The Trail of Tears Memorial Walk will take place 9:30 a.m. Oct. 6 beginning at the Cherokee Historical Association building and ending at the Oconaluftee Indian Village.

Registration forms are available at the main office of the Cherokee Historical Association. Pre-registration fee is $10, while participants 12 and younger are free.

Parking will be available at the Oconaluftee Indian Village and the Cherokee Transit will provide shuttle service to the start of the event. Light breakfast and refreshments will be provided.

828.497.2111

Dr. Lisa Verges, a geriatric psychiatrist and head of the new MemoryCare satellite clinic, will host a grand opening reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center on Elmwood Way in Waynesville.

MemoryCare is a nonprofit organization aimed at serving individuals with memory impairment and their families.

Presentations will begin at 5:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served. RSVP.

www.memorycare.org or 828.771.2219.

A sexual assault survivor who founded a national organization centered on shattering the silence of sexual violence will be the featured speaker at Western Carolina University’s annual “Take Back the Night” event on Sept. 26.

Angela Rose, executive director of Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, will speak at 7 p.m. in the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center. After her remarks, attendees will march across campus.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.2617.

“Coats for Kids” is hosting a coat drive in Jackson County through the end of September.

Cullowhee United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church of Sylva, Walmart in Sylva and Pathways Thrift Store are accepting good-condition used, as well as new, children’s fall and winter items. New socks and underwear should be in its original packaging.

Sizes of donations can range from baby sizes all the way up to items that would fit an 18-year-old adult.

Distribution day will be from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 6 in the fellowship hall at First Presbyterian Church of Sylva, for any parents or guardians who would like items for their children.

Monetary or clothing donations can also be mailed or made out to Cullowhee United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 1267, Cullowhee, NC 28723. Please be sure to write “Coats for Kids” on the memo line.

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

North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges awarded Southwestern Community College a grant of $29,000 for an English Literacy and Civics Education project.

To become American and work successfully, adults must be able to read, write, speak and listen to English.

The civics class is offered on the Jackson campus from 8:30-11:30 a.m. every Monday and citizenship class is offered from 8:30-11:30 a.m. every Wednesday. The classes run until mid-December.

The college also offers free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes through their Educational Opportunities Department. These non-credit courses are free for students.

828.339.4262 or visit www.southwesterncc.edu.

Old Town Bank will mark its new headquarters with a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. Sept. 24 in Waynesville across from Super Walmart on South Main St.

The event is free and open to the public. It will mark the first site along South Main to be redeveloped since Super Walmart moved in and since the town passed its master plan for the corridor.

Southwestern Community College officially dedicated a new $8.8 million building on its main campus in Sylva last week. The building was built with a majority of state money but also a large contribution by Jackson County.

When most of us here in Western North Carolina go for a hike on the Appalachian Trail, hunt or fish in the national forest, enjoy a scenic drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, or visit the Carl Sandburg Home, we do not normally stop to think about how such opportunities were created or paid for.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Haywood County commissioners are currently ensnarled in bidding wars for two separate properties that will cost them more than $1.2 million.

Commissioners have been trying to obtain a 22-acre tract of land near Jonathan Creek for a recreation park. The decision to make that purchase, announced more than a month ago, proved to be more time-consuming than the county had hoped.

Since North Carolina is having such a hard time finding enough teachers, one place education leaders might look for help seems obvious — lottery proceeds. As the state pores over information from the first full year of the gambling games in North Carolina, this is one area that deserves consideration.

By Michael Beadle

Several years ago, Haywood Arts Regional Theatre’s executive director Steve Lloyd confided in fellow actors that he’d never get the chance to do the Broadway smash “West Side Story.” There just weren’t enough young actors available who could sing and dance and act in a musical of that caliber.

By Michael Beadle

Local cyclists can rest assured that one of the region’s longest-running bicycle shops will be around for years to come as road biking and mountain biking continue to grow in popularity in Western North Carolina.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

The big race to watch in this year’s Waynesville town elections is between Alderman Gavin A. Brown and incumbent Mayor Henry Foy, with Foy vying to keep his office while Brown attempts to unseat him.

I am a firm believer that the world would be a much better place if everyone just grew tomatoes.

This thought came to me the other night; I was making pizza for the family and wished I had some fresh tomatoes to slice for the topping. Earlier that day I was working in the garden admiring my tomato plants, the small green fruits were no larger than golf balls, and I was already anticipating the harvest of my first juicy, red ripe tomato.

By Chris Cooper

Through the last few “Play For Peace” extravaganzas I’ve been lucky enough to meet and perform with some musicians I might not have had the opportunity to otherwise. Having studied, poked and prodded Sylva’s little microcosm of a music scene over the years, I’ve attended many more shows than I’ve actually participated in, something most of my closer friends have graciously tolerated me whining about somewhat incessantly. “Oh, woe is me, always a bridesmaid, never a guitarist...” it would go, ad infinitum, with much eye-rolling and self conscious gnashing of teeth. “If only I could get out there and play some rock and roll, then everybody would know I wasn’t totally full of... myself.” I mean, Mark Knopfler was a music writer back in the day, and he doesn’t suck, right?

By Linda Watson • Guest Columnist

Recently, a member of my family was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease at Duke University. This diagnosis came after a nightmarish struggle to obtain proper diagnosis from local and regional physicians, all of whom (without exception) diagnosed her as having an anxiety disorder, prescribing anti-depressants. These medications only made matters worse and did nothing to advance a careful and thoughtful diagnosis.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Entire half hours dedicated to finding a parking space. Cars backing into each other. Employees and customers with nowhere to park. The parking situation in Bryson City is reaching crisis levels, and local business owners are pleading for the town to help them.

By Joe Hooten

As I was barreling down Interstate 40, racing to make it to Asheville in time to see the fifth concert in a nine-show residency put on by the Smashing Pumpkins at one of the South’s finest venues, the Orange Peel, I hesitantly reached into my glove compartment to find my map. I slowly unfolded the aged paper with some lingering anxiety and felt compelled to double-check to see if my favorite mountain metropolis was still there.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Canceling the public hearing on the North Shore Road couldn’t shake the unwavering determination of almost 125 people who packed a Swain County courtroom Monday night to share their thoughts and opinions on the issue.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has known it needed a new visitors center on the North Carolina side of the park since the early 1980s. Finally, it appears the nation’s most-visited national park is going to get one, and the communities surrounding the park should be glad the time has finally come.

By Arthur Hancock • Guest Columnist

With 70 percent of Americans now disapproving of the way George W. Bush is doing his job, maybe a little soul-searching on the part of the now-disillusioned Bush supporter is in order. “How could I have ever voted for this guy?” seems a good starting point. More specific questions might include, “How could I have ever imagined Bush to be capable, honest, compassionate, Christian and in his right mind?”

By Michael Beadle

More acid rain and invasive insect pests. Fewer trout in mountain streams. More “code red” days with poor air quality and less visibility.

These are some of the dangers threatening the Great Smoky Mountains National Park if efforts aren’t made now to curb toxic chemicals from spewing into the earth’s atmosphere.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

A proposed project by Ingles to expand its Waynesville store and add a gas station suffered a setback after parts of it were soundly rejected by members of the Community Appearance Commission.

By David Curtis

The cows ate my corn. My corn is Silver Queen sweet corn. It’s an 80-day corn, which means that in approximately 80 days from the date you plant it your corn should be ready to pick and eat. That’s of course if the cows don’t beat you to it.

Guide to William Bartram’s Travels

There are guidebooks and then there are GUIDEBOOKS. If you’re a Bartram junkie as I have become, following the travels of America’s first great naturalist who came through Western North Carolina for a brief stint in the spring of 1775, you’ll find Brad Sanders’ book to be a modern-day treasure that takes you through the science, history and people of Bartram’s travels. With easy-to-follow maps, photographs, neatly organized biographies and well-written narratives, the book is a must for anyone who wants to learn more about the natural beauty of the Southeast from the Carolinas to Florida and east to Mississippi and Louisiana. At 371 pages, the book is a thoroughly researched supplement to Bartram’s Travels. You get a wonderful tour of the forests, lakes, historic homes and parks that dot the miles where Bartram passed through in his late 18th century travels.

By Chris Cooper

Finding a line between respecting the bluegrass form and tradition, while gently pushing its boundaries, is a tough row to hoe, for sure. Only a handful of groups are able to really pull this off — Mountain Heart and Railroad Earth make the list easily, the former’s effort from last year being one of the most enjoyable listens to come down the “newgrass” pipeline in a long while. But my money, and most people’s I’d imagine, is on the Steep Canyon Rangers, an almost unfairly talented band of regional players whose previous recording, One Dime At A Time, attached a veritable turbo-booster to their already rapidly climbing rocket to the very heights of the bluegrass elite.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Supporters of a 30-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that would fulfill a decades-old promise were thrilled last month when the Swain County commissioners agreed to hold the first-ever public hearing on the issue.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Haywood County commissioners last week put a halt to their bidding for a 22-acre tract of land in Jonathan Creek after opposing parties skyrocketed the price to more than $1 million.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Waynesville voters will have plenty of choices on their ballot for mayor and town board this fall in what is shaping up to be both an interesting and crowded race.

Competition for the Waynesville town board has ramped up significantly compared to the past two election cycles, which saw little opposition. There are a dozen candidates running for five seats. Candidates have come out of the woodwork to run for a variety of reasons.

By John Hood • Guest Columnist

The North Carolina General Assembly seems poised to enact a new $300 million tax increase on North Carolinians this year, even though the tax burden has risen nearly every year since 2001.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Hispanic culture has infused nearly every aspect of American life — from restaurants to bilingual education, its influence is impossible to ignore. Yet, much to their detriment, many businesses in Western North Carolina are ignoring the growing influence and prosperity of the Hispanic community.

• Bryson City recently conserved the old Lands Creek watershed, getting $1.5 million from the Clean Water trust fund to protect the 800-acre tract and $500,000 from a private donor. Bryson City’s conservation agreement allows hiking, hunting, fishing, picnicking, horseback riding and camping. It does not specifically mention mountain biking, but doesn’t outlaw it either.

By Marshall Frank

As of this writing, five presidential debates — three Republican and two Democratic — have been held, ostensibly offering the American people a chance at learning the positions of each candidate and to evaluate their presidential gravitas. This is one voter who is extremely disappointed. Here are 10 reasons why:

The voters of Forest Hills will get the chance to weigh in on their preference for mayor this fall after being trumped by a coin toss in the last election.

By Chris Cooper

It’s warm out, people are out wandering the streets later in the evening, guitars clang and drums echo off the building’s facades with each opening and closing of one bar’s doors whilst the occasional chime of a flat-top guitar lingers in the air above a deck at the other end of the street — ah, ‘tis the season for a new batch of local and regional artists to pass through Sylva, bearing gifts of DIY recordings and live music. Up this week is the delicate folk/pop of Hannah Levin, eccentric pop offerings from Dylan Gilbert and some finely crafted retro/roots/indie rock from Hickory’s Israel Darling.

A coin toss.

That’s what decided the race for mayor two years ago in the Jackson County town of Forest Hills. It was an election that featured an evenly divided electorate and ended with the kind of flair usually found in theaters. It was also a great example of just how close local elections can be, where in this case just one voter could have tipped the scale to one of the candidates.

There are two ways to hike to Pinnacle Peak, renowned for its 360-degree views from the Plott Balsams.

Option one: This route climbs steeply up the face of the mountain. Head north out of town on the Old Asheville Highway (the road that parallels Scotts Creek). Make a left on Fisher Creek Road a short distance out of town. The road gets rough and steep, but keep going until it dead-ends at the trail head.

Canton

Two weeks ago this Thursday my husband and I moved to Canton. Anyone who’s been in the area for any length of time and knows Canton for its reputed odor automatically reacts with surprise and a sense of almost compassion as they say, “Oh... Can you smell the mill?” In all honesty, no — we can’t. We’re upwind, on a bit of a hill and it’s only on the most overcast of days that we even get a whiff. This is despite the fact that we can see the mill just out the window and hear it at night when it seems to kick things up a notch. The mill churns along seemingly to say “Quick! Everyone’s asleep – make some paper, make some paper!” before returning to its day time pace and happily belching out steam like a cumulus cloud factory.

Cherokee Middle School students have been getting a dose of hands-on science in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this summer.

Students in the Cherokee Science Investigation camp highlighted some of the exciting biological research that is occurring in the Smokies. The camp allows students to work with park rangers and researchers in the park.

The steep slopes of the Fisher Creek watershed provided drinking water to the town of Sylva for many decades, from the 1920s until the early ‘90s. Spanning 1,100 acres on the Plott Balsams north of town, the watershed was off-limits to recreation during its days as a drinking water source.

I really don’t think we are as stupid as they think we are. Developers of commercial retail shopping centers have an unfounded hang up about planting trees in front of, or in the parking lot of, shopping centers being developed. Or in the case of the Ingles on Russ Avenue in Waynesville, incorporating the use of trees into the plans for a 16,000-square-foot proposed expansion.

The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust and John Warren will lead an Eco Tour to Timber Ridge, part of the Warren Estate conservation easement near Highlands, on Sept. 20. Eco tours are $35 for new friends of the land trust and include a guided tour, lunch and an HCLT membership.

The 15th annual Kids in the Creek program for Haywood County eighth-graders will be held Sept.17-19 at the Canton Recreation Park.

Trout fishermen from across the country will convene in Asheville this weekend for the Trout Unlimited annual conference Sept. 14-16.

Friday’s speakers and conference topics will focus on Trout Unlimited current initiatives and projects around the nation. Saturday will focus on major environmental issues facing the country that have implications for trout populations, with a primary focus on energy policy. Since trout need cool water to survive, global warming could affect some brook trout populations. Fracking and mining are also on the agenda.

To kick-off the conference on Thursday, a conservation tour will showcase success stories of brook trout restoration and watershed renewal.

The tour will venture to Graveyard Fields along the Blue Ridge Parkway, where a stem of the upper Pigeon hosts a healthy population of brook trout thanks to efforts to preserve the genetically-unique Southern Appalachian strain and restoration of native habitats. The tour will also stop at Lake Logan at the base of Cold Mountain in Haywood County, also a conservation success story, to enjoy a little fishing. On Wednesday, conference goers arriving early will take in some fly-fishing on local rivers, including a fishing trip on the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County and West Fork of the Pigeon in Haywood County. For more information on joining in on some or all of the programs, go to www.tu.org/events/2012-annual-meeting.

Farms across Western North Carolina will welcome the public to traipse through their fields, barns and greenhouses during the annual Farm Tour put on by Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Sept. 22-23.

The self-guided tour offers a chance for locals and visitors alike to learn how food grows, taste farm-fresh products, interact with farm animals, and meet the community’s food producers.

There are a whopping 35 farms on the tour in several counties. Along with the standard small vegetable farmers, there are several specialty farms, including apple orchards, vineyards, blueberry farms, organic meat, bee farms and herb gardens including Sunburst Trout in Haywood County.

Passes are $25 per carload in advance. For more information, go to www.asapconnections.org.

ASAP plans to launch a new local food app, entitled Appalachian Grown and modeled after their Local Food Guide, just before the big event. The app will connect folks with area farms and businesses that support local food.

Volunteers will rescue creeks and rivers from a tangle of accumulated trash that builds up along the banks and in the water during the upcoming Big Sweep. Now in its 25th year, all 50 states and more than 90 countries participate in the all-volunteer Big Sweep effort.

In Haywood County, the Big Sweep will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, along Richland Creek in Waynesville, led by Haywood Community College students in the Natural Resources Department and the Haywood Waterways Association.

Haywood Waterways is also coordinating volunteers to take on creeks and streams in their own neck of the woods that same day.

“Big Sweep is a great way to get involved with an event that has a huge impact on water quality in Haywood County and meet your Adopt-A-Stream commitment to do that yearly cleanup of your adopted waterway,” said Christine O’Brien, coordinator for Haywood Waterways.

To learn more about forming a Big Sweep team, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 828.226.8565.

To join the Richland Creek team led by HCC students, meet at 9 a.m. in the Bi-Lo’s Grocery Store parking lot off Russ Avenue to divide into teams. 828.627.4564.

• The Big Sweep in Jackson County will be Oct. 6 along the Tuckasegee River. 828.508.3377.

• The Big Sweep in Swain County will be Oct. 6. 828.488.8803.

• The Big Sweep in Macon County was held in August.

National Hunting and Fishing Day will be celebrated with family-oriented outdoor events at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 22.

Hands-on, interactive exhibits and demonstrations give participants a chance to try their own hand at fishing, outdoor cooking, archery and pellet rifle range.

It is one of several events statewide sponsored by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission that day.

Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education is located off U.S. 276 in Transylvania County, south of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Free. 828.877.4423.

An outbreak of a disease spread by biting gnats has turned up deer populations in several foothill counties.

The adventure stories of several Jackson County residents is the subject of a new collection of exhibits and a program at 7 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the Jackson County Library in Sylva.

The inaugural Tuckasegee River Festival — “Fiddler on the River” — is sponsored by the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River and will be held from 2-6 p.m. on Sept. 16 at the Dillsboro Inn.

Surrounded by three river front parks, the Dillsboro Inn will serve as the base camp for viewing, learning and celebrating the redevelopment of the Tuckasegee Dam removal. The family oriented event will begin with a hot dog picnic lunch ($5 a plate) and bake sale benefit/WATR membership drive. There will also be optional hikes on the Discovery Trails at Monteith Farmstead Park and then a concert by the New Broad River Band from Asheville.

The Tuckasegee River watershed supplies the drinking water and ecosystem foundation for Swain and Jackson counties. WATR is a grassroots organization working to improve the water quality and habitat of the Tuckasegee River Basin.  

“What happens upstream, downstream and all around the watershed impacts all of us directly,” says WATR Executive Director Roger Clapp.

WATR’s three focus areas are education, stewardship and recreation. The new riverfront parks and the Monteith Homestead total 30 acres, and good stewardship of these areas is one of WATR’s areas of emphasis.

“We are looking for volunteers and donations to help with this beneficial service to the community,” said T.J. Walker, a member of WATR.

828.507.9144 or www.watrnc.org.