A program aimed at making it easier for farmers to upgrade their storage facilities — from barns to cold-storage to grain sheds — is expanding. 

The Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, has approved more than 35,000 low-interest loans for new or upgraded storage facilities since 2000, totaling $2 billion. 

Now, eligibility has expanded to include hops, dairy products, meat, unprocessed poultry, eggs, floriculture and aquaculture. Commodities such as corn, wheat, renewable biomass and cold-stored fruits and vegetables were already eligible.

www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport.  

A new map from Appalachian State University’s Michael Denslow gives a visual prediction of fall color’s schedule in the mountains, based on elevation and latitude — one of the first maps to consider both factors.

The fastest runners at the Zombie 5K Race Chase Saturday, Oct. 31, will have survival of the zombie apocalypse to name as their reward.

Elite slalom paddlers from across the U.S. will converge at Nantahala Outdoor Center this month for the 2015 USA Canoe and Kayak Slalom Nationals Oct. 9-10, an event hosted by NOC and the Nantahala Racing Club.

The Whiteoak Sink area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closed through March 31 to protect the bats living there from white-nose syndrome.

The Hemlock Restoration Initiative is hoping that the $50,000 worth of grants it recently awarded will help restore North Carolina’s hemlock trees to long-term health.

Seasonal restrictions on trout harvesting will go into effect in the western counties on Thursday, Oct. 1, meaning that anglers can’t keep any trout they catch from delayed-harvest trout waters until a half hour after sunset June 3, 2016. 

According to the rules, anglers can’t possess natural bait when fishing these waters — only artificial lures and one single hook. 

From fall to spring each year, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stocks delayed-harvest trout waters with high densities of trout to increase anglers’ chances. By instituting the seasonal regulations — delayed-harvest trout waters are posted with diamond-shaped black-and-white signs — anglers who enjoy catch-and-release trout fishing get a chance to do so without competition from anglers looking for a trout dinner. 

www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Fish/Trout/TroutFishing.aspx.

Emerald ash borers have been found in more North Carolina counties, prompting Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler to place the entire state under quarantine. 

North Carolina is the 15th state to issue a statewide quarantine for emerald ash borer. Adjacent Virginia also has a quarantine in effect, and the insect has been found in Tennessee.

Generally speaking, the quarantine allows hardwood firewood and plant parts to move within the state, but movement to non-quarantined areas outside North Carolina is prohibited unless the firewood has been treated, certified and labeled in accordance with federal regulations.

However, individual land management agencies may have more restrictive regulations. In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for instance, all firewood originating from outside park borders must be heat treated. 

The emerald ash borer lays its eggs underneath the bark of ash trees, where the larvae then hatch and create tunnels in the living part of the tree before emerging as adults. Affected ash trees display a loss of leaves, increased woodpecker activity and clumps of shoots emerging from their trunks. The beetles have caused the decline and death of tens of millions of trees across the country since arriving. 

A festival celebrating all things fly fishing will liven up Bryson City Saturday, Oct. 10, just as the mountains come into their peak of fall beauty. The inaugural Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing Festival will involve everything from casting demonstrations to displays from local fly tyers.

Numerous Western North Carolina residents and organizations received awards by the North Carolina Folklore Society, which will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee.

The High Country Quilters 25th annual show “High Country Lilies” will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 8-10 at the Maggie Valley Town Hall.

Acclaimed banjoist Raymond Fairchild was recently elected into Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Bean Blossom, Indiana.

To the Editor:

If Congress fails to reach a federal budget resolution by midnight, September 30, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hundreds of other National Park Service sites in America will close to the public indefinitely 

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park hosts over 35,000 visitors on average each day in October. Nationally, more than 715,000 visitors a day frequent the National Park System.

Nationwide, the National Park Service stands to lose approximately $500,000 per day in revenue from fees collected at entry stations and fees paid for in-park activities, such as cave tours, boat rides and camping.

Park gateway communities like Gatlinburg, Cherokee, and Townsend; Jackson, Wyoming; West Yellowstone, Montana and others across the country collect about $76 million per day in total sales from visitor spending. This much-needed revenue is lost during a government shutdown. 

In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an estimated 350 federal employees would be furloughed because of a shutdown, along with 60 concessions employees and 45 Great Smoky Mountains Association employees. About 47 NPS employees would remain on duty, providing security and emergency services.  

In the national park and the surrounding gateway communities, October is the most important month for both visitation to the region and business activity. There’s no making it back later on. Fall colors only happen once a year; once they’re gone, it’s all over. October business activity often provides the critical financial resources for businesses and residents to make it through until the next season.

Nationwide a shutdown would force the furloughs of more than 20,000 National Park Service employees; approximately 3,000 employees would remain on duty to ensure essential health, safety, and security functions at parks and facilities.

About 12,000 park concessions employees — the workers who staff the hotels, restaurants, and riding stables in the parks — would also be adversely affected. Nonprofit park partner organizations, including Friends groups and cooperating associations like Great Smoky Mountains Association, would lay off an estimated 600 to 1,000 employees, depending on the length of the shutdown. A closure would impact visitor centers and field institutes like Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, as well.

America’s public lands drive billions of tourism dollars into local economies, and in return these lands rely on dedicated nonprofit partners to provide educational programs, operate interpretive sales outlets, manage volunteers and cultivate private funding. A government shutdown would strip hundreds of private sector nonprofit employees of their paychecks as citizens are turned away from the special places they rightfully own.

I urge everyone who wishes our national parks to remain open to the public, please contact your state and federal elected officials and let them know how you feel about the potential for our national parks to close.

Terry Maddox

Executive Director

Great Smoky Mountains Association

To the Editor:

I am not much of a religious scholar, but I did have 16 years of excellent Catholic education. I did very well in my college Logic course. The Dominicans Fathers were gifted teachers. As a result I am having a tough time understanding why conservative Christians are so enamored with today’s Republican party.

Biblical doctrine exhorts us to contribute to the ministry and the common good according to our financial ability. The richer you are, the more is expected from you. But when it comes to this society in which we all live, and with the Social Security in particular, the tax burden falls on the poor and the middle class while the wealthy get a pass.  

Republicans want to solve the Social Security solvency problem by cutting benefits to the people who need it most, instead of requiring the wealthy to pay the same percentage of their income as you and me.

Helping those in need is one of the major themes of the Bible and of Jesus’ ministry. These commandments were not limited to those in your church or your family. But Republicans in all levels of government pride themselves in how much they can cut benefits to those most in need. Food stamps, workman’s comp, veterans benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, you name it and they are on the chopping block. And just the mention of increasing the minimum wage makes most Republicans cringe.

In the Old Testament and throughout Jesus’ ministry, there is warning against the worship of worldly things. Biblical principals make it clear that accumulation of wealth was not the way to eternal salvation. Yet today’s Republican party idolizes the rich and in every way promotes their causes and protects their interests.

Just recently a drug company raised the price of a 67-year-old drug 5,000 percent, and not a single Republican spoke up for the thousands who will be hurt and may die as a result. For them, it is just free market doing what is does to make someone rich.

There is no way today’s Republican Party can logically be called a political party based on Christian principles. They may not be worshiping a golden calf, but they seem to be idolizing a golden head of hair.

Louis Vitale

Franklin

To the Editor:

Tried to take a nap but couldn’t get my mind off of some of the enormous problems we face. Not the least of which is where we find ourselves in terms of foreign affairs and foreign aid. 

We have managed to alienate any and all allies we ever had (seems like we did it on purpose). We are no longer the superpower that has helped keep peace through strength for decades. Foreign aid continues to flow to many countries that have resources to sustain their economies if the trade dollars they receive weren’t stolen by their politicians. The only foreign aid that should leave this country must be agricultural products or medical supplies.

I used to write to Sen. Jesse Helms and suggest (tongue in cheek) that instead of giving foreign aid we teach the other countries how to go into debt like we do. Why give arms to the oil rich countries that have held us hostage for their oil. Let them buy arms if they want them.

Then there is the president we elected without knowing anything about him. He will not only continue to act around Congress, but he will accelerate his efforts for the next 17 months. The Republican-led states should form a compact and agree to act together by appointing a single strong individual to represent the compact to the president. 

That individual should inform the president that the states he represents are willing and capable of seceding from the country and forming a new country based on the original Constitution. The Congressional States of America would not allow any more tax dollars flow to Washington, and all federal facilities would be closed at once and the employees put on unpaid leave.

A president would be elected for the new country and a legislature as described by the founders. The new country should demand to be paid the base funding value of the social security annuity for all residents of the states involved plus the base value of the funding to sustain Medicare for the citizens of these states. 

Bruce Gardner

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Recent letters have presented opposing views on the future funding for Planned Parenthood. Some are based on factual information concerning the function and operations of that organization and others are based on a fabricated narrative created with a highly edited video.

Planned Parenthood provides a variety of needed services to lower income women, ranging from cancer and sexually transmitted disease (STD) screenings to birth control and pregnancy support. Without these services we would undoubtedly see increases in premature deaths, increases in STD incidence and increases in unplanned/illegitimate births. 

They also provide abortion services. However, by federal law, no tax dollars are used to support these activities. Repeat, NO tax dollars are used for abortion services! By law, abortions are legal in this country whether you agree with the procedure or not.

Planned Parenthood also provides fetal tissue for research. That is also allowed by U.S. law. The basis for the current outrage over this practice has been debunked as a highly edited version of ‘gotcha’ interview embellished with video that includes segments having nothing to do with Planned Parenthood. While GOP presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina has used this to enflame her troops, the accusations are fraudulent.

Rep. “Shutdown” Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, and his co-conspirators apparently wish to shutdown the government over federal funding to Planned Parenthood. If they wish to shutdown the government, I suggest that they select a real issue. Practicing this bit of political theater will have grave consequences for millions of citizens. Remember the last time they pulled this stunt?

If Rep. Meadows is serious about these issues, there are responsible actions that he could take. First, he could sponsor a constitutional amendment to ban all abortions in the U.S. That way, those who can afford to fly to another country could have safe, legal abortions while those of lesser means would go back to the back-street abortions. Additionally, he could sponsor legislation to ban fetal tissue research.

If he wants the debate, let’s have it and skip the theatrics, regardless of how much his base enjoys it.

John Gladden

Franklin

Representatives of more than 40 different vendors from throughout the area – as well as all 15 of SCC’s Health Sciences programs – will be in the Burrell Building on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, in Sylva, for SCC’s annual Health Fair.

There is no charge for admission to the event.

An American Red Cross blood drive (10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) will coincide with the Health Fair, which will also feature a “Delete Blood Cancer” bone marrow donor registry.

Flu shots are free for SCC employees; insurance will be filed for – and payments will be accepted from – all others. Door prizes will include massage gift certificates and gym passes.

Community vendors include hospitals, fitness centers, food banks and more. The SCC bookstore will offer 20 percent off one qualifying item.

Plus, Mad Batter of Sylva will bring a food truck.

 828.339.4305 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Good Samaritan Clinic of Jackson County is the recipient of an $80,000 grant from the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation that will help fund the clinic’s Nurse Case Management Program over the next two years.  

This funding has enabled the clinic to hire an additional nurse to join its healthcare team in serving Jackson County and beyond. This two-year program, being funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation, is a collaborative initiative by WCU, Good Samaritan Clinic, and Harris Regional Hospital to create additional access to care for our community. 

A public walking tour of Green Hill Cemetery in Waynesville with living history talks will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 10.

The walking tour will feature re-enactments of famous or storied people buried in the cemetery with graveside tales about their life. Various town leaders will assume the role of the late historical figures.

Mayor Gavin Brown will be William Holland Thomas; Alderman Wells Greeley will be Robert Love; Alderwoman Julia Freeman will be Carolyn Miller (the Pulitzer Prize Winner); Alderman Leroy Robinson will be N. Barber; Police Chief Bill Hollingshead will be Gig Young (a movie star who killed his wife and then himself); and Fire Chief Joey Webb will be William Greer (a driver for five presidents and who was driving the car when John F. Kennedy was shot.)

The goal of the tour is to raise awareness about the historical treasure of Green Hill, said Ann Melton, a Waynesville historian and author who is releasing a book this fall chronicling many of the cemetery’s interred residents.

Haywood County School Board member Rhonda Cole Schandevel, 51, of Canton announced her 2016 candidacy for the North Carolina House of Representatives.

At first blush, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is competing with itself by opening a new casino in Murphy just 55 miles from its main casino and resort in Cherokee. But those 55 miles make a huge difference.

Question: I have been hearing a lot about hemp lately. Do you sell products with hemp at Ingles? Will I fail a drug test if I eat products with hemp? 

Answer: 1.Hemp is not a drug - First and foremost, hemp is NOT marijuana. While they are in the same plant family (cannabis), to be classified as hemp there must be a THC (tetrahydrocannabinol - a psychotropic substance) of .3% or less.

Featuring local food, music and children’s activities, the sixth annual Taste of Sylva culinary tour will run from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in downtown Sylva restaurants and in the pavilion at McGuire Gardens on West Main Street.

By Craig Pendergrast • Guest Columnist

I am writing to applaud the Jackson County commissioners for recently completing a difficult re-write of the county’s cell tower code. Along with other interested property owners, I was an active participant in that process, having gained much experience and information about the way cell tower companies and their contractors operate.

When National Park Service officials increased Seasonal Law Enforcement Training from 400 hours to 650, they decided to use Southwestern Community College’s Public Safety Training Center in Franklin as the pilot program for the new regimen.

“SCC-PSTC consistently demonstrates a high standard and delivers a high quality of instruction,” said Mark Cutler, Branch Chief of Seasonal Law Enforcement Training for the National Park Service. 

SCC first offered the SLETP program in 1978. Only six other schools across the country are accredited to offer the program, which makes successful graduates eligible for a Type II commission in the NPS. The program includes seven critical areas: legal, behavioral science, enforcement operations, patrol procedures/scenarios, firearms (pistols, rifles, shotguns), driving and physical techniques for subject control.

www.southwesterncc.edu/pstc or 828.306.7041.

The results of a plan to install signs demystifying Haywood’s disjointed collection of greenway paths will be unveiled at a gathering 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Canton Recreation Park, upstream from the baseball field. 

The project, spearheaded by a group under the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals, came about as the result of a $25,000 grant the group landed from the N.C. Rural Center earlier this year. The aim is to make it easier for people seeking green space to see the big picture of greenway opportunities around the county. 

Free, with RSVP requested. 828.456.3021.

A family-friendly event celebrating fishing, hunting and wildlife conservation will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. 

In observance of National Hunting and Fishing Day, the event will feature activities and exhibits in archery, fishing, outdoor cooking, air rifle marksmanship and safety, fly-casting and fly-tying. Kids will also get to taste different kinds of wild game and play hunting- and fishing-themed games. The event is one of seven the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is hosting statewide.

Free. The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education is located just off U.S. 276 in Pisgah Forest, 32 miles south of Waynesville. 828.877.4423.

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee was named the Tennessee River Champion of the year by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“The work LTLT does embodies all the components of this award — partnership, restoration, education and innovation,” said Evan Crews, head of TVA’s Natural Resource Management team. “They have a long and far-reaching impact, and they are a standout organization.”

While the Tennessee Valley watershed covers nearly 41,000 square miles spanning four states, LTLT’s project area involves less than 7 percent of that area, which makes the organization’s selection all the more meaningful, LTLT Executive Director Sharon Taylor said. 

The award comes with a $5,000 prize, which LTLT will use for education programs to teach youth about the importance of clean, healthy rivers. 

A documentary telling the story of Dr. Carl Schenck, the German forester who managed the Biltmore Estate’s forests and helped lay the foundation of the nation’s first environmental movement, will premier at a screening event 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Biltmore Estate. 

First in Forestry: Carl Schenck and the Biltmore Forest School, was produced for the Forest History Society by Bonesteel Films and discusses the influence of George Vanderbilt, Frederick Law Olmsted, Gifford Pinchot and Carl Schenck on the American conservation movement.

Tickets include a reception at 4 p.m. including wine, cheese, hors d’oeuvres and mingling with actors. The film will start at 5:15 p.m.

$30. Proceeds will go toward promoting the film’s debut on UNC-TV and at the Cradle of Forestry historic site in 2016. www.firstinforestry.org. 

Nominations are open to recognize the people and businesses most instrumental in promoting conservation this year for MountainTrue’s annual awards. 

The organization — formed from a merger of the Western North Carolina Alliance, Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance and the Environmental Conservation Organization — will accept nominations through Sept. 30.

Categories include:

• The Green Business Award for a business that’s led in green practices, environmental advocacy and encouraging sustainability in other businesses. 
• WNC Elected Official for an elected official who’s demonstrated a strong commitment to conservation over time or completed a conservation action of singular importance.
• Volunteer of the Year Award for someone who’s volunteered extensively with MountainTrue.
• The Esther Cunningham Award for a MountainTrue member who has demonstrated outstanding service in conserving Western North Carolina’s natural resources.
• Partner of the Year Award for a group partnering with MountainTrue. 

Send nominations to Bob Wagner, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.mountaintrue.org

It’s time to get ready for a relay, race and walking event raising money for breast cancer detection, coming up Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center. 

The annual Power of Pink Event from the Haywood Healthcare Foundation aims to provide mammograms and follow-up procedures for underserved women in Haywood. It will include a 9 a.m. relay race with categories for male, female and mixed teams; a 5K walk/run at 10:30 a.m.; and a walk honoring victims and survivors at 11:30 a.m. Participants are welcome to bring their dogs along for the races, and Halloween costumes are encouraged. 

Food trucks, coffee, live music, games, guided stretching and chair massages liven up the event, and the awards ceremony will include a medal for the first dog over the finish line. Awards will also go to the hospital department and school with the highest participation and to the most creative costume. 

Since 2007, the event has raised money to serve more than 750 women in need through 1,182 mammograms and procedures. 

$100 four-person relay team. $24 5K, $10 walk; $10 dog walk. Group rates available. Register at www.HaywoodHealthcareFoundation.org. 828.452.8343.

On Nov. 19, North Carolina tobacco growers will get to choose whether to continue paying 10 cents per 100 pounds of flue-cured and burley tobacco sold in order to support tobacco research and education. 

Since 1991, the Tobacco Research Check-off has allocated $300,000 per year for tobacco-related projects at N.C. State University. The most recent referendum in 2009 passed with 92 percent support. 

“This referendum is extremely important for the future of tobacco production in North Carolina,” says Keith Oakley, president of the North Carolina Tobacco Foundation and state check-off coordinator. Federal funding for tobacco research is no more, he said, and state support has declined, making this “self-help” program vital. 

A two-thirds vote is needed to continue collecting the money. 

Farmers have benefited from the check-off in many ways, including annual training sessions, support for Good Agricultural Practices certification and development of new tobacco varieties, according to Dr. Richard Linton, dean of N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Contact your local Cooperative Extension office for polling locations. Keith Oakley, 919.515.9262 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway are always free to enter, but fourth grade students have an opportunity to enjoy all national parks at no charge over the coming year thanks to the White House’s Every Kid in a Park Program. 

Fourth-graders can visit www.everykidinapark.gov and complete an activity to get a free one-year entry pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks. The passes cover students and their families and are good from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, 2016. 

Fourth grade educators, youth group leaders and students across the country will also participate in the program through field trips and other learning experiences. Teachers can learn about such opportunities in the Smokies at www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/education/index.htm. 

The goal of the program is to connect kids with the outdoors, inspiring them to become the next generation of environmental stewards. It’s part of the Find Your Park theme of the National Park Service’s 2016 centennial celebration. President Obama launched Every Kid in a Park with support from federal agencies. 

People wanting to get wet while volunteering to keep an eye on water quality in local streams have a chance to get trained through the one-day Stream Monitoring Information Exchange program, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at University of North Carolina Asheville.

The annual symposium “Rooted in the Mountains: Valuing our Common Ground” at Western Carolina University will be held on Thursday, Sept. 24, and Friday, Sept. 25, this year themed “Plants for Food and Medicine.”

With the fall season coming, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is gearing up to guard against graffiti — lasting marks that not only detract from the park’s natural beauty but can permanently damage irreplaceable resources.

The search for an overdue Tennessee hiker in the Shining Rock wilderness area continues for a second day after Sunday’s search yielded no sightings.

Question: What do you think of trying to “eat the way my great-grandmother ate”?

Answer: I call brief messages about food or nutrition that sound good or look good in print “soundbite nutrition”.

From Georgia to Maine, outings celebrating Family Hiking Day will provide opportunities to explore the Appalachian Trail the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 26. 

• A 4.4-mile hike starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, along the Max Patch Loop in Haywood County will give participants a chance to hike the Appalachian Trail through open meadows and forest. RSVP to Jan Onan, 828.606.5188. Organized by the Carolina Mountain Club. 

• Beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, a three-hour event at Standing Indian Picnic Shelter near Franklin will give families a chance to partake of hikes of varied lengths and difficulties, with refreshments and nature-themed fun activities thrown in. Pre-registration required with Paul Dyer, 828.347.6752. Organized by the Nantahala Hiking Club. 

• A full schedule of events will celebrate Family Hiking Day at Fontana Village Resort Saturday, Sept. 26. The day will begin at 9 a.m. with a guided hike and scavenger hunt on the A.T., with nature activities and crafts running concurrently through 2:30 p.m. The afternoon will include a lunch cookout starting at 11:30 a.m.; a presentation by the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club on Leave No Trace and trail maintenance at 12:30 p.m.; a birds of prey program with Balsam Mountain Trust’s Michael Skinner at 1 p.m.; a guided hike on the Llewellyn Cove Nature Loop Trail at 2:30 p.m. and a pair of “what did you learn today?” sessions at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.

Free, with pre-registration required. 828.498.2103. Organized by SMHC, Fontana Village Resort and the town of Fontana Dam.

Family Hiking Day is part of National Public Lands Day. All participants will receive a pass good for one free entry to a participating public land any time over the next year. 

www.appalachiantrail.org/familyhike. 

It’s once more fall in the Smokies, and that means a reboot of ranger programs to reflect the season. The new schedule will start up Sunday, Sept. 20. 

Daily

• A demonstration of the historic Mingus Mill in action will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Located on U.S. 441 near Cherokee. 
• The Mountain Farm Museum at Oconaluftee Visitor Center is open dawn to dusk, showcasing what daily life used to look like. 

Sunday

• A ranger will lead a 45-minute walk around the Mountain Farm Museum at 11 a.m. exploring what life might have been like on an Appalachian mountain farm in the “ol’ days.” 
• The Cherokee Friends — ambassadors from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — will lead two hours of demonstration and storytelling about Cherokee culture beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 
• Kids will have a chance to learn about the history of elk — and witness them firsthand — in a 45-minute Junior Ranger program beginning 5:30 p.m. at the Palmer House in Cataloochee Valley. 

Monday

• A 30-minute program about how black bears prepare for winter will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

Tuesday

• A ranger will lead a 45-minute walk around the Mountain Farm Museum at 11 a.m. exploring what life might have been like on an Appalachian mountain farm in the “ol’ days.” 

Wednesday

Park staff will aim to predict the winter weather ahead using the folkloric methods people in the past deployed in a half-hour program starting at 11 a.m. at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

Thursday

• The story of the elk’s return to the Great Smoky Mountains after a century of absence will be recounted in a half-hour program beginning at 11 a.m. at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 
• The Cherokee Friends — ambassadors from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — will lead two hours of demonstration and storytelling about Cherokee culture beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

Saturday

• Visitors will learn the best places in the park to see elk, learn how they stay warm and get to touch some bonafide antlers in a half-hour program beginning at 11 a.m. at Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

An excursion to witness the peak of the elk rut in Cataloochee Valley will set out Wednesday, Sept. 23, part of the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust’s Eco Tours series.

This great horned owl is among the stunning wildlife photography of Ed and Cindy Boos on display this month at the Macon County Library in Franklin.

A weekend featuring games, music, rafting, bike competitions and plenty more will comprise Nantahala Outdoor Center’s annual Guest Appreciation Festival Sept. 25-27.

The Smoky Mountain Rollergirls will take on the Middle Georgia Derby Demons on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Swain County Rec Park in Bryson City.

This double header will also feature the SMRG junior team, the Lil' Nemesisters. Doors open at 4 p.m. Juniors take the track at 4:30 p.m. and adults at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 pre-sale and $7 at the door and are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com, at Bryson City Bicycles, or from SMRG skaters. Children under 7 get in free. 

Portions of the proceeds will benefit The Good Samaritan Clinic and skaters will be collecting Clorox wipes, bottled water, Latex-free gloves, alcohol wipes at the door as well. A 50/50 raffle benefiting the local chapter of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library will also be held.  

Halftime entertainment will include a round of “Human Hungry Hippo.”

Meet and greet with both teams at the after party right down the road at Nantahala Brewing Company.

Western Carolina University student musicians will join members of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra for a performance of orchestral masterworks at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the John W. Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee.

The event is part of a series that brings professional string musicians from the orchestra to perform with WCU woodwind, brass and percussion students. Asheville Symphony Conductor Daniel Meyer will lead the concert, featuring Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 (“The Romantic Symphony”), selections from Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, and the overture to Verdi’s opera, Nabucco.

The program has brought audiences two decades of musical collaboration between Asheville Symphony string musicians and WCU music students and faculty, presenting live radio shows, an array of orchestral and choral concerts, as well as operas and chamber music concerts.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students and children, and can be purchased at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or by calling the box office at 828.227.2479. Proceeds from the performance series are used to support the Artist-in-Residence Program, an ongoing partnership between the School of Music and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.

The 41st annual Mountain Heritage Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. The event will be preceded by a 5K foot race at 8 a.m.

Award-winning actor and director Frank Ferrante will perform his acclaimed portrayal of legendary comedian Groucho Marx at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

The Three Tenors and a Diva Gala will be held at 5 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

The inaugural Mountain Disco Music Festival will be held from 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Soul Infusion in Sylva.