Golf tournament to honor fallen trooper

The sixth annual Trooper A.G. Cogdill Memorial Golf Tournament will tee off at noon on Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Waynesville Country Club.

Registration fees are $100 per person, which includes a golf cart, green fees, a meal and surprise gifts. Hole and Cart sponsor fees are $100. Players must register by Oct. 8. Please make checks payable to the AG Cogdill Scholarship Fund.

All proceeds go to the Fund, used to help high school graduates who wish to pursue a career in law enforcement.

For more information contact Stan Cogdill at 828.246.0676.

Visitor spending increases in 2007

Domestic visitor spending for 2007 increased 5 percent in Haywood County to a record $116.64 million, according to statistics released by the N.C. Commerce Department’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development.

Visitor expenditures directly generated more than 1,400 jobs and nearly $24 million in payroll income within Haywood County in 2007.

“The numbers from this study are significant. Travel and tourism, and the spending associated with it, continue to grow here and across our state even as the economy in general has slowed appreciably,” said Tourism Development Authority director Scotty Ellis.

Ninety-four of the state’s 100 counties saw increases in visitor spending in 2007.

Making Waynesville a walkable community

A workshop on Waynesville’s comprehensive pedestrian plan will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at the Waynesville Recreation Center from 4 to 7 p.m.

The workshop will be formatted as a discussion to obtain citizen feedback to develop a vision for the pedestrian.

This desire for better transportation choices, the demand for more walkable communities and a focus on smart growth initiatives have combined to highlight the need for better, more complete pedestrian transportation systems.

The Town of Waynesville applied for and received a $16,000 Pedestrian Planning Grant from the DOT. The funding is being used to employ the services of Wilbur Smith Associates, a planning and engineering firm headquartered in High Point, NC.

Members of the project team will be available to discuss the project with interested citizens. Maps illustrating the area will be provided.

For more information, contact town planner Paul Benson at 828.456.2004.

Haywood County Genealogical Society to meet at Francis Mill

The Haywood County Genealogical Society will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Francis Mill on U.S. 276 just outside of Waynesville. There will be a short business meeting at 7 p.m. followed by a program presented by Tana Timbes, a descendant of the Francis family, who will give a tour of the mill and share its story, which has played a big part in the history of Haywood County.

Francis Grist Mill was built in 1887 by William Francis in what is known as Francis Cove. The various mills operated in Haywood County were important sites of socialization and information for Haywood County residents. The mill has been handed down through the generations of the Francis family and is now under the care of the Francis Mill Preservation Society.

The meeting is open to the public. The mill is not handicap-accessible and may restrict access for some people. Visitors and members are asked to bring a folding chair and bug spray. To get to the Francis Mill, take U.S. 276 South (Pigeon Street in Waynesville) for approximately 2.4 miles. The mill is on the right hand side of the road between a sign for a new development (Mountain Creek Estates) and Hugh Massie Road. Parking is in front of the mill or in Tana Timbes’ driveway.

For more information call Mary Harrah at 828.627.9828 and leave a message. Your call will be returned if requested.

DOT seeks comments on proposed rest area

The Department of Transportation will hold a citizens’ informational workshop on Tuesday, Aug. 26, for a proposed new rest area on U.S. 23/74 southbound and upgrades to the existing rest area on northbound U.S. 23/74.

The informal meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Waynesville Middle School cafeteria, 495 Brown Ave., Waynesville.

The new rest area will sit on the opposite (northbound) side of the road about a half mile north of the existing Balsam Visitor’s Center in Haywood County.

The number of travelers along U.S. 23/74 played a role in the DOT’s decision to build another rest area, but safety was an equally important factor. Drivers headed north from the Balsam rest area currently have to dart across several lanes of fast-moving vehicles, then make a U-turn into oncoming traffic to continue on their way.

About $6 million is budgeted for the project.

Citizens are invited to drop in and speak individually with NCDOT officials and view the proposed layout. Comments will be considered as project plans are refined.

For more information, contact project planning engineer Ryan White at 919.733.3141, or via e-mail at rlwhite@ncdot.gov.

WestCare offers guidance on living wills

WestCare Health System will offer free information on living wills from 9 a.m. to noon on the first Friday of each month in the lobby of Harris Regional Hospital. The next event is September 5th. The living will document “Five Wishes” will be available at no charge. For more information call 828.586.7748.

Peace Fellowship dinner is Aug. 21

The Haywood Peace Fellowship will meet for its annual covered-dish picnic at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, at the Waynesville Library in the downstairs assembly room. Beverages and plates will be furnished. The evening’s program, beginning at 7 p.m., will include a brief video of an interview conducted by Bill Moyers with Dr.Diana Eck. Dr. Eck speaks of the religiously diverse world in which we live and how this may lead to some paths of peace. The evening will conclude with a discussion of the future directions of the Haywood Peace Fellowship.

Skateboard park fundraising meeting set

The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will host a fundraising meeting at the Waynesville Recreation Center at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug 26.

The agenda of the meeting will include a fundraising plan for the construction of a new skate park in Waynesville. The plan will include the possibility of corporate sponsorships and individual donations. Skaters are particularly encouraged to participate in the fundraising efforts.

The general public is invited to attend. For more information call Rhett Langston at the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department at 828.456.2030 or email recdirector@townofwaynesville.org.

SCC library named for long-time trustee

Southwestern Community College Library will be named for one of the founding fathers who helped establish the college and secure funding for its first building.

Paul Holt, an SCC trustee since 1964, will be honored during an 11 a.m. dedication ceremony Friday, Sept. 5, at the campus library. This is the first time a building on the Jackson Campus has been named for an individual. Holt also initiated the SCC Foundation, with endowments totaling more than $2.8 million, and served as its first chairman.

“Paul is a quiet, humble man, not ego-driven at all,” said SCC President Cecil Groves, who has worked with Holt for 10 years. “Paul knows how to get things done and he does so by working quietly behind the scenes. After all of these years of his dedicated behind-the-scenes work it’s time we pulled him to the forefront and publicly recognized his invaluable contributions.”

Holt said even though the curriculum and name have changed over the years, Southwestern’s strength is in staying true to its purpose- to serve the communities of Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Cherokee Reservation.

For Southwestern’s future Holt would like to see the college “continue to offer what is needed in the area- all the way from college prep courses to the trades. I’d like Southwestern to continue to be that opportunity for all the people in the region and not forget any segment of the population.”

Free dental clinic planned for Sylva

A free dental clinic will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 5-6 at the Jackson County Community Services Building in Sylva.

No appointments are necessary to receive care. Patients will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Dental care will be provided to all who have dental problems and do not have the financial resources to pay for regular dental care.

The clinic is sponsored by the Blue Ridge Health Project, NC Missions of Mercy, Dr. Steve Slott and the Jackson County Department of Health.

Mumpower holds town hall meetings

Eleventh District Republican congressional candidate Carl Mumpower is holding a series of town hall meetings throughout the district, including one in Waynesville from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Justice Center.

Mumpower kicked off his town hall meetings tour in Polk County last week and followed up in McDowell and Henderson counties.

“Polk County was a great place to begin and I appreciated the good folks who came out to hear our message,” said Mumpower. “This was the first of three counties where Republican leadership disavowed my campaign for challenging our party’s betrayal of principles. I believe in stepping toward the tough hurdles first and we were rewarded with a group of people who understood my mission.”

“Our Town Hall meetings are designed to be an interesting, informative, and fast-paced hour and a half opportunity to share and learn,” said Mumpower.

HRMC board may have answer on new CEO

Haywood Regional Medical Center may know by Wednesday (Aug. 20) who will take the reins as the hospital’s new CEO.

Haywood Regional last week offered the post to Mike Poore, an administrator for two Atlanta-area hospitals. The hospital board will convene in closed session Wednesday and is expected to finalize its offer to Poore.

Poore was the first of two finalists scheduled to be introduced to the community. A reception at the Maggie Valley Country Club was held in his honor Aug. 8. A reception for the second finalist was supposed to be held one week later, but the hospital abruptly cancelled the event. Poore has said publicly he would love to raise his family in Western North Carolina.

Poore brings to the table a solid background — he took his first administrative position at a rural hospital at the age of 22, and his current hospitals boast a waiting list for RN’s wanting to work at the facilities.

Al Byers has served as Haywood Regional’s interim CEO since former CEO David Rice resigned following the hospital’s loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding in February.