Haywood Farmers Market offers holiday goods

Locally grown Christmas trees, wreaths, value-added products and heritage crafts will be offered for sale at Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market at the HART parking lot following the Thanksgiving holiday.

The market, located near downtown Waynesville at 250 Pigeon Street/U.S. 276, will operate on two consecutive Saturdays: Nov. 29 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market has been working with the Buy Haywood organization to identify local tree farmers who might seek an additional outlet to sell their product. This expanded market is designed to serve local growers and others who need a market in Haywood County.

Among value-added products offered at the holiday market will be meat, baked goods, candy, vinegars, jams, jellies, soaps and dried flowers. Demonstrations will be given by area craftspersons, including some students at Haywood Community College. Light refreshments will be served and musical entertainment is being planned

Crafts which are currently being accepted include baskets, candles, soap, quilts and weavings, rag rugs (as well as animal fibers), woodcarving/woodworking, pottery, blacksmithing (decorative/functional) ironwork.

Vendors will not be charged to participate in this expanded market. Anyone interested in participating may call Carol James at 828.627.1058.

Swag listed among top 25 hotels in U.S.

The Swag Country Inn in Waynesville was ranked 22nd by Conde Nast Traveler in its 21st annual Readers’ Choice Awards of the top 100 hotels in the country.

The inn is on the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the Hemphill area of Haywood County. The magazine said it “offers guests a mountain meadow retreat, award-winning restaurant, world-class hiking trails, warm hospitality, and five-star comfort.”

“We are honored to receive such a prestigious award, and it makes it so much more valuable that it came directly from the readers of Conde Nast Travel,” innkeeper Deener Matthews said. “Considering we are a relatively small inn, this speaks volumes about the loyalty of our guests and how much they love The Swag.”

The building was built in 1971 and converted to an inn in 1982. It incorporates 17th- and 18th-century hand-hewn logs and local fieldstone in the cabins and main lodge. The inn lies on 250 acres atop a 5,000-foot ridge.

Participants sought for dialect study

Researchers conducting a dialect study at Western Carolina University are seeking lifelong residents of Western North Carolina between the ages of 9 and 13, and age 50 and older to volunteer to participate.

Volunteers will be asked to listen to different words through a headset and record their responses on a computer.

The dialect study, led by the Ohio State University and taking place in part at WCU, was designed to compare dialects in Western North Carolina, Central Ohio and Wisconsin, and changes in dialect from generation to generation.

“One of the goals is to see whether language is changing here, and language development processes in general,” said Robert Fox, professor and chair of speech and hearing science at Ohio State.

If you or your child was born and raised in Western North Carolina, call 828.506.8276 or e-mail janayeh@hotmail.com to find out how to participate.

Toy swap planned in Waynesville

The annual toy swap in Waynesville will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. 5 for the dropoff and from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Dec. 6, for the swap at the Old Armory on 44 Boundary St. in Waynesville.

Just like last year, residents can gather toys that are clean and are in good working condition with batteries included that your children are simply tired of or have outgrown. Bring them to the Armory on Friday night from 5-7 p.m. for the drop off.

Participants will be given an index card detailing how many toys they brought in of each category. These categories consist of three monetary amounts: $1-$5, $6-$20 and $21 & up. Come back to the Armory on Saturday morning from 9 a.m. -noon to swap. All of the toys that are left over will be given to charity.

This is a great opportunity to clean out your kids toy closet, get free like-new presents for your kids for Christmas, and to donate to charity.

Parents who want to volunteer for both Friday and Saturday will have first pick of the toys. Anyone interested can email sheilamraz@gmail.com.

SCC moves toward four-day week

Change comes to Southwestern Community College this January when the college implements a four-day class option that officials predict will greatly benefit students.

Starting with spring semester on Jan. 7, many classes will run on a Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday schedule, rather than the traditional Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Monday through Friday schedule.

Many students will be able to enroll in a full-time load of classes while attending college four days per week instead of the traditional five days per week.

“We are expecting it will save our students both time and money,” said Gene Couch, SCC vice president for instruction and student services.

After studying the research and success rate of other colleges that converted to a four-day week, Southwestern faculty and administration designed their new schedule to respond to student economic, family and work commitments.

“In tough economic times we realize that our students may need to work more hours. So access was a key factor in our new scheduling,” said SCC President Cecil Groves.

The new schedule leaves Fridays open for extended three-hour class formats like those currently offered in the evening. For instance, morning classes will be from 8-11 a.m. with afternoon classes from noon to 3 p.m.

“We are not doing anything less or compromising our students’ educational experience,” Groves said. “We’re simply allowing them better access.”