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If you want to know which roads are closed because of weather conditions in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the easiest way is to now get updates via Twitter.
Those without a Twitter account who wish to be notified of the status of the park’s four most popular roads — including Newfound Gap (U.S. 441) between Cherokee and Gatlinburg — can opt to get text messages to their cell phones by texting: follow smokiesroadsnps to 40404.
To stop receiving the text message alerts, text stop smokiesroadsnps to the same number. Keep in mind that if you subscribe by this method, the Twitter server may stop sending updates to you if they get an “undeliverable” response, such as your phone being off or out of area when an update is posted.
Standard text rates will apply.
Anyone having a Twitter account can go an extra step and choose to have updates set to them by going to the site listed above and clicking the “follow” button to see the updates on their own account page and receive the notifications in the manner they specify.
In addition to notifications of winter road conditions, park officials plan to notify travelers throughout the year of road openings and closings due to rock slides, fallen trees and accidents.
Audubon North Carolina has put out a new edition of Important Bird Areas of North Carolina, a full-color publication with detailed descriptions of North Carolina’s most critical bird habitats.
The book, available online at www.ncaudubonblog.org, features 96 sites comprising nearly 4.9 million acres. Important Bird Areas, or IBAs, provide essential habitat for one or more species of birds at some time during their annual cycle, including breeding, migration, and wintering periods. Well-known North Carolina IBAs include iconic landmarks such as Grandfather Mountain and Cape Lookout National Seashore.
“The IBA program is a wonderful tool for highlighting North Carolina’s ecologically significant habitats and locations,” said Curtis Smalling, Mountain Program manager for Audubon North Carolina. “IBAs provide so much more than just prime bird habitat. These special landscapes also provide clean drinking water, healthy populations of other species, and in many cases, special opportunities for people to connect to nature through recreation, education and engagement.”
Locally, the Highlands-Cashiers plateau is designated as an Important Bird Area, marking the southern limit for a number of high priority species such as Canada Warbler, Veery, and Brown Creeper. Various partners, including the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society, are working to protect and manage this high elevation ecosystem. Challenges such a the invasive Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, fragmentation of the forest and air quality threaten this special site.
To raise awareness about the state’s IBAs, including the Highlands plateau, the Audubon North Carolina will design a social media campaign around an IBA every month. Hundreds of dedicated volunteer birders and Audubon chapter members assisted with gathering data for the new edition, by surveying Important Bird Areas, conducting species specific surveys and research and participating in longstanding censuses like the Christmas Bird Count.
Audubon North Carolina is distributing the publication in book and CD form to North Carolina land conservation agencies so they can utilize the information as they set priorities for public and private land conservation projects.
Gorges State Park is sponsoring a free, guided hike on New Year’s Day. This is a part of First Day Hikes, a national initiative that offers a great way to get outside, exercise, enjoy nature and welcome the New Year with friends and family.
“First Day Hikes are a great way to cure cabin fever and burn off those extra holiday calories by starting off the New Year with an invigorating walk or hike in one of our beautiful state parks,” said Lewis Ledford, N.C. State Parks director.
The 1.5-mile hike will take place Jan. 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., departing from the Grassy Ridge Trail Head in Sapphire. You’ll need a light lunch or snack.
828.966.9099 or www.ncparks.gov.
Feeling sprightly in the New Year? Then hit the trails in the Tsali National Forest Recreation Area Jan. 7 with an 8k, 30k or 50k option in the annual Frosty Foot race.
This is a world famous, technical yet serene, trail system along the shoreline of Fontana Lake right on the Swain-Graham countylines.
The race is being sponsored by Foot Rx of Asheville; proceeds will help benefit Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail. The races will occur rain or shine, though the director is reserving the right to shorten them or postpone them if the weather turns really nasty.
To register, visit www.tsalifrostyfoot.com.
The walking trail at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is getting longer thanks to a new one-half mile extension on the lake’s south side.
Lake Junaluska is adding the new section of trail along South Lakeshore Drive, just south of the footbridge to the intersection of Hickory Hill and U.S. 19.
The addition is being added to the trail’s upper loop, lengthening it to 1.9 miles. The trail’s bottom loop is 2.4 miles. Combined, the two loops make for a 4.3-mile path around the 200-acre lake.
The new path will be made of packed gravel, said Buddy Young, director of Assembly Public Works.
The trails, which are free and open to the public, are popular among runners, walkers, dog walkers and those pushing strollers.
The project, which should be finished in a week or two, costs about $61,000 and is being funded by the Lake Junaluska Associates, a fundraising group that supports Lake Junaluska projects and programs.
If you are in Jackson and Swain counties, it’s time to sign up for the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service’s Master Gardener program.
Applications are required no later than Thursday Jan. 26. Classes will be held at the Swain Extension Center every Thursday morning for three months from 8:30 a.m. until noon, tentatively set to begin Feb. 2.
The course fee is $95, which includes a manual and weekly handouts.
Class participants receive 40 hours of training in subjects including: bulbs, vegetables, fruits, herbs, berries, pruning, grafting, native plants, organic gardening and disease.
The deal with the state is that participants return a like number of hours in volunteer service.
828.586.4009 or 828.488.3848.
Scott Nicholson will visit City Lights Bookstore to present and sign his three latest horror novels: Chronic Fear, Liquid Fear and his short story collection, Monster Ink, at 6p.m. on Dec. 21.
Nicholson lives in Western North Carolina and is the author of more than a dozen novels and 70 short stories, as well as six screenplays, four children’s books, and three comic book series. His novel The Red Church was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award and an alternate selection of the Mystery Guild.
He also has collaborated with bestselling author J.R. Rain on several paranormal novels. He has served with the Mystery Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and International Thriller Writers. A former journalist, radio broadcaster, and musician, Nicholson won three North Carolina Press Association awards.
828.586.9499.
The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will offer art classes at the Old Armory Recreation Center beginning in January.
There will be three different classes — drawing, watercolor and painting.
The drawing class will meet the first and third Tuesday of January and February from 10 a.m. to noon. The basics of drawing — such as line, perspective and shading — will make up the bulk of the class. Each class is $15.
Subjects covered in the watercolor class will include landscapes, still life and streetscapes. Meeting times are 1 to 3 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of January and February. The cost is $20 per class.
The painting class covers the basics of acrylics and oil paint, including the use of paints and color mixing, brushes and cleaning of the brush. Various subjects will be painted. The class will meet the first and third Tuesday of January and February from 6 to 8 p.m.
All classes will meet at the Old Armory Recreation Center, and students in each class are responsible for providing their own supplies.
828.456.9918 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel will celebrate the New Year with a burlesque show. The evening will feature live entertainment at multiple locations throughout the casino and hotel. Acts include Bella Electric Strings, who will perform from 6 to 10 p.m. in the hotel lobby, and The Vinyl Brothers Big Band, who will take to the stage at 8 p.m. in the casino. At 9 p.m., the casino transforms into burlesque celebration with a variety of performances.
Guests can also take part in New Year’s Eve festivities in Essence Lounge beginning at 6:30 p.m. The band, Final Say, will kick off the night.
Essence will have a cover charge, starting at $20. However, New Year’s Eve packages are also available; $99 will reserve a table for two and feature a bottle of champagne, party favor package and a $15 food credit for any outlet in the food court. Additional guests can be added for $20 per person. Attendees can reserve a table in the Essence Lounge by calling 1.800.Caesars.
Haywood Community College recently announced the winners of the school’s first photo contest.
HCC student Samantha Faust’s “Learning to Swim” won first place. “Safe at Home,” by HCC Adult Education instructor Karma Shuford, was the second-place winner, and Phillip Turner, HCC Lead Computer Technician, took third place with “Sunset at the Lake.” People’s Choice award went to HCC student Kira Farrington for “Dead End.”
The photo contest was open to all HCC faculty members, staff, students, alumni and board members. The college employees and students as well as members of the community could vote for the People’s Choice winner. The college’s library and website will display the winning artwork for one year.
The HCC Foundation sponsored the photo contest. First place received $250, and second and third place received $50, and People’s Choice winner won $150.
“The HCC Foundation was please to support this new initiative on campus,” said HCC Director of Institutional Advancement Sherri Myers. “The goal was to bring together the people of the community and the college.”
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad will ring in the New Year with a dinner and dance Dec. 31.
As the train rolls down the track, attendees can partake in an evening of live music, dancing and dining.
The evening will begin with a reception at 7:45 p.m. in the Smoky Mountain Trains Museum with a selection of beer, wine and mixed drinks as well as an array of hors d’oeuvres, including tiger shrimp with cocktail sauce, steak and roasted pepper skewers and fruit covered in chocolate.
Boarding will promptly begin at 8:45 p.m., and the train will depart from the Bryson City depot at 9 p.m. The trip will feature a three-course dinner on a vintage dining car at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, party favors and a champagne toast to 2012.
Alias Smith and Jones, an Atlanta-based acoustic guitar/vocal duo, will be the featured entertainment for the evening.
The event is open only to adults, 21 and over. Dinner train tickets are $135 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Advanced reservations and 72-hour cancellation notice are required. Call the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for dress code information.
800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.
The Moody Blues will perform at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel on March 31 as part of their 32-city U.S. tour in 2012.
The tour will celebrate the 45th anniversary of their album “Days of Future Passed,” and will kick off next March 11 at Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida and continue through April 21, ending in Niagara Falls.
The band’s history spans four decades, during which they sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and received 14 platinum and gold discs. Their set list includes: “Nights In White Satin,” “Tuesday Afternoon,” “Isn’t Life Strange,” “I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band),” and “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere.”
“The rockers played a set that reminded the sold-out Music Hall why (The Moody Blues are) one of the most important rock acts to ever come out of the U.K.,” wrote the New York Times.
Tickets are currently on sale at ticketmaster.com, and prices range from $45 to $75.
800.745.3000.
The Freight Hoppers, a nationally known string band, will play at Jack of the Wood in Asheville at 11 p.m., Jan 14.
Based out of the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, The Freight Hoppers perform old-time southern music and are influenced by string bands from the 1920s and 30s. The band has been played at festivals and in music halls since signing with Rounder Records in 1996.
Its’ members include fiddler David Bass, banjo player and vocalist Frank Lee, bassist Bradley Adams, and guitarist and singer Isaac Deal.
Twilite Broadcaster will open the show at 8 p.m. and tickets are $8.
The Soweto Gospel Choir will fill the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium with music at 4 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Part of the Asheville Bravo Concerts series, Soweto Gospel Choir specializes in African Gospel music.
Formed 10 years ago, Soweto Gospel Choir is from South Africa and is comprised of singers from churches in and around Soweto. Accompanied by a 4-piece band and percussion section, the group performs both traditional and contemporary music in six of South Africa’s 11 official languages.
Two-time Grammy award winners, the choir has toured around the world, performing on nearly every continent, and with other musicians like Bono, Jimmy Cliff, Josh Groben, Aretha Franklin and Robert Plant.
In 2009, the group became the first South African artists to perform at the Academy Awards when they sang “Down to Earth,” their award-winning song from the Disney film “Wall-E.”
“Soweto Gospel Choir takes this type of performance to a whole new level. It will surely be a treat for any age and musical taste,” said Asheville Bravo Concerts’ Executive Director Tracey Johnston-Crum.
Tickets for Soweto Gospel Choir’s Jan. 29 performance at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium are $15 to $60, and student tickets are half-price.
828.225.5887 or www.ashevillebravoconcerts.org.
Phyllis Jarvinen of Sylva will demonstrate and teach a mini-workshop on book arts and book binding at the Art League of the Smokies meeting Jan. 6.
The workshop will start at 6:15 p.m. in the lobby of Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City.
Participants will follow the step-by-step process to make a slim hardbound book during this program. Participants can bring old maps, pretty papers or photos to use for endsheets or covers if desired. The event is free and open to the public.
Jarvinen is an award-winning artist with exhibitions at Western Carolina University and the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts this past year. She will head to Florida next year to serve as artist in residence at the Everglades National Park.
828.488.7843.
Western Carolina University will hold a stained glass course every Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. from Jan. 12 through Feb. 9.
The class is for beginning through advanced-level students and will be taught by Moya O’Neal, a stained glass artist with more than 20 years experience.
The course will follow the Tiffany method of stained glass, by which each piece of glass is wrapped in copper foil and then soldered. Participants will learn safety; proper cutting, foiling and soldering techniques; and simple metal framing. By the end of the course, each student will have completed a project in plain glass and a small panel in colored glass.
The class, offered through WCU’s Division of Educational Outreach, costs $85 and will be held in the Cordelia Camp building’s south lobby. Students should bring safety glasses, pen, pencil, felt-tipped pen, notepaper, cotton gloves, adhesive bandages and a 12-inch-by-12-inch box to carry glass and tools. All other tools and supplies will be provided.
Registration for the class is required.
828.227.7397 or www.learn.wcu.edu.
Another Christmas tragedy appeared on the horizon with the arrival of our Christmas tree. I have often thought the holiday season would best begin if it didn’t start with this most terrifying event. I don’t believe in the recreational use of drugs but would condone occasional consumption prior to this annual ordeal.
First comes the tree selection. Living in an area where firs are grown commercially, one would think we were one up on people residing in Orlando or Pittsburgh. The opposite is true; more choices more problems. My wife, perfectionist that she is, won’t allow anything but a flawlessly shaped cone to enter the house. No holes, extra branches, twisted limbs or a trunk that is anything but 180 degrees vertical. I have finally learned how to avoid this particular problem. I have a best friend deliver one from his Christmas tree farm. She can’t argue with him.
If choosing the right fir can make me reach for nitroglycerin, putting the chosen one in the stand will be the major contributing factor to my fourth bypass surgery. Christmas tree stands are much like ex-wives; they cost too much, never work, can’t do what you want them to, and never cease taking delight in seeing a grown man cry. My fondest dream is the creation of a virtual Christmas tree. One I can decorate on my computer and then laser it into the appropriate place.
That’s another major headache — where to put the smelly, needle-dropping mess. Why don’t architects design houses that a tree will fit into? If you haven’t gone to the liquor cabinet by now, the next operation will guarantee the need for a double — putting on the lights.
I have often wondered whose idea it was to use lights. I think it was some feminist group who love to see grown men grovel and cry. The real idiots are those men who try to use last year’s lights. I am convinced that a light grinch exists who goes from house to house beginning the day after Christmas. The same Grinch who makes fruit cakes. Somehow (s)he sneaks into basements and quietly tangles strands of lights which were carefully rolled up and, to add insult to injury, steals one bulb from each strand. Of course the man who buys new ones is no better off. I am convinced that light strands are boxed by inebriated Italian cooks. Assuming that you have them properly aligned, it is best to test them. Can you remember any time five strands of lights actually worked simultaneously?
By now a sane person has finished off most of a fifth. The dog is hiding under the neighbor’s house, the kids are calling 911 and your wife is thinking her mother was right when she suggested computer dating or a nunnery instead of accepting your marriage proposal. About this time I usually think of converting to one of the stricter Islamic religions in hopes that it bans all such splash and glitter in its most important religious event*. Realizing that most such faiths forbid the use of alcohol I continue my rock-rolling task and commence placing the lights on the green ogre.
Several theories exist which propound the politically correct way to string the tree. A few of the more popular ones are top down, bottom up, vertical rows, in and out and of course my favorite, helter skelter. Whichever method you choose will always result in the same problem. The last plug is on the opposite side of the tree from the electric receptacle and you don’t have another extension cord. No problem. We just move the tree from its architecturally incorrect place. Success seems just over the horizon until the lights are joyously plugged in by your youngest. Someone bought those infernal blinking lights! Time for another double.
By now most men have retired to the opposite side of the room, taken up the fetal position and started sucking their thumbs. For the few that have made it beyond this far comes the glorious hanging of balls. Another of nature’s great mysteries presents itself. Where did all the hangars go that you so carefully packed each ball with just 51 weeks before? It may be a genetically deformed version of the light grinch, but I truly believe that this phenomenon is something akin to the Bermuda Triangle. Enough of Christmas tree balls. They are a novel for another time. Let it be said that everything from a golf shoe to a Taco Bell Chihuahua is hung from our fir. Now the bottle is empty and a second cracked open.
Just three more tasks: tinsel, star and tree skirt. As many theories abound concerning appropriate tinsel hanging as light placement. Once again you have the single strand placement advocates, the several at a time underhand toss people, and the two-handed glob throwing radicals. Of course one has to consider whether to implement the “little is better theory” or the “more the merrier plan.” No matter what the choice, one can be assured most of this rejected aluminum foil will end up in the floor and will be around when the Easter bunny comes. Hmm. I had never thought how much tinsel looks like that colored stuff put in Easter baskets.
The crowning moment has now come; the star. Some prefer a lighted version, but by now my tree is violating all fire codes so the plain star is chosen. If everything has proceeded accordingly I have had about two shots of the second bottle and am convinced that I can stand one legged on a barstool while holding the wall and perfectly place the real symbol of Christmas. I won’t bore you with the details. As I stumble to my feet and pick up the chair, my wife dryly comments that the tree looks cute lying on the floor and now she won’t have to worry about the kids pulling it over on themselves.
After carefully wiring the tree to the mantle, an overhead light and a screw placed in the wall, my wife puts the skirt under the tree. Tree skirts serve no apparent function other than to create havoc every time you need to water the damn tree. I believe mothers hand these down to daughters as a curse. My thinking is that old white sheets are best as long as they haven’t been used too often as dropcloths for home painting projects. (Another story for another time.)
Eureka! A skirt! If only someone had told me that Christmas trees are female. Next year will be different. First thing I’m going to do is burn my friend’s Christmas tree farm.
•••
Post Script. A typical Monday at the office has just ended. I sit on the couch with a glass of wine, turn on my computer and double click the AOL button. She is running around the house trying to ready for our Christmas party just three days away. Supper is in the crockpot. Her best friend drops in for a quick drink. Of course a tree viewing is in order. From across the room I watch as lights are plugged in. A blood curdling yell disgorges from my wife’s mouth: “The lights won’t work.”
These words immediately send cold chills running down my spine. I believe that no other phrase could evoke the fear and trepidation that I begin to experience. “Please God, let the lights come on.” Genesis and the story of the first days of the world came to mind. Once again I quietly and fervently pray that He would let there be light. Alas, such was not the case.
As fate would have it, my wife’s younger sister arrives on the scene. You know her. The one who works at the Christmas shop. She of Christmas tree knowledge and the patience of Job. (I often wonder if they are truly of the same gene pool.) A long explanation of never putting more than three strands on one switch, never mixing and matching different lights and, of all things, how fuses work is mockingly given and contritely received.
I have always considered myself a quick learner. It only takes driving a screwdriver into two knuckles to decide that a $3.95 set of lights was not worth the effort to repair. The unthinkable replacement of the dead set is a better fate. Into the tree I go. I tell my wife where my last will and testament is and that I have signed a donor card and a living will.
Three minutes later, with evergreen scratches covering my arms, needles in my mouth and sap covering my hands, I escape the tree with the dead strand. No rest for the weary though. A quick survey of the tree by my lovely is made. From out of no where she produces the dreaded replacement set. Reminding her of my burial requests I dive back into the forest.
I have never believed in good or bad fortune, but somehow my lucky light must have been shining on this tree. In less than two minutes I replace the darkened set and am sitting on the floor with plug in hand. I think to myself, maybe I shouldn’t press my luck. What if I plug it in and nothing but a black hole appears? Naw, it’s my lucky day. Quickly I insert the plug into the receptacle. Yes!! I high five the dog and the kids. God is undeservedly smiling on me. Evidently he has decided I have been punished enough for one Christmas.
As I sit on the couch pounding out this story on my Toshiba lap top I lift my humble head and tearfully stare across the living room floor. There stands the most beautiful tree in the whole world. My wife’s Christmas tree.
•••
Post post script. It is now two years since I revealed the terrible horrors you have just read. Once again I’m sitting on the couch three days before the “Big Xmas Party”. Lucky me — I don’t have to wander into that terrible forest again. Most people wouldn’t have gone to the extremes I did to escape this punishment. How does back surgery sound? Yes sir it works wonders. Not suffering excruciating back pain every time you breathe is only secondary. The good news is your surgeon repeatedly telling you in front of the lovely: “ FOR THE NEXT MONTH DON’T LIFT ANYTHING HEAVIER THAN FIVE POUNDS, DON’T BEND, TWIST OR TURN AND USE PAIN MEDICATION AS NEEDED.”
Scheduling this surgery did take some doing. Most patients have to wait six weeks to see a doctor and then another month to get scheduled. Christmas had slipped up on me and I didn’t have this long to wait. It so happens my brother lives next door to this neurosurgeon who plays bad poker and I guess you can figure out the rest. One month after the MRI revealed a herniated disc, I was on the operating table. Some of you might think I went to extremes to avoid the tree. You haven’t heard anything yet. Next year I’m thinking of confessing to being Jack the Ripper.
It is 2011 some 12 years after the first episode in this saga and the merriest of all seasons is upon us — like a white sheet pulled over a corpse. Age does have its benefits. My lovely hasn’t required that hallowed of all hallowed icons, THE CHRISTMAS TREE, for almost 5 years. Of course each Xmas party we go to brings the sardonic “I know we don’t need a tree, but doesn’t that one look beautiful?” Saturday night almost brought a good marriage to a bad end. Fate would have it that we were invited to my friend’s house who supplied the trees for many years. A chef’s dinner was being served — at least I would die on a full stomach. We had barely pulled into the drive on Scenic Circle when it began — “Whee, look at the trees — and one is on the outside porch!” I mumbled under my breath, “if I owned a tree farm we would have one on the porch too, but I am a lawyer who has had three open heart surgeries, four stents, three hip replacements, two back surgeries, gall bladder surgery, two knee surgeries and a partridge in a damned old Christmas tree.” Fortunately the divine one didn’t hear me. The night went well enough — a good merlot makes all things merrier and Carolina won a close basketball game. As we drove down the street towards our treeless home the bell rang on the first round of a marriage ending argument — “we could move the couch, tie up the dog, move the TV and put up a little tree.” I reached for the nitro hoping that this would stop the pain — not in my chest, but in my head. She immediately fell for the ruse. “Honey, I knew it would be too much for you. We can do without again.” And so another Christmas will pass without the need of a divorce attorney and sans tree.
(Gavin Brown is an attorney and mayor of Waynesville.)
North Carolina will receive a $69.9 million grant award from the federal Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge fund to support early childhood education throughout the state.
“This award is outstanding news for our children, families and educators across North Carolina,” said U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville. “Investing in high-quality early education is one of the most important steps we can take to put our children on the path to success in school and in life.
Thirty-five states developed plans to increase access to high-quality early education programs. North Carolina was one of nine states to be selected for an award.
In November, Rep. Shuler and five other members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation sent a letter to the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services in strong support of North Carolina’s grant application for the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge.
The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will offer swim lessons in January, February and March.
The lessons will take place at the Waynesville Recreation Center:
• January lessons: Level one swim lessons from 4-4:30 p.m., level two from 5-5:30 p.m. and level 3 and 4 from 4:30-5 p.m. Sign up begins Dec. 12.
• February lessons: Level one from 4:30-5 p.m. and level 2 from 4-4:30 p.m. Sign up begins Jan. 23.
• March lessons: level on from 4-4:30 p.m. and level two from 4:30-5 p.m. Sign up begins Feb. 20.
All lessons take place Monday through Thursday. The cost is $30 per person for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center, or $35 for non-members.
828.456.2030 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
After a five-week search, Western Carolina University has found its new director of athletics.
Randy Eaton, former senior associate director of athletics at the University of Maryland, was announced as the new director at a press conference Wednesday. Eaton will earn $160,000 a year.
“What impresses me most about Randy is his unwavering commitment to the student-athlete and the fact that he understands that the word `student' is the most important part of that hyphenated term,” said Western Carolina Chancellor David O. Belcher, in a news release. “That’s not to say that Randy does not want success on the fields and courts of play, because he shares the same expectations of excellence that I have for all of our sports teams. He has a passion for winning, and for winning the right way.”
Eaton, who will start effective Dec. 14, has acted as senior associate director of athletics at the University of Maryland and the athletics department’s chief financial officer since June 2008. He oversaw a $60 million annual operating budget and served as interim athletic director at Maryland in 2010.
He also has held positions at the University of Houston, Texas A&M University, East Tennessee State University, Ohio State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio and with the Ohio Glory of World League Football.
Winter Light
So much light in what we call the dark
of the year, a flashing and glittering
of light …
Should it surprise us, having known the holes
of darkness in the longest days?
— William Bronk, “A Bright Day in December” from The World, The Wordless (1964).
On Lower Lands Creek it has been decreed that winter starts with the first snowy or sleety day in November (often the 12) and extends, with interludes, until the first truly spring-like series of days in late March.
Day by day winter narrows life down, dulling senses with dark cold or sharpening with mere light. Elsewhere barrenness and the promise of death are not neglected … but herein our subject is illumination and awareness. Except at sunrise and sunset or before an electric storm, winter light here in the southern mountains is plain — never pea green as in spring and early summer and never tan-yellow or faded rose as in late summer and fall.
In this plain light we see edges, shapes and basic colors: twigs and branches, stakes and posts, rusty wire and rotting string, thin blue shadows on snow, brown paths curving beside lichen encrusted stone walls, and the slow fire of moss. Winter provides time enough (before we no longer have the light) to pay closer attention to the daily textures and occasional singularities of this often dark but sometimes bright world we call home.
After the summer haze and the soft tones of autumn, we’re not always confronted by gloom. Instead, we are awakened to windowpanes and lakes that hold steady images of mountains without end transfixed by plain winter light. Pines on the far ridge stand cleanly outlined. Some part of the effect, of course, is that there is less moisture this time of the year. We do see more clearly in cold dry air — so much so that distant objects seem near. You will have noticed how close summer ridges are when blanketed with lingering snow? But once it has melted, they will recede.
That’s the semi-scientific version. Not a few reliable observers — backcountry rangers, ginseng enthusiasts, coon hunters who keep computer records for any movement greater than three feet and whether the moon was shining, and others who get out and about — have reported mountains moving around on their own when light turns silver blue and crisp air is electrically charged. Thunderhead is said to have wanderlust. High Rocks went missing for a week and then reappeared one Tuesday morning. Sharp Top disappeared Thanksgiving morning and hasn’t been heard from since.
After a lifetime as a watercolorist, my wife has an uncanny sense of the interrelationships of colors observed in a landscape. For her there is almost no pure white light … not even in winter.
“Look,” she said pointing southward from a high ridge, “at the lavender shadows crossing that far mountainside. See how the fluffy clouds way up there are reflecting some portion of light from the sun that’s about to set out there in the west. Winter sunshine is tricky business.”
“Winter sunshine is tricky business?” I repeated.
“Tricky business,” she replied.
George Ellison wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. In June 2005, a selection of his Back Then columns was published by The History Press in Charleston as Mountain Passages: Natural and Cultural History of Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains. Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines has received a $239,000 grant from the National Park Service to assist the agency in identifying and protecting resources threatened by coastal erosion and future sea-level rise.
The one-year grant will enable Rob Young, director of the program, and other program personnel to help the park identify all coastal infrastructure, historical artifacts and natural resources at risk to sea-level rise and storms along all of the nation’s coastal parks — from Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina to Channel Islands National Park, Calif.
Young will spend a year in the role of “climate change adaptation adviser” with the park’s Climate Change Response Office. The project will culminate with the development of a long-term plan for deciding what coastal resources can be saved, what should be abandoned, and how best to protect the critical ecosystems each park represents, Young said.
The National Park System includes 84 coastal park units with shorelines and submerged acreage, including national parks, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, monuments, preserves, historic sites and memorials
“Coastal park features include the black sand beaches of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, cultural resources of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, immense sand dunes in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and the largest subtropical wilderness in Everglades National Park,” said Rebecca Beavers, park service coastal geologist. “These areas encompass more than 11,000 miles of Great Lake and ocean shoreline and contain important American natural and cultural features.”
Those features are threatened both by current shoreline erosion and by future rising sea levels, said Young, co-author of the book “The Rising Sea.”
“Managers of our coastal parks will have some very difficult decisions to make as they balance the protection of infrastructure, cultural resources and natural resources in response to future sea-level rise,” he said. “It is quite an honor for Western Carolina University to be chosen to play a critical role in the process that will preserve these parks for the next generation of Americans.”
As a part of the project, National Park Service scientists and resource managers from across the United States will come to Western Carolina in January 2012 to participate in workshops.
Learn how to cut down on winter hay-feeding bills by utilizing winter grazing techniques. A “pasture walk” is set for Dec. 16 at 12:30 p.m. in Haywood County at the Mountain Research Station test farm.
Discussion topics include grazing versus feeding hay, the work necessary in moving livestock to take advantage of available grazing areas, which forage types work best for what animals and the financial feasibility of using a winter grazing system.
Meet in the lobby of the Agriculture Service Center on Raccoon Road in Waynesville across from the test farm. Dress for an outdoor excursion.
828.456.6341 ext. 3. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The seventh annual Run in 2012 5K will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 1 in Jackson County.
The race starts and finishes at the Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee and follows a flat course.
Registration is $20 through Dec. 30 and $25 on race day. Long sleeved wicking shirt to the first 100 to register. Register at the Recreation Center, or at www.imathlete.com. Call 828.293.3053 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
Celebrate the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, by participating in a nighttime walk at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, in DuPont State Forest.
The quarter-mile walk follows an old roadbed to the base of Hooker Falls.
In olden times, winter solstice was a frightening time. The crops were dead and food was scarce and people prayed for the return of spring. Now we know that winter is the time for the earth to rest and renew for the new spring just around the horizon, and this walk will help celebrate the return of the sun to the northern hemisphere. Bring a thermos of warm drink to toast the sun’s return. Bring a flashlight. The event will be cancelled in case of inclement weather.
Meet at the Hooker Falls parking lot on DuPont/Staton Road. Free. 828.692.0385 or www.eco-wnc.org.
Enjoy the outdoors this Christmas by participating in a series of guided hikes scheduled to take place during the holiday season in the Pisgah National Forest.
Roger Skillman, a former naturalist with the Cradle of Forestry Interpretive Association, is leading the three hikes, planned for two different days.
• Friday, Dec. 23: John Rock Hike from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Located above the N.C. Fish Hatchery, John Rock offers scenic views, waterfalls, trees and a variety of forest types. Might not be suitable for very young children, because this is a five mile walk of moderate difficulty.
• Friday, Dec. 23: Winter Solstice night hike from 7-8:30 p.m. Walk the Andy Cove Nature Trail at night. Experience the winter forest during a new moon on one of the longest nights of the year. Bring a flashlight and dress for the weather. Suitable for the entire family, because this walk is just 0.7 of a mile on easy terrain.
• Saturday, Dec. 24: Daniel Ridge Loop from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Walk a beautiful trail through an open hardwoods forest. Bring peanut butter and birdseed and make edible ornaments to leave for the creatures of the forest: 2.2 miles moderate to easy walk.
The hikes are all in Transylvania County. Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station on U.S. 276 to carpool to the trailhead. Hikes are free, but tips appreciated.
864.710.1567.
Local food sales are predicted to reach $7 billion nationally in 2012, according to a report released last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Program estimates that Western North Carolina consumers alone purchased $62 million of local food in 2010, a four-fold increase since the Asheville-based nonprofit’s Appalachian Grown certification and branding program began in 2007. A recent consumer survey seems to help explain the increase: understanding that local food benefits local communities.
“We are way ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to supporting local farms,” said Charlie Jackson, ASAP’s executive director.
ASAP did a representative telephone survey of 703 Western North Carolina residents. Of these 703 interviews, 403 respondents were drawn proportionally from Buncombe, Henderson, and Madison counties. An additional sample of 300 respondents was drawn from Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, with 50 interviews completed in each county.
ASAP’s survey found that a majority, 55 percent, of respondents reported spending more than one-tenth of their food budget on locally grown products. More than 80 percent of respondents say they choose local food because the purchases help support local farms and contribute to the local economy.
In addition to farms, businesses benefiting from the increase include grocery stores and eateries in the region’s vibrant and growing independent restaurant scene. Three-quarters of survey respondents, 77 percent, deemed local food a somewhat or very important consideration in choosing a grocery store, and roughly six in 10, 64 percent, viewed it as somewhat or very important when choosing a restaurant. More than 55 percent mentioned Ingles as their grocery store of choice for locally grown food.
How do those surveyed define “local?” Almost 40 percent feel food is local if grown in Western North Carolina. Roughly one-quarter consider food local if it’s grown in their county, and 19 percent define local as within 100 miles of their home.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.236.1282 ext. 113
The Nantahala Gorge Worlds Organizing Committee will celebrate the completion of The Wave on Friday, Dec. 16, with a ceremony, reception and paddling exhibition starting at noon.
The Wave is the competition site of the 2013 ICF Freestyle Kayak World Championships on the Nantahala River, an event expected to draw 500 international paddlers and thousands of spectators. The Wave is an underwater apparatus cemented into the riverbed that generates a wave on the surface for paddlers to perform tricks and stunts.
The debut of The Wave has been highly anticipated, with paddlers eager to assess just how good the wave action is — as that in turn dictates the caliber of moves paddlers can perform.
During the 30-minute dedication ceremony, organizers will explain how the wave works, how it may evolve over time, and the current state of the event planning. Some of the world’s best freestyle paddling athletes will be on hand to discuss their impressions of the 2013 Wave, and the ongoing preparations for the games. They will then paddle the new wave.
Paddler feedback is being sought so adjustments can be made benefit the public as well as advanced freestyle athletes. To facilitate the feedback, there will be an open paddling session after the meeting so that boaters who paddled it can discuss their recommendations and impressions. Non-paddlers are welcome as spectators, and light refreshments will be provided.
Crews had just one month of decreased water flow in the river, thanks to Duke Energy holding back water at the dam upstream, to get the wave built.
“I’m very relieved and excited,” said Lee Leibfarth, board member for the Nantahala Racing Club and member of the organizing committee. “We’ve still got work to do on the competition site, though. The feature needs refinement and adjustments that can only be made through experimentation. As the Nantahala goes through its usual winter release schedule, we’ll be tweaking the features that produce the wave to make it optimal for most paddlers.”
Now that the competition site is constructed, event organizers will move on to new challenges like scheduling, ticketing and other logistics. As that process gets under way minor work will continue on the 2013 Wave preparing it for its first big test: the 2012 World Cup event in September.
Work is under way on the first wildlife habitat enhancement project in Western North Carolina that relies on an outside group to act as stewards within the national forest.
The U.S. Forest Service has contracted with the N.C. Wildlife Commission to carry out a stewardship plan for an area near Max Patch on the Haywood-Madison county line.
The project calls for clearing away woody debris around native apple trees in phase one to open up a young forest area. The goal is to increase wildlife food sources such as apples and acorns. This is to benefit deer, turkey, grouse, bears, neotropical songbirds and other species.
The project encompasses about 15 acres in an area known as “Catpen,” near Max Patch, a mountain bald with 360-degree scenic vistas. Phase two of the Catpen Project will improve Max Patch Pond.
More habitat projects are planned under a master stewardship agreement between the Forest Service and state Wildlife Commission. Subsequent projects will improve wildlife habitat by establishing important grassy and brushy areas for nesting and cover and improve the health and vigor of oak species. Other project areas may include the Cheoah and Nantahala Ranger Districts in the Nantahala National Forest.
Author Deanna K. Klingel of Sapphire was recently awarded the bronze medal in the children’s literature division of the National Stars and Flags Book Award Program for her book Avery’s Battlefield.
The book, set during the American Civil War, tells the story of young Avery Junior Bennett and his hound dog Gunner traveling across Virginia on a family errand. It is an adventure book for young readers.
All the books in the national contest have a military-related theme.
Eleven students from Haywood County high schools competed in the second Poetry Out Loud district competition at Tuscola High School Dec. 1.
Brooke Palay from Tuscola High School won the district championship. Ali O’Kelly from Tuscola High School was first runner up and Ananda Shuckstes from the Haywood Early College program was second runner up.
Palay, who performed “Broken Promises” by David Kirby and “The Coming of the Plague” by Weldon Kees, advances to the state competition in Greensboro in March. The North Carolina Poetry Out Loud champion then goes on to Washington, D.C., in May to compete for a $20,000 college scholarship.
Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest that “invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word and theater into the high school English class. Poetry Out Loud helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage,” according to PoetryOutLoud.org.
Join City Lights Bookstore for the Coffee with the Poet series at 10:30 a.m., Dec. 15, for a presentation of two anthologies by Western North Carolina women writers.
“Women’s Spaces Women’s Places explores idea of giving a woman room of her own to let her express her insights through essays, poetry, memoirs and stories,” said Eon Alden, City Lights publicist.
Christmas Presence is another collection of WNC women writers featuring Christmas stories, poems and memoirs, many of which are set in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
The editors of both books, Celia H. Miles and Nancy Dillingham, will be on hand to lead the discussion and sign copies.
The Coffee with the Poet series is a monthly gathering held the third Thursday of each month.
828.586.9499.
To the Editor:
With reference to Quintin Ellison’s and Becky Johnson’s excellent reporting on the tourism marketing program for Jackson County, it was disturbing to read about the conflict between Cashiers and the Jackson County Travel and Tourism associations.
In a time of bad economy and severe marketing competition, it seems that unity within the county would be of paramount importance. In today’s advertising world the amount used by Cashiers and Jackson County is small. I doubt with limited funds their independent marketing efforts can be very productive. From what publications Cashiers reportedly advertises in those publications are certainly not geared to the affluent audience to which Cashiers claims it attempts to reach.
And if they consider other portions of Jackson County as competition, why worry since Cashiers is uniquely “affluent,” and that apparently disqualifies the remainder of the county as a destination threat.
The more I read the article, the more inept the Cashiers TDA director sounded. It is hard to conceive that inquiries go only to Chamber members. The two (Chamber and CTTA) are NOT to be interconnected. To force private entities to join the Chamber to obtain leads generated by PUBLIC funds seems to be illegal. What happens if a resort that collects the bed tax isn’t a chamber member? Are they ineligible to receive the inquiries?
What is needed is a complete tourism marketing review of the county. That includes all creative, publications/media plus costs and number of inquiries generated by each. The latter is basic marketing and if someone balks at providing the information the assumption should be those ads and/or publications did not deliver.
What marketing efforts do county businesses contribute to the overall tourism promotion program? I venture to say that virtually all county businesses whose dependence on tourism rely heavily, if not totally, on the “bed tax” and therefore the TTAs to bring business to the county.
Tourism marketing is a cooperative venture … private businesses and public agencies working together. While the “bed tax” has proven to be the main venue for funding tourism promotion, most of the bed tax legislation fails to see the value of regional/area marketing. This is to the detriment of most smaller destinations where regional (not just county) marketing programs would provide more “bang for the buck.”
In Cherokee, every business had an investment in tourism marketing. They paid one-half percent of monthly gross revenue into the marketing program. It was not a “pass on” tax like the “bed tax” which is collected from the tourist.
The advertising committee was comprised of two members from each business category. The committee was charged with approving the annual marketing program. A win-win arrangement since every business on the Qualla Boundary realized monies from visitors.
This is NOT the time for an uncooperative attitude between tourism agencies in Jackson County! The $440,000 generated is considered a small tourism marketing budget today, and anything under $100,000 can’t make much of an impact when competing with hundreds of destinations going for the same potential visitor.
The county commission should require a complete recap of marketing efforts and results from each agency sharing in the bed tax revenues. Accountability is needed! There must be a reason bed tax revenues are down in Jackson County, and I doubt the absence of the train is the only reason.
Could it be the tourism marketing program is not as effective as it should/could be due to what appears to be protectionism on at least one party’s part?
David Redman
Sylva
David Redman lives in Sylva and has spent 47 years in the tourism marketing industry. Previously he was with Marineland of Florida, Florida Attractions Association, Travel Industry Association of America, manager of international tourism trade shows, Cherokee Tribal Travel and Promotion Office and other affiliations. He also assisted in the writing of the original accommodation tax legislation for the State of Florida in the 1970s.
To the Editor:
“When asked about the likelihood of the AM radio station surviving in today’s advertising landscape, Jackson County commissioners said they were relying on the financial projections provided by the prospective radio owner.”
This excerpt is from the Dec. 7, 2011, The Smoky Mountain News. What part of this sounds quote like a good idea? Does anyone else out there think just a little more research on this prospective business venture should be studied by some impartial parties as to whether loaning this money in this direction is a good idea or not, rather than relying on the financial projections of the “proposed owner of the business?”
Why doesn’t the “proposed business” get the money loan from a bank like everyone else would have to?
There are businesses in this county in operation currently, with employees, that could use the money just to keep operating as they are. Why are we gambling tax money on a prospective business that could fail and default on the money? For a few jobs? If it fails and the company files bankruptcy, we never see a return on the money … and what is the interest rates on the tax money loaned?
Seems like local politics has become a business of banking with all the loaning of money going on. We have new recreation centers being built, school add-ons, loans to bring the train back, the paper mill and now the AM radio.
Yet look at the county as a whole, businesses are closing left and right, there are no future job opportunities for the children, and not much for them to do now. Elderly have no new nursing homes being built (think about this baby boomers, it is gonna get crowded ). Poverty and poor housing are everywhere.
What happened to the idea of just holding on to money, saving money till you need it for something immediately pressing? Then maybe the county won’t have to get a loan from somewhere.
Remember when a variance was given to the big eyesore hotel across from Wal-mart … bad idea, no research. How about trucking Jackson County’s garbage to Georgia, breaking the contract with Macon County to help save on landfill costs — all right before the price of fuel costs went up. Now it costs more to truck to Georgia and Macon County will never have us back, and we don’t even have our own landfill. And then there is the airport in Jackson County.
Before all the loaning and releasing of funds, in this terrible economy shouldn’t there be more research done to see if these ideas are actually good ideas to spend our money on, or should I say invest our money in? How about the crazy idea of just having a surplus of funds on hand?
Kelly Timco
Jackson County Taxpayer
For Newt Gingrich to have floated to the top of the Republican presidential slough tells what a dismal swamp it is. As most of the other alternatives to Mitt Romney have turned out to be dim bulbs, the former House Speaker may look bright by comparison. But the appearance of his brilliance blinds people to his malignant ambition, demagoguery, opportunism, and deeply flawed character.
Former Rep. Kenneth A. “Buddy” MacKay Jr. of Florida, who served six years in the U.S. House of Representatives with Gingrich, considers him “the most amoral man I ever met.” During his nearly three decades in public life, I never heard MacKay disparage the character of anyone else.
Many Republican leaders share Democrat MacKay’s aversion. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma says Gingrich lacks “the character traits necessary to a great president.” Conservative columnist George Will denounced Gingrich’s “vanity and rapacity.” David Brooks wrote in The New York Times that Gingrich “has every negative character trait that conservatives associate with 1960s excess: narcissism, self-righteousness, self-indulgence and intemperance.”
Gingrich’s serial adultery — which he now conveniently claims to repent — is not the half of it. He’s also a serial hypocrite. He hounded Rep. Jim Wright out of the Speakership and out of the Congress for an unethical book deal but then snared one of his own, for $4.5-million, that he was forced to return. The Ethics Committee brought other charges and the House reprimanded him by a vote of 395 to 28.
After impeaching President Clinton for a sexual affair with a staffer, Gingrich admitted to the same thing. More recently, he denounced the lending agency Freddie Mac but took $1.6-million for giving the firm “strategic advice,” a euphemism for insider lobbying and influence peddling. He once favored the individual health insurance mandate that he now decries.
Gingrich exudes contempt for the Constitution and the separation of powers. His threats to ignore Supreme Court decisions he does not like and to encourage Congress to subpoena judges to explain their opinions are the campaign planks of a would-be dictator.
In Congress, Gingrich was chiefly responsible for degrading American politics from civil discourse to civil war. That’s how he forced out the previous Republican leader, the very decent Bob Michel of Illinois, and set out to destroy the Democratic opposition (the contagion spread nationwide, not excepting North Carolina). Anyone who purports to deplore Washington as it has become and then votes for the person who made it so will be no less a hypocrite than Gingrich himself.
(Dyckman a retired associate editor of the St. Petersburg Time who lives part of the year in Waynesville. His books on Florida political history include Reubin O’D. Askew and the Golden Age of Florida Politics; His Century: The Courage of Governor LeRoy Collins; and A Most Disorderly Court: Scandal and Reform in the Florida Judiciary. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
The Hooper House on West Main Street in Sylva has received Jackson County’s first designation as a Local Historic Landmark.
The house, which now serves as home for the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, was built in 1906. It was listed on the National Historic Registry in 2003, according to County Planner Gerald Green.
“It meets all the criteria” for the local designation, Green said, “because it maintains all of its character.”
A nonprofit group owns the house, and the local designation will allow the group to request a 50 percent property tax break from the county. That would reduce the annual tax bill of $700 to about $350. In return, the group must meet certain regulations intended to protect the historic nature of the structure. To make changes, it must receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission.
SMN: The $300,000 to the football coach represents at least three professors’ salaries. Is this cost worth trying to have a winning football program? Why pump this kind of money into athletics compared to academics in this day and age of massive economic constraints?
Chancellor David Belcher: “As I’ve said many times in my visits across Western North Carolina communities in recent months, I view athletics as a very important part of the university, for several reasons.
First, athletics plays a role in the development of student-athletes who participate in sports, providing them with leadership skills and helping instill in them foundations of teamwork and discipline that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Thus, athletics experiences are part of their educational pursuits.
Second, athletics is a critical component of the overall student life experience by helping ground students in the campus community and keeping them engaged in the university outside of the classroom. Third, athletics also helps keep alumni and friends connected to the institution, giving them something around which they can rally.
And fourth, athletics, just like the arts and cultural events, serves as a front door to the university, offering an entry point for folk in the community and the region who might not otherwise have a reason to set foot on our campus.”
A group of residents and students from Western North Carolina will embark in early March on a trip to the Central American country of Panama, donating ten days to do renovation work, provide medical assistance and distribute needed supplies to remote rural schools and clinics.
The participants must meet once a week for six weeks prior to the trip. Team members get a crash course in Spanish and the history, culture and geography of Panama. Each night a group of volunteers from the team makes a traditional Panamanian meal to be shared with other team members. Students at Southwestern Community College and high school students “dual enrolled” earn elective credits from SCC for their participation in this project.
Project Panama, which began in the winter of 2004, has blossomed into a service learning project that encompasses people from many different backgrounds and levels of experience. The first trip to Panama was a small operation organized by members of the Sylva Rotary Club, the Smoky Mountain High School Interact Club and St. David’s Episcopal Church in Cullowhee.
Together, these organizations were able to collect over 800 pounds of school supplies and $400 in cash. The cash and supplies were delivered to the Boquete Rotary Club in March 2005. Subsequent journeys in 2006 and 2008 with teams of twenty-five and thirty-two members provided nearly 2,000 pounds of medical and school supplies, $12,800 in donated funds, and more than 2,600 hours of labor. Additional funds and supplies have been provided in subsequent years. The spring trip is currently a joint undertaking of the Rotary Club of Franklin, Sylva Rotary Club, Club Rotario de Boquete in Panama, Franklin and Smoky Mountain High School Interact Clubs, and Southwestern Community College. While in Panama, the team will visit historic sites, immerse themselves in the customs and culture of this Central American Country and work on several projects in rural schools and medical clinics. The group is currently seeking additional team members and gathering supplies and donations from friends, family members, coworkers and community businesses.
828.369.1600 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The annual Elks National "Hoop Shoot" Free Throw Contest will take place at the Waynesville Recreation Center on Friday, Dec. 16.
Registration will begin at 5 p.m. and the event will start at 6 p.m.
The event is for boys and girls ages eight to 13 (age as of April 1), and it is free. There will be free hotdogs and drinks from 5 to 6 p.m.
Free throw shooters will be divided into boys and girls divisions with three age categories: eight to nine, 10 to 11 and 12 to 13. Birth certificates will be required at registration.
All local winners will advance to district, state and possibly regional competitions.
828.456.2030 or 828.452.6789.
The Jackson County-Webster Historical Society commemorated Pearl Harbor’s anniversary on Dec. 7 at its first public meeting in the renovated, historic courthouse in Sylva.
“We are commemorating here an event that fundamentally transformed the history of the United States and the world,” said David Dorondo, associate professor of history and international relations at Western Carolina University, to the crowd that gathered at the Jackson County History Museum.
George Frizzell, Archivist at WCU, played several historical recordings including British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin’s “Peace in Our Time” speech and Roosevelt’s December 8, 1941, address to Congress. Frizzell talked about the construction of the Glenville dam on the west fork of the Tuckasegee River and Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River in Swain and Graham counties. Both were constructed to provide electricity to Alcoa’s aluminum plant and a then ‘secret’ city called Oak Ridge, and the Y-12 nuclear reactor in Tennessee.
Western Carolina University will honor its fall graduating class and recognize a group of graduates who received their degrees after this year’s summer school sessions, as the university holds fall commencement at 2 p.m., Dec. 17.
The ceremony at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center is open to everyone, and no tickets are required for admission. Chancellor David Belcher will preside over his first commencement as the university’s chief executive officer and deliver the charge to the fall semester degree candidates and summer graduates.
WCU’s fall class includes about 650 students who are currently completing academic requirements to receive their degrees. Graduates who completed degree requirements during summer school and who already have been conferred degrees also are eligible to participate in the ceremony. About 770 current students and summer graduates are expected to don caps and gowns for the event.
WCU senior Richard Anderson Miller, a Candler native who is majoring in philosophy and international studies, will deliver the primary commencement address.
The commencement audience should enter the Ramsey Center through one of four upper concourse doors. Those with physical disabilities should use the northeastern upper entrance, adjacent to the stands of E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
828.227.7216 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Waynesville artist and teacher Nick DePaolo will help people create an oil painting with his follow-along technique.
The two-hour class is open to any skill level and will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m. on Dec. 16 and Dec. 23. Students must reserve an easel in advance. The course costs $27, which includes a canvas and paint.
828.456.5541 or www.longgroveartschool.com.
The Skaggs Family will perform songs from its new, 10-song holiday album, A Skaggs Family Christmas Volume Two, at the Smoky Mountain Performing Arts Center in Franklin at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17.
The CD, which is now available nationwide, features Ricky Skaggs, a 14-time Grammy winner, his wife Sharon White Skaggs and their children, Buck and Cheryl White, and Cheryl’s daughter, Rachel Leftwich. A Skaggs Family Christmas Volume Two has a mix of studio and live recordings as well as performances of traditional seasonal songs and new compositions.
The disc kicks off with the upbeat bluegrass arrangement of “Christmas Time’s A Coming,” which segues in a song by Sharon and her sister, Cheryl, trading lead vocals on “Light of the Stable.”
The album also features an a capella version of “The First Noel” by Ricky, “Silent Night,” “What Songs Were Sung” and “Flight To Egypt” among others.
A Skaggs Family Christmas Live (DVD) is included with the purchase of the CD. The DVD features the family’s holiday concert, recorded live in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium. The group, which includes three generations, have taken this show on the road for the last eight years, and the tradition continues this year.
“We started singing these songs in our living room all those years ago, with no idea that we would ever take A Skaggs Family Christmas to so many places,” said Sharon. “We’ve performed everywhere from churches to symphony halls to the National Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, D.C., where we sang for President George W. Bush. The recording process, the performing and traveling has been so much fun! It has been such a blessing to share all of this as a family.”
Tickets for the show at the Smoky Mountain Performing Arts Center are $35.
828.524.1598 or at www.greatmountainmusic.com.
The Overlook Theatre Company will present Disney’s “Aladdin” at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin on Dec. 13 and Dec. 15.
The story of Aladdin is based on the folktale of “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp” from One Thousand and One Nights. It tells the story of a commoner named Aladdin and his monkey who battle to save Princess Jasmine. His life changes with the rub of a magic lap and the appearance of a genie who grants him three wishes.
Prior to the performances, the theater will host Aladdin’s Royal Party at 6 p.m. Attendees can meet their favorite Aladdin characters. Tickets to this event are $8 and sold at the box office.
Actual showtimes are at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $10.
GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615.
The Macon County Public Library is hosting an old-time carol-along at 5 p.m. on Dec. 20.
The song list will feature “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Silent Night,” “White Christmas” and many familiar holiday carols and hymns.
Attendees are encouraged to donate a new or gently used book, which will be distributed to needy Macon County children.
Prior to the carol-along, children under age 12 can gather in the library at 4 p.m. for a “Club Discovery” holiday workshop, where they will create seasonal take-home crafts including cookie-cutter ornaments and one-of-a-kind greeting cards.
There is no charge for either event.
828.524.3600.
The Nantahala Brewing Company in Bryson City is hosting its first Nanta Claus party and benefit Dec. 17.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature several Christmas brews. All attendees are asked to bring an unwrapped, unused toy to be donated to children in Swain County who would otherwise not have a Christmas this year.
The Nantahala brewers have concocted Christmas brews, which will be tapped at 7 p.m.
The event will also include a “Worst Holiday Sweater” contest. The judging will commence at 8 p.m., and the winner will receive a growler of one of the Nanta Claus brews, and a $50 gift certificate for Nantahala Brewing Company.
WNC Television will air the Christmas Parade Special, a compilation of this year’s Waynesville and Canton parades, beginning Dec. 19.
The program will air on Charter channel 16 in Haywood County 12 times between Dec. 19 and Christmas morning.
People can watch the program at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day, except on Dec. 22. That day, the Haywood County High School Basketball Game of the Week will air during 7 p.m. time slot. The Christmas Parade Special will also be shown on Christmas Day at 11 a.m.
The Brasstown Ringers will perform their 2011 concert program “Christmas Bells” at 6 p.m., Dec. 16, at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Franklin.
“Christmas Bells” has a mixture of well-known Christmas favorites, pieces with roots in the 1700s, and a few selections with a modern flair.
Brasstown Ringers began in 1992 with three octaves of bells and seven musicians. Of these musicians, only two had ever rung hand bells before; the rest were pianists or string players. The group and number of octaves have continued to grow from there.
Its current 13 members come from a 100-mile radius once a week to practice for 2 to 3 hours, and the group plays moderate to advanced hand bell music.
Anyone interested in learning more specialized bell techniques or just want to join can talk to the director after the concert or call 828.837.8822 for lesson times.
Tickets for the concert are $15 and can be reserved or purchased at the door.
828.524.6777.
The Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will hold its next community music jam 6 to 7:30 p.m., Dec. 15, in the library auditorium.
Participants will play holiday favorites during the jam. Anyone with an instrument, such as a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle or dulcimer, is invited to join. Singers and spectators are also welcome.
Larry Barnett of Grampa’s Music in Bryson City will facilitate the jam.
People of all ages and levels of ability will have a chance to choose a song for the group to play together.
The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month all year. 828.488.3030.
The Marianna Black Library in Bryson City is showing family-oriented Christmas movies each Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in December.
The movies are free to the public and projected onto an 8-by-10-foot screen with a theater sound system. Popcorn will also be served.
Each attendee will receive one free movie check out voucher.
On Dec. 20, the library will show “The Night Before the Night Before Christmas,” the story of a family too busy to spend the holidays together. Santa surprises them when he accidentally leaves the North Pole a day early and crashes onto their roof. Santa loses his memory in the accident, and it is up the family to come together to help restore his memory and save Christmas.
828.488.3030.
