Wild animal sightings

I was driving in Francis Cove near Waynesville before sunrise one day last week.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Mayor, pick one

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Mayor, pick one

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Mayor, pick one

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Some might call Sylva’s upcoming town board and mayoral races an election of attrition.

The experimental elk reintroduction into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park should be given every chance to succeed. If that means an additional release of more elk, then park biologists and state wildlife officials need to work cooperatively to help that happen.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Lunchtime at Smoky Mountain High School is like a swarm of orderly locusts, as students hold our their plates for tongs full of French fries and hot dogs covered with a hearty helping of chili. They dump ladle after ladle of ketchup onto their plates from four giant cans, and grab something to drink Ñ tea, water, milk or maybe the soda they brought in from the vending machines just outside the lunchroom.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Planning for Jackson CountyÕs landfill gas recovery project continued last week with a series of three public input meetings held to garner ideas and answer questions about the venture.

By John Beckman • Columnist

The summer now seems long gone and autumn is headed in the same direction as evidenced by frosty winds, the re-opening of the forest canopy and the browning hulls of walnuts and hickories under foot. But some events from the long, hot days hang on in the mind like the stubborn oak leaves which refuse to let go despite wind, rains and the passing of months.

By Michael Beadle

Journey back to Christmas Eve, December 1941. The United States has just entered World War II after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, and emotions run high as families say goodbye to their sons, who must go off to train for war.

By Chris Cooper

Eric Brace writes damn fine songs. His band Last Train Home plays these songs pretty damn well, too. Heck, Mr. Brace does some great stuff with the songs he didn't write, as well. Bound Away is such a good listen that I've had a bit of trouble finding a way to start the review, so let's just leave it at this: go buy it and enjoy it.

Schoolhouse Rock

Growing up on mindless hours of Saturday morning cartoons, I never knew how much fun parts of speech could be. But, lo and behold, I still have the songs of Schoolhouse Rock stuck in my head as living proof that even the most mundane English lessons can be entertaining. With songs like Conjunction Junction and Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here, who can deny the simple, infectious tunes and superhero animation of Schoolhouse Rock? With each song, I would know just what a part of speech was used for and why it was important. I could be armed with the idea that as our bodies grow bigger, our minds grow stronger Ñ cause knowledge is power! Better still, Schoolhouse Rock made it cool to learn things like how a bill becomes law or how electricity works. The songs from ABC are now available on video and CD, and ready for the next generation. Long live Schoolhouse Rock!

By Michael Beadle

By the end of the 19th Century, the once powerful Russian aristocracy was crumbling, and playwright Anton Chekhov knew it. His plays, which he called comedies, portray an upper class bored and frustrated with their lives but still willing to poke fun at the idiocy of it all. Through a careful study of these characters, we see the frayed ends of a social fabric coming apart at the seams.

Author Thomas Rain Crowe has been selected to receive the 2005 Ragan Old North State Award for his naturalist-based work ZoroÕs Field.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Jackson County residents will continue to suffer the bang and the clatter of a burgeoning construction industry, as commissioners voted down a request Monday night (Nov. 7) to revisit the county's noise ordinance and work hours.

Jesse Wills, a local artist who has autism, will present his paintings at an art show at Hardwood Gallery at 102 N. Main Street in Waynesville beginning Nov. 19. The show will open with a gallery reception/benefit from 6 to 8 p.m., and Willis’ paintings will be on display through Dec. 12. All donations for Jesse’s art will benefit the Western North Carolina Group Homes for Autistic Persons (WNCGHAP.)

By Michael Beadle

On pedestals they stand. Whimsical arrangements of colored glass bottles, leaning, bending to resemble animated statues caught in the push and pull of conversation. These plastic forms look like baby bottles brought to life, acting out some street corner dance or a sitcom snapshot of physical comedy.

By Joe Hooten

Popular music is made trendy by sweaty handshakes, neon dollar signs, shady deals, and artificial relationships that become an entangled web of companies, corporations, and conglomerates pushing what they deem as marketable in hopes of making a quick buck without any interest in artist development. It’s rare to discover a band that finds success on its own terms without endorsements, a music video, or appearing on the soundtrack of a movie, commercial or television show. Even rarer is the discovery of an exceptional band that avoids all the hype and relies solely on its own accomplishments.

Jack Russells

I was surprised to discover that Jack Russell terriers bear the name of a 19th century English clergyman (Devon) who bred foxhounds and shorthaired terriers. Well, my dog (Jack) has never seen a fox, but he is acquainted with ground hogs, and he guards my property from the encroachment of axe murderers, stray cats, robins and honeybees — all of which evoke the same ferocious barking.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The crowd held its breath, barely shifting in creaky metal chairs as a stunned, uncomfortable silence settled like fog around their ankles with the ending of “The Tragedy of Glady.”

By Michael Beadle

It’s no secret the “War in Iraq” is not going well.

Even the most optimistic reports show the continuing violence as suicide bombers attack civilians and Iraqi military after the country’s historic constitutional referendum.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The Forest Hills mayoral election came down to the flip of a coin Tuesday morning (Nov. 15) as candidates Jim Davis and Sue Burton sought to settle a tied vote.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

A long-range study that analyzed perceptions about the mountain landscape among Macon County residents has been released, revealing striking statistics that will shape the region’s future.

Dr. Rose Harrell Johnson, currently working for the Virginia Community College system, has been appointed president of Haywood Community College.

By Lee Shelton • Guest Columnist

The U.S. recently incurred — and then quickly exceeded — the 2,000th casualty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. At this writing, it is 2,055, and climbing.

Seventy-five percent of the deaths were active duty and 24.8 percent were National Guard or Reserves. Of these, 67.9 percent were Army, 29.1 percent were Marines (Marines only comprise 9.8 percent of the total U.S. military force, thus they are taking a disproportional number of casualties), 1 percent Air Force, and 2 percent Navy. Thus, if you are going to enlist, join the Navy or Air Force.

By Nancy Geiger • Guest Columnist

I went to my first college parent’s weekend this month.

I’d been to plenty as a student, but this year, it was my turn to play the role of parent, and as I was soon to find out, the role of commodity bearer.

It should come as no shock to learn that children in Western North Carolina, as in the rest of this country and in much of the industrialized world, are getting fatter. What is surprising, however, is that many school systems feel shackled by monetary concerns as they attempt to do more to combat the problem.

Here’s a riddle for you. If the leaves turn in the mountains and there are no tourists to see them, are they still beautiful?

A new Appalachian Trail shelter that can sleep 18 backpackers has been built in the Max Patch area of Haywood County.

By Michael Beadle

At first it sounds like a contradiction — a land developer interested in protecting the environment. Is it possible to balance commercial interests and at the same time protect pristine forests with diverse habitats?

By Chris Cooper

Let’s just go ahead and say it: terrible title for an album. Thankfully, a lot of the music on the disc is quite good, and even does have some soul, as noted in the press release. This is especially shocking since it came from Nashville, which hasn’t exactly been the epicenter of anything “soulful” for a good long while.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

David Lamotte is a safe driver. Headed south to Columbus, Ga., last Friday afternoon he pulled over his car when his cell phone rang, his voice amiably, but absently, chorusing the words “hang on,” as an audible indication of his eyes’ searching for a parking space.

“Elizabethtown,” Soundtrack

From everything I hear, the movie turned out to be entirely less than it was cracked up to be – another faux pas a la Orlando’s pretty face not having much substance between the ears. It’s a shame really, as the soundtrack earns comparisons to that of “Garden State,” boasting previously unreleased tunes by Tom Petty and My Morning Jacket, alongside music from Ryan Adams and Patty Griffin. The soundtrack’s PR literature lauds filmmaker Cameron Crowe for his ability to pair music with movies — Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” blaring from John Cusack’s boombox in “Say Anything,” Elton John’s anthem “Tiny Dancer” united the troubled souls in “Almost Famous.” Well OK, I’ll give them that. Those are pretty good moments. But this time around (a throwback to Helen Stellar’s “Elizabethtown” track “Io”), it seems the moments are best left to live alone in the music. Definitely worth it just for The Hombres’ “Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out).”

By Greg Sessoms • Correspondent

Upon entering Susan Balentine’s home off of Howell Mill Road in Waynesville, one could be forgiven for assuming that the quaint brick farmhouse is just a typical family residence and Balentine, a friendly and dedicated homemaker. However, a short trip down a staircase to the basement reveals the home’s hidden function and the creative world that exists outside Balentine’s more domestic endeavors. Dozens of goblets, lamps, bowls and plates in various stages of completion line the walls of the basement, some fresh off the wheel and gray, others finished with both vibrant and subdued glazes. A potter’s wheel sits in a corner, and the tools of a potter are scattered throughout the rooms of the sprawling basement along with the tools of a homemaker. This is the home of Nature’s Beauties, the production pottery studio Balentine has successfully operated for 10 years.

As of Nov. 20, the total number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom climbed to 2,083. Eleven more U.S. troops’ deaths are still waiting to be confirmed. In addition, more than 15,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded since the war began in March 2003. These figures, which include both combat and non-combat casualties, come from the U.S. Department of Defense.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

There was a showdown at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Fontana Regional Library Board.

Randolph Bulgin, chairman of the Macon County Library Board of Trustees, issued a terse response to a pointed memorandum from FRL Director Gail Findlay. His response paved the way for the appointment — against Findlay’s recommendation — of Franklin Librarian Karen Wallace as the new interim director of the Fontana Regional Library system.

By Michael Beadle

Michael Parrott wanted to be in Iraq.

He told his wife Meg about it every Sunday morning while he was over there. “Greetings from Mesopotamia,” he would write in letters. He savored his time in the cradle of civilization, marveling at the trees along the Euphrates River, soaking up the ancient history of the region, eager to talk about the high-tech gadgetry inside an M1A1 Abrams tank.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Swain County Chief Deputy Jackie Fortner never thought he’d equate marijuana with more simple times.

Payson Kennedy, co-founder of Nantahala Outdoor Center, was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Whitewater Hall of Fame last month.

Rangers with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rappelled into a 70-foot underground cave last week to rescue a hunting dog that had fallen into a sinkhole in the Cades Cover area.

By Michael Beadle

Dillsboro becomes a village of glittering lights for the first two Friday and Saturday nights in December during the annual Festival of Lights and Luminaries.

By Joe Hooten

Scene: A Friday night, Firebirds and Camaros fill a Main Street parking lot after the big high school football game, teenagers are mingling and celebrating human nature, speakers are pumping a thunderous noise. A distinctively 70s-era riff rumbles in the crisp evening air with vocals that seem as if Manfred Mann, Billy Idol, and Sly Stallone had control of a microphone at the same time. Kids begin to hoot and holler as the song comes to an end. There’s an obvious affinity for the music. This isn’t a scene from “Dazed and Confused,” this is the mental picture provoked by the music from the retro-rock band, Diamond Nights.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

This Friday (Dec. 2) marks the close of what Waynesville Gallery Association chairman David Erickson has called an “off the top of the charts” Art After Dark season.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

On a cold, grey Sunday afternoon just before Thanksgiving, Polly Smith sits behind the register counter at Outer Spaces Gallery in Waynesville wrapped in a sweater, not too far from the store’s gas fireplace.

Graham Greene

Recently I have begun revisiting authors I read back in my 20’s — Thomas Wolfe, Hemingway, Faulkner, some of the Russian greats, and Graham Greene. Greene in particular hits home with me in his handling of moral dilemmas and the complexities of the human heart. In The End of the Affair, for example, Greene gives us Maurice Bendrix, a writer in World War II London whose affair with a married woman has ended badly. Jealous and angry, Bendrix hires a detective to see if Sarah has taken other men, only to discover that the she has given herself to the greatest lover in the universe. Greene’s twisted prose and self-doubts should appeal to all who have either entered or emerged from Dante’s dark forest of middle age.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The state’s water, wastewater and stormwater systems are faced with $6.8 billion in capital improvement needs, a figure that is expected to reach $16.5 billion by 2030, according to a new study released by the North Carolina Rural Center.

By Major Gen. Geoffrey B. Higginbotham

In 1998, while serving as a Marine Corps Bases Commander in Japan, I had the opportunity to brief Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, on Pacific Rim political and military issues. I was very impressed with Congressman Murtha because of his Marine Corps background as a decorated Vietnam War veteran, where he received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. He has the distinction of being the first Vietnam War veteran to be elected to Congress. He is also the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and is considered to be a conservative Democrat.

QUESTION: What’s the difference between a “dietitian” and a “nutritionist?”

ANSWER: Great question, especially since it's National Nutrition Month! I am technically a “Registered Dietitian Nutritionist”.  A person who has this title must:

By Michael Beadle

It’s 26 degrees on a November morning, and Jamie Tidmore has just finished another whitewater kayaking run at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser.