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The Cherokee Runners Organization is seeking sponsors for its first Cherokee Runners Moonlight Race 5K Run/Walk, which will take place on Monday, July 4.
The event will coincide with the tribe’s Fourth of July celebration and fireworks. The race will help fund the Cherokee Runners Summer Running Camp, and 20 percent of entry fees will be donated to the Cherokee Special Olympics.
There are several levels of sponsorship, ranging from “Friends of the Cherokee Runners Classic” ($25 donation) to a “Title Sponsorship” ($500 donation). Each level includes event day recognition and at least one complimentary race entry.
The Cherokee Runners Organization started in March of 2010 as an informal group of runners ranging from amateur to elite. After forming friendships and becoming a support for one another they decided to form a club. They welcome runners, friends of runners, visitors, beginning runners and walkers of all levels.
www.cherokeerunners.com, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A workshop on preparing shiitake or oyster mushroom long will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, at the Cashiers Community Library.
Participants will learn to prepare a shitake or oyster mushroom log and can take a log home with them to start growing. The cost is $10 per log with a maximum of three logs per person.
To register or for more information call 828.743.0215
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park will celebrate its fifth-annual National Junior Ranger Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, with special activities at Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee.
Activities planned will range from ranger-guided walks and programs to making dinner bells at a blacksmith shop. Making historic toys, cornhusk dolls, and visiting touch tables with animal skins, skulls and scat are a few of the other natural and cultural opportunities available.
Children can “earn” their Junior Ranger badge by completing three of the specially planned activities. A Junior Ranger booklet is also available for those who would like to explore the park in more depth. The Junior Ranger booklets, produced in cooperation with Great Smoky Mountains Association, can be purchased for $2.50 each at park visitor centers.
National Junior Ranger Day is a special event for National Park Week, celebrated this year between April 16 and 24. National Park Week is an annual president-proclaimed week for celebration and recognition of National Parks. This year’s theme is “Healthy Parks, Healthy People.
The Friends of Panthertown and the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust will hold a clean-up day along trails in Panthertown Valley at 11 a.m. on April 15.
Panthertown Valley, often called the Yosemite of the East, is part of the Nantahala National Forest. The 6,300-acre backcountry area offers more than 25 miles of designated trails with vast terrain ranging from deep gorges to cascading waterfalls and granite rock domes.
Anyone interested in participating should contact Kyle Pursel at 828.526.1111 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Volunteers will meet at the Salt Rock Entrance off of Breedlove Road. Bring water, food, a pair of gloves, and pruners if you have them.
Harold Catman Sims has published a new book titled Kevin Tames the Bullies.
Sim operates the Catman2 no-kill cat shelter in Jackson County, and all proceeds from the sale of the book will go toward helping operate the shelter.
Kevin Tames the Bullies is a sequel to Sims’ first book, Kevin the Helpful Vampire Cat. In his first book Kevin helps new cats adjust to life in the Catman2 shelter. But unbeknownst until now, Kevin was teased and bullied by some of these same cats when they noticed Kevin’s upper canine teeth were growing longer, making him look like a Vampire cat.
The other cats were pointing at Kevin laughing and sometimes swatted a paw at him. He didn’t understand why they were doing this until he happened to see himself in a reflection in his water dish. Then he knew … he was different. He wanted the teasing to stop but he didn’t want to fight them and be a bully himself. So he finds a non-violent way to solve the problem.
Books can be ordered for $14.95 ($12.95 for the book and $2 for shipping) by mailing PO Box 2344 Cullowhee, N.C., 28723.
Author Bart D. Ehrman will read from his latest book, God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question – Why We Suffer, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.
Ehrman is the author of more than 20 books, including three New York Times bestsellers. He is also a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is a leading authority on the New Testament and the history of early Christianity. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, the New Yorker, The Washington Post and others.
828.456.6000 or visit blueridgebooksnc.com.
To the Editor:
If the Republican Congress were really serious about balancing the budget they would take a long hard look at the Pentagon, as that is where the lion’s share of discretionary spending is located. The cuts they are proposing are clearly ideologically-driven, as they come at the expense of programs designed to help the poor and middle class. Here are 10 reasons why military spending should be on the chopping block:
• It accounts for over half of the discretionary budget – $717 billion out of a total discretionary budget of $1.247 trillion — 57 percent.
• Military spending has doubled in the last 10 years — from $334 billion in 2001 to $722 billion in 2010.
(3) The Pentagon budget has a history of cost overruns — $300 billion above what Congress authorized for various weapons systems in the last 5 years.
(4) The Pentagon budget has not been accountable to Congress and there are no audits.
(5) Pentagon contracting is out of control. Standards, quality control and review for redundancies could yield significant efficiencies and savings. And, as retired Army Lt. General John Vines says, we don’t even know if all this activity is making us safer.
(6) The U.S. military budget accounts for 46.5 percent of global military spending.
(7) U.S. presence in the world includes hundreds of military bases in Europe, particularly in Germany. Are these bases necessary to our defenses?
(8) The military budget is funding weapons systems — added in by Congress — that even the Pentagon does not want or need.
(9) Military contracts are not a job-creation engine. Military dollars spent in a state yield the least number of jobs, compared to investments in health, education, transportation, and even tax cuts.
(10) Local economies are not dependent on job creation through military contracts with private firms. In all but one state, at least 94 percent of the gross state domestic product does not arise from military contracts with local companies. Even in Virginia, which hosts the Pentagon, 90 percent of the state’s economy relies on non-military goods and services.
Before they cut Medicare, Social Security, food stamps, Head Start, education, health care, foreign aid, and other programs which meet human needs, let’s demand that our Congressional representatives cut waste, graft, unneeded weapons systems and military bases, and unprovoked and unwinnable wars from the War (Defense?) Department budget.
Doug Wingeier,
Waynesville
To the Editor:
The commercial property owners, the merchants who rent property for their small, medium and large businesses, deserve to understand how the county has decided that commercial property has increased 35 percent, 42 percent, and even 67 percent in value. This is very bad for Haywood County.
Maggie Valley is at economic Ghost Town level and I do not mean the one up on the mountain! I mean the merchants and commercial property owners in Maggie. The same goes for downtown Waynesville. How can our elected officials believe that commercial property is worth so much more money? You cannot give away commercial property in most commercial areas of the county.
A week or two ago a super liberal organization called MoveOn.org came through Haywood County and was invited to meet with county Democrats at their center in Haywood Square. I received an invitation via the Internet and decided to go see their performance and hear what their message was.
I was met at the front door and told, “You are not allowed at this meeting!” I guess they knew who I was, but they failed to greet me by name. I told the person blocking the doorway that I had received an invitation on the Internet and had come to hear their message. She said loudly for all those already seated inside to hear ... “Only card carrying Democrats are allowed in this meeting.”
OK, I replied, and stood perplexed outside the closed door. Then they sent a man out front to stand there and hold up a large professionally prepared poster that was all red, white and blue that stated in very large letters, “Stop the War on Workers!” Well I am a worker, along with other employed people in Haywood County, and I was not aware of a war against me and other workers around the county. But, maybe I am just working too hard to survive these hard times and have not been made aware of a war on me that needs to be stopped!
But now that the new revaluation results have been mailed to commercial property owners I am about to decide that the county commissioners have declared war on businesses in Haywood County. Haywood County, Canton, Clyde, Maggie Valley, Waynesville and the Downtown Waynesville Association all participate gleefully in taking money from property owners in Haywood County and spending it willy-nilly on this non-essential services or pet projects. They will now set a tax rate and we will cough up money for them to pass out to this agency and that agency in the name of Big Government ....
Are you Taxed Enough Already? Meet me in front of the Haywood Courthouse on Tax Day, April 15, Friday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Bring your own lawn chair. Open mike and the meeting is open to those who carry a party card and to those who do not! There will be no door to close in your face. This meeting is open to all.
Jonnie Cure
Waynesville
By Mark Jamison • Guest Columnist
A fellow once asked me, about a car I was selling, “What’s the least you would take for that car?” I thought for a second and replied, “What’s the most you’d give for it?”
In that exchange was the essence of the market. Buyers want to pay the least they can and sellers want the most they can get and the idea of the market is to find a place where their interests intersect.
In the case of the car we both had information we could go on to determine a fairly narrow range of value for the car. There are published reports of what similar vehicles sell for and there are other bits of information that gave both of us a range in which a realistic price ought to exist. What was left was to consider our individual needs, how much he might want the car versus how badly I needed to sell it.
The parameters of the transaction though were determined by this thing we call a market which is nothing but a confluence of information, need and desire. The market gives the buyer and the seller some assurance that there is a reasonable range of price that can be arrived at by applying the available information to the available supply and demand.
I’ve had several conversations recently with people seeking to buy or sell property here in Jackson County. A question seems to keep coming up, what is anything actually worth? I have a friend who is looking to buy a few acres on which to build a house. He’s found a piece of land that seems suitable and is to his liking. He wants to offer a fair price but because of the failure of the market he has no idea of how to determine what that might be. I happen to know the seller in this transaction, and he too would like to arrive at a fair price but has little means of judging what that might be. Because neither trusts the market, neither is willing to complete the transaction.
There are many factors that have contributed to the failure of the market for land here in Jackson County. Prices had reached speculative levels before the overall crash. Many of our normal pricing mechanisms like government valuations reflect these prices, which are clearly no longer valid. Then too we had a number of development companies that to varying degrees had engaged in a game of catching the rising bubble. They offered plans and schemes that probably never would have succeeded but were at the least based on the fiction of ever-rising prices.
These plans and schemes were specifically designed to be attractive to a class of buyers who felt particularly wealthy due to inflated stock, capital, and property markets. These were people who were living an illusion, their wealth was neither liquid nor solid yet their willingness to spend on things like second homes reflected a confidence that simply was not justified.
Protecting the land
While the great property bubble was building there were many here in Jackson County who were concerned about the unfolding events. Thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive land were being slated for development. It seemed that the plans for these developments gave little attention to either environmental consequences or for that matter more prosaic concerns like the ability of local infrastructure to absorb and service the additional development. In addition, the idea of turning Jackson County into a wealthy enclave of gated developments was far from attractive and highly unsettling to people, both natives and those who had relocated here.
Somewhere between the golden goose of high-end gated development on every available parcel and absolute preservation there was likely to be a middle ground. Many of those who supported the development of land use regulations saw those regulations as a means to ensure that development bore the burdens and responsibilities of its impacts as a consequence of reaping profit. Many recognized that some, moderate development offered good solid middle-class jobs in the trades for many long time Jackson County residents. The failure of the boon times was that it overwhelmed the county’s capacity to absorb it. Many of the plans were unrealistic, financed in highly speculative ways and far too nebulous in terms of their care for existing communities and sensitive environments. In addition, many of the developers ignored local economies and local tradesmen in favor of carpetbaggers and firms designed to work quick, cheap and fast as a means of deriving maximum profit to the exclusion of all other considerations.
The crash put an end to all of that. And while many of the speculators, the developers, real estate hucksters, attorneys and financiers who fueled the boom lost heavily, some of those hurt worst were local individuals and communities who were left with high property valuations, higher taxes and a moribund economy.
We’ve moved from a highly inflated market fueled by speculation and untenable assumptions to no market, a sense that no one knows quite what anything should be worth and everyone seems hesitant to engage in even basic economic activity. The uncertainty affects the retirement plans of some, the job prospects of others, and even the fundamental assumptions on which much of the county’s budget is based.
Fixing a damaged market
The problem, it would seem, is that there is a great deal of inventory available (although much of it is compromised by various legal entanglements). Some very large areas that had been slated for high-end development are locked into a legal limbo.
Some of the land most impacted is also some of the most environmentally sensitive. Some of it currently has half done, poorly done infrastructure that threatens a tremendous mess. For examples, one only has to look at the reporting on some of the more informed local blogs. And perhaps even worse is that many of the 7,000-plus lots that were essentially exempted from the land-use regulations exist within these developments.
So, we have an essentially non-functioning market in Jackson County, a damaged economy, and a huge inventory of damaged and legally encumbered land.
I wonder, though, if there isn’t a possible solution that might serve everyone’s interests to some degree or another. The overall public interest might best be served if some of the most sensitive land that was slated for development and is now compromised by legal, financial or environmental complications was transferred into the public trust either through conservation easement or transfer into state or federal parks or game lands.
The first argument one might expect to hear about such a proposal is that the county could not afford to lose the prospective tax base. That same argument was made 40 years ago when much of the land that is now Bear Lake Reserve (or was, since some has since been sold) was offered into the public trust. In retrospect, we can see the loss of opportunity and the costs that development has imposed.
The fact is that a sizable reduction in inventory would actually give the market some basic parameters against which to re-establish itself. The future loss of supposed tax base, certainly no sure thing given recent events, would likely be offset by the faster recovery of local property markets and the associated increase in economic activity.
There are those who might argue that at present the terrain looks quite nice thank you. Development has been halted and the assaults on the environment and our communities have ceased. I would reply that at best that is only temporary and that we have all the elements for another bubble in place, although I would concede that it is an event likely not to occur for perhaps 10 years.
Still, there is a tremendous amount of money, both corporate and private equity, sitting on the sidelines at the moment. The hesitancy of that money to move might just as likely be attributed to wiliness as fear. Someone somewhere is waiting to pick up distressed assets at a bargain and the question isn’t if, it may be when. The ensuing consolidation may actually be worse. There is some indication that parts of the trophy market are, if not recovering, at least evolving. One should remember that those in the top 2 percent of income have actually done quite well of late.
We may have an example of a more savvy investor here in Jackson County. J.P. Kennedy, a software developer for the oil services industry, may be one of the largest single landholders in Jackson County. He sold much of what became Bear Lake to Centex and bought back some of that when Centex failed. It also appears he has been involved at various levels with the Legasus properties.
Mr. Kennedy or some entity that is as equally well resourced may be in a position to consolidate thousands of acres for development. Given the current attitudes of those in power at state and local levels it is likely that government might find itself willing to be accommodating to the desires of ostensibly powerful interests. And for all the good the ordinances did, their creation left avenues large enough to drive a very large bulldozer through for those who might be so inclined.
Unlikely partners?
What’s to be done? Well there might just be an opportunity available provided those with power and those with expertise can come together in some fairly creative way. A couple of banks and a private equity company or two own some pretty worthless paper on several thousand acres. There are any number of lot owners who purchased lots in developments that will never exist. There are claims, counterclaims and foreclosures, tax liens and likely any other number of legal hurdles that might make immediate development of any of this land impossible.
If local, state and federal agencies — along with conservation and preservation organizations — were to put their heads together, it occurs to me that between existing tax credits and incentives, easement possibilities, and possibly even mitigation credits, that a reasonable proposal might be created that would allow the banks and private firms holding what amounts to useless paper to clear their balance sheets fairly quickly. Actually, those developers and investors that didn’t go under might like to participate, since the elimination of inventory and the likely restoration of the market that would follow would be in their interests as well.
We live in an unsettled time. Governments at all levels are cutting programs and expenses. Investors are timid and markets are stymied. The times are difficult, but difficult times often uncover unique opportunities.
(Mark Jamison lives in Webster and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
Cat adoption fees will be discounted from April 16 to 19 at Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Waynesville. Cats between four months and four years old will be $1 per pound. The adoption fee will be waived completely for cats older than four years.
All cats have been spayed or neutered and are up to date with their shots.
828.246.9050 or visit www.sargeandfriends.org.
Men and boys are encouraged to gather in Sylva to take a stand against violence against women at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 16.
The 100-Man March will begin at the Sylva Bridge Park for the official count of all male attendees. The group will then proceed to the Old Courthouse steps for a ceremony. Throughout the hour-long event, interviews with participants and community leaders will be taped for an audio documentary of the 100Man March, courtesy of WRGC radio.
828.631.4488, ext. 207 or visit www.reachofjackson.com.
The documentary on the state of education in America “Waiting for Superman” will be shown at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 21, followed by a talk with a school reform activist at the Cashiers Library.
Charter school advocate and activist Ned Fox, who lives in Cashiers, will lead a question and answer session. Fox has served as headmaster at Charlotte Latin School and interim co-director for Summit Charter School. He also has a private firm that serves as school consultants and has worked on school reform for years. 828.743.0215.
Life coach Marne Harris will conduct a workshop “Alter Yourself: 5 Fundamentals of Fulfillment” from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, at Old Mountain Health Center in Waynesville. The course focuses on core changes people can make to conquer life’s challenges with ease and success. $15. Call or e-mail to RSVP. 828.631.3841 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Learn about the benefits of raw food diets for cats and dogs at the Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association’s April meeting held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, at Creature Comforts near Lake Junaluska. Founder of Earth Green Pet Foods, Kristi King, will discuss nutritional information on her experience feeding pets raw food, nutritional information and the effects on the overall health of the animals. Public welcome. www.crecomfortwnc.com or www.dnet.net/wcdfa.
A new class for people who want to learn conversational Spanish is being setup by the Latino Institute for Human Development in Waynesville.
Conversational Spanish can be a resume builder, allowing people to communicate with Spanish-speaking employees or facilitate interaction with the Latino community. The institute will hold an interest meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, April 18, at the Pigeon Community Center. The Reynolds Foundation is making funding available.
This spring the institute will also start Project Delicioso, a multi-dimensional program that strives to provide work training to women while also benefiting donors. With a monthly donation an institute supporter receives weekly home cooked authentic Latino dinners.
828.400.6475.
Children In The Middle, a class for any parent who shares custody of children, will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.April 26 and 27 in Canton. The program was developed to reduce children’s experiences with loyalty conflicts that often develop in shared custody situations. Free, but registration required.
828.586.2345 ext. 24.
Swain County Chamber of Commerce will host its annual banquet from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the Fryemont Inn in Bryson City featuring an evening of food and entertainment.
Business Citizen of the Year will be announced, as well as recipient and presentation of the Duke Energy Service and Citizenship Award. Cost is $25 per person in advance or $30 the week of.
828.488.3681
Fiscal responsibility and property revaluation in Haywood County will be among the main topics discussed at the annual tax day rally in Waynesville. “Are You Taxed Enough Already?” will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, on Main Street in front of the Haywood County Historic Court House. Key note speakers will include Kory Swanson from the John Locke Foundation and Denny King. Bring lawn chairs and family-friendly political signs for the best sign contest. 828.456.3505. www.912wnc.com.
The annual Swain County Wedding Expo will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at the Nantahala Village Resort and Spa. The expo will showcase local bakeries, caterers, florists and more while promoting the area as a destination wedding experience. Free. 828.488.3681 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A senior expo and health fair in Franklin will provide free seminars, health screenings, entertainment and refreshments from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at the Macon County Community Facilities Building.
The event is sponsored by MedWest Health System. There will be information about The Homestead, a new six-bed in-patient facility which will be built adjacent to MedWest-Haywood hospital and will serve patients in the hospice program whose families request a short break from caregiving. 828.452.8696.
A workshop geared toward reaching emotional freedom and full-potential, “7 Keys to Self Empowerment,” will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, at Apple Hill Farms in Waynesville.
The intent of the program is to transform lives through dropping emotional baggage and discovering the tools to empowerment. The cost of $225 includes a catered lunch with 10 percent of proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross. Register online at www.destinationwellnesscoach.com. 828.768.4252.
The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra will end the season with a concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.
Featured soloists with the orchestra will be the winners of the 21st annual student solo competition held at WCU in January.
The orchestra will play selections from Bach, Mozart, John Williams and others.
Musicians of the orchestra include WCU students and students and adults from Jackson, Macon, Haywood, Swain, Cherokee and Buncombe counties. The program is free and open to the public.
A free seminar entitled Marketing for the Craftsperson and Artist will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, in Haywood Community College’s Student Center by the school’s Small Business Center.
This workshop is designed to teach artists to market their business image on a low or no-budget plan, Attendees are encouraged to bring samples of their product to the seminar. The workshop will focus on selling through craft and trade shows, designing show booths and creating publicity materials.
Linda Rozelle of Greensboro will lead the seminar. Rozelle has a background in commercial art and has designed hundreds of corporate identity programs.
828.627.4512.
Western Carolina University’s Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Mario Gaetano, will perform at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, in the Coulter Building on the WCU campus.
Included in the program is one of Gaetano’s original compositions, “Scenes from Earth” for piano and large percussion ensemble.
Other works include selections by Lou Harrison, Chick Corea, Nebojsa Zivokvic, Nathan Daughtrey and Lynn Glassock.
The ensemble is composed of undergraduate percussion majors and performs contemporary music composed or arranged for percussion instruments.
The concert is free and open to the public. 828.227.7242.
The comedy “The Cemetery Club” opens April 15 at Haywood Arts Regional Theater’s Studio Theater in Waynesville,with performances at 7:30 p.m. on April 15, 16, 22 and 23 and 3 p.m. on April 17 and 24.
The show tells the story of three Jewish widows who meet once a month for tea before going to visit their husband’s graves and the people they meet along the way.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students.
828.456.6322.
The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre will hold auditions for its June production of “Deathtrap” at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, April 17 and 18 at the HART Theatre in Waynesville. The production is being directed by Charles Mills and opens on June 3.
Deathtrap, a murder-mystery, is one of the longest running plays in Broadway history and features roles for three men and two women.
Actors will be given scenes to read from the script. Anyone interested in working backstage on the production is also encouraged to come by during auditions to sign up.
Barbara Duncan will hold a release party for her new album, Music Says Go, at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 15, at City Lights bookstore in Sylva.
Duncan is education director at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, but is also a songwriter, storyteller and poet. Duncan will perform selections from the album and sign copies.
828.586.9499.
A Peeps Diorama Contest is being held at the Marianna Black Library for teens in grades six through 12.
Entrants must create a diorama depicting their favorite book or scene from literature, with all the characters in the scene portrayed by marshmallow chicks or rabbits. Dioramas are due April 21 and will be displayed in the children’s department of the library. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners.
828.488.3030 or visit www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity.
Learn the art of Coptic bookbinding with artist Katherine Cays from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, at Rickman Store in Franklin.
All levels are welcome and each student will complete a Coptic-bound book. Coptic binding has braid like stitches that hold pages and covers together with the spine remaining visible. The book lies flat when open, which is especially nice for journaling or sketching.
The class is $90, which includes tuition and materials. Pre-registration and payment are due by Thursday, April 14.
828.349.7476 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A Craft Club workshop teaching the art of crystal acetate card making will last from 10 a.m. until noon on Thursday, April 21, in the Community Service Center in Sylva.
Candy Meyers, a card maker and craftsperson, will lead the class and participants will make several butterfly and hummingbird cards. The images are on acetate and colored using a unique method with tissue paper and crystal lacquer.
Cost for the class is only $5.
828.586.4009 to register by April 18.
“I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree” … wait, that’s been done, hasn’t it?
Time to get out the pen and paper and write your own poem to mark the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, a living memorial to writer/poet Joyce Kilmer.
Kilmer was killed in action during World War I while serving in France on July 30, 1918. The Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center is sponsoring a poetry contest to honor this anniversary.
The poetry contest is open to school children in grades K-12 and to adults (and professional writers, as well). Poems shoud be submitted about a tree, trees or forests. Entries will be divided by grade levels, K-4, 5-8, High School, and adult/professional.
Authors will be recognized at the 75th anniversary celebration event on July 30. Once the judging has been completed and the winners notified, submissions will be publicly displayed at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center. Complete information about the contest and entry forms can be found at www.stecoahvalleycenter.com.
The celebration will include a 5K and 10K road race, plus one-mile fun run, on July 30 through a portion of the Nantahala National Forest, exhibits highlighting the area’s rich natural and cultural heritage, guided tours of the Joyce Kilmer National Recreation Trail and speakers on both Joyce Kilmer’s life and the U.S. Forest Service’s stewardship of wilderness.
Fishermen took to the creeks and rivers last weekend with the opening of hatchery-supported trout waters.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission began stocking trout in early March and will continue through August. About 1,100 miles of trout waters in WNC will be stocked with 860,000 trout, with 96 percent of the stocked fish averaging 10 inches in length and the other four percent exceeding 14 inches in length. On hatchery-supported trout waters, anglers can harvest a maximum of seven trout per day, with no minimum size limits or bait restrictions.
Stocked trout are raised in one of four mountain region hatcheries.
Which water have been stocked are posted online after the fact on Fridays at www.ncwildlife.org/fishing.
The Western North Carolina Fly-fishing trail is being stocked with 49,400 trout up through June, with the U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship using part of the trail in May.
The WNC Fly-Fishing trail, centered in Jackson County, includes some of the best trout fishing in the Eastern U.S. In addition to stocking on creeks included in the fly-fishing trail, stocking occurs throughout the region as a whole.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is stocking four trail streams — the Tuckasegee River, Scott Creek, Savannah Creek and Greens Creek.
A total of 29,400 brook, rainbow and brown trout will be placed in the delayed harvest section of the Tuckasegee, with the remaining 20,000 spread amongst Scott,
Savannah and Greens creeks, along with other sections of the Tuckasegee.
Brook and rainbow account for 80 percent of the fish, with brown making up 20 percent. Most of the stocking takes place in March and April to provide excellent conditions for the April 2 opening of trout season in North Carolina’s hatchery supported waters.
Many more trout than that are stocked in Western North Carolina, but
In May, some of the nation’s best fly anglers will compete in the 2011 U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship.
This is the first time the championship has been conducted in the Southeast, and the trail’s Tuckasegee River will be one of five sites used in the competition. Co-hosts
for the event are Cherokee and the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team.
The annual Fontana Classic Bass Tournament will be held April 9 and 10, a chance for anglers to compete for prize money in this Smoky Mountain classic.
With water temperatures already rising, local anglers are reporting an increase in the action on the lake.
This year’s purse is $5,000 with first-place garnering $2,000 in prize money. Prize money will be awarded for second through eighth places, and $200 each for the biggest small- and large-mouth bass.
Fontana Village Marina will be hosting the event with food and refreshments, and entertainment both days on the dock. The kids will be competing in their own dockside brim fishing tournament on Saturday, April 9.
828.498.2211 or www.fontanavillage.com/marina/springtournament.pdf.
Local athletes who enjoy the challenging combination of a mountain-terrain duathlon — a 2.2-mile run, followed by a 20-mike bike ride, capped by a repeat of the run — will compete Saturday, April 9, at Lake Junaluska in Haywood County in the third running of this early-season favorite.
The run will take place on the paved path circling Lake Junaluska, while the bike leg will wind through the hills and along the streams of the rural Iron Duff and Crabtree area of Haywood County. The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is hosting the race, and Glory Hound Events is putting it on. It is a USA Triathlon-sanctioned event.
Online registration for the race closes April 7; however, race day registration is available until 8:30 a.m. on April 9. Racers will gather for a 9 a.m. start in the Chapel parking lot.
For course maps, entry fees and age groups, visit the “events” section of Glory Hound Events at www.gloryhoundevents.com.
The Lilly of the Valley half-marathon attracted a whopping 164 runners last weekend, triple what organizers expected for the inaugural race.
The top female runner, Jennifer Bell, 37, of Brasstown (shown here) finished the 13.1-mile course along the Tuckasegee River with a time of 1:35:57. The first place male winner was Robert Martinez, 17, of Clayton, with a time of 1:24:31. The male winner in the masters category (40 and older) was Bradley Knops, 43, of Highlands, with a time of 1:33:30. The female winner in the masters category was Julie Richards, 44, of Bryson City, with a time of 1:37:51.
The race raised more than $7,000 for professional development opportunities for WCU students. Full results at halfmarathon.wcu.edu.
Raft loads of volunteers will take to the Tuckaseigee River on Saturday, April 16, for the 27th annual clean-up organized by Western Carolina University’s Base Camp Cullowhee.
The Tuckaseigee River Cleanup is the largest single-day effort to clean up a river in the country. Last year the event drew more than 600 volunteers, who removed about five tons of garbage from 27 miles of the river.
Registration will be on the A.K. Hinds University Center lawn from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. After registering, volunteers will be issued a life jacket and paddle. Base Camp Cullowhee will provide transportation to the river, where participants will listen to a safety talk and receive trash bags. After working to clean up the river, volunteers are invited back to the University Center lawn for a free cookout, live entertainment and the chance to win prizes donated by local businesses.
Volunteers must weight at least 40 pounds to be allowed in a raft. Those who don’t want to raft can work the shoreline from walking trails. The first 600 volunteers to register will receive free T-shirts. Volunteers should wear old clothing and shoes that will not come off in the water. No prior rafting experience is needed. 828.227.3625 or visit basecamp.wcu.edu.
From kayaking to rock climbing, elementary and middle school students can sample outdoor adventure through the Catamount Adventure Camps this summer.
Teaching young people new outdoor skills, as well as the value of teamwork and an appreciation of nature, are among the goals of the program. Each activity will involve small groups of eight to 10 students facing challenges and overcoming obstacles together in safe and encouraging settings.
Western Carolina University’s Base Camp Cullowhee sponsors the camps and provides guides for the activities.
There are three camps depending on age. The camp for rising third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders is July 11-15. Rising sixth- and seventh-graders have camp July 25-29, and rising eighth- and ninth-graders Aug. 1-5. Each program lasts from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Cost is $225 per kid. 828.227.7397 or go to learn.wcu.edu and click on “Camps and Programs for Kids.”
Gorges Gratitude Day will be held Saturday, April 16, featuring special presentations on a variety of topics, live music, food, and hayrides.
Speakers will share programs on falconry, black bears, mountain ecosystems, folklore and geology. Community organizations will provide food and beverages, with BBQ being the main course.
Gorges State Park, located on the border of Jackson/Transylvania counties, is a relatively new state park in the process of being developed with park roads, parking lots, observation platforms and waterfalls. This year construction will begin on a visitor center, two picnic shelters, and a maintenance facility. Plans and models of the buildings will be on display and park staff will be available to answer questions on upcoming development plans.
Volunteer assistance is needed for the event. Free. 828.966.9099.
Tuckasegee poet Thomas Rain Crowe will be at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 8, to read from his newest poetry collection, Crack Light.
The book features photographs by Simone Lipscomb and more than 40 of Crowe’s poems that celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of the Southern Appalachian mountains.
828.586.9499.
To the Editor:
Jackson County Commissioners are ranking road improvement projects in the County’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) at their meeting April 18. Here are some reasons why I feel commissioners should follow the example set by Sylva to leave the 107 Connector (Sylva bypass) off their priority list.
First, the N.C. 107 feasibility study given to this county by NCDOT did not include any of the congestion management solutions provided by the Transportation Task Force and imbedded in the CTP. Also, the DOT’s own modeling showed that the bypass would not relieve congestion on N.C. 107, and that congestion is caused by land use.
Second, when developing the CTP the Transportation Task Force was only asked to look at traffic counts and traffic projections. We did not consider and discuss any of the economic, environmental or community impacts of our decisions. I recommend that this community’s leadership study and understand these impacts before they endorse the NC107 connector. The Task Force was not asked to look at the economic impact of diverting traffic from one of our main commercial corridors. The Task Force also did not discuss the impact, location or footprint of the cloverleaf overpass required by the bypass.
Also, a final consideration regarding the Transportation Task Force’s decision-making process is that we included the developments at Legasus and Balsam into our traffic forecasts, and those have since slowed down. Another area of growth included in the traffic counts that has also slowed down was the projected growth of WCU.
If you also feel that the N.C. 107 Connector should be left off of the priority list, contact the commissioners before their April 18 meeting. For more information visit Smartroads.org.
Jeannette Evans
Cullowhee
To the Editor:
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority board has voted to cut funding to the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. This will seriously hinder – if not cripple – tourism events the H.C.C.C. sponsors each year. Any staff cuts to this small but effective non-profit chamber will have a ripple effect to our local economy.
How so? Look at this outdated traffic counting method TDA is using as science to make these critical cuts. The Balsam Visitor Center is located at a rest stop area in a tiny closet-sized kiosk that barely two people can fit in. Staffing it in winter is also difficult, but TDA spends $25,000 a year on what could simply be restocked every week.
On the way to Maggie Valley visitors can stop at the beautiful new welcome center at Lake Junaluska. Even with Maggie‘s visitor center on the main drag, it is almost invisible to any driver, not very inviting and with poor parking. The Canton visitor center is closed and until it can be housed in something other than an old car was building … please! Canton has too many nice historic settings and deserves better anyway!
The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce is finally in a great location in a beautiful setting that we should all be proud of. As southern charm demands, we want our company to feel welcome and at home, especially when they come to spend money. Chamber-sponsored events like the new Blue Ridge Breakaway, which will double this year, and the annual Apple Harvest Festival bring over 40,000 tourists to Haywood County each year. These events require a great deal of planning and cannot rely on volunteers only. So as a former TDA paid employee of this visitor center, I can tell you that this ”traffic” counting method is obsolete because it does not include the thousands of phone calls, emails, letters and various requests that a dedicated staff handles every year.
Since becoming executive director of the chamber, CeCe Hipps has dedicated herself to promoting Haywood County not only as a great place to visit but a place to call home and open a new business. People rely on local chambers for many reasons, but tourism plays a major role in all functions of a chamber.
We are very fortunate to have people like CeCe and TDA Executive Director Lynn Collins working for us. The new TDA visitor guide is the best yet and the website update shows what an excellent job Lynn does marketing our area. But two visitor centers a few blocks apart is a waste of funds in my opinion.
The motels, diners and stores already have tons of the same brochures all over the county anyway. I think the TDA board should reconsider this decision and ask how many visitor centers do we really need? Budget cuts in a recession are understandable, but using outdated techniques to cut critical chamber funds is unwise. As the busy summer and fall traffic start up again, the chamber visitor center will easily have hundreds of guests each week, of which many will – as before at the chamber’s Russ Avenue location – enjoy those rockers on the porch.
Mylan Sessions
Clyde
To the Editor:
The good news is the North Carolina Department of Transportation has received a $461 million federal grant to improve rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte, creating 4,800 jobs during the next two years. Many of the jobs will be permanent since a new maintenance facility will be located in Charlotte. The $461 million comes with no strings attached. No matching state funds are required.
The bad news is that Republican state representatives Ric Killian (R-Mecklenburg), Phillip Frye (R-Spruce Pine), and Phil Shepard (R-Onslow) have introduced House Bill 422, “No High-Speed Rail Money from Federal Government.” If this bill passes, the $461 million will go to other states to create jobs for their citizens and upgrade their transportation infrastructures.
The Employment Security Commission reported that the North Carolina unemployment rate in February was 9.7 percent. There are more than 435,000 people on our state’s unemployment roles. The 4,800 jobs are desperately needed.
Please tell your legislators to oppose H422. What possible reason could the Republicans have for refusing this grant? Disliking President Obama is not a good reason to sacrifice North Carolina jobs.
Carole Larivee
Waynesville
To the Editor:
As an advocate for seniors and senior services, I find I am more and more concerned about the Voter ID bill that was introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Spruce Pine). I absolutely believe that any case of voter fraud, when discovered, should be prosecuted, but I think more thought should be put into the process before passing a bill that would hinder our seniors from using the one right every American citizen is afforded – the right to vote.
According to facts I have read, votes per million cast in North Carolina from 2004 to 2010 that involved fraud that a Voter ID law would have prevented is five. With a state budget that must be balanced by law, why would our elected representatives want to add so much more to the deficit. My understanding is the potential cost of a comprehensive voter ID program in North Carolina would be around $20 million. I have read that the annual cost to each county in Maryland to hire and train elections’ officials to examine IDs of voters is $95,000.
Our county governments are also strapped to the max. The cost of outreach efforts about Voter ID laws to avoid voter confusion and make sure legitimate voters aren’t turned away at the polls has been estimated at an additional $16.9 million.
At a time when cuts to our senior programs and services may be forthcoming at both the federal and state level, I would think these projected Voter ID funds could be better spent to help our seniors, who are already struggling with escalating costs of everything, and no cost of living adjustment for the past two years. I hope our elected representatives would think long and hard before passing this legislation.
Juanita Dixon
Canton
An indoor yard sale will take over the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at Western Carolina University from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 9.
The sale, now in its 21st year, will feature a broad range of items and proceeds will go to the Jackson County Arts Council.
Learn to make scented soap, bath salts or a hooked mug rug in three new classes from 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 9, at Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro. Supplies will be provided for a small fee and participants will take home six bars of soap, a jar of bath salts and a hooked mug rug. Children are welcome.
828.586.4686.
Heather Newton, author of Under the Mercy Trees, will be the speaker for the Mountain Writers’ Network at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.
Under the Mercy Trees, a tale of family, love and redemption, is Newton’s debut novel, though her short stories have appeared in regional and national publications. Newton lives in Asheville, where she is an author and mediator.
Mountain Writers of North Carolina meets on the second Tuesday of each month to advance the professional interests of creative writers through networking, advocacy and education.
828.456.6000
The Haywood Arts Regional Theater is gearing up for its next production, “Shipwrecked,” showing at 7:30 p.m. on April 8 and 9, and 3 p.m. on April 10.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and $8 for students. Every full-price adult ticket will also get a free student or child ticket.
“Shipwrecked” is a family-friendly comedy about a Victorian gentleman and his storied past as a wandering seafarer.
For tickets call 828.456.6322.
A free contra dance will be held from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 10, at the Bridge Park Pavilion in Sylva.
There will also be a potluck dinner following the contra dance, starting at 5:30. Dancers should bring a covered dish, plate, cup and cutlery and a water bottle.
The dance will be called by Asheville caller Diane Silver and accompanied by local musicians.
No partner or previous experience with contra dancing is required and all dances will be taught and walked through before dancing. There will also be a short beginners’ workshop at the start of the dance. No partner is required.
828.586.5478 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Western Carolina University theater students will present the unconventional “The Atrainplays, Vol. 2” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, through Saturday, April 16, and at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 17, in the Niggli Theatre.
The production is six short plays, each crafted by a different playwright during a single round-trip on New York City’s A train, along with two additional miniature works that were written on the Staten Island Ferry.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for faculty members and senior citizens and $5 for students. The show is intended for mature audiences.
828.227.2479 or visit fapac.wcu.edu.
