Development opens local office

Cataloochee Companies LLC, which has announced plans to build the 4,500 acre Cataloochee Wilderness Resort in Haywood County, has moved into a local headquarters at 17 Mulberry Street in Clyde.

Frank Singleton, spokesperson for the development, said architects and engineers are working on schematics and design out of the office. Simon Properties Ltd., the exclusive land acquisition company for the project, is also working out of the office.

Singleton says currently the office isn’t equipped to take walk-ins who have questions or are interested in selling land. A trailer may be set up on the property in the next several months for that purpose.

The office isn’t readily identifiable. There’s no sign outside indicating the company’s presence, and the woman who answered the door at the property declined to identify it as the headquarters of Cataloochee Companies LLC. She directed that question to Dean Moses, a consultant for the project, who was not present at the time.

Singleton, however, confirmed that the location was the office for the Cataloochee Wilderness project. The company is planning to hold public meetings about the project soon, but dates and locations have not been announced.

AdvantageWest to premiere new marketing video

AdvantageWest has teamed with Asheville-based AmericanGreen.tv to produce a new promotional video called “AdvantageGreen” which features three WNC solar energy companies and their customers, as well as the WNC Green Building Council.

The AdvantageWest board meeting at 2 p.m. on Feb. 21 at the Asheville Regional Airport will feature a press conference to premiere the new marketing video.

“I am pleased to announce that ‘AdvantageGreen’ will be premiered on Feb. 21,” said AdvantageWest Chief Executive Officer Dale Carroll. “It’s also an opportunity to recognize AmericanGreen.tv Executive Producer Kurt Mann and AdvantageWest Sr. Director Pam Lewis, and their colleagues who helped develop this exciting new video.”

The organization is encouraging its e-News subscribers to preview this video by going to www.AmericanGreen.tv and clicking on the “AdvantageGreen” image.”

Environmental-related enterprises are part of the AdvantageWest Five-Year Vision Plan for the regional economy. For more information on the vision plan visit www.ntarget.com.

AdvantageWest board meetings are open to the general public. For the purposes of arranging adequate seating send an email to plewis@awnc.org.

Canton search for new Town Manager underway

Canton’s search for a new town manager is under way.

At a Feb. 12 meeting, the town board appointed alderman Mike Ray to head up a search committee for the hiring process. The board will hold off on hiring a town manager until after the budget is finalized in June.

Canton’s long-time town manager Bill Stamey retired unexpectedly in December after a 39-year career — one of the longest in the state.

Meeting to discuss future of tailgate market

Public opinion is being sought on if the town of Waynesville should move its tailgate market.

Tim Matthews of the County Extension Service is hosting a meeting on March 6 to discuss the possible move.

There has been some community support to move the Waynesville market to a location that would offer more parking, shade trees or covered sheds, and bathroom facilities.

The Waynesville Tailgate Market is presently held in the Badcock parking lot on Main Street, where parking is sometimes a problem for both vendors and customers, as well as shoppers visiting the furniture store or other nearby businesses. There are also no bathroom facilities.

During a recent discussion among a few growers and interested citizens, it was agreed that an open meeting should be held to determine whether the community would support an expanded market. In addition to local produce, herbs, plant starts and flowers, an expanded market might also feature other value-added products such as jams and jellies, preserves, and pickles. Other items farmers could offer for sale might include cheese, eggs and breads.

Those interested in buying or selling fresh, locally grown produce, are invited to come to the meeting to express their opinions, ask questions and perhaps get involved in supporting an improved farmers’ market in Haywood County. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Room A at the USDA.

WestCare exploring options for Mountain Trace Nursing Center

The WestCare Health System Board of Trustees has formed a task force to review and make recommendations regarding its long-term care facility, Mountain Trace Nursing Center in Webster.

The task force has met twice so far and has recommended to WestCare Board that preliminary discussions with a brokerage service specializing in business valuation be conducted as further due diligence.

This decision comes after a particularly difficult financial year for WestCare and Mountain Trace Nursing Center in which the annual operating loss was over $1.1 million. Historically, Mountain Trace has not been a revenue-producing department, but until now WestCare has been able to subsidize the cost as a community benefit.

“This is a strategic decision and not an operational decision. We are very proud of Mountain Trace’s exceptional care and strong community reputation, but as part of our ongoing strategic planning we must continually evaluate whether we’re meeting the needs of our residents there as well as those of our patients at Harris Regional,” states Leonard.

Mountain Trace Nursing Center is a 106-bed, freestanding, skilled nursing facility that was established by CJ Harris Community Hospital in 1989.

City Lights program examines PTSD

City Lights will host a program on surviving Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22.

Lady Cerellli of Hot Springs was a victim of sexual abuse that brought on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and vivid flashbacks many years later. She was sexually abused as a child and raped as an adult. Now, after 40 years as a spiritual counselor, Cerelli recounts her own story in a new book titled My Journey to Peace with PTSD. The book deals with the issue specifically from the victim’s perspective.

Cerelli found a path to healing with the help of friends, therapists, and recording her memories on paper. Journaling played an important part in her recovery, and it is one of the techniques she recommends to other trauma survivors.

Cerelli will be at City Lights to present a program based on her book, helping identify the signs and symptoms of PTSD and offering ways to begin the healing process. She will take questions from the audience and will be available to sign books.

For more information or to reserve a copy of the book please call City Lights at 828.586.9499.

Hoyle appointed to NC Partnership for Children

Southwestern Child Development Commission Executive Director Sheila Hoyle has been appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to the board for the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. (NCPC), the organization that administers Smart Start.

Hoyle is a longtime child development leader in Jackson County who helps provide services to seven counties in Western North Carolina.

“We are pleased to welcome such an established community leader to our board,” said Ashley Thrift, Board Chairman of NCPC. “Ms. Hoyle’s expertise and commitment to North Carolina’s children will further enhance Smart Start’s ability to ensure that every child arrives at school healthy and ready to succeed.”

Hoyle has been Executive Director of Southwestern Child Development Commission in Webster for the past 20 years and has worked in early childhood education for 35 years. Southwestern Child Development Commission is a comprehensive child development agency that operates 16 child care centers and administers the subsidy program for Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties.

Visit with Mary Ann Enloe at Osondu’s on Feb. 22

Haywood County Commissioner Mary Ann Enloe will be Osondu Booksellers’ guest at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, for the second in a series of monthly “Community Conversations.” Commissioner Enloe will be sharing plans for 2008’s year long celebration of the county’s first 200 years and discussing how interested citizens can participate.

Planning for this year’s calendar of activities related to the Haywood County Bicentennial, with guidance and support from Enloe, has been underway for many months and includes events and remembrances orchestrated around monthly themes such as education, agriculture, tourism, veterans, immigration, etc. The Bicentennial and its various themes and related events will be the focus of Enloe’s presentation. A collection of books by local authors on the county’s history will be available, and opportunities for involvement in the Bicentennial planning process and celebration activities will be offered.

“Community Conversations” is a monthly series of programs sponsored by Osondu Booksellers to bring members of the community together to learn about and discuss local issues and concerns. A forum for community leaders and their constituents as well as a platform for meaningful exchange, “Community Conversations” will continue through the end of 2008 and will focus on a number of Haywood County Bicentennial themes.

Haywood Peace Fellowship meets Feb. 21

Dr. Steve Wall will be the guest speaker at the Haywood Peace Fellowship meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21 in the Waynesville Public Library.

Dr. Wall will present the final program in a series on various faith perspectives on war and violence. The first two programs centered on Christian and Muslim approaches. Dr. Wall, a local pediatrician, will speak from the Jewish perspective.

The public is invited. There is no charge.

WATR schedules annual meeting

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River (WATR) will hold its annual meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, at the Sylva Town Hall located on Municipal Drive.

Susan Sachs, Educational Coordinator at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Appalachian Highland Science Learning Center, will speak on “Water Quality Challenges in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park”.

The meeting will also feature an update on the initiative called Backyard Buffers plus an update of the various WATR activities planned for 2008. There will also be a short discussion of the recent inclusion of Scotts and Savannah creeks and parts of the Tuckasegee River on the national list of impaired waters. Members, and those who join at the meeting, can vote for new board members and for the association’s new bylaws. Anyone interested in the health of our rivers and streams is encouraged to attend. If you have questions, call the WATR office at 828.488.8418.