The Small Business Center at Southwestern Community College is partnering with several organizations to offer workshops for small businesses.

The first will be held 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30, at SCC’s Macon Campus, on entrepreneurship. Upcoming seminars are:“Small Business Operations (Human Resources and Business Structure)” on July 21; “Marketing Your Product/Service” on Aug. 4; “Business Financials (Cash Flow and Break Even Analysis)” on Aug. 18; “Small Business Taxes” on Sept. 1; “Bookkeeping Basics” on Sept. 15; “Business Use of Your Home” on Sept. 29; and “Technology in Small Business” on Oct. 13. 828.339.4218.

Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher will meet members of the Macon County community on from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, in the Macon Bank Corporate Center as part of a get-acquainted tour that will take the new chief executive to 15 stops during a four-month span.

Formerly provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, he succeeds John W. Bardo, who stepped down as WCU chancellor this summer after 16 years in the position.

828.227.7335 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A motorcycle ride honoring the Trail of Tears, the Remembrance Removal Tour, will leave the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds in Cherokee at 8 a.m. on Aug. 29.

The route will follow the historic route of the Trail of Tears across the county for three days and will arrive in Tahlequah, Okla., on August 31 for the Cherokee National Holiday Events.

The event is organized by The Brothers in the Wind, a group committed to the memory of the removal of Native Americans from their homelands. The ride is open to all motorcycles and any vehicles. 828.736.2780 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.brothersinthewind.webs.com.

From 911 to prosecution, a training session for service providers, law enforcement, criminal justice and legal aid, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, at the Waynesville Police Department.

This training is designed to inform all service providers along the continuum of domestic violence and sexual assault. The overview is intended to provide a clear picture of what happens to a victim from the time a 911 service call is made to the prosecution of the alleged abuser.

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

Haywood Community College will offer a night Basic Law Enforcement Training class meeting from 6 to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, beginning Sept. 12. The class will also meet a few weekends to accommodate the appropriate required classes.

This course is designed to equip the student with the basic skills, knowledge and ability to function as an inexperienced law enforcement officer in the State of North Carolina. Applications must be returned by Sept. 7.       

For more information, call 828.627.4548, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Or visit www.haywood.edu/continuing_education/public_safety.

Backlogged sediment can’t be allowed to build up forever, said John Dorney, wetlands and stormwater program development supervisor for the N.C. Division of Water Quality in Raleigh.

“It becomes one big mud flat,” Dorney said.

But Duke Energy District Manager Fred Alexander disputes that Duke will be made to dredge sediment from the lake.

“Let me be perfectly clear. We are NOT dredging Lake Emory,” Alexander said in an email response to The Smoky Mountain News.

Alexander said that Duke may do some “limited sediment removal,” but not a comprehensive dredging of the entire lake.

“That is not in our plans, nor a regulatory requirement,” Alexander said.

Yet according to a state water quality permit, how much sediment Duke will have to remove is not yet determined.

Duke is being required to develop sediment management plans for dams on the Oconaluftee River in Swain County and on the Hiwassee in Clay County. All three are known as “run-of-the-river” dams, where the respective dam transforms the river behind it into slow-moving backwater — more so than a bona fide lake. Lake Emory, located near Franklin, is 174 acres in size.

The state Division of Water Quality mandated that Duke address sediment removal as a condition of the water quality permits issued for all the three dams in summer of 2010.

“It could be one thing they have to do is dredge,” Dorney said.

The same requirements are being copied verbatim into the federal licenses for the dams being issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Once issued, Duke “will absolutely have to develop a sediment management plan,” said Mark Cantrell, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “FERC indicated Duke would need to include some management and not just monitoring — and that could include dredging.”

With Duke’s license for the dam up for renewal, that opened the door for new sediment rules to be imposed. And state and federal environmental agencies walked right in.

In short, Duke must conduct a sediment pilot study at one of the three dams, and a long-term sediment management plan after that. Cantrell said once the license was issued, it would trigger the sediment management plan within approximately the next six months.

Dorney knows Duke needs to do something about the mounting sediment behind the dams, but exactly what that should be — how much should be removed, how often, by what means — is up in the air pending the pilot study.

“We just didn’t know enough about how big the problems are and how fast they are developing and what mechanisms could solve the problems,” Dorney said. “The pilot study will get us that additional information.”

Dorney foresees Duke being made to remove some sediment from above Porter Bend Dam one way or another, however.

“That is the intent,” Dorney said.

And there’s only two ways to do that: dredge or flush it downstream.

When Duke tore down the Dillsboro dam, it lobbied hard for the “flushing” option. It argued that simply flushing the estimated 100,000 cubic yards of sediment downstream a bit at a time wouldn’t hurt the environment. It was also the cheaper of the two options. Ultimately, however, state and federal environmental agencies made Duke excavate much of the sediment (more than 63,000 cubic yards) from behind the dam rather than flushing it.

Dorney said it is too early for Duke to say whether it will or won’t dredge Lake Emory; and, he said, Duke isn’t the one that gets to decide that.

“They would have to say at this point they don’t know if they will have to do any dredging pending the results of the pilot study,” Dorney said.

The decision ultimately rests with the state and federal environmental agencies overseeing the water quality permits for the dam operations.

At stake is one of the most unique stretches of river in the eastern U.S., 13 miles of the Little Tennessee River, essentially unpolluted, uncontaminated and undeveloped.

“It is really incredible,” Cantrell said.

Which means there will be a whole lot of eyes watching as Duke develops a sedimentation management plan.

Dorney said in his view, it isn’t good for every grain of sediment in the river to get blocked by the dam.

“There is some concern about the river being sediment starved downstream from the dams,” Dorney said.

That may mean flushing some sediment downstream periodically.

“If they release some, that would get it out of the lake of course, but if you release too much it would destroy downstream, so it is a balancing act,” Dorney said.

There is only one caveat that would tip the scale against sediment removal, and one that just might come into play in Lake Emory.

Industrial pollution downstream from Lake Emory could have accumulated in the sediment over the years, and stirring it up could be bad news, according to water quality advocates with the Little Tennessee Watershed Association. (see related article.)

Dorney said that is definitely an area that needs more research, but doubts it would be a deal killer.

“If they did the studies and determined there would be more damage to the environment by removing it than leaving it there,” Dorney said. “But that isn’t likely.”

More often, the contaminants would be leaching out anyway, so removing them is still the best option.

Cantrell said toxic muck is “a legitimate concern.” He said there are detailed studies under way by Western Carolina University to try and pinpoint why there’s been a mussel-population decline below Lake Emory.

Cantrell said there are measurements that are indicating excessive levels of copper and other metals in Lake Emory, “and we are concerned about that being transmitted downstream.”

A workshop titled “Go Green with Moss” will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, August 11, at the Highlands Biological Foundation as part of the Foundation’s Think About Thursdays series.

Annie Martin, founder of Mountain Moss Enterprises, will explore the botanical characteristics of mosses and the advantages of using mosses in landscapes. Participants will have the opportunity to view Martin’s award-winning moss gardens and moss dishes while discussing moss gardening methods. The presentation will include a guided walk around the Botanical Garden to look for mosses. Free, but registration is required. 828.526.2221 or www.wcu.edu/hbs.

Master Gardeners from Jackson and Swain counties have joined together to form the Jackson-Swain Master Gardeners’ Association.

The group works to increase its own knowledge about gardening in order to be a better gardening resource for the community through education, demonstration and as volunteers with the cooperative extension.

The association meets at 9:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of every month at the Jackson Community Services Building on Scotts Creek Road in Sylva. Sarah Day Hatton will share her knowledge on creating wildlife habitats at the August meeting. Meetings and programs open to the public at no cost. 828.736.2768 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is ratcheting down its firewood policy for campers over fears of invasive insects and fungus that destroy trees.

Firewood from six neighboring counties in Tennessee can no longer be brought into the park, specifically to prevent the movement of the destructive emerald ash borer and thousand cankers disease, an associated fungal disease transmitted by a small twig beetle.  

All state and national parks and forests limit firewood being brought in by campers to varying degrees, usually targeting areas where known invasive pests and diseases are. But some are moving to allow no firewood from any outside areas.

The latest ban in the Smokies will affect those who live in those counties and come to camp in the neighboring park.

The black bear license plate has had strong sales and has benefitted wildlife throughout the Great Smoky Mountain National Park this summer. The number of motorists sporting specialty Smokies license plates has been climbing impressively since the new plate design, sporting a black bear, was rolled out four years ago.

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park brought in $102,900 from plate sales in the last quarter, an increase of more than seven percent over the same period of 2010, to help the park.

“The Smokies are a true refuge for black bears, brook trout, salamanders, elk, and thousands of other species,” said Dan Matthews, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Smokies and co-owner of The Swag Country Inn in Waynesville. “We are very glad for the opportunity to help protect these wild creatures and to have so much support from drivers all across North Carolina. They are the ones who make these important projects possible.” www.friendsofthesmokies.org or call 828.452.0720.

The Fontana Dam 5K and 10K race will be held on Saturday, August 27, along with a one-mile fun run.

The race will be held along the shores of the Little Tennessee River below Fontana Dam. The course is relatively flat and draws runners from all around the region to compete.

Race sponsors have planned a lake tour for participants aboard the Miss Hazel, departing from the Fontana Marina docks at 6 p.m. the night before, along with a pre-race dinner with live entertainment.

Race day registration will be at 6:45 a.m. www.fontanavillage.com or 828.498.2104.

The second annual Waynesville Main Street Mile will be held on Friday, August 12.

The race ends at the historic courthouse, and starts a mile up the street from it, making for a mostly downhill, one-way course.

A post-race party will feature pizza, beer from Highland Brewing Company and live music, popcorn and cotton candy, and various kids’ activities sponsored by Grandpa Ernie, FunShine Faces, and Fun Things Etc.

Cost is $15 in advance or $20 day-of. Includes T-shirt and stocked goody-bag.

All proceeds from sponsors and runner registrations go to Shriners Children’s Hospital of Greenville. Businesses interested in sponsoring or anyone interested in volunteering can contact Eric Yarrington at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

www.waynesvillemainstreetmile.com.

Another 207-acre tract on Little Yellow Mountain in Mitchell and Avery counties has been saved from development thanks the efforts of The Nature Conservancy and the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.

The two organizations have purchased the tract, which takes in the 5,504-foot peak, ensuring that the entire mountain top will remain free of development. Eventually, all of the property will become part of Yellow Mountain State Natural Area.

Little Yellow Mountain is an important piece of the Roan Mountain natural heritage area, one of the most biologically diverse areas in the Southern Appalachians with 76 rare species of plants and animals found there. The conservations efforts for Little Yellow Mountain began in 2007. Today, 1,300 acres are protected in all.

In addition to private donations, the organizations took out a loan to complete the conservation.

“In tough economic times, we have to marshal our forces to make conservation happen,” says SAHC Board Member Jay Leutze.

828.253.0095 ext. 209.

Haywood County will be crawling with runners, bikers and swimmers this weekend for the Lake Logan Multi-Sports Festival on August 6 and 7.

On Saturday, triathletes will do a swim-bike-run course that takes from the waters of Lake Logan to the outskirts of Canton and back.

On Sunday, a shorter sprint-distance triathlon and an aquathlon, featuring only swimming and running, will be held on Sunday.

The event will bring some 700 athletes and their families and friends to Haywood County. Since the triathlon began six years ago, it has become one of the premier races in the Southeast, attracting athletes from all across the country.

“Lake Logan may be the most beautiful triathlon venue in the country,” said Greg Duff, president of race producer Glory Hound Events. “The swim in this pristine mountain lake has a unique course starting near the main docks but finishing under the highway bridge in the mouth of the river. The bike course is unusual for the mountains in that it is mostly flat and very fast. The run course is an out-and-back along a two-lane road along the river.”

This year Lake Logan has also attracted athletes hoping to do well enough to earn a sport in the USA Triathlon Championship in Burlington, Vermont. USA Triathlon, the sanctioning authority for more than 3,000 events across the country, selected the Lake Logan race as a Mid-Atlantic special qualifier. The top 50 finishers in their age groups will advance to nationals.

Also, the prize purse has reached a total of $2,500. Racing starts on Saturday, but many contestants will be arriving in town on Friday.

“Don’t be surprised to see hundreds of cars sporting bike racks in the area that evening,” said Duff. For more information, visit www.gloryhoundevents.com

A Gone Fishin’ program will be offered from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, August 13. Participants will meet at High Falls Parking Area in DuPont State Recreational Forest and take a hide ride to the lake. All of the equipment is provided. The program is free and open to ages 4 and up. Spaces are limited and pre-registration is required by calling 828.877.4423 or signing up at www.ncwildlife.org/Education_Workshops/Pisgah_Center.htm.

A Farm to School movement, an effort to get fresh, healthy foods in front of school kids, has taken off in the region, witnessed by more than 100 participants in a recent Farm To School Cooking conference in Asheville where chefs from the Biltmore Estate and Asheville restaurants Cúrate and Red Stag Grill, led workshops aimed at preparing teachers to cook fresh local foods with students this school year.

Educators from Cullowhee Valley School, along with students and faculty from Western Carolina University and the Jackson County Health Department, were among those who attended. Jackson County Schools have embraced the movement, including taking staff on local farm tours.

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project received a grant from the Kellogg Foundation for Farm to School initiatives and is working with Jackson County as a model.

Specific Farm to School work that is ongoing in Jackson County includes partnerships with professors at WCU and area community colleges to integrate Farm to School in the course of study for education and health science students.

Future plans include establishing Cullowhee Valley School and one Head Start Center as “learning labs,” where university and college students can be immersed in successful Farm to School settings.

828.236.1282 ext 113 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Nine Haywood County farmers and growers boosted their business planning with agriculture-specific training through Mountain BizWorks.

Bethel farmer Skipper Russell, owner of Seasonal Produce Farm, said the course gave him tangible tools to diversify his markets. He has been farming his whole life but just became a full time farmer in 2008.

He has worked hard to gain certifications that will allow him to sell produce to larger institutions like schools and hospitals.

“The business-planning course walks clients through the steps of turning a business idea into reality and determine the feasibility of that idea,” says Ag-Biz developer Sheryl Rudd.

The class doesn’t just teach clients, though.

“The great opportunity to network with other growers and producers is a true blessing,” says Dawn Cox of Bethel-Eden Farmers Market.

The purpose of Mountain BizWorks’ Ag-Biz Program is to create a more vibrant regional agricultural economy in Western North Carolina. The program focuses on creating new agricultural businesses as well as enhancing existing operations.

828.631.0292 or 828.919.1000 or mountainbizworks.org.

Haywood Historic Farmer’s Market will pull out all the stops this Saturday, Aug. 6, with a festival celebrating the full arrival of summer’s bounty, including long-awaited heirloom tomatoes and corn now in complete swing.

Fresh fish and meat vendors will grill up samples and the market booth will offer a casserole and chilled soup. Recipes will be available.

A presentation on growing and cooking with herbs will be at 9 and 11 a.m.

Performing under the music tent from 9:30 to 11 a.m. will be Barbara Duncan, awarding winning author, singer/songwriter and poet, as well as the Educational Director at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

The farmer’s market is held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays in the HART Theater parking lot of U.S. 276 a few blocks of Main Street next to the Shelton House.

Beef, chicken, eggs, fish, berries, honey, jam, baked goods, prepared meals, and crafts round out the arsenal of fresh, local produce found at the market.

waynesvillefarmersmarket.com.  

A panel discussion of young adult literature will be held at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, featuring three young authors: Beth Revis, Myra McEntire and Victoria Schwab.

Revis is the author of Across The Universe, part science fiction, part thriller and part mystery with a touch of surprise taking the reader on a journey that spans time, space, love and life.

McEntire penned Hourglass, which follows 17-year-old Emerson Cole as she lives in a small Southern town with her brother and sister-in-law, trying to get over her problems after the death of her parents.

Schwab is the author of Near Witch. The book features 16-year-old Lexi, who lives on an enchanted moor at the edge of the village of Near and must solve the mystery when, the day after a mysterious boy appears in town, children start disappearing.

City Lights donated each of the authors’ books as gift to the new Jackson County Library Complex.

828.586.9499 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Maya, a golden retriever reading assistance dog, will be at the Bryson City Library at 1 p.m. this Saturday, August 6, for children who would like to read to her.

Maya and her handler, Bobbie Mosher, are part of a new program gaining popularity around the nation that helps children improve reading and communication skills by reading to animals. The interaction between a child and a dog is non-judgmental — no criticisms and no corrections.

Together, they will assist a child in 20 minutes of reading with Maya one-on-one. Children may bring their own book from home, or find one to read in the library.  The goal is to inspire a child to practice reading and demonstrate that reading is fun.

To make an appointment, call 828.488.6709. This service will be available at the library on the first and third Saturday at the library throughout the summer.  

Haywood County also has a reading dog program called “Puppy Tales,” aimed at children in grades 1-5. The dog makes visits to the Waynesville and Canton libraries. Appointments are available by contacting Donna Surles at 828.356.2519.

To the Editor:

The ad from Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS organization, funded by anonymous sources, about “no more blank checks” for Obama, epitomizes what is wrong with politics in our country. It plays to our fears, uses two lies and counts on our ignorance of our legislative process and our amnesia about anything older than last week not notice the lies.

The first lie is that Obama gets to write “blank checks.” Presidents do not write any checks. They can request checks by the budget they propose, but Congress actually has to write the checks according to our constitution. If you think spending is out of control, blame your senators and representatives that authorized that spending.

The second lie is it’s all President Obama’s fault. Bush took office with a budget surplus and a deficit around 6 trillion dollars. Legislation enacted during Bush changed that surplus to over 7 trillion more dollars of new debt. 42 percent of that debt increase was from the Bush tax cuts, and 40 percent of it was from “war on terror” policies including 2 wars. Only 6 percent came from increases in discretionary spending and 12% in entitlement increases. These figures are from the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Obama did not cut all the jobs either. According to the Commerce Department, U. S. corporations added 2.4 million jobs from 2000-2009 but they were all overseas. At home these corporations were cutting 2.9 million jobs. In fact the 50 CEO’s who received the largest bonuses in pay in 2009 were the same CEO’s who cut the most jobs.

It is also important to remember that the TARP program that helped Wall Street but has failed to trickle down to Main Street was signed by Bush on Oct. 3, 2008 and more than half spent before Obama took Office.

It seems we could reduce our debt much more by cutting the “blank checks” creating 82 percent of the problem rather than killing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security (12 percent of the problem) and the social safety net for the unemployed.

Corporate profits are up 88 percent since the “great recession” was declared over by economists in June of 2009. Wages are up only 1 percent by contrast. Guess who has the money to support deceitful ads like those from Crossroads and to fund Tea Party candidates who are willing to throw the elderly, children, the poor and the disabled under the bus to protect special privileges for millionaires and billionaires.

Jane Harrison

Wayesville

To the editor:

I have just received a notice from Sen. Jim Davis that the N.C. Senate passed a bill requiring women who are considering an abortion to have an ultrasound.  

I would be more impressed if the Republicans who voted for that kind of control over women in this state exercised the same kind of concern for the babies once they are born.  The cuts to support for the poor in North Carolina will result in many more families struggling to care for another child. These cuts will also affect the health, education and well-being of many North Carolina’s children now and in the future.

How can senate Republicans claim this is a victory for women when it only adds additional requirements to an already difficult and emotional decision? Additionally, it could lead to more unsafe abortions, which could put even more women at risk.

It seems interesting that the Republican party claims to be the party of individual choice, but wants to control people’s most personal decisions...who to marry and if and when to give birth.

By the way, who is on the hook for these ultrasounds... the woman who doesn’t want it or the taxpayers?

Nancy Scott

Franklin

To the editor:

I urge conservation-minded residents of Western North Carolina and all those hikers, birders, campers, anglers, hunters, nature photographers, picnickers and local people who prefer the true solitude of a magnificent, wild national resource to again take pen to paper (and fingers to keyboards) to comment on the latest U.S. Forest Service plan to open the Upper Chattooga headwaters to boating.

The agency’s latest proposal would forever change the wild and scenic character of the river reaches from Green Creek (just below Grimshawes and its popular Slide Rock) to Lick Log Creek — some 16.5 miles downriver, right through the middle of the sensitive Chattooga Cliffs area, the Ellicott Rock Wilderness and the equally wild Rock Gorge.

As your readers know, both private and commercial boaters already control access and primary use of the 36 miles of the Chattooga River below Route 28. Kayakers, moreover, have full access to the wildly challenging West Fork and Overflow Creek all the way to Blue Valley.

To adopt the new plan would leave only six miles of the Chattooga, approximately, boat free. The latest Forest Service plan appears designed to try to again appease the interests of an extreme sport, and gives little attention to the equally valid interests of those who have worked hard for the past 35 years (largely by maintaining trails and resources) to safeguard the headwaters reaches for future generations.

I urge all to ensure their voices are heard in the upcoming comment period (deadline is August 30). Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. And send copies of your letters to your elected federal officials.

Joe Gatins

Satolah, Georgia

A new program called Parenting the Second Time Around is being offered for grandparents who are raising grandchildren.

The program will be held each Friday morning from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. beginning August 19, and will run through October 7 at the Family Resource Center in Webster. Some topics that will be covered include: child development, rebuilding a family, effective discipline, legal concerns and teen issues. There is no charge to attend, but you do need to register by August 16.

828.586.4009

The bridge over the Pigeon River on U.S. 19/23 in downtown Canton will be replaced over the coming year, with work to start as soon as next month.

The $2.9 million project contract was awarded to Taylor and Murphy Construction Co. of Asheville. Work could begin as early as Aug. 29, and is scheduled for completion by Dec. 31, 2012.

The bridge was constructed in 1924 and needs replacing because of its age and condition. This is one of 16 contracts that were awarded at the end of July for highway and bridge projects across North Carolina. The total for the contracts was $277.7 million, and came in at about $27.3 million below DOT estimates.

Haywood Community College and Haywood County Schools recently signed an agreement to provide high school students with a seamless transition from secondary to post-secondary education. The agreement minimizes content duplication for high school students entering the community college system.

More than 35 courses are included, which allows students in all Haywood County schools who successfully complete these high school courses with a B or higher, a proficiency level of 93 on the VOCATS and recommendation of their instructor to complete part of their college freshman year before they graduate high school. Completing these courses saves high school students money and time. Students who complete classes must enroll at HCC within two years of graduating from high school to receive college credit.

Courses include: business, web design, marketing, masonry, construction, drafting, allied health, horticulture, networking and welding.

For more information, call 828.627.4500 or visit www.haywood.edu/high_school_programs.

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino recruiters will be at Haywood Community College’s West Waynesville Campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17. They will accept up to 13 candidates in a panel interview to staff their resort’s expansion.

Harrah’s expansion will create 400 new part-time and full-time jobs: room attendants, food court attendants, food service, cooks, security guards, cashiers, game hosts, valet parkers and others.

Three, 75-minute pre-interview workshops to be held at HCC on August 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 15, and 16. Candidates who complete the workshops will get certificates to present to Harrah’s recruiters.

To enroll or make appointments for the August 17 interviews, call 828.246.9233.

MemoryCare, a program to assess memory and cognitive functioning, will present its Professional Caregiver Education Program curriculum in a three-part series with one part beginning Aug. 9.

Parts two and three will be given Aug. 16 and Aug. 23, respectively. The sessions will all be held at the Haywood County Administrative Building at 81 Elmwood Way in Waynesville. Each session will be four hours long.

The series is directed at professional caregivers of persons with dementia, and will be taught by Terry Mulligan, PA-C, and Margaret Noel, MD.

This course “is designed to enhance the professional caregiver’s understanding of the essential aspects of dementia care, including the common types of dementia, behavior management, treatment options, risk reduction, and end of life issues,” said Dr. Noel.

Registration is limited. Participants are eligible for up to 1.2 Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) through the Mountain Area Health Education Center. The cost is $10 per participant or $25 if CEUs are desired. Information is also available online at www.memorycare.org. The registration deadline is Aug. 5.

828.771.2219.

If you are a private forest landowner and suffered severe damage from the tornado or high winds earlier this year, you might be eligible for federal help.

The Swain/Jackson Farm Service Agency office administers the Emergency Forest Restoration Program. If you qualify for assistance, up to 75 percent of the financial assistance could be covered. Emergency measures must restore forest health and forest-related resources and might include: removing debris, site preparation, seeding establishing and restoring conservation structures and other similar installations. Contact the FSA County Office by August 15. 828.488.2684.

Time to go shopping — this weekend, Aug. 5 through Aug. 7, is the annual back-to-school tax free weekend.

Retailers searching for back-to-school items will be able to find clothing, shoes and school supplies (under $100 per item) tax free, as well as certain school instructional materials under $300 per item; computer systems and educational software for personal use that are under $3,500; computer accessories that are $250 or less per item; and sports and recreational equipment under $50 per item. Some new items have been added in the electronics field are exempt from taxes, too.

The three-day tax free weekend is typically one of the top sales periods for retailers throughout North Carolina and the other 17 states that offer this benefit to their shoppers. This year’s sales are predicted to reach $68.8 billion nationally.

“During these challenging economic times, retailers understand that consumers are extremely focused on value and are taking this weekend to offer substantial savings on merchandise that parents will need for back to school,” said Fran Preston, president of the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association.

Preston, drawing on data from the past seven years, believes that North Carolina can expect to see heavy traffic and elevated sales.

The Swain County Chamber of Commerce and The Smoky Mountain News will host a meet-and-greet at the chamber office from 1 to 4 p.m. on Aug. 5 to kickoff sales in the 2012 Visitor’s Guide.

This will be an opportunity for business owners to learn more about the benefits of chamber membership, join for the first time or renew their membership as well as reserve ad space in the 2012 publication.

MedWest Health System will open a new Urgent Care Center on Aug. 15 in Sylva.

It will be located at 176 Walmart Plaza, and will provide walk-in examinations six days a week to patients with non-emergency illnesses or injuries. The new center has space for eight patient exam rooms, x-ray and full lab services in 3,770 square feet.

An open house of the new facility will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 11. The new center’s staff will include two physicians, two physician assistants or nurse practitioners, two medical assistants, two registered nurses, and four radiology and lab technicians. The hours of operation for the center will be 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The new center is the only Urgent Care in Jackson County and is one of three in the MedWest Health System. The other two Urgent Care locations are in the Hazelwood area of Waynesville, beside the hospital in Clyde, which is scheduled to move to a new facility at exit 31 off Interstate 40 in Canton in December. 828.631.9462.

Chuck Wooten’s wings are still clipped as Jackson County’s manager, at least for now, but it looks like he’ll get big-boy hiring and firing powers soon.

Commissioners this week failed to act on Wooten’s request that he no longer bring all personnel decisions before them for approval, but pledged to revisit it soon.

Most county managers in the state have the power to hire and fire county employees. And until recently, Jackson’s manager did as well.

But when three new county commissioners swept into office, they pulled that power away from the county manger. At the time Ken Westmoreland, who left the post the next day, although there are still conflicting stories on whether he was made to leave by the new commissioners or left voluntarily.

Their rationale for overseeing hiring themselves was to ensure vacant positions really needed filling.

When Wooten came on board as a stopgap replacement for Westmoreland, he warned commissioners in January that the decision was posing a problem, mainly in clogging up the process of effective county government.

So they backed off part of that mandate, allowing department heads who are primarily state funded — such as social services and the health department, for example — to use their own discretion. They also said Wooten could make decisions when positions were contracted or grant funded.

Jackson County commissioners did, however, retain oversight for county positions paid for purely with county money.

Wooten is no longer the “interim” county manager, however, and is at the helm in a permanent capacity. The request to have full hiring and firing authority would seem to reflect Wooten’s growing comfort level in the post and with commissioners. And, the commissioners comfort level with him.

Queried after the meeting this week, the board of commissioners seemed united in wanting to grant Wooten full manager powers, but a couple said they had timing concerns — as in being kept informed on decisions being made, and when they would learn about hires.

“We’re just concerned about the time frame, that’s all,” Commissioner Mark Jones said.

— By Quintin Ellison

Two Handmade in America Craft Labs are coming to Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center in Graham County. Learn how to engage visitors in your studio and tips for arranging and selling from your booth during a session on August 10. How to price your work and budgeting will be covered in a session on September 14.

The craft labs are free, but contributions made to Handmade in America are accepted. Handmade in America’s mission is to grow handmade economies through craft, cultural heritage, and community assets.

828.479.3364.

The next meeting of the Blue Ridge Watermedia Society will be held from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. on August 9 at Haywood Community College Building 1400.

The featured artist will be Pam Haddock. Haddock lives in Sylva and has been painting full time in watercolor for 21 years. She is co-chair of the Western Region of the Watercolor Society of North Carolina and is a member of the Southern Watercolor Society. She recently received the Arches/Canson award for her work in the 34th annual exhibition.

All are invited to attend the meeting. For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Popcorn Sutton Summer Jam is scheduled for noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.

In its second year, this event celebrates the life of legendary moonshiner and Maggie Valley native, Popcorn Sutton. Music, clogging, dancing, storytelling and fun, including a dunk tank, will continue throughout the day.

Featured entertainment onstage includes Tennessee Jed, Michelle Leigh, Josh Fields, Ali Randolph and Outta Luck Band, Charlie Duke and more.

Prize to be awarded for the best Popcorn Sutton look-a-like.   

Local restaurant Smackers will sell food and beverages, including beer and wine.

Admission is $1. 828.926.0999.

The Overlook Players will present Narnia at 7:30 p.m. from August 4-6, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, August 7, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Based on the classic children’s novel, Chronicles of Narnia, written by C.S. Lewis, the two-act adaptation for the stage tells the tale of four young children who stumble through a wardrobe and into a mysterious world. The story is told here with a mix of live actors and puppets.

This production is sponsored by Compassion International, a Christian aid organization helping children in poverty. Compassion International is also sponsoring a Narnia Adventureland Party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, in the back parking lot of the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts. Children can experience the mysterious world of Narnia through games, face-painting, adventure castles and more. Tickets are $5 per person.

Tickets for the play are $10-$13.

866.273.4615 or visit greatmountainmusic.com.

Phil Coghill, a professional kaleidoscope artist and woodturner, will be one of the newest artists to participate in the Creative Endeavors Art and Crafts Show, scheduled this year for August 12 and 13 at Lake Junaluska.  

Since 1988, Coghill has participated in juried shows and festivals throughout the southeast. He has been making and wholesaling kaleidoscopes to galleries and fine craft stores throughout the United States and internationally since 1990.

The show will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on August 12 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 13. The show is put on by the Junaluska Woman’s Club, and on display will be crafts and handmade items for sale by dozens of local artisans.  

For more information, call 828.454.9474.

Art After Dark returns to downtown Waynesville from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, August 5.

Working studios and galleries on Main Street, Depot Street and in Historic Frog Level will open their doors to the public and musician Chris Minick will provide strolling musical entertainment.

Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 will host an artists’ reception for its newest exhibit “Main Street: Moments in Time,” which celebrates 25 years of the Downtown Waynesville Association.

Twigs and Leaves Gallery will be showcasing mixed media designer Lynn Bland, which includes a hot wax painting demonstration by the artist. Gallery Two Six Two will be showing new photography work by local artists Kim Boyd & Ronald Brunsvold.

Other participating galleries will have Art After Dark flags flying out front.

Art After Dark takes place the first Friday of each month, May through December.

828.452.9284 or www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.

The Downtown Waynesville Dog Walk will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 6, at the Haywood County Courthouse, and parade down the street.

Categories in a dog contest include best tail wagger, best dressed, most talented and best owner/dog lookalike.

The walk is a fundraiser hosted by Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation.

Teams who raise the most in donations win prizes. Last year, The Bracers won 1st place with The Thundering Herd in 2nd place, who used their website as a collection point for pledges and donations.

Donations to Sarge’s are critical to help offset the costs of medical supplies, boarding dogs and cats rescued from euthanasia from the county animal control facility when there are no foster homes available and operating the new adoption center.

Pre-registration will be held Thursday and Friday, August 4th and 5th from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Sarge’s Adoption Center located in the Waynesville Industrial Park near Lowe’s and Junaluska Animal Hospital. Registration fee is $15 per person, children under 10 are free. Sign-up for walkers who have not pre-registered will begin at 9 a.m. the day of.

828.246.9050 or visit www.sargeandfriends.org.

Balsam Range, a renowned bluegrass band across the region, will play Sylva’s Concerts on the Creek series at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 5, at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva.

Members of the sought-after five-piece band hail from Haywood and Jackson counties. Since forming in 2007, Balsam Range has produced three albums and was nominated for emerging artist of the year by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2010.

Their sound is influenced by the traditions of the Appalachian Mountains and their hard-driving bluegrass music includes vestiges of other genres, including Americana, roots, blues, jazz and gospel.

For more information, call 800.962.1911 or visit www.mountainlovers.com.

Franklin will be hopping with all things barbecue at the Mountain High Barbecue Festival and Car Show on August 12 and 13 at the Wayne Proffitt Agricultural Center. The two-day event features barbecue teams from all over the country. Sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society, winners claim a state barbecue championship.

Saturday will feature the professional and backyard competitions, along with the “Tastin’ Tent” at 3 p.m. where a $5 ticket will buy 10 two-ounce cups of barbecue pork from 10 different teams. Tickets for the “Tastin’ Tent” are limited and on sale at the Franklin Chamber of Commerce

In addition to the barbecue and festival foods for purchase, crafts and retail vendors, there will be a car show, natural beauty pageant and a cornhole tournament. The Dallas Reese Band will entertain with classic rock.  

This pageant is for girls ages birth to 16 years old and will be held at 1 p.m. The attire is a casual country/western look, and every contestant will be recognized on stage and will receive a trophy. “Miss Mountain High BBQ Festival” will receive a sash, crown, 2 foot trophy and, of course, the title.

For more information, visit www.MountainHighBBQFestival.com.

For the last seven years, Canton has celebrated Haywood County’s biggest crop with a festival in its honor. This year, the town’s Mountain Mater Festival has grown from a small celebration of the red jewel of summer to a sizeable small-town festival that drew 10,000 attendees last year.

The 2011 festival is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, August 5 and 6 in downtown Canton.

This year, the lineup of entertainment on the downtown stages will be non-stop, featuring six mountain clogging groups, martial arts demonstrations and music. There will also be a talent competition.

The entertainment this time around will be one of the festival’s highlights, said Gene Monson, a member of Focus On Canton, the civic group that plans the event.

“Entertainment is a big portion of the festival,” said Monson. “We have a very nice stage and it stays busy from the time we open until the time close.”

And then, of course, there are the tomatoes that are the festival’s namesake.

Among the food vendors will be a section called Tomato Alley, where tomato delicacies can find their way into the hands of hungry tomato lovers.

Elsewhere at the festival, vendors will be selling local tomatoes, donated by J.W. Johnson, a tomato packing house in Crusoe.

There will be the annual Mrs. Mater Pageant, a car show and this year, a few new additions will join the Mater Fest family — a motorcycle show and a petting zoo for the younger crowd.

The event is coordinated each year by Focus On Canton, and the group underwrites the cost through merchandise and food sales, along with sponsorships from businesses and individuals in the community.

But after paying out its overhead, the group’s real goal is to put whatever money it can towards helping those in need in Canton.

Mater Fest might be a summer festival, but around the holidays, its impact is felt by those who need it most, said Monson.

“We sponsor families at Christmastime,” said Monson. “We give our entire treasury away at the holidays.”

The festival, he said, is for the people of Haywood County, as an enjoyment in the summertime and a help during the holidays for some who may not get it from other places.

“We try to make the festival as close to free as we possibly can, and to do it for the folks of Haywood County to come and enjoy it and hopefully not be a burden on their pocketbook,” Monson said.

Entertainment line-up

Friday, August 5

• 1 p.m. — The Josh Fields Band

• 3 p.m. — Lisa Price Band

• 3:30 p.m. — Southern Appalachian Cloggers

• 6 p.m. — Talent Contest and Mountain Mater Festival Talent Jubilee

• 8 p.m. — Simple Folks

• 8:30 p.m. — Blue Ridge High Steppers

Saturday, August 6

• 11 a.m. — Fred Riley Academy of Martial Arts

• 12 p.m. — Country Soul

• 1:30 p.m. — Southern Appalachian Cloggers

• 2 p.m. — Hominy Valley Boys

• 3 p.m. — Fines Creek Flat Footers

• 3:30 p.m. — Gray Wolf

• 4:30 p.m. — Smokey Mountain Stompers

• 5 p.m. — Gold

• 6 p.m. — Talent Contest continues

• 8 p.m. — Michelle Leigh

• 8:30 p.m. — Green Valley Cloggers

By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer

From playing a girl with big dreams that go nowhere in Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre’s “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” to embracing my fiance’s love for Smashing Pumpkins, this past year left an artistic imprint on my life.

Artistic influence can present itself in many different forms. That’s why I interviewed numerous people involved in the arts locally, from painters to bakers to librarians to the managing editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times.

In this compilation of interviews you will also find many others who were influenced artistically in 2008.

The question I presented was, “What have been the top three artistic influences for you this past year?”

The following are the answers I received via e-mail from Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and Asheville.

I believe the people interviewed are best described by using a Louisiana-Cajun term, lagniappe, which means “unexpected bonus,” because these individuals enrich our communities.

Mike Gillespie
Dentist and Chair of Waynesville Public Art Commission, Waynesville

My top three artistic influences for the last year were:

Stefan Bonitz. Stefan is the creator of “Old Time Music,” Waynesville’s first-commissioned public art piece. Using metal objects uncovered at local scrap yards, Stefan pieces them together to make whimsical, cartoon-like figures. Reusing discarded items and giving them a second life is also an old mountain tradition, as the settlers here wasted very little and made crafts and utensils out of leftover materials.

“Homegrown Music: A Haywood County Tradition.” This is a CD compiled for the Haywood County Library and was accepted into the Library of Congress Local Legacies Project. It contains old-time music played by artists with Haywood County ties. There are a variety of styles, from shape-note hymns and traditional fiddle tunes to hammered dulcimer and country blues. This sampler platter of styles ensures there will be something there for everyone to enjoy.

Haywood County Arts Council. Their yearly programs bring a wide variety of cultural events to the area. Gallery 86 on Waynesville’s Main Street hosted several excellent shows for visual arts, and performing arts events are held at venues across the county. One of the best exhibits this year was “It’s a Small, Small Work” which showcased area artists and limited the size to no more than 12 inches. It highlighted the variety of talent we have in the region and allowed visitors to take home original art for a minor investment. On the musical side, patrons enjoyed performances in jazz, bluegrass, Celtic and classical styles. The wide range of events provided by the HCAC brings many opportunities for our citizens to enjoy the cultural arts.

Desmond Suarez
Second-Generation Furniture Designer/Craftsman, Canton

(1) I would say one of my biggest influences was the work that I was chosen to make for the “Handmade House at the Ramble” in Biltmore farms. It was an English arts and crafts cottage, and I designed a whole new series called “East of Appalachia” mixing in many international design elements.

(2) I have always been influenced and inspired by the beauty of the mountains and the local Appalachian hardwoods, the depth of color, and grain design.

(3) Functionality is an ever-growing influence, from the original Shaker design elements to the clean lines of modernism ... form that does follow function.

Alyson Nelson & Sandy Fogarty
Owners of the Quilters Quarters, Waynesville

I would say the book The Shack by William P. Young. It is a novel about faith and self-awakening. I continue to reread this book and each time I experience more about myself and my faith through the journey of the story. It is the kind of book that must be passed on and shared with others.

As a beginner in the art of quilt making, I have been inspired by the work of Alex Anderson. She has authored many quilt books and taken her quilt skills to television. Her down-to-earth nature and her dedication to the art of quilting give a beginning quilter the confidence to try new techniques.

Over the past few years I have read the Jennifer Chiaverini series, Elm Creek Quilts about quilting and relationships of women who quilt and always wanted to provide that kind of environment for quilters. Learning how to quilt and to have a safe place to come to enjoy friendship and fellowship with other women is an important part of being a quilt shop. Teaching others is my passion and to be able to pass that on is what keeps me inspired for my own quilting. It is a joy every day to see faces light up when they come through our doors and to know that we can also inspire others to be creative.

Barbara Bates Smith
Actress, Clyde

2008! A year I did not make my usual trek to New York for the bright lights and the big stars. But, oh my, I found great stimulation in Waynesville— being a part of Athold Fugard’s “Road to Mecca” in HART’s Feichter Studio. A standout memory in its many aspects: Superb onstage partners Kane Clawson and Terry Nienhuis; Suzanne Tinsley directing me through yet another challenging endeavor; and a play about artistic expression, as so glitteringly manifested in Dave Etheridge’s set.

And where else could you find audiences so enthusiastic about a serious play? Yea Waynesville.

The prize-winning novelist Lee Smith is on my list of inspirations as I wrap up ‘08 with a tour of her “Christmas Letters.” She has given me 19 years of rich characters to bring to life! So here’s to Lee!

And 2008 brings to the fore a local writer, Bill Everett, who has influenced me to join him in some public readings from his newly published sweeping saga, Red Clay, Blood River. Lucky me.

Ron Rash
Author, Jackson County

My favorite fiction books published this year are Annie Proulx’s Just Fine the Way It Is, Tim Winton’s Breath, and Richard Price’s Lush Life. I’ve also really gotten into Malcolm Holcombe’s music; what a fantastic talent.

Gary Carden
Writer and Storyteller, Sylva

Well, since I now have a cochlear implant, I have gone back to listening to things that I had lost. The implant can’t handle music very well, but sometimes it gives me a faint echo of what things used to sound like, including Chopin, Beethoven and Merle Haggard. I have also gone back to listening to Garrison Keillor on WCQS on Saturday night and Sunday morning and I think that has had a definite impact on the way I view things like aging, folklore and my own childhood. In addition, now that I can hear, I can teach, so I have gone back to developing my old classes like Appalachian culture, Appalachian literature, Appalachian Folklore (From Grimm to Jack Tales) and Cherokee history. I have applied to Southwestern Community College for a position teaching adult education courses (continuing education) and I hope to be back in the classroom by March. I’m also “rediscovering storytelling.” Now that I can hear, I want to tell stories more often ... maybe in the schools. I’ve got a new project that I am excited about called “Folk Drama in the Schools,” and I am going to start working with high school students who want to write one-act plays about their own culture and/or tradition. I’ll be doing the first one for Foxfire down in Rabun this month.

Linda Steigleder
Executive Director, The Bascom Art Center, Highlands

In 2008, I was inspired by the American artist Helen Frankenthaler (born 1918) who recently turned 80 years old, yet continues to be considered one of the greats in the pantheon of 20th to 21st century painters. Her very large stain paintings will the subject of The Bascom’s June through July 2009 exhibition, the first special arts program that we will offer in our new architect-designed building and 6-acre campus.

Trumpet player and jazz virtuoso Wynton Marsalis continues to inspire me along with vocalists Tony Bennett and Diana Krall, all of whom interpret and celebrate our existence through music.

Poet Billy Collins (recent book is Ballistics) and a younger poetic voice, Elizabeth Alexander (teaches at Yale), give me hope for verse, humor and the written and spoken word.

Will Rogers
Blacksmith Artisan at Jackson County Green Energy Park, Sylva

The past few months I have been totally focused on studying traditional Cherokee metalwork in preparation for teaching a metals class for the Qualla Arts and Crafts co-op. There’s been some very interesting work done in both blacksmithing and in non-ferrous work, that is copper, brass, and silver.

Like the Cherokee, my work is inspired by nature, that’s probably my strongest artistic influence. I have also been looking at a lot of Mayan imagery.

Kristina Lynn
Reference Assistance and Event Coordination at the Macon County Public Library, Franklin

Billy Bragg – The English folk/punk/protest musician spent this past fall touring throughout the United States, working at voter registrations before his concerts. Asheville was lucky enough to host him on his last night in the States at the Orange Peel the first Sunday in November, just before our Election Day. While my vote was already cast in an early ballot, I’d like to believe that Billy and his rally-like concerts sent enough of my fellow audience members out that next Tuesday to help change history. And we thought we were there just to hear that sweet Essex accent.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi —Both the graphic novels and the movie struck me. Having spent the past 15 years living here in the mountains, I have an understanding of my native friends’ frustration at the persistent misunderstandings about their culture. Satrapi wishes to dispel similar confusions about her own nation’s society in her autobiography about growing up in Iran during the Revolution. Her story and her simple, stark graphics express the ideas that, when we meet and know people who are from elsewhere, we won’t be so ready to assume that they’re evil, ignorant, and wrong. We usually find we have a lot more in common than we’d expected.

David LaMotte — The Farewell Concert in the Grey Eagle was a night I’m glad I didn’t miss. David has been playing his songs in and around Asheville for close to 20 years, but recently earned a scholarship to study international relations, peace and conflict resolution in Brisbane, Australia. Listening to just a smidgen of his songs that night from his 10 CDs reminded me that this new turn isn’t really a change in his vocation; it’s something he’s been working for throughout his career. We’ll miss him, those of us who grew up hearing him at the end of the week at Camp Grier in Old Fort, or at the coffee and tea houses in Sylva, but we wish him well in the continued work for peace and understanding.

Jeffrey & Sarah Southerland
Owners, Riverblaze Bakery, Franklin

For the past three years we’ve sold artisan breads, pastries, and desserts at our small bakery off of Highway 64, and beginning in February we will be opening a new retail bakery in downtown Franklin on Palmer Street. Growing with this bakery has given us so much opportunity for creative freedom.

1.The rural aesthetic: When it comes to the design of our new bakery space, our main influence is the country character that infuses Franklin’s landscape. We see so much beauty around us, in everything from old tractor seats to barn wood, from winding grape vines to forgotten tools. And we love cheerful and over-the-top pastoral images like roosters and colorful painted landscapes, bright folk art, and anything handmade.

2.The people, both past and present: Michael Beadle from The Smoky Mountain News said about our bakery: “There’s a lot of love in these loaves.” When it comes to the craft of artisan baking, we do believe that this statement is true, and we draw a lot of our inspiration from our love for the local community.

3. Local Food makes tasty food: Our third artistic influence is the abundance of fresh, local and organic food at our fingertips! Franklin has a vibrant local foods community and an abundant weekly Farmer’s Market, and this coming year Jeff plans to expand the bakery’s garden on his family’s land. Our recipes and daily menus are sculpted by the local harvest, and we are blessed with a great supply of tasty berries, plump tomatoes, zesty garlic, fragrant herbs, colorful veggies and fresh eggs, all produced by members of our own community.

Bobbie Contino
Executive Director, Macon County Arts Council, Franklin

I enjoyed a hard-hat tour of the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, under construction here in Franklin and set to open early July 2009. A 1,500-seat, privately owned (by local businessman Phil Drake and wife Sharon) state-of-the-art facility with every imaginable amenity, it represents a giant step forward in bringing even more quality arts programs to our community and to the region.

My high point of our council’s excellent 2008 concert series came during an amazing performance this November by guitarist Brad Richter and cellist Viktor Uzur, two internationally acclaimed artists. Their selections ranged from works by Bella Bartok to Led Zeppelin (honest), along with some original compositions. Their combination of Dick Dale’s “Miserlou” — a tune most folks remember from the movie “Pulp Fiction” — and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumble Bee” had the audience on their feet cheering. It’s the moment arts presenters dream of.

A major arts influence in my life this year, and every year, is WCQS Radio. We’re so fortunate to have this fine public radio station (I’m listening as I write this).

Elena Carlson
Rickman General Store, Cowee

This year I have been influenced by the courage and perseverance of Jerome Laurence, Atlanta painter, whose career I have closely followed since he was introduced to me in the year 2002. Jerome is a recovered schizophrenic patient who has found in painting the peace that his mind really wanted to express. This year his painting “Tulips are People II” was chosen by the Carter Center to illustrate their Christmas Card, and I was really happy when I opened the envelope and could recognized the strokes of his hand and the gentleness of his soul on the card.

I have also found myself celebrating with Meryl Streep her last movie. A musical! I have admired Streep for years for her versatility and powerful identification with her roles, but in “Mamma Mia” I saw her tal cual es (just as she is now) full of vibrance and hunger for life. Fortunately, she is very contagious!

Last but not least, I have been influenced by the creativity and willingness to share of the artisans, writers and storytellers I was lucky to meet this year at the Rickman General Store in Cowee. All of them have extended their hand in sharing their talents with our community, and I am in debt with them forever.

I am convinced that the challenges of the year 2009 will awake higher levels of creativity around us.

A peaceful 2009 to all!

Elizabeth Ellison
Artist & Teacher, Bryson City

I spent a lot of 2008 renewing my spirit, walking my dog along the Tuckasegee River and contemplating the landscape which especially in winter and early morning fog brings to mind the tao of painting and The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting. So as always I have drawn inspiration from the Eastern world of art.

I also reacquainted myself with the paintings of John Marin and Charles Burchfield, who in different ways sing to me but always renew my creative energy.

Jeff Delfield
Librarian, Marianna Black Library, Bryson City

The Coen Brothers: These days I see all my movies on DVD so I got a chance to see two Coen Brothers releases in 2008. While “No Country for Old Men” might be their modern masterpiece, I thoroughly enjoyed the return to silliness of “Burn After Reading.” Though the two movies couldn’t be more different in tone and subject matter, that Coen magic is found on each frame of both.

Banjo Blues by John White. I’m a huge fan of old delta blues recordings — the scratchier the 78, the better. This year my favorite music recording came from a modern blues player who happens to convey his musical message via fretless clawhammer banjo. John White, who lives in Jasper, Ga., has the weathered voice to match his rustic music, too. I received the disc on a Friday and by the end of the weekend I had played through the whole thing at least 20 times – incredible stuff. (http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnwhite).

While I enjoyed many books published in 2008 (Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth was a standout) I have to say that the most influential book on me this year was Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, which I am embarrassed to say I had never read until this year. Though the message of simple living and self-sufficiency was not necessarily a revelation, the urgency of the message and the clarity in which it was written struck me more deeply than I expected it to. If the current economic crisis doesn’t turn in 2009, this classic could become the “how-to manual” for us all on making due with less.

Dee Dee Triplett
Artisan, Bryson City

My intention when doing creative things has always been to make people smile and put forth joyous energy rather than angst. This past year that has seemed especially necessary! I find immense inspiration in the woods around our home — the patterns in the bark; the year’s changes in leaves from tiny delicate vulnerable green and spring to saturated color and leathery curves in the fall ... last fall when the mud-slinging just wouldn’t stop, looking outdoors was a perfect antidote. Helping others learn how to enjoy their creative side is always inspirational, and it always makes new ideas pop into my head. Robert and I have spent a lot of time this past year building a retreat where we can teach classes to small groups and hopefully offer positive experiences to help others be inspired.

Robert Triplett
Artisan, Bryson City

It is important to me to spend time thinking about the piece to be made or the task to be accomplished. If the work is a commission, extra thought and understanding are required to fulfill the recipient’s vision. Early in the process I take time to plan, brainstorm and consider alternatives and potential designs. I then step away to allow time for the idea to find its voice. Walking down seldom-traveled roads helps to solidify the thought process and firm the final design. One of the most inspiring people in my life is Tom Joyce, a blacksmith in Santa Fe who often works outside the box. Tom’s conceptual thought process is exceptional and his craftsmanship is impeccable.

Phil Fernandez
Managing Editor, Asheville Citizen-Times, Asheville

Three topics related to the arts world in 2008 that will continue to be a challenge as we move into 2009 are the impact of the economy, the growing number of entertainment options and the need to educate children more on the topic of the arts.

All three of these seem to be affecting the traditional arts venues, such as playhouses, and raising concerns that fewer will attend events. Museums, theaters and art galleries contribute to the quality of life in a community, and they are rich, cultural resources we don’t want to lose.

Every year about this time, reporters dig out their old files and back editions and start cruising the headlines for the top stories of the year. Lucky for us, there never seems to be shortage of material for the “Year in Review” issue. A year has yet to slip by without a hefty share of humdingers: the funny, the astonishing, the dismaying.

This year we paid homage to the newsmakers of 2008 in our first annual awards edition. Staff put their heads together, chucked convention out the window and came up with a list of our most noteworthy local figures and incidents from the year. For those who made the cut, think of it as a thank you for giving us something to write about. For those who didn’t, there’s always 2009.

Pig in a Poke Award

When Haywood County commissioners bid for and won a 22-acre parcel of land in the Jonathan Creek community that they hoped to turn into a recreation park, there was one small problem — someone else claimed ownership to the same property. A man who had once lived on the property argued that the owner, Lucius Jones, had promised that the property would be signed over to him upon Jones’ death.

What the county first referred to as a “minor cloud” over the title to the land resulted in a months-long legal wrestling match over who actually owned the property. Meanwhile, the county had $1 million riding on the parcel. The county finally settled and secured the land, but it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Elephant in the Room Award

No, witnesses in the illegal gambling trial of former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford didn’t name names, but it wasn’t exactly hard to guess who they were referring to when they called out the “Haywood County sheriff” for taking bribes in exchange for allowing the operation of an illegal video poker ring.

No charges have been filed against Sheriff Tom Alexander, who has had little choice but to go on with business as usual despite scrutiny placed on him. The FBI has since subpoenaed records relating to Alexander’s payroll and campaign contributions, as well as the names and numbers of sheriff’s department employees.

Medford was convicted of accepting large payouts in exchange for permitting illegal gambling operations and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Show Me the Money Award

Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran sued the county in July over his salary, which is one of the lowest in the state. He’s asking commissioners to nearly double his pay to $80,000 per year, which would put his salary more in line with that earned by the former sheriff.

Bob Ogle, who Cochran succeeded, made upwards of $100,000 per year because of a county-approved practice that supplemented his income. Ogle was given a certain amount of money to feed inmates at the jail, and could pocket whatever he didn’t spend on food.

The county finally ended the sketchy practice on the eve that Cochran took the helm from Ogle. In his lawsuit, Cochran alleges that the county’s move was politically motivated — the county commissioners are Democrats, as was Ogle; while Cochran is a Republican.

Perseverance Award

Local car dealerships hurting from the blow of the national economic downturn are persevering despite the fact that their sales are down as much as 60 percent.

Local auto dealers were hoping Congress would pass the auto bailout to keep the Big Three automakers afloat and prevent bankruptcy.

The local dealership owners and managers say they’ve had to lay off employees in the wake of the crisis, and if the Big Three go bankrupt, their dealerships could close because no one is going to want to purchase a vehicle made by a bankrupt company that can’t service a warranty.

U.S. Rep Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, voted against the bailout.

Up in the Air Award

With a new school board in place and the economic downturn hitting hard, plans to build a new K-4 school in Macon County to replace the old schools of Cowee and Iotla may be on hold.

The previous school board approved the architectural plans for the new school at the 11th hour before the new board, which has four out of five new members, took office in December.

The majority of the new board appears to concur with building the new school, but county commissioners Ronnie Beale and Jim Davis announced at the first meeting of the new school board that there may not be enough money to build the new school proposed to cost $15.2 million.

The county commissioners are scheduled to discuss funding options for the school at their annual retreat Jan. 10 at Southwestern Community College.

Macon Schools Superintendent Dan Brigman said a new K-4 school is needed to replace the old Iotla and Cowee schools that are running out of space.

However, some have said they favor keeping the smaller community schools of Iotla and Cowee because they provide better learning environments.

It’s Still Not Mine Award

Former Haywood Tourism Development Authority Director Scotty Ellis claimed ignorance — twice — after she was found with marijuana in her vehicle on two separate occasions and charged with possession. Both times, Ellis speculated that family members may have left it in her 2008 BMW after riding in the car.

Apparently, that excuse made little difference to the TDA board, which voted for Ellis’ resignation after the second incident. The director of 11 years stepped down Nov. 1.

Sweetest Deal

While the state’s mental health system lay in shambles, the director of a regional mental health agency was having a bit of an easier go. Smoky Mountain Center for Mental Health Director Tom McDevitt allegedly paid himself two salaries, gave himself special perks, and changed the date of his hire to dodge taxes on his retirement benefits. McDevitt also paid his wife commission for real estate transactions and used a loophole in the agency’s guidelines to employ his daughter. All the while, McDevitt raked in one of the highest six-figure salaries in the state among those with comparable positions.

McDevitt cemented his authority by convincing his board to approve a five-year contract, an unusual request for a mental health agency director. But he didn’t leave much room for the 30 members of the Smoky Mountain Center board to question his activities — McDevitt attempted to amend the board’s bylaws with a phrase that threatened consequences for speaking negatively about the agency.

After a Smoky Mountain News investigation shed light on some of McDevitt’s activities, the board of the agency took swift action and called for McDevitt’s resignation.

Litmus Test Award

When Jackson County commissioners passed strict mountainside development regulations last year, opponents pledged to get even come election time.

Two of the Jackson County commissioners that helped pass the regulations were up for election this year, but managed to hang on to their seats. Both faced opposition from candidates that expressed an interest in undoing part of the regulations.

If the commissioners election indeed served as a litmus test on voters’ feelings toward the development regs, looks like the Jackson commissioners that hung on to their seats had accurately gauged the public’s proclivity for reigning in laissez-fare mountainside development.

Most Unlikely Criminals

Police called to the scene of a farmers market in downtown Waynesville nearly laughed when they encountered the subjects in question — a group of farmers, some in their 80s, who refused to move their setup to the market’s new location.

For nearly 20 years, the farmers had hawked their wares in the parking lot of Badcock Home Furnishings on Main Street. The owners of Badcock asked the farmers to vacate the lot, but the farmers didn’t want to leave — so police were called to intervene.

The standoff was short-lived and ended when police agreed to let the farmers stay until the end of the day.

The battle over the farmer’s market waged on, however, resulting in the creation of two separate markets in new locations — one run by old-timers who wanted the market to stay exactly the same; the other overseen by a newer group supporting an expanded farmers market.

Main Street Champion

Oh wait, this was a real award, given to SMN’s own Greg Boothroyd by the Downtown Waynesville Association for 2008.

Boothroyd, a staunch supporter who’s worked dilgently to make downtown all it can be, has been a figure on Main Street since the mid-‘90s.

The Downtown Waynesville Association called him an “enthusiastic supporter” of the Main Street vision. Boothroyd sees the value of a vibrant downtown not only to his own business, but to the place where he has chosen to raise his family. Boothroyd is the part-owner and advertising director of The Smoky Mountain News.

“Interacting so closely with downtown merchants, he ingratiated himself into the community by tirelessly promoting the central business district. Always willing to volunteer his time and services, Greg is an invaluable and well respected member of the community and embodies the spirit of a true Main Street Champion for partnering with the DWA and the town in creating a thriving and prosperous central business district,” the DWA said.

Go Greg!

Extreme Makeover Award

A cracking foundation, uneven floors, and a sagging roof covered with water spots — not exactly the building one would expect to be home to one of the most esteemed arts programs in the country.

But that was exactly the case at Haywood Community College, where the Mary Cornwell Production Crafts program and others were housed in out-dated facilities. The college had a laundry list of repair and construction needs totaling $70 million — and made a direct plea to the community for help.

Luckily, voters came through in May by overwhelmingly approving a countywide quarter-cent sales tax that will fund repairs and new construction at the school. College officials celebrated the hard-fought campaign with whoops and cheers on election night.

“I know it was asking a lot of the community. I am so overwhelmingly grateful,” said HCC President Rose Johnson.

Involved Citizens Award

A small group of citizens took to the streets in Cherokee and gathered more than 1,500 signatures on a petition so the public can vote on whether alcohol sales should be allowed at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.

Alcohol is banned on the reservation, but the group that circulated the petition — the Petitioners Committee — said alcohol should at least be allowed at the casino to boost profits.

To put the measure on the ballot required 1,534 signatures, which is 25 percent of the registered voters in Cherokee.

The Elections Board has certified 1,536 signatures, which means the election can take place.

Petitioners Committee member Bob Blankenship said the election will probably take place the first Thursday in June during the primary election.

In the summer the chief vetoed a resolution passed by the tribal council that would have allowed the public to vote on whether alcohol should be sold at the casino. However, the chief has promised not to veto the petition, saying it is the will of the people to have the vote.

Bottoms Up Award

In May, restaurant owners in Waynesville raised their shot glasses to voters who passed a referendum allowing the sale of liquor by the drink. The town was one of the last in the western counties to bar the sale of liquor in restaurants. Some opposition to the referendum sprang up, but in the end, the measure passed by a landslide.

Gotcha Award

The Sylva police department busted a dozen restaurants, bars and gas stations during two stings in February and April targeting the sale of alcohol to underage buyers. Restaurant and bar owners complained about tactics used by police officers in the sting operations.

The restaurant owners claimed tactics set-up the businesses with unrealistic scenarios and seem aimed at a game of “gotcha” rather than a desire to promote responsible alcohol sales. They even took their complaints to the town board.

The town board stood behind the police department’s operations. One establishment, however, Heinzelmannchen Brewery, was vindicated after the police dropped the charges after reviewing the audio footage from the case.

Off the Hook Award

Swain County Commissioner Chairman Glenn Jones was cleared of any wrong-doing in a voting drive leading up to the 2006 commissioner election.

The N.C. Board of Elections released the findings of its report, and the U.S. Justice Department also dropped its interest in the case.

The investigation looked into whether a voting drive targeting the poor and elderly crossed the line from exceptionally ambitious to improper. The voting drive had targeted trailer parks, low-income senior housing and nursing homes, with Jones helping more than 120 residents vote through the mail.

While the Board of Elections decided there was no intentional wrong-doing, they did find that Jones’ actions were “inconsistent” with the state statute that bars anyone from handling a voter’s mail-in ballot other than the voter or near relative. Jones had taken dozens of these ballots into his possession to mail.

Costly Mistakes Award

The Sylva town commissioners fired their Town Manager Jay Denton after they discovered that he inappropriately invested $2 million in public funds by putting the money into a CD and mutual fund that are not among those allowed by state statute.

The money he inappropriately invested was a portion of the $3.5 million that the town got last year from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund in exchange for placing the 1,100 -acre Fisher Creek Watershed in a conservation agreement.

Denton said his investment decisions were based on getting the best interest rates.

State statute prohibits placing public money in risky investments such as stocks and mutual funds.

Denton said he misinterpreted the statute when deciding how to invest the money. Also, the banker Denton used was his brother-in-law.

Goofiest Scandal

A bizarre scandal that put the Franklin mayor and two town aldermen at odds over slate and doors made headlines in 2008.

The scandal involved former Franklin resident David Whitmire, now of Alaska, taking slate and doors off town property without first asking the town board for permission. Mayor Joe Collins and Assistant Town Manager Mike Decker had granted Whitmire permission to take the slate — allegedly just a few pieces as a memento of the property, because Whitmire grew up at the site.

Whitmire took more than a few pieces, however. He took slate and doors totaling more than $19,000, according to the town. Collins said he didn’t think Whitmire was going to take that much.

Franklin Alderman Bob Scott called for an independent investigation into what exactly transpired when the mayor and Decker allowed Whitmire to take things from the property. An investigation was not conducted, and the case was settled for $5,000.

Babe Ruth Award

Similar to when Babe Ruth called his famous homerun, former Sylva Planning Director Jim Aust publicly called his own resignation after the town board voted down a 68-unit affordable housing development.

After the vote Aust told The Smoky Mountain News he was fed up with the board, adding, “My days are limited here because this is ridiculous.”

Sure enough, Aust resigned about a week later.

Aust, who worked for the city nine years, was furious after the vote, saying the board was not doing anything to bring much-needed affordable housing to Sylva.

Greenwashing Award

Legasus developers claimed their mega-development with 1,700 lots in Jackson County was eco-friendly, but their Tuckasegee neighbors weren’t buying it. The mere thought of so many houses — with their exorbitant prices, not one but two golf courses and fancy entrance gates — was enough to raise the hackles of rural residents who fear their way of life and culture is slipping away.

The development, spanning five separate tracts from Tuckasegee to Cashiers, covers a total of 3,500 acres. Legasus offered an olive branch to locals with round tables and public forums designed to address the community’s concerns, but residents weren’t won over and have continued to fight the development anyway they can.

The development was grandfathered in just before Jackson County passed stringent development regulations last year, but county planners say Legasus’ design would pretty much meet the regulations anyway.

Legasus needs state and federal environmental permits to pull off their golf courses, and will likely need the county to sign off on its master plan again before its all over, since the developers won’t be able to get the lots sold before their grandfathered status expires in a few years.

Unfortunately for Legasus, the economy soured just as they began marketing lots. Relatively few have sold, and the company had to take out various loans to fund operations since lot sales weren’t forth-coming in the numbers they needed.

Creative Financing Award

A man who reportedly has ties to the New York City mob made waves in the Jackson County community of Cashiers with his controversial Big Ridge development.

In the development, 13 property owners allegedly lied about their incomes to obtain $1.5 million construction loans.

SunTrust bank initiated foreclosure on the loans after claiming in court that some of the borrowers weren’t advancing with their construction, which would leave the bank upside down on the loan at the end of the day if there wasn’t a completed house. Further, the incomes provide by the borrowers were inaccurate, Sun Trust claimed.

Domenic Rabuffo, the project manger, pleaded guilty to a $49 million mortgage fraud years ago and served a brief prison sentence. His business partner, Irwin “Fat Man” Schiff, was gunned down in a 1987 mob hit in Manhattan.

Whoops Award

A cell company accidentally increased the height of an existing cell tower in Haywood County without the necessary permits. When it eventually applied for its permits, it failed to mention the work had already been done.

The tower belongs to Crown Castle, a company that builds cell towers on behalf of Verizon Wireless.

County commissioners were in a quandary over how to proceed when hit with the situation. They said their decision of whether to grant a variance and allow for the taller towers won’t be swayed by the fact the company already did the work. If they vote “no,” the company will have to undo it, they said.

Groundhog Award

Keith Presnell once more challenged Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, for his state senate seat and once again lost.

Presnell has now run for the seat four times. Queen won three of the four, with Presnell, who hails from Yancey County, prevailing only once in 2004. Queen calls that isolated win a “coat-tails fluke,” corresponding with the same year President Bush won re-election by a large margin in the mountains, helping the other candidates like Presnell who happened to be on the Republican ticket.

Republicans better get cracking, with barely a year left to figure out who they will put up against Queen in 2010.

Hard Feelings Award

Dillsboro was dealt a huge economic blow this summer when the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad pulled out of town after 20 years.

Dillsboro businesses heavily depended on the train, which brought in an estimated 60,000 tourists annually.

The decision to pull the train out of Dillsboro and put the whole operation in Bryson City was based on economics and had nothing to do with a lawsuit that was filed by the train against the town, according to GSMRR officials.

Nonetheless, there were still clearly hard feelings between the train and the town over the lawsuit.

Town Alderman Jim Cabe said the town was unwilling to settle the lawsuit because it was not at fault in the incident, which involved a train car being damaged when it drove over a resurfaced roadway.

On Second Thought We Better Not Award

Politicians in Macon and Jackson counties tested the bounds of the Open Meetings Law in 2008, but reversed their actions after called into question by the media.

Macon County commissioners were frequently recessing their meetings rather than formally adjourning. When a meeting is recessed rather than adjourned, not as much public notice is required for the next meeting, which made it more difficult to keep track of when the board was meeting to discuss public business.

An N.C. Press Association attorney said the commissioners were not violating the law by recessing their meetings but said it was not a good practice.

Macon had recessed at least 17 meetings in the first 11 months of the year, far more than other counties.

Macon County commissioners said so many meetings were being recessed because there was too much business to take up in a single meeting. Now rather than recessing, the commissioners in December voted to have two meetings a month rather than one.

In another case testing the Open Meetings Law, the N.C. Department of Transportation called a private meeting between DOT officials and local government officials to discuss the controversial N.C. 107 Connector, or the Southern Loop, in Jackson County.

The Smoky Mountain News polled Jackson County commissioners to find out if they planned on attending. The majority said they did, until the newspaper informed them that it would be a violation of the Open Meetings Law should a majority of the board attend a private meeting where public business would be discussed.

After the commissioners were informed of the possible violation only one of the five commissioners attended.

Consolation Prize

If Swain County school teachers aren’t thrilled about their $400 Christmas bonus — the first the system has ever given — it’s not that they’re ungrateful. It’s just hard to get too excited about $400 when teachers in surrounding counties routinely get two to three times that amount.

Swain is one of the last remaining school districts in the state that doesn’t pay a teacher supplement. In contrast, most school districts, like Haywood, kick in 4.5 to 5 percent of the teacher’s salary; larger districts, such as Buncombe, can offer more than 10 percent.

The lack of a supplement makes recruiting and retaining teachers difficult. Those who do opt to stay in Swain sometimes struggle to get by — one teacher interviewed by the Smoky Mountain News holds down two additional jobs to make ends meet.

Though Swain’s status as one of the state’s poorest counties could make carving out a supplement difficult, the Swain County school board has also never formally asked the county commissioners to provide the money for a supplement.

Told You So Award

When a long-time team of emergency room doctors spoke out against the way former CEO David Rice was running Haywood Regional Medical Center, Rice retaliated by running them off. The doctors were sent packing on New Year’s Day two years ago.

The departed ER doctors complained that Rice ran the hospital with little regard for the doctors and nurses that made it tick. They also alleged that he controlled the hospital board, sequestering them from information that ran counter to his own propaganda.

The warnings of the ER doctors came to fruition this year when the walls crumbled around Rice’s administration. The hospital lost its Medicare status along with most private insurers, effectively shutting down the hospital for four months.

When consultants came in to get the hospital back in order, they began with a top-to-bottom assessment of what went wrong. The assessment cited “significant leadership failing” and likened the leadership style to a “bunker mentality” and “Lone Ranger approach.”

It verified what the ER doctors had said 14 months before.

“Physician-hospital integration was actively discouraged. Medical staff had been kept at arms length. Access to the hospital board was strictly controlled so people were not permitted to talk to board members without going through the CEO without threat of termination,” the consultants wrote in a now infamous report.

If that weren’t enough vindication, the hospital isn’t satisfied with the corporate physician staffing outfit brought in to replace the old ER docs. The hospital plans to replace them in coming months.

‘Heck of a Job, Brownie’ Award

Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, President Bush praised then-FEMA director Michael Brown for doing a “heck of a job,” a compliment that soon proved far from the truth. This award goes to the Haywood Regional Medical Center board, which showed unfaltering support for their CEO David Rice until the bitter end.

Over a period of three years, the hospital board overlooked a sudden departure of all its orthopedists, the mass resignation of its anesthesiologists, a revolving door of nurses that left the hospital short-staffed more often than not, the ousting of the ER doctors, the ire of the medical community for not being listened to and a loss of confidence among the community — until the Medicare crisis landed on its doorstep and Rice resigned.

Clean Sweep Award

The loss of Medicare and Medicaid, a crisis that rocked Haywood Regional Medical Center, led to a drastic change in the hospital’s leadership. Members of the former hospital administration resigned one by one: CEO David Rice; hospital board chairman Nancy Freeman; Chief Nursing Officer Shirley Harris; vice president of professional services Eileen Lipham; as well as the vice president of quality and performance oversight and the department head of human resources.

The hospital board also saw its slate wiped clean. Three members resigned, including Chairman Nancy Freeman; Bob Browning and Jim Stevens. Two members opted not to reapply when their seats were up. Board members have been quickly replaced. There were so many community members interested in the seats — 37 applied — that Haywood County commissioners added two additional positions, bringing the total number of board seats to 10.

Comeback of the Year

When Haywood Regional Medical Center lost its ability to bill for Medicare and Medicaid Feb. 24 following a failed inspection, the situation appeared dire. The hospital lost its Medicare and Medicaid status, along with a host of private insurers, effectively shutting down most operations within the hospital and plummeting the number of patients to single digits.

Meanwhile, hospital leadership was in turmoil as the CEO and members of the hospital administration and board resigned. It took four months before HRMC regained its federal healthcare funding, and has taken even longer to begin earning back the community’s trust in the facility.

Yet slowly but surely, HRMC has rebuilt itself from the ground up. The departure of former CEO David Rice helped to erase the culture of fear and secrecy that existed at the hospital, and new CEO Mike Poore appears ready and willing to lead HRMC down its new and improved path. New hospital board members are keeping a careful eye on the administration.

Strength in Numbers Award

Haywood Regional Medical Center and WestCare announced their plans to join forces, not only with each other but with a larger health care system. Today’s health care climate makes it increasingly hard for smaller, rural hospitals to go it alone, they said.

Joining forces with one another will make them more attractive, improving their negotiating power with the larger entities.

WestCare and Haywood Regional hope to partner with either Novant of Winston-Salem or Carolina Medical Center of Charlotte, or to a lesser extent Mission in Asheville.

Both Haywood and WestCare were pursuing an affiliation with a larger entity regardless of the other. If each went with a different entity, the two could get locked in a battle that would fragment health care for the region rather than make it stronger. Thus the decision to join up.

Boomerang Award

In May, Haywood County commissioners fired the firm they had hired to renovate the county’s historic courthouse — Salisbury-based KMD Contractors — for failing to meet timelines and causing the project to fall months behind schedule. The bonding company overseeing the project set out on a search for a new contracting firm, and settled on ... KMD Contractors. All but one commissioner voted to re-hire the firm to complete the project. All the while, the county has been involved in a series of litigations against KMD, even as the company continues to work on the courthouse.

Class Warfare Award

The rich versus the poor became an issue in the wealthy Macon County community of Highlands in August when the town board voted down providing water and sewer services to an affordable housing development that many blue-collar workers said was needed.

Highlands, full of million-dollar plus homes, has no place for the workers who serve the elite to live, some said. Because the town board voted down providing water and sewer, the 48-unit development could not be built.

Town board members who voted down the development said they did so because they didn’t think it was right to provide water and sewer to people who live outside the town limits and don’t pay town taxes. Board members said there were still some people in the town limits without those services.

Some in the community felt the town board’s true reason for not approving water and sewer for the development was to keep low income people out of town and said the water and sewer issue was just a “guise.”

Voter Pride Award

Voter turnout reached all-time highs in the November presidential election, but two who showed unique pride in their right to vote were Macon County inmates Christopher O’Bitts and Phillip Nix.

O’Bitts, who was jailed on a probation violation, and Nix on a DUI charge, said just because they were jailed did not mean their voices did not matter.

Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland said all inmates were given the opportunity to vote. Both inmates told The Smoky Mountain News they supported Obama.

Comeback Kids Award

Haywood County commissioners Mark Swanger and Kevin Ensley were voted out of their seats two years ago, and weren’t about to lose again. Both recaptured commissioner seats in the November election, beating out two-term commissioner Mary Ann Enloe, who expressed shock at the surprise upset. Enloe is the only woman to ever hold a Haywood County commissioner seat. Ensley, though, is also a rare breed — he’s only the third Republican to be elected commissioner.

Look for Enloe to come back swinging in the next election.

Best Timing

Haywood County Commissioner Chairman Kirk Kirkpatrick’s appointment as board chairman couldn’t have come at a better time. Typically viewed as the busiest commissioner, with a full-time job and family, Kirkpatrick says his schedule isn’t nearly what it used to be. He’s a real estate lawyer, and the economic downturn means he’s found himself with plenty of time to kill.

David and Goliath Award

When Jackson County first took on Duke Energy five years ago, the public cheered on their leaders for standing up to the mega-corporation for their rights. The county hoped to exact fair compensation from Duke for the numerous and profitable hydropower dams straddling the Tuckasegee River, which belongs to the public after all, and also hoped to save the Dillsboro dam.

But this year, Jackson County commissioners finally began to show signs of fatigue. One commissioner, Tom Massie, has repeatedly called on the county to throw in the towel, saying they “fought the good fight” but it’s time to cut their losses.

Jackson County’s attorney against Duke keeps pitching one last strategy the county should try. But Jackson continues to lose round after round and has nearly exhausted its appeals on both the federal and state level. The longer the battle goes the more desperate the attempts sound. One includes condemning the dam and seizing it from Duke, while another includes withholding the county permits Duke needs to tear down the dam.

The Try, Try Again Award

Balsam Mountain Preserve sought permits to rebuild the earthen dam that collapsed at its golf course the previous year. The permits weren’t immediately forthcoming, however, with state and federal environmental agencies reluctant to sign off on them.

Not only had the dam failed the first go around, but the Balsam Mountain Preserve had changed the lay-out of the dam without permission. The dam held back an irrigation pond for the golf course.

The fate of a new permit for the dam is still up in the air.

Most Likely to Make You Feel Lazy

Swain County school administrator Steve Claxton, 52, proved that age is nothing but a number by riding his bicycle across the country this summer. Claxton’s speed on the trip matched that of someone half his age — he biked 4,000 miles in 35 days. And he did so just three and a half years after he broke seven vertebrae in his back and wondered whether he would ever ride again.

Claxton undertook the journey in honor of his late mother, Phyllis, a career Swain County schoolteacher. The $58,000 he raised from those who sponsored his ride will go into a scholarship fund set up for Swain County students interested in pursuing a career in the teaching profession.

Most Ambitious

Of course, no one wants to see crime rates increase, but it sure would be nice to fill Swain County’s new jail. The 109-bed facility is more than double the size of the previous jail, which usually held around 50 inmates a day. The county is shelling out nearly half a million dollars a year to pay back loans it took out to construct the new jail. County officials are hinging hopes on money made by housing federal inmates and prisoners from surrounding counties to help cover costs. Commissioner Chairman Glenn Jones said the county “desperately” needs to fill the facility — county coffers are running dangerously low, and there’s question of how the county will continue to pay for the facility without some additional cash flow.

Most Persistent

Supporters of the North Shore Road in Swain County don’t give up easily. Their battle to get the government to rebuild a road flooded when the Fontana Dam was built has spanned nearly 70 years — and supporters insist it’s not over yet, even though a new agreement was signed last year in which all the original parties agreed to provide Swain County with a $52 million cash settlement in lieu of building the road.

North Shore Road supporters, many of them descendants of families relocated when the Fontana Dam was constructed, refuse to give up their fight. They frequently make impassioned speeches at county commissioner meetings, and it’s not uncommon to see a man well into his 80s get choked up when talking about the Road.

Though many hoped the signing of a new agreement would bring an end to the saga, a resolution has been slow to come by. Negotiations for the settlement got underway, but stalled earlier this year. So far, Swain County has yet to see a penny of the windfall settlement.

Tortoise Award

Waynesville Town Planner Paul Benson takes the mantra “slow and steady wins the race” to heart. A review of the town’s award-winning land use plan has moved at a snail’s pace due to Benson’s failure to choose a consultant to oversee the process. As a result, the review — which, according to a proposed six-month timeline, should have been finished by now — has yet to begin. Meanwhile, some critics say the longer the town waits to start the review process, businesses that don’t want to comply with the standards will pass over Waynesville.

This isn’t the first time Benson hasn’t been up to speed. Grants for two projects currently underway — the Russ Avenue Corridor Study and Pedestrian Plan — sat untouched for two years before Benson finally got around to using them.

Ghandi Award

Jackson County schoolteacher Doug Ward became a hero in the eyes of many when he was fired for refusing to administer a No Child Left Behind standardized test to his students with disabilities.

Ward said the test wasn’t a fair way to measure the progress his students had made during the school year. After teaching lessons about the Civil Rights movement and standing up in the face of inequality, Ward felt he had little choice but to practice what he had preached and become a conscientious objector.

Unfortunately, the board of education also felt they had little choice but to punish Ward for his actions, and voted unanimously to terminate his contract.

In the end, Ward said he had no regrets about standing up for what he believed in.

“It was the right thing to do, and it worked out how it was supposed to,” he said.

Heartbreak Hotel Award

When the national foreclosure crisis struck in the fall, many local people were affected, including Ricky Stephens who granted an interview to The Smoky Mountain News to talk about what it’s like to lose a home to the bank.

Stephens of Sylva lost the home he had lived in for 26 years when health problems put him and his wife out of work and prevented them from making mortgage payments. He and his wife and their 12-year-old son were forced to moved out of their home to an apartment in Dillsboro.

Stephens hated to lose the home, saying he wanted to leave it to his son.

Studied to Death Award

In 2008, Western North Carolinians saw a slew of initiatives aimed at regional and community planning. The Mountain Landscapes Initiative was the largest, involving hundreds of people around the region, months of study and thousands of dollars. Among other projects: the USDA-sponsored farmland values project; the Haywood Growth Readiness Roundtable, sponsored by Haywood Waterways; task force on Mountain Ridge and Steep Slope Protection orchestrated by a Land of the Sky Regional Council, and an invitation sent out by Haywood County commissioners offering to help communities with their own planning process.

The final product produced by most planning initiatives was similar — a list of recommendations of how to protect and preserve the region’s natural and cultural resources. Though an extensive compilation of information is beneficial, the goals of some of the efforts seemed to overlap.

The power to enact many of the recommendations rests with local governments. But in the mountains — where a sentiment of private property rights still lingers and the real estate and development lobby are powerful — planning decisions are political and officials have been slow to act.

Hard Times Award

WestCare Medical Center in the fall announced that it lost $3.2 million between June and August due to economic conditions. Patients put off procedures when possible, while a greater number who did seek medical care were unable to pay their bill. And more were filing under Medicare and Medicaid, which bring in less money for hospitals than private insurance.

The hospital’s CEO Mark Leonard said the hospital has tentatively planned on reducing its workforce by 90 out of its 1,000 full-time employees over 18 months.

“These losses are a result of lower revenue and higher operating expenses,” Leonard stated in a memo to hospital employees.

Leonard said the hospital planned on laying off the first 30 employees by Jan. 15.

Disturbing the Natives Award

Construction on a much-needed sewer plant in the Jackson County community of Whittier was ceased when the contractor disobeyed orders not to drive heavy equipment over a site deemed archaeologically significant because it is believed to hold Cherokee Indian artifacts.

After work was stopped, the involved parties — Jackson County, the Tribal Historic Preservation Office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Whittier Sanitary District — worked out an agreement on how work would be resumed.

The agreement stated that a permanent fence would be put around the archaeological site, and that if any artifacts were discovered during construction that the tribe would be notified immediately.

Jackson County Manager Ken Westmoreland said the contractor, Good Water of Greenville, S.C., drove over the archaeological site because something happened to the road that accessed the sewer project. Westmoreland said the contractor was taking a “short cut.”

Hot Potato Award

Since Swain County’s first-ever development regulation — a subdivision ordinance dealing primarily with road widths — was tabled late last year, it’s turned into a hot potato that county commissioners refuse to touch.

The ordinance faced an outpouring of opposition from those in the real estate and construction industry, which prompted the commissioners’ decision to table it. They promised that the planning board would reconvene to modify the ordinance the following month. A year later, such a meeting still hasn’t happened — and officials continue to shrug off the responsibility.

County Manager Kevin King says the planning board doesn’t have the power to revisit the ordinance. But just who does have the power isn’t clear. Commissioner David Monteith says it’s up to the commissioner chairman, Glenn Jones. Jones, however, says he has no plans to bring up the ordinance, but if somebody else wants to bring it up, that’s fine with him.

Holding the Bag Award

To all the developers in Western North Carolina with lots for sale ...

The Haywood Waterways Association announced its water quality heroes for the year at its annual banquet in December.

Here’s who won the three awards given out by the premier water quality group in Haywood County.

Eric Romaniszyn received the Pigeon River Award, an award given to an individual or organization who has made significant contributions to protecting the land and water resources in Haywood County. Romaniszyn, the project manager for Haywood Waterways, has tackled numerous water quality projects during his tenure. He has spearhead the restoration of Hyatt Creek, aided the town of Waynesville with storm water management, written several educational publications and organized the annual Kids in the Creek program.

“Eric has taken Haywood Waterways to a new level with his expertise as an aquatic entomologist, his great rapport with the public and his exceptional organizational and teaching skills,” said HWA director Ron Moser. “We are very fortunate to have Eric on board.”

The Town of Waynesville was recognized as Partner of the Year. The town has worked diligently to address fecal coliform contamination in Shelton Branch, a tributary of Richland Creek. The town spent significant time and money finding and repairing sewer leaks. Over a mile of sewer lines were replaced and fecal contamination has been dramatically reduced.

The town has also worked on public education of water quality, such as storm drain markers to let folks know storm drains lead directly to our streams. Another major project has been the restoration of stream banks along Richland Creek, a rare case of designated trout waters running through the middle of a town.

“Even in these difficult economic times, the town has shown it is committed to protecting our mountain streams for the citizens of the town and Haywood County, and our visitors,” Moser said.

The Waynesville Rotary Club was recognized as Volunteer of the Year. The club provided significant and much needed financial support for Kids in the Creek. This program gives every eight grader in Haywood County a fieldtrip to the river where they don waders, wield nets and conduct water quality experiments. Over the past 11 years, nearly 8,000 students have gone through Kids in the Creek.

The Waynesville Rotary Club also played a key role is developing, funding and providing volunteer labor for a rain garden at the new Haywood Community College Child Development Center.

The acknowledgement by Waynesville’s leaders that they let a review of the town’s much-heralded land use plan languish and now intend to jumpstart the process is welcome news.

“It’s back on track,” said Mayor Gavin Brown of the review process.

It was last March when Town Planner Paul Benson was told to get the ball rolling on this important project. But since that time, next to no progress has been made, other than establishing a committee and beginning to look at a possible consulting firms.

“It’s been slower than we anticipated,” said Town Manager Lee Galloway.

This update is important for several reasons, the primary two being the most obvious: one, things change; two, no one is perfect.

One of the big criticisms of the original land use plan was that it did not address big box developments like the Super Wal-Mart now open and going strong on the west end of Waynesville. Though there is a lull in development throughout the country right now, there is every reason to believe similar projects are in Waynesville’s future. The plan needs teeth to meet this challenge, so that every step of the way is not marked by requests for variances and special use requests that pit developers and the town against one another.

These big box developments have their opponents — we have fought against some aspects of them for years — and some people refuse to use them. But local government is not supposed to be a bully, whether it’s dealing with local businesses or outside interests. A good land use plan will take into account the needs of big developers and the overall good — and desires — of taxpayers. It’s difficult to imagine a plan that would address most these scenarios, but it is impossible.

This is the kind of kind of change that the plan needs to address. Waynesville and all of Western North Carolina will always — we hope — be a place dominated by smaller, family-owned businesses. But the chain stores will come as they see the opportunity to make money. Waynesville needs to be ready.

The second reason to review the plan is that the people who developed it five years ago — though they worked long and hard — surely made some mistakes or overlooked what have become important land use challenges. Some scenarios they imagined have likely turned out differently. Growth may be heading to where it wasn’t expected. Some requirements that seemed important then may now seem trivial, and others that weren’t even discussed now loom large.

The land use plan as adopted was described as a living document. Now’s the time to breathe some new life into it so that it will continue to meet the town’s needs.

By John Beckman • Guest Columnist

A lot of attention lately has been focused on how bad the economic downturn has been for the U.S. and its world partners but as everyone knows; there are two sides to every story. For some reason, many of the more positive aspects of this recession have been overlooked and under reported, and a few examples here may help us to find encouragement and even reason for celebration in these nervous times.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, in March 2008 Americans drove 11 billion miles less than in March 2007, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 9 million metric tons — in one month. With virtually all economic indicators heading well downward since then, one can safely assume that this trend has continued and we are consequently polluting oat a slower rate. This is good news.

With fewer user miles, many road construction projects could be delayed, saving millions in taxpayer funds. This is good news as well. The Harper’s Index has projected that America’s decrease in total driving miles has resulted in around 1,000 fewer traffic deaths per month nationwide. That’s a lot fewer widows, orphans and lawsuits. This is positive news too.

Locally we’ve seen the effect on our mountain roads, largely devoid of back-to-back motorhomes and overloaded Humvees sporting license plates laden with oranges, peaches, dolphins and Seminoles. This translates into more room on the highways and in motels, restaurants, parking lots and local attractions.

Indeed, the roads in this tourist-dependent area have seemed eerily empty since the spring. Every year I hear some locals grumbling about “dang tourists,” but that problem too has apparently been all but solved and quieted, another plus for these tough times?

This summer when gas was nearing $5 per gallon, many just parked their cars and refused to pay it, helping send the price to just about a $1.50 a gallon this week. This could be considered another plus point. And of course we need to add the apparent death of America’s passion for the huge SUVs to the list of corpses. I personally will be glad to see these behemoths laid to rest, a crazy love affair from the beginning.

Another area of the slowdown where one can find solace is in the abrupt halt to the rampant build up of housing developments and McMansions that had been mushrooming in our region. Housing starts are way down and inventories are way up due to the rapid evaporation of buyers using leverage to purchase vacation homes and speculating on ever-rising land values. Recent data from the WNC Board of Realtors MLS sheets suggest that there is a four-year supply of homes for sale (priced $500,000 to $ 999,000), an 11-year supply of mega-homes (priced at more than $1 million) and approximately a nine-year supply of undeveloped lots.

This compares with a three-year supply of undeveloped lots in December 2007, just one year ago. Many people tapped the equity in their homes, using them like ATM machines to purchase more and more, driving demand and prices skyward, until recently.

We are likely to see prices continue to drop as yesterday’s over-eager buyers dump assets they probably shouldn’t have bought to begin with. A good portion of WNC’s vacation buyers have been from the Florida and Atlanta areas, both hard hit by the housing bubble and both expected by analysts to be slow to recover. This will allow locals to again be able to afford to buy in their home counties, which sounds an awful lot like a plus to some people.

An upside for the consummate shopper in all of this glum news is that retailers are falling off a cliff as consumers hunker down and will mark down just about anything to just about any level to get you in the store. This translates into a bargain shopper’s paradise with everything from stocks to stockings on the discount racks.

There may also be a big gain for the nation in an attitude shift taking place, largely out of necessity, but somewhat out of an emerging movement away from credit-based consumption. We’re all aware now that the economy and the nation’s operating systems are in deep doo-doo, and that it’s going to take a lot of adjustment to survive and fix them. I believe many people are re-evaluating their lifestyles and making changes both obvious and not so, finding ways to reduce their consumption and planning for a leaner, greener future.

I hope we do not miss this opportunity to realign our priorities and our development patterns as this may be the true silver lining behind the dark cloud hanging over us.

(John Beckman is a builder, farmer and writer in Cullowhee. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is now taking public comment on several proposed changes to hunting and fishing regulations.

The Wildlife Commission continues to lift restrictions on hunting wild boar as the exotic animal is increasingly recognized as a detriment to the native ecosystem. The proposal calls for extending the wild boar season to run nearly six months, from early September through February. The hunting method would be restricted, however, to whatever weapon is in season for other game during that time. For example, during bow and arrow season for deer, boar can only be hunted with bow and arrow, not a gun. And hunting boar with dogs can only be done when it corresponds with dog season for bears.

While the method of hunting would be limited, extending the boar season should encourage hunters who are already in the woods after other game to take down any wild boar they happen to stumble across as well.

“This regulation change was requested by U.S. Forest Service personnel in order to control increasing populations of wild hogs on Forest Service property as well as private lands in the western six counties,” the Wildlife Commission proposal states.

The Wildlife Commission is also proposing to lift restrictions on trapping otter. Otters were wiped out of Western North Carolina due to over trapping, but have been reintroduced over the past couple decades.

“When otter restoration efforts were taking place, otter populations were low and vulnerable to harvest pressure,” the proposal states. But “restoration efforts have been successful and the bag limit on otters in Western North Carolina is no longer needed.”

The Wildlife Commission also proposes lifting the daily bag limit on deer, which is now capped at two per hunter per day.

The Wildlife Commission is inching toward lifting the ban on hunting on Sundays. An in-depth analysis of the Sunday hunting ban and whether it should be lifted was conducted in recent years, generating mass amounts of comment statewide. The Wildlife Commission didn’t end up lifting the ban, but a proposal in the works would allow only bow hunting on private land on Sundays — no guns and no public lands, but a foot in the door for Sunday hunting at the least.

Fishing changes

Among the proposals, the Wildlife Commission wants to quit stocking several sections of stream in the region. For some stretches, the Wildlife Commission claims the trout are reproducing adequately enough on their own to support fishing and the stocking of trout isn’t necessary.

Here’s the stretches in the area that would be reclassified as Wild Trout/Natural Bait Trout Waters due to reproducing wild populations:

• Hiwassee River in Clay County, 13 mile upper section.

• Hemphill Creek in Haywood County.

• North Shoal Creek in Cherokee County.

• Webb Creek in Cherokee County.

• Big Tuni Creek in Clay County.

• Vineyard Creek in Clay County.

On other stretches, the Wildlife Commission plans to quit stocking because the stream isn’t good fishing anyway and therefore doesn’t merit stocking, either because the streams make for poor trout habitat or lacks adequate public access to make fishing feasible. Those stretches include:

• Hothouse Branch in Clay County.

• Tessentee Creek in Macon County (total of 5.9 miles).

• Shooting Creek in Clay County (total of 5.1 miles.)

A public hearing on the changes will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at Southwestern Community College in Sylva. Comments can also be sent in via email. Visit www.ncwildlife.org and look for the comment link.

The Wildlife Commission board will vote on the rule changes in March.

By Chris Cooper

Last year I wrote a “suggested Christmas play list” for the holiday. It may have been a stretch (Miles Davis and Joe Satriani may constitute MY ideal soundtrack for Dec. 25, but maybe not everyone else) but at the very least it was an effort to encourage music lovers to pursue the sounds that simply make them feel good during the holidays.

This time, though, I’m going to take a little artistic license and map out a kind of “what I want for the new year” list in regards to music, Sylva, and, well ... everything else.

I would like to see continuing growth and diversity in our little music scene. And by no means do I think it’s not happening already; we have electronic craziness, bluegrass, metal, punk, funk and jam admirably represented. But I want more of it all — maybe more cross-pollination of local projects, better opportunities for the singer/songwriter crowd. How about a blues project? A rockabilly band?

By the same token, live music needs an audience. Attendance is a bit of an issue around here. Otherwise, you’re playing for bartenders that want to go home and a depressingly empty room. With the economy in its current state, everyone’s taken a hit. Venues that were slammed last year, no matter how cold it was outside, now more often find tumbleweeds blowing through the bar where there once were patrons. But if you compare average cover charges around town to those in Asheville, we’re still getting a pretty good deal. But there has to be something going on to make people want to come out in the first place. See above.

This one’s kind of tricky. And maybe I got spoiled in Charlotte, where it seems that every little hole in the wall joint has a reasonably workable sound system. But the point is: if you’re going to have live music, you need a PA system that functions! It doesn’t have to be some massive, state-of-the-art NASA thing, either. Two mains, a couple monitors, some mics and cables and a powered mixer will do the trick. It’s difficult to get, and keep, the crowd’s attention if a) they can’t hear you, and b) what’s coming off the stage doesn’t sound very good. Now if those bad sounds are coming from the band, no fancy PA will fix it. But a good band can sound fantastic in a small room with the proper equipment. Something to consider, and an investment that will pay itself back in spades.

Continuing with that whole diversity thing, there’s enough room on Main Street and beyond for a few more funky little places that serve good food and provide live music. We don’t need another furniture store. Or a burger joint. How about a good Thai restaurant? Maybe some Indian food, with matching atmosphere and sounds to boot? A cool little sushi bar? It’s not impossible, but it’s up to whether Sylva wants such things. I tend to think it does. It’s not that what we have now isn’t good enough, but more options would help with the whole “burned out from going to the same places” problem, and it would certainly liven up the nightlife around these parts.

Finally, I’d like to see, and sense, a little more appreciation for what we do have in Sylva. I’m not going to beat the same horse I always seem to flog, but I’m still inspired that In Your Ear Music Emporium has made it 15 years in this town. A decade and a half. With the alarming rate at which indie music shops are going the way of the dodo and the brontosaurus, Lauren Calvert has — against the odds of digital downloading, burning, Best Buys and Wal Marts — made this thing work. This falls into the “attendance” idea, a bit, as well as the theme downtown of supporting local businesses, holiday season or not. Walk into a big box store looking for some new music, ask the kid in the blue shirt what’s new and cool, and he’s probably going to point to some massive display rack of whatever artist just signed an exclusive release deal with his employers.

Walk into IYE (or any smaller, independent shop for that matter) and you’ll get into a 30-minute discussion about who you like, who influenced them and who’s making similar noises. And you’ll likely walk out with an armful of good music. That’s just the way it is. In many ways, same goes for Bubacz’s Underground — the guy roasts his coffee in house, and buys it fair trade. And he’s got wheatgrass shots. Hot damn. Jen Pearson’s Guadalupe Café has a menu I never tire of, even if now they can safely assume that I’ll order the black bean burrito with gorgonzola and guacamole, and chase it with a 90 minute IPA almost every time I go there. As well, she supports local farms and offers the most eclectic fare on Main Street.

And there you have it. Hope you guys get at least a chuckle from all of this, and maybe something to think about. Hope your holiday was all you wanted, and in the new year, listen to some music. It’s good for you.

(Chris Cooper can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)