a minimum of 50 people in attendance for the presentation. There is no cost. The best way to check on my availability is to e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call me at: 800-334-4936.

The Experience Your Smokies program is looking for applicants who want to get an insider’s look at park operations while getting some exploration into their lives as well.

Two potential candidates for wilderness designation in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests were accidentally left off a master list compiled by the U.S. Forest Service.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has publicly denounced the red wolf reintroduction in coastal counties, calling for the red wolves to be rounded up — despite being the only wild population of red wolves on the planet.

The northern slopes of Little Sandy Mush Bald, an iconic view for those who live in the coves and farms of the surrounding Sandy Mush community in Buncombe County, will remain undeveloped following the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy’s purchase of 241 acres in Madison County, which includes part of the bald.

The father of American landscape architecture will soon be memorialized at the North Carolina Arboretum.

Aldo Leopold and his writings are cornerstones of modern environmental ethic, and a program teaching how to use his work as a springboard to engage students in natural science and literature is now being offered through the Jackson and Swain county cooperative extension centers. 

To the Editor:

A rich man, a middle class man and a poor man walk into a bar. They sit at a table with 12 cookies. The rich man takes 11 cookies and then tells the middle class man that the poor man is trying to steal the last cookie. Such is the state of American political landscape at the beginning of the 21 century.

The Koch brothers are the rich man. They are going to raise and spend almost $1 billion on the next presidential campaign. They are going to tell the hard-working middle class that the money given to the less fortunate in our society is being taken away from them. 

They are going to spend more money in this election cycle than the whole of the Republican Party — or for that matter the Democratic Party — spent in 2012. And that was the most expensive campaign in history.

Their Libertarian agenda is even to the right of the Tea Party. But with all that money to throw around, the possible Republican party candidates for president are now lining up to became their new best friends. It is quite possible that they will choose who gets the money to run as the Republican nominee.

When the Supreme Court said via the Citizens United decision that money equals speech, they created new political order. One man, one vote, now seems like a quaint, old-fashioned notion, gone the way of the dodo bird. Money for advertising; money for paid staff; money to pay lobbyists; money to fund campaigns; money to register voters; money for sophisticated computer programs to get out the vote, money, money, money is the lifeblood of politics. 

The next time your friendly Republican or Democratic Party fundraiser asks for a $5 donation, try not to laugh. Even if 5 million people each give $5 and raise $25 million, that is only 2.5 percent of a billion dollars. The Koch brothers are worth over $41.5 billion; so, even if they contribute a billion dollars all by themselves, that is only 2.5 percent of their personal fortune.

This is not how democracy is supposed to work.

Louis Vitale

Franklin

Over the past couple of months there has been a fair amount of coverage in area media outlets about the “changing” landscape of women’s health care services in Western North Carolina. A couple of individuals have chosen to provide their independent opinions, though both of them are not without a conflict of interest due to past or current business relationships.

More than 30 downtown Waynesville businesses are offering discounts for local residents throughout the month of February. Look for the big red heart on the door and be prepared to show proof of local residence.

There will be an interactive presentation to “tour” the state of North Carolina during “Tar Heel Tour: Our State, Our Time” from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in the A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University.

Professional craft artists in Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary have a $3,000 incentive to create or update their business plans.

Valentine’s Day paper arts class

A book/paper arts workshop will be held from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.

The Macon County Art Association will host a “Grand Re-Opening” of their Uptown Gallery from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at 30 East Main Street in Franklin.

A special Valentine’s Day dinner and live performance by jazz singer Jesse Earl Junior will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

1950s pop sensation Frankie Avalon will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

A community museum and learning center at Fontana Village along Fontana Lake will commemorate the 70th anniversary of power production at Fontana Dam, thanks to an alliance between Proctor Revival Organization, Fontana Village Resort, Graham Revitalization Economic Action Team and Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.

A 10-acre tract along the Blue Ridge Parkway and a new section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in Jackson County will likely become Blue Ridge Parkway land following its Dec. 18, 2014, purchase by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.

Trail adventures for kids will expand in North Carolina over the coming years, thanks to a $921,000 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.

A three-year stream-mapping project in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now complete, revealing new information about the park’s water resources. 

Using a combination of aircraft-mounted scanners and a Global Positioning System verification system, scientists determined that the park holds 2,900 miles of stream, 1,073 miles of which are large enough to support fish. That’s a considerable jump from the previous estimate of 2,000 miles of stream in the park. 

A new showcase of work by artist Clint Hardin will be on display for the month of February at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

The winter theater season continues with the Tony nominated Broadway play “Shining City” that will run at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30-31 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Award-winning mandolinist Darren Nicholson of Balsam Range will perform with his solo band as part of the First Thursday concert series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

To the Editor:

Vic Drummond’s recent letter about “The Economic and Employment Costs of Not Expanding Medicaid in NC.” was just opinion and left-wing propaganda and not fact at all.  

It seemed apparent that Drummond has not read the detailed 35-page economic analyses by Leighton Ku, PhD. Dr. Ku has conducted research and analysis regarding heath care at national and state levels for more than 20 years. He has a PhD in health policy from Boston University and a masters in public health from University of California at Berkley.   

All of the factual information used in his analyses (like number of uninsured, or number presently enrolled in Medicaid in N.C.) are from multiple public sources that are readily confirmable. He and his economic experts used scientifically verified economic software developed by Regional Economic Model Inc. (REMI) to arrive at the total economic impact of Medicaid expansion on the state.  

Of course all scientists and economists use computers to assist in their analyses, but Drummond feels just because they use computer analysis their results are not “factual.” This particular software has been used in thousands of national economic studies including fiscal analyses for the N.C. General Assembly (hardly a left-wing propaganda machine). Articles about REMI’s model equations and research findings have been published in scholarly journals such as the Ameri-can Economic Review, Review of Economic Statistics, Journal of Regional Science, and International Regional Science Review.

This state can still pass Medicaid expansion in 2015 to begin in 2016. If it does not, the economic impact from 2016 to 2020 will be devastating: lost federal funding will total $21 billion; total jobs lost will be 43,000; business activity lost $21.5 billion; N.C. state revenue lost will be $862 million; and county tax revenue lost will be $161 million.  

Drummond claims these analyses and factual information are not accurate and true, but I have not heard a single analysis by other economists that contradict the factual information or the economic projections presented in this study. If you still reject this information, look at what has already happened in a Republican-controlled state, Arkansas, that actually expanded Medicaid in 2014. Their uninsured rate dropped from 22.5 percent to 12.4 percent, uncompensated care at hospitals decreased by $69 million in just the first 6 months of 2014, and the number of uninsured patients hospitalized fell by 47 percent.

I challenge Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin; Rep. Roger West, R-Marble; and Vic Drummond to do two things:

• Read the actual study (http://www.wral.com/asset/news/state/nccapitol/2014/12/17/14288878/158632-Expanding_Medicaid_in_North_Carolina_12-15-14_EMB_r.pdf) and report to readers of this newspaper the precise, actual factual information that is wrong in the study and give us the correct information.

• Spend two hours per month for the next six months volunteering at the Franklin Community Care Clinic and talk to real, hard-working people who can only afford the very limited medical services offered by this volunteer run clinic rather than the comprehensive medical care provided by Medicaid. Then tell us readers whether or not you believe these people deserve adequate health care for their families.

Ed Morris, MD, PhD

Volunteer and Board Member Franklin Community Care Clinic since 2010

To the Editor:

Historical injustices, real and perceived, create seeds of terrorism. Today’s policies create a fertile environment for the seeds of terrorism to flourish. 

The first environmental factor is overpopulation. Where there is cultural pressure and/or lack of access to birth control, high birth rates lead to overpopulation.

The second factor is finite local resources to sustain that population, including food, healthcare, education, housing, and employment that results in sustainable income for families. 

During the Great Depression, millions of young men and their families were saved by government-created employment in the CCC and other programs. Now with underemployment and low wages, millions of Americans are working themselves sick with little hope of progress. Illegitimate forms of income entice.

A further factor is lack of social cohesion. Today there is little to unify us. It is time to reinstate the draft. For those who do not wish to serve militarily, they may serve domestically working in troubled areas of our nation through AmeriCorps. Young Americans need a sense of belonging, responsibility, discipline, and citizenship.

When we address the environmental factors, we can prevent significant amounts of terrorism and gang-related violence. We owe it to ourselves and our children to address these issues effectively.

Dan Kowal

Franklin

By Bill Lea • Guest Columnist

In the article about the bear dogs attacking a camper’s dogs (www.smokymountainnews.com/outdoors/item/14952), Wallace Messer (a bear hunter whose dogs were not involved in the attack) begins by suggesting the blame for the attack should perhaps be placed on the victims — a strategy used time after time by defense attorneys and their defendants pleading innocence. Even if Kadie Anderson’s dogs had growled as a natural reaction to protect their owner — which Kadie vehemently denies happened — that does not justify being attacked by a pack of a dozen dogs. A forest user and her pets’ well-being were still jeopardized. The bear hunting dog owners should be held accountable just like any other dog owner would be in the exact same situation. Why should any small group of dog owners be given special status with a law that protects only them when every other dog owner in the state would be held liable?

Southwestern Community College students who earn an associate’s degree in criminal justice technology have a new transfer option thanks to SCC’s recent articulation agreement with Lees McRae College in Banner Elk.

The Commission for a Clean County (CCC) has announced the 2014 winners of its annual Community Pride Awards program. This program honors businesses, community groups, civic clubs, schools and individuals (both adults and children) for exceptional efforts in the categories of litter pick-up and control, recycling, beautification of public areas and environmental stewardship in Haywood County. Awards will be made at a luncheon at the Waynesville Inn on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

QUESTION: Should I be worried about BPA liners in cans and be buying BPA-free cans?

Answer: While some brands do offer BPA-free cans this is not commonplace and this is typically noted on the label. 

Looking for a new way to explore the wilderness? Check out the Dirty Dozen Wilderness Hike Challenge.

The Appalachian Trail has a new official length. It increased by 3.9 miles from last year to 2,189.2 miles due to trail remeasurements and relocations. 

Four men, ages 22 to 49, were arrested with 970 Venus flytraps in their possession earlier this month at the Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County, earning the distinction of being the first to be charged with a felony for the crime. It had been a misdemeanor until a law change in December.

A new canoe portage around the Lake Emory dam is expected to open in Franklin sometime in late spring. 

A new conservation agreement finalized by the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee will protect 104 acres in Cullowhee from development, preserving it for wildlife, small-scale agriculture and timber management. 

For the first time in more than a decade, Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw more than 10 million visitors during 2014.

By Gwang S. Han • Guest Columnist

Obstetrics is the branch of medicine dealing with parturition, including care before and after delivery but also concerned with reproduction of society in a broader sense. The word of “obstetrics,” derived from Latin, means midwife, woman assisting the parturient, or the woman who stood by the parturient. Midwifery is a much older term than obstetrics and originated in England, being used since 1483. The British health care system has a long tradition with midwifery even during the Elizabethan era and allows more power and wider territory for midwives to maneuver and provide their own style of care.

Jerry Pressley, Walmart manager, presented $1,500 to The Arc of Haywood County for holiday presents and clothes to the individuals served in their program.  The Arc of Haywood County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority will have some new faces around the table this year after the county commissioners appointed five new members to the board last week. 

Travis LeDoyt, acclaimed by critics as “the world’s best young Elvis,” will bring his tribute to the “King of Rock-N-Roll” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.