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art penlandThe Penland School of Crafts Community Open House will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 1. 

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art studentsAn exhibit of artwork by local students in kindergarten through 12th grade will run Feb. 28 through March 21 in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

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art chocolatedropsGrammy Award-winning black string band Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 3, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

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art circusThe Squirm Burpee Circus will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 2, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University. The performance is part of the 2013-14 Galaxy of Stars Series.

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cover2When inflated real estate values in the second-home market came back down to earth, the touchdown wasn’t gentle. 

It was more of a crash-landing, and five years later two mountains counties are still sifting through the wreckage.

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The Wildlife Club at Haywood Community College is hosting the 8th annual Wild Game Dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, March 7, at the Haywood County Fairgrounds.  The dinner is a fundraiser for students. Funds generated during the event will provide the financial assistance needed to attend the annual Southeastern Wildlife Conclave, support a wildlife student scholarship and provide additional opportunities for students to learn from and network with natural resource professionals at state, regional and national meetings. There will be door prize drawings, a silent auction and a live auction. The grand prize drawing will be a lifetime hunting/fishing license. There will also be live entertainment and a game and non-game calling competition. Bring your favorite wild game dish, vegetables and/or dessert. Bread and drinks will be provided. Admission is $10 ($5 if you bring a dish) and children under 12 years old eat free. 

For more information, call 627.4560.  

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Girls volleyball prep league at Waynesville Recreation Center

A volleyball development league for girls in fourth through sixth grade will be held on Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m. in March and April, except for April 21, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. The purpose of the league is to expose girls to volleyball before they reach the seventh grade, when they can try out for a school team. Hosted by the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department, the league will teach athletes the basics of passing, setting, spiking, offensive strategies and defensive strategies. Registration will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a brief parent meeting, Monday, March 3, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Jennifer Parton will oversee the league, with assistance from student athletes from Pisgah and Tuscola high schools’ volleyball teams.  The cost is $40. For more information, call Jennifer Parton at 734.1298 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

 

Basketball camp for boys and girls with Coach Derek Thomas

The Innovative Basketball Training Summer Basketball Camp will take place Sundays, March 9 through May 25 at the Waynesville Recreation Center in Waynesville. The camp is for boys and girls ages seven to 18. The camp will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. for beginning boys and girls and from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for advanced boys and girls. Space is limited. 

The camp will be directed Derek Thomas, who spent 32 years as a head coach, two years as a college coach, was Coach of the Year six times and is in his high school and college Hall of Fame. His coaching career includes 425 wins with 35 different types of championships. 

The cost of the camp is $120 per person for four sessions per month and is payable in advance or upon registration. Credit cards will also be accepted.  

For more information, call 246.2129 or the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department at 456.2030.

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out mushroomsLearn to grow shiitake mushrooms from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Macon County Environmental Resource Center in Franklin.

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out bethelBoosting sales at farmers’ markets, marketing to restaurants, finding farmland and tapping agritourism are just a few of the topics to be covered during the Business of Farming Conference set for 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa.

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out needmoreA public meeting on management plans for the Needmore game land in Macon and Swain counties will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at Tartan Hall, First Presbyterian Church, 26 Church St., in Franklin.

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Owen Link McConnell liked the Unicoi and Snowbird mountains so much, he wrote a book about them. And not just any book, but a reference guide for the region.

Unicoi Unity: A Natural History of the Unicoi and Snowbird Mountains and Their Plants, Fungi, and Animals, is a comprehensive natural history book about this particular line of mountains that straddle the North Carolina-Tennessee state line immediately south of the Great Smoky Mountains. 

The book integrates McConnell’s experiential knowledge of the Unicois (gleaned over 49 years) with research findings from numerous scientific studies and includes 167 of his color photographs. The Unicoi and Snowbird mountains harbor some of the most pristine places in the Southeast, including the never-cut Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, four wilderness areas within two national forests and the popular Cherohala Skyway scenic byway, which winds 42 miles along high mountain ridges through the heart of the Unicois. McConnell earned a minor in zoology and a B.S. and Ph.D. in psychology at Duke University. He served on the clinical psychology faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 30 years and was also director of Psychological Services at the Children’s Psychiatric Institute at Butner. 

His exploration of the Unicoi Mountains began in 1964 when he began camping there during summer vacations with his wife, Pat, and two young sons. The couple purchased land in 1971 in the Unicois on West Buffalo Creek; and, after retiring in 1990, McConnell built a cabin there. For more than 50 years he has kept records of plants, mushrooms and animals that he and others have found in the Unicois. The book is published by AuthorHouse.

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The Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association is currently looking for artisans for the 6th annual Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival, which will be held Oct. 10-12. 

The festival is Western North Carolina’s most prominent fall event. The weekend festival is held each year when the mountains begin to glow with fall leaves and crisp weather welcomes leaf peepers. 

The Leaf Festival Committee and the Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association is dedicated to attracting people to this event for the benefit of area artists, merchants and the entire business community.

www.visitcashiersvalley.com or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.743.8428.

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A benefit for Sam Waldroop will be at 4 p.m. Feb 15 at South Macon Elementary School in Franklin.

On Dec. 24, 2013, Sam Waldroop (son of Ricky and Julia Waldroop and brother of Christie and Amy Kinsland) was in a car accident, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The benefit is to help ease some of the financial stress of renovating his parents’ house to make it handicap accessible, and for future expenses.

The hamburger and hot dog dinner includes a silent auction, raffle items, kids’ games, cake auction and a live DJ.

www.franklin-chamber.com

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art dancinThe National Dance Company of Ireland’s “Rhythm of the Dance” hits the stage 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

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art potteryPottery from the private collection of Joan Byrd and George Rector will be on display Feb. 17 through May 9 in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University. An artist’s talk and reception is set for 5 p.m. March 20.

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art driftersBennie Anderson and The Drifters will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. The Sock Hops will open the show.

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art onelegupThe Sunday Concert Series continues at 3 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Waynesville and Canton libraries.

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By Ben Brown • Guest Columnist

Think of it as a starter kit for a comprehensive business plan for North Carolina’s seven westernmost counties. 

That’s as good a way as any to understand the mission of the Opportunity Initiative for Southwestern North Carolina — Opt-In, for short. It’s a 15-month process overseen by the Southwestern Commission Council of Governments representing the seven far western counties and set to wrap by the end of May.

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To the Editor:

Some parts of Western North Carolina are loaded with socialist agenda people, especially in Asheville and Cullowhee. 

They must envy the great progress the country of Russia has made. Is not Sochi a shining example of how this socialist country can stage the 2014 Games of the Winter Olympics? Never before has the world seen anything like it! I am sure the millions of people who attend will rave about it for years to come.

However, I am sad to say that in your Feb. 5 issue, several people where whining about what a terrible state North Carolina has become since Gov. Pat McCrory became governor. 

You should get the Rev. Barber to come back to Asheville to lead another protest against Gov. McCrory. Maybe he can persuade Gov. Beverly Perdue to run for re-election so she could get the state’s unemployment rate back up to 9.8 percent, where it was when she left the governor’s mansion in 2012. 

Obviously many people in our state are not unhappy with a high unemployment rate as long as the governor is a Democrat!

Jim Mueller

Glenville

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To the Editor:

I want to thank The Smoky Mountain News for the  article in the Feb 5 edition (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/12419) concerning the proposed Jackson County Mountain and Hillside Development Ordinance (MHDO). That subject needs public attention, thought and then response to the proposed ordinance. I also think your upcoming article comparing the existing ordinance to the proposed MHDO will help clarify the differences between the two. That will assist those who may not have the time to make that comparison themselves.

While I appreciate your efforts described above, I need to comment on several of the statements made in the article. That article included content from an interview with me, as a member of the planning board. I am concerned that parts of that article may misrepresent my position and beliefs. 

The statement that I have a “confession” to make regarding my prior resident state is the view of the author, not mine. I am neither embarrassed nor reluctant to discuss where I have lived my life (Alabama and Florida). 

Further, I don’t think placing geographic labels on people and the use of terms such as “outsiders” — the reporter’s words, not mine — is constructive to making Jackson County a better place to live. 

This is what’s important: From the moment I arrived in Jackson County in 2002, it became my home. If I’m lucky, I will die here and have my ashes spread in these mountains so I will never leave. Since this is my home, I feel obligated to make it the best that it can be for the generations that will follow me. I believe everyone who now considers Jackson County to be their home feels the same way.

Also, the comment that I came here seeking solitude and beauty and “he wants to see it stay that way” is inaccurate. The words in quotes in the preceding sentence are not mine; but the context of the article implies that they are. To think that any community will stay the same is naive. The only thing that is constant is change. Jackson County will change. The question is: How?

The comment in the MHDO article attributed to Dickie Woodard stating that we would all love to live in Cades Cove is absolutely true, but (as he well knows) is not realistic. I am not categorically against property development in Jackson County. It should and will happen. 

We live in a beautiful part of the United States and that beauty is no secret. Others want to come and enjoy what we enjoy on a daily basis. However, we need to make sure we don’t “love it to death.” If that happens, no one will enjoy the results. 

The question is how the property in Jackson County will be developed, not if it will be developed? That fact is what makes the contents of the MHDO so important.

I also do not categorically defend the existing “steep slope” ordinance. Since I became a member of the planning board, I’ve probably asked as many questions about the justification of the parameters that are included in the existing ordinance as I have asked questions about the contents of the proposed ordinance. There need to be changes to the existing ordinance, and I support those that the planning board, as a whole, has advocated.

Regardless of my position on the proposed MHDO, what’s important is the position of the citizens of Jackson County. As I said in the interview, it’s their ordinance. I strongly encourage them to attend the planning board public hearing and express their views on the subject matter included in the proposed MHDO. 

I appreciate the SMN giving me the opportunity to respond to the article.

Tom Rodgers

Jackson County Planning Board

Cullowhee

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op frBy Doug Wingeier • Columnist

As I write this, I have just returned from a tiring but exhilarating day participating in the Moral March on Raleigh. My wife and I joined 18 others from Haywood County — friends both black and white — plus 260 others from the Asheville area and untold thousands from across the state and beyond. We rose at 3 a.m., rode buses five hours each way, marched nearly a mile each way between Shaw University and the state capitol, and heard some rousing speeches and stirring music.

The rain held off. The crowd was in a festive mood. Many carried signs like “North Carolina: First in Teacher Flight,” “More Art, Less Pope,” “Haywood County for Health Care,” and “Welcome to North Carolina: Set Your Clocks Back 50 Years.” A medical doctor’s sign said: “I got a raise, but my patients who are poor got a death sentence.” Mine read: “I March for Voting Rights for All” and “Funds for Public Schools not for Vouchers.”

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Cherokee Bear Zoo has been fined by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violating worker safety regulations.

Cherokee Bear Zoo was cited for allowing workers to have “unprotected contact with bears while feeding, cleaning cages and assisting in mating activities,” according to OSHA documents. In addition to receiving five citations, Cherokee Bear Zoo was fined $3,120.

A site visit from federal OSHA investigators last fall was prompted by a complaint from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA filed an OSHA complaint last summer that included video footage and photographs of workers inside concrete pits with multiple bears. In its complain, PETA suggested it would file legal action against OSHA if OSHA did not conduct a site inspection.

PETA has campaigned for years against the roadside bear zoos in Cherokee. One of the two zoos that kept bears in concrete pits, Chief Saunooke Bear Pit, finally closed last year after repeated federal violation notices for the treatment and care of the animals.

Cherokee Bear Zoo workers apparently went into bear pits to feed them by hand, and in one case to lure a male bear to a female bear enclosure, without protection or barriers between them and the animals. Violations also included the use of bleach cleaning chemicals without proper eye protection.

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Four Asheville residents were arrested after an attempt to steal a logsplitter from Lowe’s in Waynesville drew the attention of an alert citizen.

Something about the scene apparently didn’t sit quite right: a person in the bed of a pickup truck holding on to a chain that was towing a logsplitter along behind them. 

“When trying to make their getaway with the stolen log splitter, the suspects found the log splitter’s trailer attachment did not fit onto the ball hitch they had on their truck, so one of the suspects actually sat in the back of the truck, holding onto the chains that were dragging the log splitter behind them,” said Heidi Warren, public information officer for the Haywood County Sheriff’s Department. 

The “alert citizen” called the Waynesville Police Department and then followed the truck until officers arrived on-scene. Kristy Franklin, 34; Deborah Crowe, 24; Dewey Franklin, 42 and Preston Franklin, 23 were arrested for charges ranging from larceny to possession of stolen property.

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The 2014 election season officially got underway this week.

Candidates could begin signing up to run for office on Monday. The candidate sign-up period runs for two weeks, closing on Feb. 28.

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fr gazeboBy Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

A design for a new gazebo on the town square in downtown Franklin has been sent back to the drawing board.

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Restaurants in Haywood County are being encouraged to jump on the Melange of the Mountains train, which will return this year April 10-13.

The event is expanding again this year, with a growing  lineup of culinary-themed festivities over several days. 

Melange began several years ago as a one-night gala where restaurants showcased samples of their signature dishes. That remains the keystone event of Melange, but it will kick off an entire array of weekend with an array of specialty dinners, culinary demos and tastings hosted by Melange of the Mountains participants. Events such as Farm to Table, Hops to Tap, Sip and Stroke, Dinner on the Mountain, Champagne & Caviar, Five Course Candlelight Dinner, and Wine Pairings will take place throughout the county.

The event is a partnership between the Haywood Chamber of Commerce, Haywood County Tourism Development Authority and Buy Haywood.

A listing of participating restaurants along with additional information will be released at a later date. 

828.456.3021 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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fr prisonneighborhoodBy Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

Haywood County leaders have all but signed off on plans by a pair of faith-based groups running social service ministries in the county to convert a defunct state prison into a homeless shelter and halfway house.

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A guided hike along the Tallulah River in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of passage of the Wilderness Act.

It is being led by the Nantahala Hiking Club and the Southern Appalachian branch of the Wilderness Society.

The hike is part of a year-long series of outings and programs in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and organized by the Southern Appalachian branch of The Wilderness Society in partnership with other organizations. Activities will include guided hikes and walks in wilderness areas, events celebrating the connections between wilderness and the arts, trail maintenance volunteer opportunities, celebratory gatherings and more. www.southeastwilderness50.org.

For the meeting place, call the hike leader at 828.369.1983

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out outhouseSo, when else would you have an opportunity to race an outhouse down a ski mountain? Thought so. 

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out naturecenterA whole lot of people visited the WNC Nature Center last year. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center report that 107,949 people visited the Nature Center in 2013, a record-breaking attendance.

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out teacherA Haywood County teacher, Janet Frazier, has been named the 2013 North Carolina Elementary Conservation Education Teacher of the Year.

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out mountwhitneyOctogenarian Jim Pader will talk about his record-setting hike up Mount Whitney from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at REI in Asheville.

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To the Editor:

The Jackson County commissioners recently made a mistake — an honest, well-meaning, well-intentioned error, yet a mistake nonetheless. Imposing background checks on county volunteers is government intrusion and is wrong. These infringements to our freedoms are totally contrary to the natural rights principles codified by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, the other founders in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and, all the men (and a few women) who fought against and achieved victory over a tyrannical British king.

What took so long for American citizens to allow their government to violate us with airport strip searches, lock down whole cities for martial law exercises by the Department of Homeland Security and the military, conduct illegal searches of people and property in search of one lone alleged bomber (Boston, January 2013), use metal detectors against citizens lawfully entering public buildings, and, yes, forcing county volunteers to endure background checks in an assault on their persons and reputations? Apathy. 

We’re more interested in sports on big screen televisions, adult beverages in our refrigerators, and fast food hamburgers in our stomachs than holding our local, state, and federal representatives honest, open, accountable, and within the constitutional rule of law.

Collectivists (progressives) such as Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler used tools of oppression such as these before and we're seeing these Fascist, authoritarian tools of enslavement used here in America in the 21st century where our government has become the common enemy of us all.

Opposing this fascism are the forces of individual freedom, smaller government, fiscal sanity, and the constitutional rule of law. Numerous men and women in our communities haven't given up on politically restoring the Constitution and the republic, although peacefully accomplishing this is becoming less and less possible everyday.

Call, write and email the county commissioners and demand that they reverse their decision to impose background checks on law-abiding county volunteers. Even something as small as this will send a message to your representatives (those seats are yours and mine) that the Fascist tide must stop and begin to reverse here, now.

What you do here today will make a difference as to whether your children and grandchildren become slaves or whether we reestablish our Creator-given American freedoms.

Which side are you on?

Carl Iobst

Cullowhee

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To the Editor:

The alleged embezzlement of around $50,000 from Macon County taxpayers by a county employee highlights incompetency within the county’s “award winning” finance department. The allegations in Judge Letts’ search warrant for the Macon County Board of Elections (BOE) office lay out the damning details.

The alleged embezzler wrote at least 29 “check requests” between July 2013 and mid-January 2014 with insufficient documentation and no or forged signature authorizations. Without hesitation finance’s accounts payable (A/P) issued checks totaling around $50,000 to sham vendors. The checks were given to the embezzler who allegedly pocketed the money.

Macon County, with more than 400 employees and a budget of nearly $60 million annually, has a finance department using purchase order (PO) and payment procedures appropriate for a “mom and pop” shop.

Why would the county’s finance department process any “check requests” except in very limited and carefully controlled circumstances? To handle 29 “check requests” from one employee over a short period is astounding. Especially since many didn’t meet authorization requirements, involved “vendors” who weren’t vetted, receipt of services wasn’t verified, and checks weren’t mailed to the vendors. Was there a co-conspirator within the finance department? Will any finance department employees be disciplined for failure to follow procedures? Are there any written procedures?

“Check requests” are ripe for fraud and at least one employee figured that out. How many other undetected embezzlements have occurred, or are occurring, within Macon County government?

The county manager must hire an independent forensic auditor, or an auditor from the Office of the State Auditor, to thoroughly review all aspects of Macon County’s Finance Department. The forensic auditor must assure everyone that no other illegal activities have occurred or are occurring, and assure that all purchasing procedures in the finance department are brought up to 21st century standards.

Until a forensic audit is completed, corrective actions are implemented, and a public report is issued to county residents answering all questions raised, residents should have no confidence that the county’s finance department is protecting taxpayers’ money.

Vic Drummond

Franklin

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To the Editor:

If you have been following the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you have recently learned that 85 individuals control more wealth than the less wealthy half of the world’s population …  that’s 3.5 billion people. It just underscores the extreme differences in wealth in our world.  

With that on my mind, I couldn’t help but think of North Carolina’s hardworking teachers who are now ranked 46th in pay in the country. I’m sure you are aware of the decision by our state legislature to give a bonus of $2,000 over four years to 25 percent of the teachers in each school district. This 25 percent are to be chosen, somehow, by the principals and superintendents, leaving the other 75 percent to wonder why they were not included. Oh, and of course, the teachers are also giving up their recourse to due process, which opens the door to political based control.

Public education is the foundation of our economic strength as a state. According to the North Carolina Constitution, it is the responsibility of the state legislature to guarantee an adequate public education to all our students. Yet it seems the current administration has a warped idea of how to insure that. Cutting funding to education has never enhanced it. Keeping a lid on teacher pay is a guarantee that many teachers will leave for greener pastures in neighboring states, or find a more lucrative profession … and it will negatively impact our state now and in the future.  

Perhaps Gov. Pat McCrory and our state legislature will consider the benefits of education when they set the new budget.  Instead of punishing our educators, I would ask them to make a goal of bringing teacher pay up to the nation’s median … 25th is so much better than 46th and falling.

Nancy Scott

Franklin

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To the Editor:

I served on the Waynesville Public Art Commission from 2006 until March of 2011. Public art was a brand new commission at the time, tasked with not only starting a public art collection for the town of Waynesville but raising private funds to purchase the art, setting up all procedures for soliciting proposals from artists, choosing the location and overseeing the installation of the artworks, and writing the manual for the care of the art collection and procedures for de-accession of artworks, either donated or purchased.

Part of all this background work was also establishing a mission statement to guide the procurement of the art: The mission of the Waynesville Public Art Commission is to engage the community and enrich public spaces through original art that celebrates Waynesville’s unique historic, cultural, natural and human resources.

The members of the commission worked for months on the wording of this mission statement with the goal of insuring that Waynesville’s public art collection would be appropriate to an Appalachian mountain community.

I see that this mission statement is still posted on the Town of Waynesville’s website. I respectfully submit a request to the current Public Art Commission members for an explanation as to how the sculpture titled “La Femme” fits the mission statement. Or, has the mission statement been changed?

I can accept the inclusion of Bill Eleazer’s “Chasing Tadpoles” into the collection. As a long-time art teacher at Tuscola High School, Mr. Eleazer had a long association with the community and chasing tadpoles is an activity that can occur right in the middle of town down in Frog Level. Or in Vance Street Park which would be a most appropriate location for this piece.

But a giant, modernistic bust of a woman titled “La Femme”?

I think an explanation is in order.

Kaaren Stoner

Iron Duff

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op frThe Smoky Mountain News published an excellent analysis of the controversy centered on the current legislation called the “Opportunity Scholarship Program” in the Jan. 29 issue (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/12377). SMN Staff Writer Holly Kays presented this material in exemplary form. 

I was particularly struck by the quote that is attributed to Rep. Roger West, our elected official from Marble. He said, “I think anybody that wants to make a decision to go to a private school, they ought to be able to do it, and they ought to be able to recoup what the state allocates for each student.” This seems like a strange system of reasoning to come from a representative who has sworn to uphold the laws of North Carolina (based on our constitution). Since 1789 North Carolina has provided public education opportunities for all of her citizens. Few would claim that the system has been perfect. Few would claim that our elected officials have acted perfectly all of the time. This, unfortunately, is one of those times when a group of elected officials has used very poor judgment. This will entangle state/local agencies and organizations in a costly legal battle to overturn this bad legislation.

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By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

Years have passed since Jack McJunkin’s dog was struck and fatally injured by a car on a Swain County road. But memories of the episode linger.

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Iconic rockers REO Speedwagon will play at 9 p.m. Feb. 14 at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.

Formed in 1967, signed in 1971, and fronted by legendary vocalist Kevin Cronin since 1972, REO Speedwagon is a band whose career will always carry on with music that continues to define excellence in song craftsmanship and brilliant live performance for several generations of fans. Tickets are $40, $55 and $65.

800.745.3000 or www.harrahscherokee.com.

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art dollThe 1960s version of the production “A Doll’s House” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12-15 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 16, in the Hoey Auditorium at Western Carolina University.

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art maconpainterA reception and conversation with artist Lizzy Falcon will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb.13, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Her paintings and sculptures will be on display through February at the library.

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art liddleA “Coffee and Chocolate Reception” and gallery talk with artist Matt Liddle will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Jackson County Public Library Complex in Sylva. 

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art haggardLegendary country singer Merle Haggard will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. Haggard has 40 #1 hits, a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame and countless music awards for songwriting and performing.

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Buy Haywood is collecting listings for an agri-tourism guide to feature produce stands, farmers markets, value-added products with local ingredients and even restaurants that feature locally-grown or raised foods on their menus.

“Find Your Adventure! 2014 Haywood County Agritourism Guide” highlights the rich farming and agricultural heritage of the county. Submit your entry by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, including: 

• Farms that accept visitors.

• Plant nurseries and landscaping businesses with stock propagated in Haywood County.

• Value-added and specialty retail stores featuring products with Haywood County grown ingredients.

• “Farm to Table” restaurants and “local flavor” entertainment spots supporting local products consistently throughout the growing season by featuring Haywood County ingredients in their menu items—including products grown or raised by chefs/restaurants as well as products purchased from local farms/growers and farmer markets.

• Local breweries featuring Haywood County hops or local food items.

• Sites and organizations dedicated to preservation of Haywood County’s rich agriculture heritage

• Farmers markets, roadside stands, tailgates and on-farm markets that sell Haywood County grown/produced products.

• Other farming/agriculture related or educational opportunities

• Local festivals/events with a farming or agriculture related theme.

Contact Tina Masciarelli, Buy Haywood Project Coordinator, at 828.734.9574 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The Western Regional Science and Engineering Fair will bring students from across the region to Western Carolina University on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 5-6.

The theme for this year fair is “Climate Change: What it Means to You.” Science projects created by students will be available for viewing by the public from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day. 

Students in the elementary division will showcase their projects on Feb. 5. Students in the middle and high school division will display their projects Feb. 6. 

Both days will include a 9:15 a.m. presentation titled “From the Mountains to the Sea: What Does Climate Change Mean for Me?” delivered by Karsten Shein, a physical scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville. 

Held at the Ramsey Center. Free.

sciencefair.wcu.edu or 828.227.7397.

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Photography workshop to focus on Appalachian barns

A weekend photography workshop called “The Appalachian Barn Workshop: The Barns of Haywood and Madison Counties” will be held March 28-30 through EarthSong Photography.

Photographer Don McGowan will offer a full day of field work in Madison and Haywood counties, a creative program and a full critique session. Cost is $275, part of which will be a donation to the Appalachian Barn Alliance to help preserve the historic buildings. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Don McGowan at 828.788.0687.

 

Lens Luggers to host photo sharing sessions

The Lens Luggers photography group has begun holding monthly sharing sessions in Waynesville for photographers to talk shop and critique each other’s photos.

The sessions will be held from 6 and 8 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. The first meeting is February 6 and all are invited.

“It’s a great opportunity to pick up some photo tips, take away feedback from fellow photographers and find out which kind of camera and lenses produce the kind of images you want,” said Bob Grytten, the club leader and photography outing leader.

During the informal forum, members will show their images using a digital projector. There will be a Q&A session as well as open discussion. 

www.lensluggerworld.com, 828.627.0245 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

There are three other photography clubs in the area: Carolina Nature Photography Association centered in Asheville, Cold Mountain Photographic Society in Haywood County and the Sylva Photo Club.

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out skinnerA program about birds of prey called “Heads Up for Hunters of the Sky” will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park outside Cherokee.

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out polarplungeMore than 60 brave souls are taking the Polar Plunge challenge by jumping into Lake Junaluska this Saturday, Feb. 1.

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out armadillyRoger Skillman had just finished a hike and was driving home through the Pisgah National Forest in Transylvania County when something caught his eye.

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art wcuA yearlong celebration of Western Carolina University’s 125th anniversary kicked off Thursday, Jan. 23, in Cullowhee.

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