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Wednesday, 17 February 2010 17:10

Topography and language

I enjoy using variants on the phrase “lay of the land.” One can “get the lay of the land” in a number of ways. If your hiking partner says that he or she is “going on ahead to get the…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Local fishermen sad to see the dam go

The first day of demolition on the Dillsboro Dam attracted hundreds of spectators last Wednesday. A roadside pull-off overlooking the Tuckasegee afforded a bird’s eye view of the machinery chipping away at the dam below. Some vying for a spot…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

A time for healing

The signing of a cash settlement deal for Swain County last week was a heartbreaking end to a lifelong struggle for many. For decades, road supporters held on to hope — hope that the government would honor the promise it…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Safeguards in place, but cracks remain

While buckling and cracks were readily visible in old retaining walls built out of railroad ties at Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park owners failed to officially notify anyone with Haywood County of the town of Maggie Valley. Mountainside…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

What is Kituwah?

Kituwah is a concept much larger than the mound site proper, which is recorded with the state register of historic places. The name signifies the mothertown of the Cherokee, a kind of original community with which all Cherokees identify. “The…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Waynesville moves on skate park

Skateboard enthusiasts in Waynesville will be happy to hear the town has been busily preparing for a long-awaited skate park on Vance Street near the recreation center. The town board recently dropped $28,500 on a California firm called Spohn Ranch…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

No road in or out

On Friday night, a mudslide thundered across Rich Cove Road in Maggie Valley, taking out a section of a guardrail and bending a drainage pipe in its path, causing water to flow alongside the road and collect at the bottom.…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Duke project threatens sacred character of Kituwah site

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians may pursue legal action against Duke Energy after learning about the utility company’s plans to put an electric substation near Kituwah mound, the tribe’s most sacred site. On Friday the EBCI’s tribal council passed…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

After scare of slide wears off, residents want answers

Betty Miner was standing in her kitchen getting ready to fix supper last Friday when the pictures on her walls fell to the ground. “I heard a sound and ran to where I heard it and that’s when the mud…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Going, going, gone

When Duke first broached the idea of tearing down the Dillsboro dam eight years ago, Mark Singleton thought he would see this day come much sooner than it did. A champion of dam removal both for the ecological and recreation…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Corridor K sent back to drawing board

A proposed four-lane highway through a mountainous region of Graham County has suffered a setback. The N.C. Department of Transportation was nearing the final planning stages and hoped to start construction in a few years on what is commonly known…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Messy lawsuits likely left in landslide’s wake

It could take months or even years for lawsuits over a massive landslide in Maggie Valley to be resolved, leaving affected property owners in limbo over who is financially responsible for the damage to their homes. The landslide originated from…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Cash settlement here at last

Swain County officially signed a cash settlement with the federal government in a moving and historic ceremony Saturday, ending a bitter decades-long dispute over the North Shore Road. Swain will received $52 million from the government, and in exchange will…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Sylva teen club closes quietly

A Sylva teen club that sparked controversy two months ago by disseminating a flyer inviting high school students to “come as wasted as you want” has closed its doors. In December, concerned parents brought 500 signatures to a town board…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Rescue workers act fast in landslide disaster despite threat of more to fall

Chris Carver found himself in the unusual position of being both rescuer and evacuee when a massive mudslide struck Rich Cove Road in Maggie Valley on Friday night. “I live there, right where it stopped,” said Carver, assistant chief of…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

‘Accidental note’ starts teen’s healing process

By Buffy Queen • Guest Columnist As the middle school girls trailed out of the classroom one morning last spring, I began packing up my materials after sharing my last “Safe Dates” session at their school. My Safe Dates topic…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Rich Cove may be a portent of things to come

Writing about the weather is usually about as exciting as a yawn. For 12 months, though, we in the mountains have been taking it on the chin time and again, and it’s got me wishing for a bit of a…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Recipes - Feb. 2

Chicken and Dumplings: 1 chicken, about 3 pounds 2 Quarts water 1 Teaspoon Salt 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper 2 Cup All-purpose flour 1/2 Teaspoon Baking soda 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 3 Tablespoon Shortening 3/4 Cup Buttermilk A dash of sherry Place chicken…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

The Oak Tree and the Great Dumpling Debate

By Karen Dill The ancient oak tree is bare. It stands majestic in the yard of our old two-story farmhouse. Our house sits on a small knoll and is surrounded by magnolias, dogwoods and mountain laurel, but it is the…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Drama about the founder of Methodism to premiere at WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center

What happens when a smart, talented young man desires to serve God, but is mostly driven by his fear of death and Hell? How is a conflicted heart torn by love and desire? And what happens when that heart finally…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Power struggle

Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell. Saint Martins Press, 1998. 397 pages Several years ago, when I was reading everything I could find about mythical figures such as King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Tristan, Iseult and Galahad, I blundered on the…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

Fatal disease for deer and elk detected in neighboring state

Chronic wasting disease, a deadly disease that affects deer, elk and other hoofed animals, has been detected in white-tailed deer in Virginia. The discovery has ramped up concerns about the disease migrating into North Carolina. Chronic wasting disease is a…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

AT license plates fund mini trail grants

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy will hand out mini-grants for projects in the region that benefit the long-distance hiking trail. Grants can include trail work, conservation projects and trail promotion and education. Past projects have included: • Efforts by the Nantahala…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

The Naturalist's Corner

The good; the bad and the ugly The good Ben Morrison, compiler of the Wilmot, Ohio, Christmas Bird Count, contacted the Ohio Birds Records Committee and provided documentation for the purple martin I wrote about in the Jan. 20 Naturalist’s…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 17:04

A taste of Appalachian poetry

This past weekend was given over to reorganizing the books in my home library. In the process, I relocated a volume of poems I had feared was long lost. My favorite “Appalachian” poets would be Robert Morgan, Kay Stripling Byer,…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Haywood Waterways applauds water guardians

Haywood Waterways Association recently gave out 2009 stewardship awards to several people and organizations that have worked to protect and improve the waterways of Haywood County. n Volunteer Organization of the Year went to Mike Gillespie and the Richland Creek…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Childcare openings fall far short of demand in Macon

Macon County Chairman Ronnie Beale knew the county had a problem when two young working mothers contacted him directly following the closure of a daycare and unable to find openings elsewhere. “They were saying ‘We don’t have anywhere to send…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Sun power supplies a path to simplicity

Lydia Aydlett first moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina during the height of the back-to-the-land movement, and it’s taken her all the time since to understand why living a sustainable life is so important to her. Aydlett grew…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Quick facts

• The mill is operating within state pollution limits on most counts. The current permit allows a variance in two areas: temperature and water color. In the new permit, the mill is again seeking a variance for temperature, but not…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Back to the old homestead

Sometimes you have to go away to come home again. Way up Coweeta Gap in south Macon County is a place at the end of Shope Road called Sanders Knob. Paul and Lara Chew live there in a cabin that…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

SCC’s Cecil Groves to retire at end of year

Cecil Groves, president of Southwestern Community College since 1997, informed the board of trustees and college faculty and staff that he will retire at the end of this academic year. “As for everything and everyone, there is a season. My…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Jackson County board race to meter voter confidence

Jackson The Jackson County board consists of four commissioners and one chairman. This year, the two commissioner seats and chairman are up for election. Commissioners must live within their voting district to seek election, but the county chairman is elected…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Finances likely to dominate Haywood commissioner race

Haywood The Haywood County board has five commissioner seats. Three seats are up for election this year. A party primary in May will narrow down the field to three Democrats and three Republicans for the three vacant seats. Haywood Commissioner…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Dillsboro, WCU move forward with marketing relationship

Leaders of the town of Dillsboro and members of Western Carolina University’s faculty unveiled the framework for an ongoing partnership that will help Dillsboro build a business identity. Discussions between former mayor Jean Hartbarger and WCU Chancellor John Bardo last…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Emotions run high at hearing on paper mill pollution

Two contrasting images of the Pigeon River emerged at a public hearing on a controversial new water pollution permit for Evergreen Packaging, a paper mill in Canton. The mill needs to renew its state permit to continue drawing roughly 29…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Road to Nowhere crusade over at last

A defining moment in the decades-long debate over the North Shore Road will play out in Swain County this week. Commissioners are slated to vote in favor of a cash settlement from the federal government in lieu of building the…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Two wide-open seats will define Swain race

Swain The Swain County board has four commissioner seats and one chairman. All five seats are up for election every four years. A party primary in May will narrow down the field of candidates on the ticket to four Democrats…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Where ideology meets environmental reality

The term “off-the-grid” means living in a self-sufficient manner without the services of a public utility. Wikipedia estimates that in 2007 there were around 250,000 off-the-grid households in the U.S. that supplied their own water, electrical and sewer systems. Living…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Court ruling bars county endorsement of Christian prayer

County commissioners in Western North Carolina face a fork in the road after a federal judge in Forsyth County made it clear last week that prayers mentioning “Jesus” at county meetings are unconstitutional. They can submit to the law, or…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

All three incumbents to run again in Macon

Macon The Macon County board has four commissioners and one chairman. This year, the seats of two commissioners and the chairman are up for re-election. A party primary in May will narrow the field to one Democrat and one Republican…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Fur clumps, scratches and other musings on store cat Kea

By Chris Cooper Kea was a filthy, grease-covered little miscreant when she was found by In Your Ear Music Emporium owner Lauren Calvert some 16 years ago hiding in some random machinery (in the snow, no less). Sixteen years ...…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

A cold winter’s hike reminds me of the value of wild places

Back in early January, I found myself waking early to pack for a day-long excursion into the backwoods of Chunky Gal Mountain with a friend who was home from graduate school in Forestry. It was close to 10 degrees up…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival lands in Haywood

There’ll be a movie for every taste at the third annual Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival this year. The festival’s selections include both fiction and documentaries, with experimental and animated films also in the mix. This festival is the only…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Fitzgerald comes to life in Asheville

The Fitzgerald Ruse by Mark De Castrique. Poisoned Pen Press, 2009. 250 pages. Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and magazines like Black Mask are the great-grandfathers of the American detective novel. Readers, for example, can open a Chandler novel and from…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

The Naturalist's Corner

On the road to recovery Friends of the Western North Carolina Nature Center unveils its New Winter Speaker Series on native animals at the Folk Art Center at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6. Asheville native Warren Parker, retired chief…
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:01

Simple signs of the evergreen

You can almost smell the word “evergreen.” The word is at once one of the most aptly descriptive and highly evocative botanical terms. Simply reading or hearing it conjures up a mix of personal associations with particular landscapes. Evergreens are…
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 17:37

Ski, Worship and Grow with your friends and MYP at Lake Junaluska

Get ready to hit the slopes and participate in meaningful worship at Lake Junaluska’s Ministries with Young People (MYP) annual THAW President’s Day Weekend, February 12 – 15, 2010. MYP at Lake Junaluska offers Christian youth ski weekends packed with…
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 17:37

Small-time theft by travel agent a big-time violation of trust

William Maney, owner of Fantasy Travel in Sylva, allegedly defrauded an elderly woman from Franklin out of $7,000 last year by stealing her credit card and using it to purchase airline tickets for other clients, according to charges filed by…
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 17:37

Macon comprehensive plan stutters as work begins

Comprehensive planning is supposed to be, well, comprehensive. But as Macon County leaders are finding out, it’s not that easy to get the public’s opinion on how its government should work for the next 20 years. After a three-month effort…
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 17:37

Life on the rock

Workers on the rockslide slope are laboring around the clock. There’s a day crew and a night crew, ranging from 15 to 25 men per shift. They labor for 10 hours at a stretch on the side of a steep,…
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