By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Editor’s note: The names of domestic violence victims Linda and Anne, who were interviewed for this story, have been changed.

The afternoon Linda decided to leave her fiancé, she waited until he was asleep, put a slip of paper with the phone number of the Haywood County Reach Shelter in her pocket along with her cell phone, and walked out the back door very quietly.

This past weekend’s sudden drop in overnight temperatures into the high 20s (26 degrees and 28 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, at our place near Bryson City) was unprecedented in our experience. That is, during the 33 years my wife, Elizabeth, and I have resided in Western North Carolina, we have never known temperatures to drop from the low 40s into the high 20s without at least a few nights in the 30s in between.

By Mark Jaben

I always marvel at people that tell me they haven’t been to a doctor in 25 years. Not engaging the health care system is a great strategy if you can get by with it. But then, they are seeing me, so what does that say.

By Chris Cooper

The stellar songwriting talents of Jim Lauderdale have been tapped by a “who’s who” of country music and bluegrass stars — anyone from George Strait to the Dixie Chicks, blues grandfather John Mayall to newer country upstarts like Shelby Lynne.

Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Jim Stoltz first learned to appreciate nature on family camping trips.

By Michael Beadle

The marathon can be such a fickle race.

As much as you prepare for it, a lot can go wrong in those 26.2 miles. Missing a water station. Getting a blister. Maybe there’s a sudden downpour of rain or it’s an abnormally hot day. So much running and preparation builds into a matter of hours. And then disaster strikes.

Editors note: Bill and Sharon Van Horn with the Nantahala Hiking Club in Franklin recently attended a conference in West Virginia that focused on connecting children with nature. Bill Van Horn provides this dispatch on what he learned from the conference.

Democratic congressional candidate Heath Shuler’s decision to back away from a debate with Rep. Charles Taylor sent shockwaves through the mountains this past weekend. Politicos, however, say Shuler’s decision is hardly surprising given his lead in the polls, but we feel strongly it was a poor choice to deny voters the opportunity to hear both candidates debate the issues from the same stage.

A Tall One

Earlier this month North Carolina won five medals at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival Competition —

Heath Shuler: America is truly facing a health care crisis. Over 46 million Americans are currently living without health insurance — 27 million of those are working Americans whose employers do not offer insurance.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

If you or someone you know is thinking about leaving an abusive relationship, there are some things that are good to know.

By Michael Beadle

Shafts of sun pierce through a misty forest. A thick river of fog rolls through ancient mountains. Plump sparrows perch on a bare branch thin as tin foil.

By Chris Cooper

“Timeless” is one of those words tossed around a lot in reference to music. Everybody wants to write a song that’s “timeless,” right? A tune that sounds just as good today as it will 20 or 30 years down the line, regardless of changes in what’s thought of as “cool” — that’s the goal, correct?

Book By Book

Michael Dirda, a reviewer for The Washington Post Book World and winner of a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, gives readers a treat in this small volume of meditations on life and literature.

The Bridge Park Project is a community effort to create a covered performance pavilion, market space, public gardens, and improved parking at the municipal parking lot in downtown Sylva, between Mill Street and Scotts Creek.

Most of us in the course of a week find a reason to go to downtown Sylva. We may go out to eat, or to the library, post office or bank, or perhaps just shop. There’s plenty of pleasure — and necessity — to be found downtown for residents of the area. As a real, working, genuine town, Sylva functions very well.

Some voters in Swain County consider the North Shore Road a litmus test for candidates in the county commissioners race and base their decision accordingly. The Swain County Board voted 4 to 1 four years ago in favor of a $52 million cash settlement in lieu of the road.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The race for District Attorney is garnering what some may say is an unusual amount of attention, considering that whomever is elected is someone that most of the general public hopes never to have any dealings with.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The candidates for the District 119 House race describe themselves as polar opposites.

Charles Taylor: The federal government should live up to its 60-year-old commitment to Swain County residents and complete the North Shore Road.

The North Shore Road is proposed to go through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Bryson City to Tennessee along the north shore of Lake Fontana. The area was not always backcountry, however. It was once home to mining and logging towns and farming communities until the construction of Lake Fontana to generate hydropower for the World War II effort.

The lake flooded some communities and isolated others by flooding the only road in and out. With a war on, the government could not afford to build a new road on higher ground. So more than 200 families living in the suddenly isolated region were forced to evacuate. The land was ceded to the park service.

At the time, the government promised to rebuild the road. It signed a legal contract pledging to do so, but hasn’t yet. Families who sacrificed their homes for the war effort believe the government should uphold its promise.

What is the cash settlement?

A group of Swain County residents fed up with the long-standing debate developed an idea several years ago for the federal government to pay a cash settlement in lieu of building the road.

Their premise: like it or not, the road will never be built. Congress will never appropriate and the funds, and even if it did, lawsuits by environmental groups would stop it from happening anyway. So they began lobbying for a cash settlement of $52 million for Swain County, an idea that has gained wide popularity.

The $52 million price for a cash settlement is the accumulated interest on the cost of the road. At the time the road was flooded in 1943, the county owed $694,000 for its construction. Even though the road was flooded, the county spent another 30 years paying off the debt on the worthless road. The cash settlement would compensate the county for the loss of the road.

Over the last two decades, the number of drug-affected infants has been growing. It is estimated that as many as one in 10 babies born in this country has suffered some degree of drug exposure. Due to the short time mothers spent in the hospital after giving birth, many of the infant’s symptoms are less likely to be recognized

— From the state Guardian Ad Litem Web site

When the 30th Judicial District Guardian Ad Litem program holds a workshop this week addressing the issues of substance abuse and social risk factors in infants, chances are good that too few professionals will show up. That’s a shame, because abuse of unborn children remains a major problem in this country, one that gets too little attention.

By Mark Jaben

In the 1970s, a book written about a doctor’s internship experience, The House of God, reached near cult status for its reasonably accurate — if not cynical — portrayal of one intern’s experience surviving medical training.

By Michael Beadle

There are still dark corners in this world yet to be explored.

1. What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list?

Jobs, to make sure we have infrastructure in place to bring new jobs into our communities.

2. What are three of the most pressing issues facing the people of your district, and how can the state legislature deal with them?

Jobs, as stated above. Second, to draw up legislation dealing with meth lab cleanup, and strengthen laws on meth labs. Three, to take the medicaid burden off the local government.

3. Should the legislature help seniors with property taxes by adjusting the homestead exemption on their homes?

Yes.

4. What is your position on lobbyist and campaign reform?

I voted for lobbyist reform and sponsored a bill to tighten more campaign reform. We can prohibit lobbyists from soliciting campaign contributions.

5. Do you support more extensive state action to help with farmland preservation? If so, what specific measures should be enacted?

.Yes, We could give tax breaks to keep small farms and large acreage in the hands of the farmer. And we can amend the NC Constitution to protect private property from being taken for economic development.

6. What is the most pressing educational need in the state?

We should use national tests to evaluate students performance and remove violent and disrespectful students from classrooms and empower teachers to deal with problem students and strengthen vocational education.

7. What can the state afford to do to help counties with increasing Medicaid costs?

Increase the availability and affordability of healthcare and healthcare insurance.

8. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A small businessman.

9. What is your favorite television show?

The O’Reilly Factor

10. Describe your philosophy of government in 100 words.

I realize that the people are the government. We as Legislators are there to be a voice for the people and to serve them. We need to prioritize spending, eliminate waste, and make government more efficient be requiring a zero based budget. And by establishing a taxpayer protection act for North Carolinians. and ending the raids from the highway trust fund. By lowering taxes and making sure North Carolinians keep more of their money to invest and do business.

What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list?

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Macon County’s three Democratic commissioners are facing a challenge from three Republican contenders in a race that could potentially swing the board’s majority rule.

By Lee Shelton

As the Nov. 7 election date approaches, the “Good Governance Legion” is, again, “banging their noise makers” in Haywood County.

Come Nov. 7, voters will choose candidates based on many different factors. In almost all cases, those choices will be their own, as they should. But newspaper endorsements continue to serve a useful purpose for voters.

By Kathleen Lamont

Have you heard?

The recent marriage of sustainable food production and big business is on the rocks.

Robert Holland, 39, has been Macon County Sheriff for four years and with the sheriff's department since 1991. He is married. He graduated from high school in Florida, and attended Southwestern Community College and the N.C. Justice Academy.

Green Salamander — Although listed by the state as endangered and recognized as a species of concern by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the green salamander appears to be stabilizing its populations though the geographic range of its habitats is still quite small.

Here’s how Swain County plans to pay for the school land purchase.

Cowee Mound, a 71-acre site in Macon County and once a major Cherokee village, will be preserved thanks to a joint conservation effort between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee.

If you’re not careful, you could miss it.

By Michael Beadle

It’s a chilly fall morning in downtown Bryson City, and U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor steps up into a fire truck to pose for pictures.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

It’s 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, and Andrew Whalen, 11th Congressional District candidate Heath Shuler’s Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director, sits at a small desk in a small office strewn with small stacks of paper.

By Chris Cooper

Rafe Stefanini: Ladies Fancy

Rafe Stefanini is something of a walking encyclopedia of old-time fiddle and banjo music, having dedicated most of his life to hunting down and learning tunes both famous and obscure from all over this country.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Jacob Clark, a sixth-grader at Waynesville Middle School, likes the trumpet.

“It’s easy to play,” he says.

Freakonomics

OK, I’m often late to the game, but this book published a few years is just fascinating. While working Folkmoot this summer one of the guides was reading it, and she explained that it was the freshman summer reading assignment at Appalachian State University.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Mike Bonfoey defeated Republican challenger Donna Forga 34,445 to 29,771 to retain his position as 30th Judicial District Attorney.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

District 119 incumbent Phil Haire, D-Sylva, has once against defeated Marge Carpenter, R-Waynesville, for state House of Representatives. Haire registered 13,099 votes to Carpenter’s 9,267, taking nearly 59 percent of the vote overall.

By Michael Beadle

When John and Suzanne Gernandt’s son Matthew began showing signs of schizophrenia, it might have been misread as teenage rebellion — a phase he would pass through once the hormones settled down.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Democrats swept the Jackson County Board of Commissioners as voters elected Cashiers’ Mark Jones over Republican challenger Geoff Higginbotham to fill the one remaining seat.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Ronnie Beale is the newest Macon County commissioner and will join incumbent Bob Simpson, who won re-election on Nov. 7. Republican candidate Brian McClellan upset incumbent Allan Bryson in the race to represent the county’s Highlands district, giving the board a Republican majority.

By Michael Beadle

Call it a fourth-quarter, game-winning touchdown. A stunning upset over the perennial powerhouse. Pick your sports metaphor.

Sen. John Snow, D-Murphy, handily won his second term in the North Carolina Senate, beating challenger Ken McKim 38,537 to 28,903.

By Al Smith • Guest Columnist

Hazel Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is located in the middle of the most extensive roadless area in the eastern United States.

Do the rules of our health care system work anymore? That is the question posed in this column two weeks ago.

By Rob Schofield

This year, those who care about preserving and expanding the common good in North Carolina would do well to treat Wednesday, Nov. 8, as less a day of celebration or mourning and more as the day on which they renew their commitment to studying and articulating a policy agenda that will help to build a modern, moral and progressive state.