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Superstar comedian George Lopez will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Harrah’s Cherokee. 

Lopez is a multi-talented entertainer whose career encompasses television, film, standup comedy and late-night television. For two seasons, he hosted Lopez Tonight, a late-night television talk show on TBS, which represented Lopez’s return to series television after co-creating, writing, producing and starring in Warner Bros. Television’s groundbreaking hit sitcom “George Lopez,” which ran for six seasons on ABC.

Tickets are $31.50, $40, $46.50 and $57.50.

www.harrahscherokee.com or 800.745.3000.

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art churchstThe 31th annual Church Street Art & Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, on Main Street in downtown Waynesville.

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art bandBluegrass group The Darren Nicholson Band will be performing during the Farm-to-Mug brewery and food event at 4 p.m. Oct. 16 at Walnut Cove Farms in Waynesville.

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art garyThe upcoming celebration of the town of Sylva’s 125th anniversary will feature an array of local storytellers on Oct. 11 at the Lifeway Church in downtown.

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art marchingTwenty-three of the best high school marching bands from five states will compete for honors during the annual Tournament of Champions on Saturday, Oct. 18, in E.J. Whitmire Stadium at Western Carolina University.

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A candidate debate last week between N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and challenger Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, plowed a lot of ground. Education, Medicaid, and fracking were the biggies, but the 90-minute debate ran the gamut, touching on government spending, guns, charter schools, teacher salaries, higher ed, and so much more.

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Twenty years after Aaron Prevost and other community leaders provided the seed money to start the endowment, The Fund for Haywood County has reached a milestone goal by surpassing the $1 million mark.

“In two decades, our Advisory Board has recommended 84 grants to 47 different organizations, totaling just over $690,000,” said George Ivey, the chairman of the Fund’s advisory board, during a recent celebration at Twigs and Leaves Gallery in downtown Waynesville.  “These funds have made a difference in Haywood County.”

The endowment consists of the Prevost Fund — funded by  his estate and now totaling $631,000 — and The Fund for Haywood County, which now stands at $378,000 and has 192 donors to date.  The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) manages both funds.

“In Haywood County, we can recognize  the tremendous impact that one person’s generosity can have. Aaron Prevost understood the value of endowed funds and invested in his community by making a substantial planned gift,” said Elizabeth Brazas, CFWNC President. “These grants, made in partnership with The Community Foundation, support nonprofits working to support people in need, protect our cultural and natural resources, educate children and more.”

Grants from The Fund for Haywood address a wide variety of topics:

• People in Need, including grants to organizations like Mountain Projects, the Habitat Re-Store, and Kids at Work.

• Education projects, including recent funding to help a leadership program for students at Hazelwood Elementary School.

• Cultural resources, including recent improvements to the Folkmoot Friendship Center.

• Food and farming projects, including a Farm-to-School program launched in partnership with the Haywood County School System.

• Natural resources and recreation, like the recent improvements to Graveyard Fields.

For more information about The Fund for Haywood County, contact Chair George Ivey at 828.648.2710. To make a tax-deductible contribution to The Fund for Haywood County, donate on-line at www.cfwnc.org, with a stock gift, or by mail to The Fund for Haywood County, P.O. Box 627, Waynesville, N.C., 28786. Contributions of any size are welcome and will enable the Fund to support more programs with local dollars.

The Community Foundation is a nonprofit serving eighteen counties in Western North Carolina. To learn more about The Community Foundation, call 828.254.4960 or visit www.cfwnc.org.

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Jerry Monroe Berry and his son, Joshua Monroe Berry, of Swain County have been charged with growing marijuana in the Nantahala National Forest. 

According to Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran, a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations aircraft was conducting a routine flyover in Swain County when the plants were spotted. The drug operation was located in the Nantahala National Forest. Afterward, the site was monitored for several weeks by law enforcement authorities 

Officers and agents from the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee Police Department, U.S. Forest Service, SBI, DEA, Cherokee ALE, Cherokee NRE, BATF, U.S. Park Service and North Carolina State Highway Patrol took part in the bust.

Cochran stated that the estimated street value of the plants is approximately $1million.

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fr sylva125The Town of Sylva is celebrating its 125th year since incorporation. To mark the occasion, a slate of activities are planned for Oct. 10-11. The celebration pays homage to the history of the town.

“The activities are all things that would have happened in 1889,” explained Sylva Town Manager Paige Roberson.

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About the race: This used to be a toss-up district, but clever redrawing of voting boundaries by the Republican-led legislature in Raleigh two years ago tipped the scales to the right. The liberal stronghold of Asheville was carved out and shunted it into a different Congressional seat.

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N.C. House of Representatives, seat 118

Is this my state rep? Yes, if you live in Madison and Yancey counties and part of Haywood — namely Canton, Clyde, Bethel, Cruso, Maggie Valley, Jonathan Creek and Crabtree areas.

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Do I vote in this race? Yes, if you live anywhere in the seven western counties.

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A pair of grants from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will help improve water resources in Haywood County. State-wide, $2.2 million was given to 37 projects.

The big one for the Haywood County Soil and Water Conservation District was a $23,948 grant to install a cistern at Open Door Ministries, a soup kitchen and outreach center for the needy located at Frog Level in Waynesville. 

“The patrons can reuse the roof water to grow vegetables which can then be used in the kitchen there,” explained Leslie Smathers, director of Haywood County Soil and Water. 

The district also received $1,500 to work on streambank stabilization along Raccoon Creek. 

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• Ball Creek Road, a U.S. Forest Service road that begins at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and ends at Upper Nantahala Road in Macon County, will be closed through late October for repairs. Storm events in January 2013 caused the need to fix two roadway slides and replace two culverts. 

• Chimney Tops Trail will continue to be closed periodically through Dec. 11 as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park works to finish a three-year trail rehabilitation. The trail will be closed Monday through Thursday until work finishes. The rehabilitation effort is focused on rebuilding the trail with durable stone and rot-resistant black locust to combat erosion damage. 

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Cataloochee hike to feature elk and history

A full-day hike Tuesday, Oct. 14, in the Cataloochee Valley area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will give hikers a chance to experience the mountain roads of 80 years ago — winding routes through thick tree canopy and rhododendron — and finish up the day by viewing a herd of elk. 

This Friends of the Smokies Classic Hike will be lead by hiking guide author Danny Bernstein and will cover 8.7 miles of trail, with a total elevation gain of 1,300 feet. It’s an out-and-back route on Pretty Hollow Gap Trail along Palmer and Pretty Hollow creeks. 

Along with stops to enjoy the scenery of flowing mountain streams, hikers will learn about the history of Cataloochee settlers through historical buildings, cemeteries and stories of the annual family reunions honoring the first homesteading families in the Cataloochee area. Friends of the Smokies uses donations to help maintain many of the buildings there. 

$10 for Friends members or free for those who bring a friend; $35 for non-members with one-year membership included. Registration dollars benefit Smokies Trails Forever program. Carpools will leave from Asheville and Maggie Valley. Register with Anna Lee Zanetti, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.452.0720. 

 

Dinner with elk

It will be dinner and a show in the Cataloochee area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park when the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust embarks on its annual Elk Excursion Thursday, Oct. 9. 

The outing will include a 45-minute presentation from an Elk Bugle Corp volunteer about the elk, which were reintroduced to the area in 2001. Guests will then have a chance to explore the valley for a bit before meeting back up for a tailgate dinner while watching the elk engage in their dramatic mating ritual, known as “the rut.”

During the rut, male elk bugle to attract females and to challenge other bulls, an eerie yet enchanting sound that echoes throughout the valley.

$10 HCLT member; $35 non-members with one-year membership included. Dinner included in price. Space is limited — reservations required. 828.526.1111 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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A lineup of fall interpretive programs is underway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will run through the end of October. From black bears to berries to carbon footprints, the fall programs cover plenty of ground.

 

Sundays

• Longing for the “Good Ol’ Days.” Join a ranger for a walk on the Mountain Farm Museum and learn what life may have been like on an Appalachian mountain farm. 2 p.m., adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

• Junior Ranger: Smoky Mountain Elk. . Learn about the history of the elk through “show and tell” activities, and then stay and watch the elk come into in the fields. 5:30 p.m., Palmer House in Cataloochee Valley. 

Mondays

Welcome Back to the Smokies! 

Join a ranger to hear the stories of reintroduced species within the park, including peregrine falcons, river otters and elk. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch.

Tuesdays

• Do You Have Power? Join a Ranger to learn how to leave a light carbon footprint and help protect the park and planet for future generations. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch. 

Wednesdays

• Forecasting the Future with Mother Nature. Nuts were fair, berries late, with several morning fogs and moon rings in August. Join a ranger to learn what this might mean for the upcoming winter and how people in the past used nature to forecast the seasons. 11 a.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Thursdays

• Black Bears: Big, Smelly and Smart. Discover the ways black bears adapt to their environment and how they prepare for winter. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Fridays

• Myths and Legends of the Cherokee. The lands of the Cherokee once extended through several states within the southeast and included all of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Join a ranger to explore the culture, history and mythology of the Cherokee through storytelling. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Saturdays

• Smoky Mountain Elk. A ranger will take questions about elk and dish on the best places to see them in the park. Hands-on components will reveal how elk stay warm and what it feels like to carry those heavy antlers on your head. 11:30 a.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

828.497.1904

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out troutThere’s a new specialty license plate coming soon: the brook trout plate.

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out batWhite-nosed bat syndrome is marching west, and as a result the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has closed the Whiteoak Sink area between Cades Cove and Townsend through March to keep people from spreading the disease to bats hibernating there. 

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out asia parkCambodia and Thailand might be on the other side of the world from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but they deal with similar resource issues — including plant and wildlife poaching — so the Smokies is reaching out to provide a week of training to 10 female park officials from those southeast Asia countries. 

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out leavesThe outlook for a bright leaf season is improving, as Western Carolina University fearless fall foliage forecaster Kathy Mathews has updated her prediction about the quality of the annual color show, based on changing conditions in the mountains.

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art gingerbreadThe Franklin Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Bakery will offer a How To Create A Gingerbread House seminar at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Underground Franklin Event Center below the bakery.

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art chilifestThe 24th annual Bryson City Chili Cook-Off will be held Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad Depot.

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art sylva125The Town of Sylva will hold its 125th anniversary celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, in downtown.

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art colonialThe historic Colonial Theatre in downtown Canton has been nominated for a Momentum Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association for best musical venue of the year.

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art minickFolk/rock/country singer Chris Minick will perform at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

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op educationBy Jim Hunt • Guest Columnist

Earlier this year, I called for a state commitment to raise teacher pay to the national average in the next four years. It was a bold proposal, but that’s what leaders do. Since that time, teachers got a raise, but what they didn’t get was a commitment. State lawmakers need to go back to the drawing board if they are going to show teachers that they are valued.

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To the Editor:

By this means I thank N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, for presenting the fracking forum in Macon County to afford his constituents the opportunity to at least attend a meeting where Senate Bill 786, the Energy Modernization Act, was discussed. 

The Energy Modernization Act is the overreaching bill that lifts the moratorium on issuing state permits for hydraulic fracturing for gas, or fracking. The law allows companies to start the processes that will lead to fracking with much protection for those who will profit most, little concern for the health and safety of the people who will someday, somehow be impacted, and a callous disregard for the earth that sustains all of us. 

Sen. Davis is proud to have been one of the bill’s sponsors. His constituents were not heard before the law passed. Now the local governments that more directly represent us are rendered powerless in protecting our land and our lives. Our Franklin Board of Aldermen and our Macon County Commission, as well as all other local government units in the state, are prohibited from passing any ordinances “that in any manner are in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions” of SB786.

The Forum was not designed to give attendees information and respond to the valid concerns most people had. The panel consisted of a Lee County Commissioner who is a member and former chairman of the Mining and Energy Commission, a geologist who serves as the science and energy advisor to the N.C. Senate, a Republican senator from Mocksville, and a member of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. This cool-headed lady was the lone voice crying in the wilderness, courageously and vainly trying to balance the distorted rosy picture painted by the other panelists of all the good things that fracking will bring us. Sen. Davis politely gave her the opportunity to respond to each question but this effort at fairness could not mitigate the stacking of the deck three to one. 

As to the other panelists, the MEC member gave a slide presentation that was a slick hard-sell tactic probably similar to what BP used getting permission to drill in the Gulf. The Republican senator must have forgotten where he was because he did not respond to questions but rather delivered one campaign speech after another, complete with family history, his contributions to the welfare of his constituents, promises of good-paying jobs from fracking, and his love of God and country. The only thing missing was babies to kiss. Unfortunately, the clock kept ticking as he kept on stomping. 

The three pro-fracking panelists were not unbiased, honest believers in the merits of fracking but rather zealots with vested interests in convincing the public that fracking would be like manna from heaven. I knew this was true when the geologist compared the potassium that can be one of many unpronounceable and mystery chemicals in the fracking mix to the potassium in our breakfast bananas. And this geologist is a real scientist?

The insult compounding the above injuries was hurled by the MEC member who in a closing rant tried to suggest that being opposed to fracking was unpatriotic and disregarded the lives sacrificed in defending our nation. His words were so hurtful and arrogant that a member of the audience felt compelled to respond even though the public had been barred from making any comments.

Sen. Davis stated that only about 10 percent of the questions submitted had been answered and committed to respond to the rest through his legislative address at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I appreciate his willingness to hear from his constituents though more questions could have been answered if the panelists had been limited to answering the questions and not promoting their personal agendas. What I appreciate most is Sen. Davis’ reminding the public that we still have a voice in expressing our opposition to all the ills associated with fracking. He reminded us of his support for SB786 and that he is running for reelection this November. Our voices can speak loud and clear at the ballot box.

Olga F. Pader

Franklin

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To the Editor:

The letter writer on fracking in the Sept. 17-23 issue of The Smoky Mountain News appears to have been influenced by the bombastic and fictional style of the extreme right. He begins by demeaning those who are critical of fracking and suggests they are un-American. 

The truth is that fracking and the related drilling have been shown to cause contamination of ground water and earthquakes in at least three different states. Some of these effects are noted as much as 15 to 20 miles from the drilling site. Concerns about fracking are neither “hysterical” nor “unpatriotic” as the writer asserts. The concerns are based on facts, not propaganda of oil and gas companies.

Hysteria did not “prevent” development of nuclear power. The valid environmental concerns (Three Mile Island in the U.S., Chernobyl in Russia) and costs of not just safe construction of plants but also disposal of nuclear wastes caused nuclear energy to be economically uncompetitive. Maybe the writer would volunteer to store some nuclear wastes in his basement since the government can’t seem to find a place to put it.

The writer claimed that “… someone would go insane …” from the noise wind farms generate. I have actually visited a wind farm in Illinois some years ago and did not hear any bothersome or even noticeable noise from the big turbines. Maybe the writer should visit such a farm, or maybe his hearing is more acute.

The discussion needs more facts and less ad hominem attacks.  

Norman G. Hoffman, Ph.D.

Waynesville

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To the Editor:

Although Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, and his fellow Republicans Sen.  Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, like to tout their $1 billion increase in funding for public education, they have little to say about how little of that money actually reaches the classroom. 

Funding for textbooks has remained at around $23 million for the past three years, a considerable drop from the $111 million allocated in the 2009-10 fiscal year. That means that school districts now receive $14.26 per student as opposed to the $67.15 they received some six years ago. The result is that in many districts students are no longer issued textbooks; rather there are class sets, which must remain in the classroom, and many of these are held together by duct tape. 

In 2017 when state funding shifts to digital textbooks, this issue will not fade away. According to June Atkinson, state superintendent of public instruction, it will take approximately $75 million to provide the necessary computers or electronic tablets. Add to that the cost of software. This shift assumes, of course, that students have access to the Internet at home. If not, will we find students and their parents clustered at Starbucks or McDonalds where free wi-fi makes completing homework possible.

Despite an increase of 43,700 students since 2008-09,  the funding for classroom activities (which includes textbooks) has declined by $1 billion, according to Philip Price, CFO for the Department of Public Instruction. So what Tillis and the Republicans in the state House have given with one hand, they have taken away with the other. On Nov. 4, we should tell them that textbooks do matter.

Lynda Self

Waynesville

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To the Editor:

As someone with 25-plus years of experience in water and wastewater equipment design, manufacture and installation, I can guarantee that 100 percent of fracked wells will fail at some point in the future and they will release their residual gases and chemicals into our air, water and on our land. All well casings are made with carbon steel, and that material rusts and corrodes upon contact with dissimilar minerals (metals) and moisture. No fracked well is safe, so we are putting millions of wells throughout the USA and our environment at risk along with our precious drinking water and our air quality while transferring this liability to the landowners and their heirs since the fracking companies will be long gone with their profits.

 We need to stop fracking and evaluate this serious threat. If terrorists began injecting these chemicals into our lands, we would be at war. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, co-authored this fracking bill and all Republicans including our governor approved it without apparent long-term oversight or concern for the people. Perhaps it is time to send a message this November that people and their property rights should come before profits.

Larry Stenger

Franklin

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Chopping, sawing, axe throwing, tree climbing, log rolling and more will be on tap during an intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Cradle of Forestry in America.

Haywood Community College’s famous Timbersports Team will be one of six teams to compete. 

The first half of the day will day will include dendrology, team log roll, orienteering, water boil, log toss, tree identification and archery.

After lunch, some of the more hardcore timbersports will begin, with events ranging from the axe throw to the horizontal speed chop to cross-cut sawing to the pole climb. Activities will run from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by a BBQ dinner.

 Last year’s HCC Timbersports Team made it to the mid-Atlantic meet, with team member Logan Hawks taking third place in the nation for the STIHL Timbersports Series Collegiate Lumberjack Competition. 

HCC has a long lineage of top timbersports teams.

Check out the full schedule at www.haywood.edu/news/hcc_to_participate_in_john_g_palmer_intercollegiate_woodsmens_meet_at_forest_festival_day

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The Cradle of Forestry’s Forest Festival Day will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.

More than 80 traditional craftsmen, exhibitors and forestry students will be on site sharing demonstrations of old-timey and outdoor skills, such as whittling, woodcarving, candle making, wood turning, fly fishing and tying, falconry and creating cornhusk dolls. 

The festival celebrates the Cradle’s status as the birthplace of forestry in America. Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck, forester for George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate from 1895 to 1909, founded America’s first forestry school in 1898 and used the present Cradle of Forestry area as its summer campus. At that time the word “forestry” was a vague and new idea in the U.S.

$6 ages 16 and older; $3 youth 4 to 15 and holders of America the Beautiful and Golden Age passes; free for children under 4. Located 4 miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway on U.S. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest, 25 miles from Waynesville. 

www.cradleofforestry.com or 828.877.3130.

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out signingEd Zahniser, son of the man who was widely regarded as the father of the Wilderness Act, will speak at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 as the keynote speaker of a Wilderness Act celebration at Sugarlands Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The celebration will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and conclude with a hike the following morning. 

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out NOC2Outdoor USA Magazine named Nantahala Outdoor Center, located outside Bryson City, as one of the top 100 outdoor specialty retailers in the United States in its September issue. Nominations were judged on outstanding work and entrepreneurial drive, and they were submitted by brands and distributors.

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The Appalachian Trail Conservancy recently recognized a passel of Franklin businesses and organizations for their support of the Appalachian Trail, naming them AT. Community Supporters for helping out the hiking community, the ATC or the trail itself. Recipients were:

• Three Eagles Outfitters, a hiking and camping outfitter that offers hikers discounts, Internet service, a coffee bar and lounge, in-town shuttles to the store and a free mail drop service.

• The Franklin Chamber of Commerce, which has helped build public awareness about the resources and economic opportunity inherent in the AT’s proximity to Franklin. The chamber highlights Franklin’s status as an AT Community in its Newcomers Guide, where it also prints AT hike information, and the chamber houses an AT display in its building. 

• Outdoor 76, an outdoor supply store downtown that leads hikes on the AT. The store serves 1,000 to 1,500 thru-hikers each year and its owners are members of the AT Community Committee. 

• First Baptist Church of Franklin, which serves a free hiker breakfast for four weeks each spring, last year feeding more than 800 hikers. The church also takes a photo of each hiker and mails it to their home, along with a written note. 

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out rainy5KAs the weather cools down, the competitive edge will be heating up in the running communities of Western North Carolina over the next few weeks. Push your limits with a fall race in your community. 

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art elemenopeaA comedy set in Martha’s Vineyard that explores a wealthy world of infinity pools, Bentleys and yacht clubs with men in pink pants, “Elemeno Pea” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1-3 and at 3 p.m. Oct. 4 in Hoey Auditorium at Western Carolina University.

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art colorfestThe 6th Annual ColorFest: Dillsboro Fine Arts & Crafts Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, in downtown Dillsboro.

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art printmakingFrank Brannon, Jr., proprietor of SpeakEasy Press in Dillsboro, will present “How to Make and Print Photopolymer Plates” for Art League of the Smokies at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City.

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art tastesylvaFeaturing local food, music and children’s activities, the 5th annual Taste of Sylva culinary tour will run from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, in downtown Sylva restaurants and in the pavilion at McGuire Gardens on West Main Street.

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art barnarooThe 5th annual Barnaroo fall music festival will be held Oct. 4 at Franny’s Farm in Leicester. 

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Acclaimed singer-songwriter Claire Lynch will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, at Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley.

Long recognized and praised as a creative force in acoustic music, Lynch is a pioneer who continually pushes the boundaries of the bluegrass genre. She is the reigning 2013 Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and a 2012 recipient of the United States Artists Walker Fellowship. Her career has been decorated with many other accolades, including two Grammy nominations and previous IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards in 2010 and 1997.

Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Tickets, which include dinner and the performance, are $60, and reservations are required. 

828.926.1401.

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Acclaimed bluegrass/gospel group Balsam Range will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the Colonial Theatre in Canton. The concert is part of the Homegrown in Haywood series being put on by the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, an initiative within the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at 828.298.5330 (Ext. 303) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.blueridgeheritage.com.

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Country megastar Jake Owen will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Harrah’s Cherokee.

Tickets are $45 and $55.

800.745.3000 or www.harrahscherokee.com. 

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To the Editor:

Ironically, the executive director of an organization named for the sacrificial bird used in mining operations endorses wind and solar power.

Is he aware, for example, that California’s Ivanpah solar generating plant is routinely incinerating small birds and setting the feathers of larger birds on fire, as well as blinding them? The YouTube videos are simply mesmerizing.

He cannot be unaware that wind turbines are decimating raptors and other canary kin, not to mention the well documented problems regarding sleep disorders in humans and reduced home values.

Someone enlighten me. Is the Canary Coalition pro or anti-canary? To me, it’s reminiscent of the Twilight Zone episode, “To Serve Man.”

Without a “smidgen’”of evidence, Mr. Friedman states, “Wind energy is the least expensive energy option available today.” Somebody better tell the Danes. They are the leaders in wind energy and they pay 40 cents per kilowatt hour.

Nowhere does he address reliability which cannot be provided by solar or wind. If it’s cold and dark, just wait for the sun to rise or the wind to blow. And wait.

Most astonishingly of all, he offers geothermal to allay the concerns of the anti-fracking crowd. Now, I admit drilling holes for exploration, setting off explosions to map the underground landscape with seismic waves, disposing wastewater and enduring earthquakes should concern everyone. Why is he not making us aware that each of these concerns exists in geothermal activities, not just shale fracking?

It may be true, as Mr. Friedman states, “extracting natural gas from the ground results in substantial leakage of raw, unburned methane into the atmosphere.” What he conveniently does not state is that carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulphide and ammonia are also released in geothermal drilling. Why does he omit those relevant details?

Claud Mandil, former head of the International Energy Agency, a promoter of alternate energy sources, states, “Every type of traditional geothermal drilling can include fracking because of the need to ensure enough water circulates and gets heated.... The risks of provoking seismic activity or water pollution are the same.”  

He further states, “Talk of geothermal and fracking is being hushed up so as not to provoke an outcry. There may be some acceptance of it for geothermal because that energy is renewable.”

Geothermal may actually be worse because different and more difficult techniques must be used to plug the wells and they must be engineered for hotter temperatures and higher water flow.

Douglas Hollett, head of the DOE’s geothermal technologies office states,“The key is learning how to do it in a reliable way, in a responsible way.” When similar statements are made by shale fracking advocates they are routinely ridiculed by opponents.

When two competing energy sources exist and the negatives that apply to both of them are identical and equivalent, but one source is vilified while the other is glorified; ask yourself who benefits.

Mr. Friedman offers up Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute as the efficiency wizard whose ideas we should embrace. Lovins is a leading advocate of geothermal energy. His tax-exempt organization receives $15 million in grants and he receives $750,000 in compensation.

I think we have our answer.

Timothy Van Eck

Whittier

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To the Editor:

The deed to the Nikwasi Mound states that, “the mound shall be preserved for the citizens of Macon County and for posterity, and the same shall be kept as it now stands and shall not be excavated, explored, altered, or impaired in any way or used for any commercial purpose, and shall be kept as a monument to the early history of Macon County ....”

Furthermore, “any deed, lease or other contract which in any way may interfere with the objects and purposes of this instrument as above set forth shall be null and void, and should the Town of Franklin at any time fail to carry out the provisions of this instrument, then any citizen of Macon County shall have the right to apply to the Court for injunctive relief and to prosecute said action in their own behalf and in behalf of all other citizens of Macon County.”

Bottom line is that the Nikwasi Mound has been preserved and well maintained for over a half century by the Town of Franklin until a year or so ago when a Town of Franklin power struggle heated up among the mayor, vice mayor, and aldermen, and the mound became a handy bone of contention, a visible way to politically squabble for power and control, and the citizens of Macon County have a vested interest in the mound, a cultural and financial stake in the mound as per the legal deed that describes the preservation and maintenance of mound for “the citizens of Macon County.”

This current brouhaha is not just a political power struggle that the Macon County Commissioners can discount, wash their hands of, and kick the ball to the Franklin Town Board to deal with as a play toy for governance issues. The mound, in the legal care of the Town of Franklin since the 1940s, belongs to all of us, the citizens of Macon County. Simple as that.

Betty Cloer Wallace

Franklin

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To the Editor:

We have chosen war yet again because we have deemed someone else’s behavior to be barbaric; in this latest case, it is against ISIS. I agree: beheading civilians is barbaric. Here are some other things I find barbaric.

 It’s barbaric to refer to Afghan civilians killed by U.S. bombs as “collateral damage” rather than “civilian casualties” and consequently to ignore loss of civilian life. It’s barbaric to arbitrarily declare all military-age males killed in drone strikes as “enemy combatants” and consequently to ignore loss of civilian life.

It’s barbaric to send men and women off to war to be physically or mentally maimed and then ignore their needs when they return home. It’s barbaric that 22 veterans commit suicide every day, while mental health care continues to be largely unavailable. It’s barbaric that veterans die while waiting for medical treatment. It’s barbaric that more than one in four women who join the military will be sexually assaulted during their careers.

It’s barbaric that we always have enough money for prisons but not for schools. It’s barbaric that one woman in four will experience domestic violence. It’s barbaric that a report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds. It’s barbaric that aborted children are referred to as “pregnancy terminations.”

It’s barbaric to be so addicted to fossil fuels that we manufacture not only the weapons of war but the justifications for war. It’s barbaric to believe that violence does anything other than beget more violence.

Lisa Bacon

Sylva 

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To the Editor:

Since they took over control of the North Carolina Legislature, there has been a great cry among Republican ranks to get our fiscal house in order. They have cut spending on schools, they have cut spending on health care, and they have frozen government hiring for much of their term in office …. well, with a few exceptions of friends of the governor. In the process, these guys got into bed with energy companies and decided that fracking — the energy recovery process that has polluted much of the Southwest and Northeast — is a good idea for North Carolina. Our own state senator describes this as the new “… energy revolution.” He says that with a smile.     

Democrats, now a minority in the legislature, protested the blocking of the Affordable Healthcare Act. Democrats railed against the real cuts to education and voted against a sham raise for teachers. And Democrats came down against fracking in the state, along with a lot of Republican citizens who recognize this as a bomb under our bed.

Rarely have citizens of North Carolina had such a clear-cut choice in an election. We can choose to elect people who are driven by money, or we can choose to elect people who are concerned about the wellbeing of citizens and our environment.

What does your conscience tell you to choose?

Rick Bryson

Bryson City    

Comment

To the Editor:

A candidate for the county commission wants to cut your taxes. That is the basis for his whole campaign. He will save you money. It is an excellent bumper sticker and campaign slogan. For Tea Party types, that is all they need to know, he has their vote.

But what does that slogan really mean for Macon County? By any estimate we already have the lowest ad-valorem  property tax rate of the 100 counties in North Carolina. Does that mean that if elected he would cut school funding, the county sheriff, ball parks, medical services or any of the other many services that make this county a wonderful place to live. Of course none of that matters; the only important goal is to pay as little tax as possible because it is my money.

True conservatives would look at the county balance sheet and think what is good for the county and the people in it. They would see a new dialysis center as a way to preserve the lives of local residents. They would see aid to local schools as a way to maintain our local values. They would see road improvements as a way to help local business. They would see money spent on local social services as a way to keep local families together and protect our children. In other words, they would see past their personal bank accounts to become part of the community that they want to preserve.

We live on one of the best counties in one of the best states in this wonderful country. Anyone who threatens that will not have my vote.

Louise Vitale

Franklin

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op granvilleTo the Editor:

I have read with interest the original article by George Ellison questioning the account that Granville Calhoun has provided about the trip of Horace Kephart to Hazel Creek in 1904 and the response made to that article by Granville’s great niece Gwen Franks Breese and Mr. Ellison’s response to her letter. Quite frankly I am appalled by Mr. Ellison’s largely unsupported position that the story related by Mr. Calhoun was false.

Comment

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