FREE every Thursday - Highlands · 2013. 7. 26. · Ed Shatley, chairman of Macon County EDC, Connie Haire, for-merly of SCC, was reappointed to the EDC and Farrell Jamison, Franklin

• Inside •

Volume 10, Number 10 Internet PDF Version at www.HighlandsNewspaperPDF.com Thursday, March 8, 2012

FREE every Thursday

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Letters ............................. 2Wooldridge ..................... 4Salzarulo ........................ 5Back Days ....................... 6Swanson ......................... 8Coach’s Corner ............... 9Events ............................. 11Health Matters ............... 12Police & Fire ................... 21

•See GUILTY page 3

•See NC PRE-K page 18

•See HYBRID page 16

Highlands School studentstake on Boston

The resiliency of youth makes trip a success. See storyon page 10.

US Attorney’s OfficeWestern District of NC

On Wednesday, February 29,a federal jury in Asheville convict-ed Mario Clothinho Gomes, 57,

Jury finds former OEI CEO guilty onwire fraud charges

currently of Atlanta, GA, on twocounts of wire fraud and one countof conspiracy to commit wirefraud following a three-day trial,announced Anne M. Tompkins,

U.S. Attorney for the Western Dis-trict of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney Tompkins isjoined in making today’s an-

Photo by Tracey Hedden

Through March 10• Highlands Little League will be hav-

ing registration for the 2012 baseball seasonat the Highlands Recreation Center. If youwould like to register, stop by the front deskat the Highlands Recreation Center and com-plete a registration form and medical release.Practices will begin approximately March19th. The cost for the first child is $50 and$45 for each additional child. The fee in-cludes hat, shirt and socks. Players areresponsible for shoes and baseball pants.Registration is for ages 5 to 12 and the birth-day cutoff date is April 30th. If you have anyquestions, contact Jerry Moore @[email protected] or 828-482-2032.

Saturday, March 10• Chili Cook Off at the Community

Building 6:30-9:30 p.m. To enter the contestcall 526-5841.

• At The Bascom. Art Cinema. Sitback and enjoy our weekly feature presen-tation “Craft in America” 2 pm.

Sunday, March 11• The Foxfire Boys Bluegrass Group

will be participating in the morning worshipservice at First Presbyterian Church at 11am on Sunday. All are welcome to attend.

Tuesday, March 13• At the Hudson Library, the move

“The Big Year” Tuesday at 4 pm. SteveMartin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson head-line the cast of this comedy. The story isabout two bird enthusiasts who try to defeatthe cocky, cutthroat world record holder in ayear-long bird-spotting competition. Themovie and popcorn are free.

• Come and listen to the Irish BlarneyTales and Tales of Spring stories at the StorySwap on Tuesday at 7 pm, at the Ugly DogPub at 294 S. Fourth St. in Highlands. Ifyou have a special 3-7 minute blarney orspring story to tell or read, sign up at the pubor call 369-1927. Note – Our winter starttime is a half hour earlier!

Don’t forget to“Spring Ahead!”

Turn your clocks forwardone hour Sunday night!

Though the possible applica-tion of term limits on all countyboards and committees still hangsin the balance, at its Tuesday, Feb-ruary 28 continuation meeting,commissioners finally appointedmembers to three boards.

With the “hot” term limit is-sue finalized at the regular Feb. 14meeting, the next thing was ap-pointments to the Planning Board,the Economic DevelopmentCommission (EDC) and the Li-brary Board.

Commissioners started withthe easy ones first.

The two people who appliedfor positions on the Library Boardwere unanimously selected. Forthe Highlands seat, Dale Stickawill replace Lee Byers and for theNantahala seat Crystal Brysonwill replace Vince West. Neitherwas seeking reappointment.

On the recommendation ofEd Shatley, chairman of MaconCounty EDC, Connie Haire, for-merly of SCC, was reappointed tothe EDC and Farrell Jamison,Franklin Town Alderman whoretired from Caterpillar was unan-imously approved. David Culpep-per III also applied.

As to the Planning Board – the

•See CONTROVERSY page 3

County PBcontroversy

over;seats filled

At last week’s Macon CountySchool Board meeting, Superin-tendent Dr. Dan Brigman men-tioned a proposal afoot in the Gen-eral Assembly to privatize theMore At Four program – nowcalled NC Pre-K.

“This will deal a severe blowto at-risk children who benefitfrom attending public pre-schoolprior to entering Kindergarten,”said Brigman. “The pre-schoolgives them a chance of succeed-

NC PreK OK ... for now

Highlands’ form of govern-ment continues to be a contro-versial issue between commis-sioners and among the citizenry.

At the Tuesday, March 6Town Board meeting Town Attor-ney Bill Coward walked commis-sioners through the process toalign Highlands’ governmentwith the state charter for the Coun-cil-Manager form.

Based on the 3-2 vote takenat the Feb. 7 meeting to abandonthe hybrid form of Council-Man-ager where the Police Chief andZoning Administrator are hiredand fired by the Town Board andrevert to the straight Council-Manager form as outlined in Gen-eral Statute and the town’s char-ter, Coward said certain process-es needed to take place that canculminate during the March 20Town Board meeting.

“If your intentions are to go

Hybridform on

blockMarch 20

Page 2 - Highlands’ Newspaper - Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 828-526-3228

• THE PLATEAU’S POSITION •

Publisher/Editor – Kim Lewicki; Copy Editor– Tom MerchantCartoonist – Karen Hawk; Digital Media - Jim Lewicki

Locally owned and operated Kim & Jim Lewicki

All Rights Reserved. No articles, photos, illustrations, advertisements ordesign elements may be used without permission from the publisher.

Adobe PDF version at www.HighlandsInfo.com265 Oak St.; P.O. Box 2703, Highlands, N.C. , 28741

Email: [email protected]

FREE every Thursday on the street and on the web;Circulation 10,000

Toll Free FAX: 866-212-8913 • (828) 526-3228

“Our Community Service - A Free Local Newspaper”

LETTERS-TO-THE EDITOR-POLICYWe reserve the right to reject or edit submissions.

NO ANONYMOUS LETTERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.Views expressed are not necessarily those of Highlands’ Newspaper.

Please EMAIL letters by Sunday at 5 p.m. There is a 500-word limit without prior approval.

• LETTERS •

Before last year’s vote on a hybridform of government, everyone was toldthe town should move forward regard-less of the outcome. Well, the issue cameback one week later, and last month’s 3to 2 vote to adopt the city manager formof government would appear to have re-solved the issue. Or has it?

Highlanders are a creative commu-nity living on this mountain plateau. Inthat spirit, can we think outside the box,look ahead, and create a unique govern-ment that may just be the right fit forthis dynamic little community of 925residents?

Some board members believe themanager form of government is muchmore efficient than the previous admin-istrator form. Apparently, it was becom-ing increasingly difficult for several ofthe commissioners to keep up with ourcomplex town government.

Let me propose a better solution.Let’s create a “CEO” form of govern-ment and downsize by consolidatingthe positions of the Town Board, Mayorand Town Manager.

Now before you stop laughing andreading, hear me out. Some people havelikened the town manager system to abusiness model. Why stop there? Whynot create a Town Chief Executive Offic-er who is directly answerable to the citi-zens?

The new Town CEO of Highlandswould stand for periodic election, andpreside over town meetings once ortwice a month. The CEO would assem-ble the administrative staff at thesemeetings to make reports, answer ques-tions and provide input. Citizens wouldbe encouraged to respond and presenttheir needs. The CEO would make for-mal policy decisions and post them onthe town website and in the newspa-pers. There would be no middle people,

A proposal foranother form ofHighlalnds Town

government

•See LETTERS page 19

• HAWK’S EYE VIEW •

• CORRECTION •In the Feb. 29 edition of Highlands’

Newspaper, in the story “Couple’s lifegoes up in flames” we reported that fire-fighters believe the fire started in an oldchest freezer under the house.

Though the official report hasn’tbeen finalized, Beverly Owens, owner ofthe home on Luther Owens Road, saidthe fire inspector said it’s possible it wasan electrical fire that started in the atticwhich then traveled down into the homerather than up from under the home. Weregret the error and are happy to set therecord straight.

• FORUM •

Starting with this issue, Highlands’Newspaper will once again be on thestreets and on the web every Thursdaymorning.

When the Town Board voted to moveits meeting day to Tuesday, we decided toput the paper out every Wednesdaymorning to give readers the Highlands’news as quickly as possible. Unfortunately,by doing so we were unable to cover thecounty news in a timely manner –coverage our readers have always countedon . The county commission also meetson Tuesday nights and the length of themeetings, as well as the proximity toHighlands, made print deadlinesimpossible.

In addition, putting the paper out onWednesday has hampered our ability togrow because there just isn’t enough timeto produce extra pages.

So, from now on an expandedHighlands’ Newspaper will be on thestreets and web atwww.highlandsnewspaperPDF.com everyThursday full of all the free news, features,events and information our readers havecome to expect.

Thanks for bearing with us throughthese growing pains!

Kim LewickiPublisher

Highlands’Newspaper moves

to Thursdays

Highlands’ Newspaper - Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 828-526-3228 - Page 3

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board which was the object of all the con-troversy – seven people applied: Lewis Pen-land, Chris Hanners, Bill Futral, WilliamShilling, Victor Drummond, Harry Yoderand Sue Waldroop.

Commissioner Jim Tate made thefirst motion to fill the vacancies on thePlanning Board – to reappoint Lewis Pen-land and to appoint Christopher Hanners.

“This is a tough one,” said Tate. “It’s acontroversial subject, plus I sit on the Plan-ning Board as the liaison so I have an in-terest in this. At the Feb. 14 meeting, Jim-my Goodman said politics should be tak-en out of this discussion and I took that toheart. The Planning Board is a bumperbetween the people and us and new ideas,knowledge, skills and talent are neededespecially concerning the subdivision or-dinance and land use. I’ve read the educa-tional backgrounds and skills of the ap-plicants and know three candidatesthrough college or work. After discussingmy choices with the Planning Board

... GUILTY continued from page 1nouncement by Chris Briese, SpecialAgent in Charge of the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI), Charlotte Division.

According to documents filed incourt and trial proceedings, between2004 and 2008, Gomes served as ChiefExecutive Officer and General Managerof the Old Edwards Inn & Spa (“the Inn”)in Highlands, North Carolina. Evidencepresented at trial showed that Gomesused his position to orchestrate a series ofkickbacks from vendors and contractorswho performed services for the Inn. Ac-cording to trial testimony, during the con-spiracy Gomes, along with his co-con-spirators, fraudulently inflated invoicessubmitted to the Inn. Once invoices werepaid, Gomes and his co- conspiratorsshared the proceeds of their scheme.Gomes also had an addition added to hishome which he billed to the Inn withthe assistance of his co-conspirators. Thepattern of fraud detailed during trialspanned a period of over two years. Trialevidence also established that Gomes re-ceived in excess of $325,000 for his rolein the scheme and conspiracy in 2007alone. At the time of the crimes, accord-ing to evidence introduced at trial, Go-mes made $190,000 annually.

Gomes is currently released on bond.

At sentencing, Gomes faces a maximumsentence of 20 years in prison and a maxi-mum fine of $250,000 for each count ofconviction.

Gomes’ co-conspirators, Greg Fuseli-er, 59, currently of Metarie, Louisiana, andGeorge Mathis, 60, currently of Franklin,North Carolina, pled guilty to mail fraudfor their respective roles in the fraud. Fuse-lier and Mathis, who each testified againstGomes at trial, also face a maximum 20year prison sentence and $250,000 fines.

The investigation for the case was han-dled by the FBI. The prosecution of the casewas handled by Assistant U.S. AttorneyCorey Ellis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, inAsheville.

The current CEO of Old Edwards, Ri-chard Delaney, said Highlands Police ChiefBill Harrell was extremely helpful at thebeginning of the process, giving directionand helping to keep the ball rolling until itwas handed over to the Feds.

“Of course, we truly regret any nega-tivity or harm to the town and Old Edwardsthat occurred as a result of these circum-stances — as well as the stress that was puton our employees and the Williams fami-ly,” said Delaney. “We are happy to havemoved successfully through this unfortu-nate situation we found ourselves in and

can now put it behind us.”Delancy said OEI has worked hard over

the last four years to hopefully bring backthe trust and credibility within the town.

“We value the camaraderie and the re-

lationships between our staff and ourHighlands neighbors, and we all feel ex-tremely positive about the future of High-lands and Old Edwards,” he said.


... CONTROVERSY continued from page 1members — Chris Hanners, Bill Futraland Lewis Penland — they unanimously

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Page 4 - Highlands’ Newspaper - Thursday, March 8, 2012 – 828-526-3228

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This true story is entrenched into mybrain and is as clear as if it just happened yesterday. For me it is a won-

derful childhood memory.The big war was in full swing but as a

child, I could care less. In fact, it was funand exciting to experience the air raiddrills. I would sit in the dark and peek outthe window of my house, listening to thescary air raid sirens. I had no idea therewas a dangerous enemy out there want-

ing to kill us all.But this is not a story of my life dur-

ing the real war; it’s a story about a smalldog born during that war who would benamed Frisky and become my bestfriend. Frisky was the first dog I everowned and here’s how we became bestfriends.

I hung out on the streets of Louisvillewith a kid whose name I have long for-gotten. Yes, children ran the streets backthen as it was a simpler life. One summerafternoon we headed over to his houseand found his dad in the back yard fillinga large tub of water. Their dog had givenbirth to her third litter of nine puppies.She could no longer feed or care forthem. They were dying of starvation so hewas filling the tub to drown them.

One by one, the dad picked up a pup,less than a week old, and put them in thetub of water, holding them under. Afterwatching him kill three, I blurted, “Pleasedon’t kill anymore puppies.”

The dad smiled and said, “This is thebest way. If I don’t drown them, they’ll diea slow death of starvation. You want one?”

I blurted out “yes” without thinkingof the consequences of what would hap-pen when I got home.

“There’s six left. Take your pick,” hesaid.

I stared at the remaining pups allhuddled together in a wicker basket anddecided to take the smallest of the litter. “Iwant that one,” I said, smiling.

The dad lifted the runt, placing it inthe palm of his hand and held it out forme to take. “I want to warn you that youpicked the runt and he’ll be the hardest tokeep alive. Are you sure you want thatone?” he asked.

I nodded with uncertainty and hehanded me the pup. There was an instantbond the very second I felt the warm pup-py in my hands. I held it to my chest andthanked the dad. Not wanting to watchhim kill the remaining pups, I headedhome. Now the hard part was ahead. Iwould have to convince my parents weshould have a dog.

“Freddie, what have you done?” mymom asked with an irritated voice.

“I had to do it, Mom, or it would bedrowned,” I responded in defense. “Pleaselet me keep him,” I pleaded.

“It’s a boy dog and it will urinate on

The Adventures of Frisky – Part 1 of 4A boy and his dog

everything in this house. Take the dogback to its owner,” she ordered.

Tears filled my eyes as I pushed openthe back screen door of our kitchen. Thedoor slammed behind me and I juststood there on the small porch crying. Asa last ditch effort, I turned and begged,“They’re going to kill it. Please let metake care of it. I promise I will and youwon’t have to do anything.”

“Come back in here and let me tellyou what’s in store for you before youcommit to this,” my mom said. “There’sa ton of work ahead for you. This dog’seyes are not even open yet. You will haveto bottle feed it for at least six weeks. Itwill barely be off the bottle when schoolstarts. Then what? Who takes care of thisdog while you’re in school? And howwill I keep this dog from urinating allover my nice furniture? And what is yourdad going to say when he hears youbrought a dog home without permis-sion?”

I was overwhelmed and had no an-swers for her. I held the dog out for her totake and said, “Please don’t let them killmy dog.”

She held the dog in her hand,smiled and asked, “What would youname it?”

“Frisky” I blurted. “It was the onlypup that was wiggling around in the bas-ket.”

“Your dad will be home soon. I’ll seewhat he thinks. Don’t get your hopesup.”

• Part two will be in next Thursday.In the interim, download Fred’s thriller ti-tled Deceived on your Kindle or Nook.


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If we needed proof thatwe’re in the wrongplace at the wrong

time, recent demonstra-tions in Afghanistan haveprovided it. Violent pro-tests, leaving more than30 people dead, includingsix US soldiers followedthe revelation that copiesof the Quran were thrownout with the trash atBagram Air Base. Unfortu-nately local Afghan work-ers discovered the partiallyburned books. The resulting violenceis worthy of one of the more backwardcountries in the world.

Yet, we should not be too quick tojudge the entire nation on the demon-strations of a few thousand any morethan we should judge the UnitedStates on events following HurricaneKatrina, or base our opinion of En-gland on the soccer fan thugs who rou-tinely fight, and occasionally kill, fol-lowing a game. The charred remainsof the Islamic holy book have fur-nished our enemy with a tremendouspropaganda tool. It shouldn’t be sur-prising that Afghans, exhausted by de-cades of war, convinced that theirWestern partners respect neither theirreligion nor culture, and outraged bycontinued civilian deaths would reactviolently.

It was stupid to burn the books.Whatever the approved method of dis-posing of used Qurans, we must havebeen aware it wasn’t throwing them ina fire pit with bacon drippings. We arewell aware of the sensitivity of Mus-lims to perceived disrespect to theProphet and his holy book. Even thefolks carrying out trash must haveknown that their action was insulting,and violent reaction was predictable.

It’s hard to believe it was an acci-dent, but it doesn’t really matter. Whatis important is that our investment in

lives and resources is beingwasted. Despite measuredoptimism from military andcivilian leaders, there is am-ple evidence that the war isnot going well in Afghani-stan. We can’t trust the policeand army. The government iscorrupt. Most importantly,the people of Afghanistan,who live in a very differentworld than ours, hate andsuspect us. Burning copies oftheir holy book only fannedthe flames.

We shouldn’t be wasting our time,money, and troops in Afghanistan. Ourwithdrawal should not be based on theAfghan clergy’s refusal to accept ourapology. Infuriating and demoralizingas it is, not even the murder of six USsoldiers by their Afghan counterpartsjustifies our departure.

We should withdraw from Afghani-stan because we cannot accomplish ourmission there. We cannot guarantee po-litical stability after our withdrawal. Wecannot correct corruption or eliminateopium production. We cannot preventthe Taliban from retaking the countryor clerics reversing recently institutedhuman rights initiatives. In short, wecannot build a nation in our image andlikeness in Afghanistan; not in 50 yearsor 100 years.

Despite enormous financial com-mitment and continued loss of life, wewill have little to show for hangingaround until 2014. We must learn thatonly the citizens of a country can builda nation. It requires common goals anda shared experience. Mostly it requires adesire to be from a nation. In a geo-graphic area made up of competingtribes and rival war lords, the appetitefor a nation simply does not exist. Af-ghanistan is a product of British imperi-alism. It is not a natural nation and weare incapable of creating an artificialcountry there.

The answer to our Afghanistanproblem is a simple one ...


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• BACK DAYS •

This continues our Back Days series in Highlands’ Newspaper. The story about thefamily of John Palmer and Margaret Jane Gribble McKinney families whose descen-dants tell the tales that will follow in this and subsequent issues.

Those who came before and afterthem – Part 7

John Palmer and Margaret Jane GribbleMcKinney

By Jesse Potts OwensBefore mailing it, she

announced a change in plans:“Mother he wants me to marry

him before the Andersons go toHighlands which will be about thefirst of July. He can’t stand the ideaof me going away and as he is readyto marry me any time, I guess I won’tcome home he says as shure as I gohome something will be sure tohappen. And he won’t let me go.”

But something did happen, andshe came home. Her son Jack isconfident that Grandma McKinneywrote, denying her permission to marry.He pictures Granny as the matriarch whosedecisions were not questioned.

If Belle had stayed in Chicago, Helenprobably would have stayed also, because

it’s impossible to imagine them separated.Even in pictures it is almost always the twoof them together.

The story goes that James Cleavelandand Frank Potts, boyhood friends, would

tease them by saying to one,“Hello, Helen and Belle. Where’sthe other Helen and Belle?”

When these young menwere married in 1911, it was tothe McKinney twins in a doublewedding. As young marriedwomen, they lived next door toeach other, not far from theirparents’ home, and when AuntHelens’ husband died, Mamawas to a certain extentresponsible for her secondmarriage.

Belle’s oldest child, Betsy,became very ill. Dr. Thompsonstarted treating her and rented aroom from Helen to be close tothe sick child. Subsequently,they married. The sistersprobably missed few days in theirlives talking to each other untilBelle’s death from cancer in1944 separated them. Helen,twice widowed, lived until 1961when she died of congestiveheart failure.

• Next week in Back Dayspart 9 we return to the family ofWilliam Thomas and MarthaAmmons Potts.

Through March 10, Highlands Little League will be having registration for the2012 baseball season at the Highlands Recreation Center. If you would like to register,stop by the front desk at the Highlands Recreation Center and complete a registrationform and medical release. Practices will begin approximately March 19th. The cost forthe first child is $50 and $45 for each additional child. The fee includes hat, shirt andsocks. Players are responsible for shoes and baseball pants. Registration is for ages 5 to12 and the birthday cutoff date is April 30th. If you have any questions, contact JerryMoore @ [email protected] or 828-482-2032.

Little League signups continue

Belle and Helen McKinneyPhoto courtesy of Highlands Historical Society


• COACH’S CORNER •

Ryan [email protected]

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It seems as thoughevery columnistnowadays has their

own clever versions of all-star teams, end of seasonawards, etc…and whyshould I not follow thecrowd. (Hush,mom…no, I would notjump off a bridge ifeveryone else did it, but Imight if it meant a jobwith ESPN) Anyway, I thought Iwould provide a list of “teams” thateveryone can poke and prod at…someof these teams have names that aremeant to be clever, but probablyaren’t.

Honorary Dick Vitale All-Airport Team (most intimidatinglooking players regardless of skill)

Royce White (Iowa State)Darius Johnson-Odom

(Marquette)Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)Carrick Felix (Arizona State)Festus Ezeli (Vanderbilt)Ryan Potts Memorial Tall Kid

who thinks he’s a guard Team (Tallplayers who shun the post andshoot jump shots)

The aptly named Ryan Kelly(Duke)

Harrison Barnes (UNC)John Shurna (Northwestern)Robbie Hummel (Purdue)Perry Jones III (Baylor)Harold Arceneaux “You will

learn about this guy in March”Team

Isaiah Canaan (Murray State)Doug McDermott (Creighton)Matt Dellavedova (St. Mary’s)Damien Lillard (Weber State)Casper Ware (Long Beach State)Hard Rock Café “All Overrated

Team”Harrison Barnes (UNC)J’Covan Brown (Texas)Jeffrey Taylor (Vanderbilt)Seth Curry (Duke)Perry Jones III (Baylor)The “Jackson the Cat Pest

Team” (Yes, I named the all

defensive team after mywife’s cat becausewherever I go, he’s rightthere)

John Henson (UNC)Skyler Mcbee

(Tennessee)Ronald Norad (Butler)Anthony Davis

(Kentucky)Phil Pressey (Missouri)My All-America Ballot

Thomas Robinson (Kansas)Anthony Davis (Kentucky)Tyler Zeller (UNC)Pierre Jackson (Baylor)Isaiah Canaan (Murray State)Coach of the YearCuonzo Martin-Tennessee. Picked

11th in the preseason SEC poll andfinished 2nd.

The All “Team” Team Column


• CONSERVATIVE POV

Don SwansonFeedback is

encouraged. [email protected]

Andrew Breitbart was known bysome, unknown by many, buthis work is known by anybody

who has an interest in the world aroundhim. Brietbart founded and ran the BigJournalism and Big Government blogs,which uncovered some interesting activ-ities that you do know about.

In collaboration with Fox News, in2009, Breitbart exposed the Associationof Community Organizations RightNow (ACORN), where ACORN workersappeared to advise a young couple howto hide prostitution activities and avoidtaxes. Videos recorded the sessions, oc-curring in several ACORN locations,were released on Breibart’sBigGovernment.com website from Sept.to Nov. 1009.

The US Census Bureau and the IRSended contracts with the organization,and the U. S. Congress voted to suspendits funding to ACORN. Soon ACORNalso lost most of its private funding, ef-fectively closing the organization. Chalkone up for Andrew.

In memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)From the latimes.com:

One of his websites, BigGovernment.com, hadcaused a sensation when itposted lewd photos of a manthat appeared to be U. S. Rep.Anthony Weiner, a firebrandliberal congressman fromNew York. Breitbart’s movecame after a suggestive photoof Weiner had been postedon the Democrat’s Twitteraccount, which the con-gressman repeatedly saidwas the work of hackers,though had not offered any evidence.

Adding to the skepticism was Weinerwho offered passionate defenses in a se-ries of interviews but struggled to offer aclear explanation of whether the photowas of his body and how it could haveended up on twitter. The pressure builtand Weiner opted for the guilty politi-cian’s traditional confessional – the newsconference.

But Breitbart arrived at the news con-

ference and in a surrealscene, beat Weiner to the lec-tern. Angry that the congress-man had tried to wriggle offthe hook by implicating hiswork, Breitbart defended thelegitimacy of his site’s report-ing and said he hoped Wein-er would apologize for ‘beingcomplicit in a blame-the-messenger strategy’ – whichWeiner later did. Weeks later,Weiner resigned.

In a special election, hewas replaced by a Republican

(in a heavily Democrat District). Andrew1, Anthony 0.”

Breitbart used the Internet to ignitepolitical scandal and expose what he sawas media bias, even if sometimes he hadto edit the facts to do it. In a new mediaage, he argued that anyone with a laptopcould reshape public discourse, and histakedown established him as a conserva-tive media hero.

In an oddity, which occurred fre-quently in Breitbart’s life, dailymail.comreports:

“Andrew Breitbart, the conservativefirebrand and new media pioneer whodied suddenly at just 43, had told friendshe was poised to take his jihad against theLeft deeper into the mainstream mediawith a regular show on CNN.

Last weekend, Breitbart told friendshe was in early talks with CNN about aCrossfire-style show in which he wouldargue from the Right alongside former USHouse representative Anthony Weinertaking him on from the Left. Such a showwould have been a blockbuster. In whatwas perhaps his finest hour, Breitbart wasthe man who ended the political career ofWeiner by revealing that the married con-gressman had sent lewd photographs toyoung women via Twitter.”

According to infowars.com: “In astunning coincidence, it appears AndrewBreibart suffered his untimely death justhours before he was set to release damn-ing video footage that could have sunkBarack Obama’s 2012 re-election cam-paign.” Speaking to Lawrence Sinclair ofSinclair News, Breitbart said ‘Wait til they

see what happens March 1st.”He repeated his intention to release

the tape during his speech during hisCPAC speech last month. ‘I’ve got videofrom his college days that show youwhy racial division and class warfare arecentral to what hope and change wassold in 2008 – the videos are going tocome out,’ said Breibart, adding thatObama would be vetted.

You don’t have to be a conspiracytheorist to appreciate the downrightweirdness of Breitbart announcing amajor event to occur on March 1st, onlyfor him to end up dying on that verydate. He was officially pronounced deadat 12:19 am.” Breitbart reportedly waswalking near his home in Brentwood,CA, just after midnight when he col-lapsed. Emergency crews tried to revivehim and rush him to the emergencyroom at the UCLA medical Center.

When Lawrence Sinclair called thehospital, they denied that anyone bythat name had been admitted withinthe previous 72 hours.

OK’d any of them saying they would behappy with whomever I suggested to thecommission.

“That being said, I make a motion toreappoint Lewis Penland and appointChris Hanners.”

It looked like a vote was going to betaken, when Commissioner Ron Havenasked that the candidates be voted on sep-arately.

The board agreed and Tate revised hismotion. He made a motion to put Han-ners in the seat Tate vacated upon appoint-ment to the commission. It passed unan-imously.

At that point Haven made a motionto appoint Bill Futral, but since Tate’s mo-tion was still on the floor concerning thereappointment of Penland it died for lackof a second.

Tate then repeated his motion to re-appoint Penland. It passed 4-1 vote – withHaven dissenting.

... CONTROVERSYfrom page 3



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New construction – 3 bedroom, 3 bath, in 2-cargarage neighborhood.

SUPER DEAL!!!Was $325,000 now $199,000!

5 bedroom, 4 bath on almost 2 acres with creek,pond, gazebo. R.V. barn. 4,000 sq.ft. finished,2,000 sq.ft. basement/garage.

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Call Becky Simmons at Cabe Realty(828)526-2475

• HIGHLANDS SCHOOL SPORTS •

By Ryan PottsThe Highlands Lady Highlander soc-

cer team traveled to Asheville last week-end to face the Mitchell Lady Mountain-eers and the Brevard Lady Blue Devils aspart of the soccer season kickoff held an-nually in Asheville. Despite only playingwith 10 players due to the Boston trip, theLady Highlanders were able to have greatsuccess, beating Mitchell 3-0 on the

Lady Highlanders successful in Jamboree, fall to Franklin in soccer openerstrength of goals from Emily Munger andKirstyn Lamb and tying Brevard 1-1.

On Wednesday, the Lady Highlanderstraveled to Franklin to face the Lady Pan-thers in the first regular season game of the2012 year. The first half was a back and forthaffair that saw the Lady Panthers dominatepossession, but it was Highlands whomissed out on the best scoring opportunityof the half as two Lady Highlanders missedan empty Panther goal for what would havebeen an early lead. After working to a drawin the first half, the Lady Panthers were ableto take the lead on a long goal from outsidethe arc that just snuck under the crossbar.

Despite trailing 1-0, the Lady Highland-ers were very much in the game until ad-versity struck in the form of poor officiat-ing. Franklin was awarded a penalty kickdue to what the center official termed ahandball in the box. The line judge cameover to the center referee to overrule thepenalty, as there was clearly no foul, but thecenter official refused to defer and awardedthe PK anyway which Franklin convertedfor a 2-0 lead. Later in the half, the sameofficial refused to call interference as Lady

Highlander goalkeeper Taylor Hunter wasplowed over by two Franklin players as theyconverted their third goal of the match fora 3-0 lead. Despite the bad luck, the LadyHighlanders kept fighting and generated ascoring chance in the final seconds, butStephanie Smart’s shot hit the post and the

Lady Highlanders finished on the wrongend of a 3-0 score.

Despite the score, there were manypositive signs for the Lady Highlanders,and they will return from Spring Break tohost Smoky Mountain on March 14th at6PM.

... CONTROVERSYfrom page 8

This term will be considered Pen-land’s second 3-year-term. After that, hewill have to sit off for one year before re-applying.

Hanners is starting his first 3-year-term and can be appointed for a second ifhe wants to stay on the board.

As per the new term limits voted onat the Feb. 14 meeting, Planning Boardmembers can sit for two 3-year-terms andmust take a year hiatus before reapplyingfor a seat.

In addition, Tuesday night the com-mission agreed to advertise vacancies onall its boards on the county’s website rath-er than publishing vacancies in The Fran-klin Press.

As to term limits for all boards, com-missioners asked County Attorney Ches-ter Jones and County Manager Jack Hor-ton to assemble a list of all boards andcommittees whose appointments andterm limits aren’t governed by state or fed-eral statutes.

The list will be presented at theMarch 13 meeting and term limits for theremaining boards will be discussed atlength.

Commissioners Ronnie Beale andBobby Kuppers continue to remind theboard that all boards and committees al-ready have versions of term limits “be-cause all term limits reside with the boardof commissioners.”

“If we are going to impose term lim-its on boards, we can’t aim this only at thePlanning Board,” said Kuppers. “To makeit fair we have to do this across the boardas best we can even though it’s a pain inthe neck and will require more work ofstaff.”

– Kim Lewicki


Highlands School students take on BostonBy Ryan Potts

A group of 24 Highlands School stu-dents traveled to Boston, Massachusetts lastweekend as part of an educational trip puttogether by Highlands School Social Stud-ies teacher Chris Green. The students wereto depart Charlotte on Friday evening andfly to Boston via Detroit to stay for threenights in one of the nation’s most historiccities.

While the students were excited to ar-rive in Boston, Mother Nature had otherplans, causing a lengthy delay at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Thanks tothe delay that they ended up in the Char-lotte airport for over six hours. The delayalso forced the group into staying overnightin Detroit, since they missed their connect-ing flight into Boston. Luckily, Delta Air-lines put them up in a hotel.

The group finally arrived in Boston onSaturday afternoon where they began awalking tour of the legendary FreedomTrail, which included a visit to the OldNorth Church. Later, they visited FenwayPark, the home of the Boston Red Sox. Badluck continued to follow them, as a smallfire was discovered in the administrativeoffices at Fenway Park, forcing the park tobe evacuated.

Despite yet another change of plans,the Highlanders were able to make the bestof things by touring Boston on foot andexploring the Boston Science Museum. Inthe evening, the students attended a Har-vard hockey game, in what was the firsthockey experience for many of the stu-dents. The trip finished up with an eveningvisit to Legal Seafood, where everyone en-joyed the finest of Boston cuisine.

Despite the snafus, Chris Green saidthe trip was an excellent experience for thestudents. “The kids were terrific and theyshowed a tremendous amount of patienceconsidering all of the delays and things thatwe went through. Anytime you spend thatamount of time in an airport things canget interesting, but our kids handled it allvery maturely and I think that they enjoyedthe time we did get to spend in Boston.”

Green also thanked fellow chaperonesAshly Coppage and Tracy Hedden for theirassistance.

Senior Isaac Beavers said the trip wasa “lot of fun” and that “it was a great expe-rience to be able to go somewhere like Bos-ton and to do it with your friends is evenbetter.”

Students walked the Freedom Trail, visited Fenway Park and the Boston Science Museum. Photos by Tracey Hedden

Highlands Area Upcoming Events PULL OUT


50% off all shoes50% off all clothes

50% off all hats25% off everything else!

• Now Open 7 Days a Week •

While Potpourri is under construction in Town Square,please visit us across Main Street at Potpourri 2.

Potpourri 2's inventory now includes more clothingand jewelry and its exclusive makeup line!

• Registration is now open for the 2012 sum-mer nature day camps at the Highlands NatureCenter. Five different camps are offered: “WOW! –a World of Wonder” (ages 4-6), “Amazing Animals”(ages 7-10), “NatureWorks” (ages 8-11), “Moun-tain Explorers” (ages 10-13), and “Junior Ecolo-gists” (ages 11-14). Most camps are offered morethan once during the summer. Sessions run fromTuesday to Friday each week. For complete sched-ules, costs, and other information, please call 828-526-2623 or visit www.wcu.edu/hbs.

Daily• CORE classes at Mountain Fitness on Caro-

lina Way. Tues., Thurs., Sat.,. 9:30; Mon., Wed.,

• The Art Room, 45 East Main St. in Franklinis having free Make & Take Classes from 10am to12:30. Come make a Card...Ages 15 and upplease! For More Information call Dianne 828-349-3777 or Robin 828-421-9891.

Every Third Saturday• The Highlands Memorial Post #370 of the

American Legion meets at the Shortoff BaptistChurch. Breakfast is at 9 am. Meeting is at 10 a.m.All veterans are invited to attend.

Through March 10• Highlands Little League will be having reg-

istration for the 2012 baseball season at the High-lands Recreation Center. If you would like to regis-ter, stop by the front desk at the Highlands Recre-ation Center and complete a registration form andmedical release. Practices will begin approximate-ly March 19th. The cost for the first child is $50 and$45 for each additional child. The fee includes hat,shirt and socks. Players are responsible for shoesand baseball pants. Registration is for ages 5 to 12and the birthday cutoff date is April 30th. If you haveany questions, contact Jerry Moore @[email protected] or 828-482-2032.

Mon. – Thurs., March 12, 19, 22• At The Bascom. Drawing Basics and Be-

yond. 10am – 12noon or 5:15 – 7:15pm. For theabsolute beginner or as a refresher for skilled art-ists, discover a new sense of self and spirit en-hance your observational skills and develop con-fidence and awareness. Explore drawing withoutmaking a lengthy or expensive commitment. In-

•See EVENTS page 12

The Foxfire Boys Bluegrass Groupwill be participating in the morning wor-ship service at First Presbyterian Churchat 11am on Sunday, March 11. All are wel-come to attend.

Formed in the early 1980’s, the Fox-fire Boys grew out of the world renownedFoxfire organization. The group is basedin Clayton, Ga. Over the years they haveshared the stage with well known coun-try, bluegrass, and folk artists. The grouphas made appearances on TNN and CMTtelevision networks and performed atvenues such as: The Grand Ole Opry,World’s Fair, 1994 Olympics in Norway,1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the GeorgiaHigh Museum, and the Georgia Gover-nor’s mansion. The group also performs

Foxfire Boys to participate in March 11worship service at First Presbyterian

at numerous folk and art festivalsthroughout the United States.

The group continues to perform forpublic and private events throughout theregion, including many local benefits.The Foxfire Boys have a passion for fam-ily, faith, and community which is dem-onstrated through their music.

Members of the group are: WayneGipson, bass and vocals; Dean English,banjo and vocals; Mike Hamilton, leadguitar; Tom Nixon, mandolin, fiddle, andvocals; and Filmer Kilby, harmonica, do-bro, and vocals.

The church is located at the cornerof Main and 5th Streets. Handicap en-trances are located on 5th Street and onChurch Street.

Thurs., 5:15. $10 per class or ask about specials.Call 526-9083. (st. 6/9)

Mon., Wed., Fri.• Heart Healthy Exercise Class at the Rec Park.

8:30-9:30 a.m. $20/month.• Step Aerobics with Tina Rogers at the Rec

Park, 8-9 a.m. $10 per class or $40 a month.• Zumba at the Rec Park, 9:05a-10a. $5 per

calss. First class free. Call Mary Barbour for Frank-lin schedule: 828-342-2498.

Mondays• Closed AA meeting, 5:30 p.m. at the Episco-

pal Church at Fifth and Main streets.Tuesdays

• Highlands Rotary Club meets at noon at theHighlands Conference Center at noon.

• Closed AA Women’s meeting, 5:30 p.m. at theEpiscopal Church at Fifth and Main streets.

Wednesdays• The Highlands Mountaintop Rotary meets at

7:30 a.m. in the dining room at the Highlands-Cash-iers Hospital. Enter the hospital in the main or emer-gency entrance and follow the signs downstairs.Visitors are welcome. Meetings end at 8:30 am.

• Men’s interdenominational Bible Study at 8:30a.m. at First Baptist Church.

• The Homegrown Buds, a homeschool 4-Hclub, meets at noon at the Macon County Library onSiler Road in Franklin at 1 p.m.

Wednesdays & Fridays• Open AA meeting at noon at the Episcopal

Church at Fifth and Main streets.Thursdays• Al-Anon meeting, noon at the Episcopal

Church on Main and Fifth streets.• The Highlands Writers Group meets at 1 p.m.

at the Hudson Library on Thursdays. Free writingexercises. Bring a seven-minute writing piece toread. Newcomers are welcome. Call Anne Doggettat 526 8009.

• Free Dinner at the Cashiers Community Cen-ter froim 5-7 p.m. Mostly organic, healthy food. Do-nations accepted. Call 743-5706 for more informa-tion. Volunteers needed!

Thursdays - Sundays• At Paoletti’s, 15%-25% off promotions. Call

526-4906 for reservations.Every Saturday through March


PULL OUT Highlands Area Upcoming Eventsstructor: Knight Martorell. Levels: I & II. Tuition: $100members/$135 non-members per month

Tues. & Thurs., March 8, 13, 15• At The Bascom. Ceramics Beginning and

Beyond, 1 – 3 pm or 5:15 – 7:15 pm. Begin yourceramics experience or take it to the next level bydisappearing into a quiet, nurturing environment.Instructor: Frank Vickery. Levels: I & II Tuition: $125member/$160 non-member per month.

Wed., March 14, 21, 28• At The Bascom. Painting Basics and Beyond.

10am – 12noon. Enjoy the painting experience frominspiration, to design, to finished painting. An oppor-tunity to create captivating works of art while learningor expanding your knowledge of the building blocksfor application, design and color. Instructor: RobinSwaby Levels: I & II. Tuition: $100 member/$135non-member per month

Thursday, March 8• The Macon County Cancer Support Group

will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of AngelMedical Center on Riverview Street in Franklin.March is National Colorectal Cancer AwarenessMonth. Dr. Carter Davis, Founder of the Atlanta Gas-troenterology Associates Group, will be the guestspeaker. There will be free handouts, light refresh-ments, and a $50 Ingles card will be given away.Everyone is welcome to attend. For more informa-tion, call 828-369-9221.

• Taize at Holy Family Lutheran Church at5:30 p.m.

• Macon Valley Nursing and RehabilitationCenter Blood Drive, 3195 Old Murphy Road, Fran-klin, 12 pm to 4:30 pm. Call Dawn or Lisa at 524-7806 for more information or to schedule an ap-pointment. All presenting donors are automaticallyentered into a drawing for a pair of Delta AirlineTickets!

• The League of Women Voters of MaconCounty will host Tommy Jenkins, director of the Ma-con County Economic Development Commission.Mr. Jenkins will speak on economic developmentplans and projects for our county. The meeting willbe held in Tartan Hall in Franklin. Lunch is availableat noon—call 371-0527 for reservations, or [email protected] programwill begin at 12:15. The public is invited.

• The March meeting of The Western NorthCarolina Woodturners Club will meet on Thursdayat 6 PM at the Blue Ridge School, in Glenville. Driveto the back of the school to the woodworking shop.Visitors are always welcomed. The club meets ev-ery second Thursday at 6 P.M., March throughNovember.

• LOOKING FOR MUSICIANS for First Fri-day Fest Rock House in Downtown Clayton, May –October from 6-8 p.m. Will pay set night fee plus tips.Call 706-982-1284.or drop off Demos at Fromage& Other Fine Foods or mail to CMBA ,Post Office

Box 25, Clayton, GA 30525, or e-mail Demo Link [email protected]. All demos must be receivedby March 8. Please include Group Name, ContactName, Phone Number & E-mail.

• Fundraising banquet for wild turkey conser-vation at 6 p.m. at The Dillard House ConferenceCenter. Tickets are $55. Hosted by the Tallulah Chap-ter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. For tick-ets are information call 706-947-3016.

Friday, March 9• Angel Medical Center Blood Drive, 120 Riv-

erview Street, Franklin, 8 am to 5 pm. Please call369-4166 for more information or to schedule anappointment. Walk-Ins Welcome but appointmentspreferred! All presenting donors are automaticallyentered into a drawing for a pair of Delta AirlineTickets!

Saturday, March 10• Chili Cook Off at the Community Building 6:30-

9:30 p.m. To enter the contest call 526-5841.• At The Bascom. Discovering the Image, 10am

– 4pm. Whether you are a veteran painter or havealways wanted to hold a brush in your hand andmake a mark on the canvas, this class can benefityou. Diane's approach to painting is one of purevisual discovery from the first mark to the last! Theseone-day workshops can open your eye to discov-ering the image as you work, take your past habitsand formulas, and set out on a journey of discover-ing your own way with the image. Instructor: DianeMcPhail. Levels: I, II & III. Tuition: $75 member/$110 non-member per class

• At The Bascom. Art Cinema. Sit back andenjoy our weekly feature presentation “Craft in Amer-ica” 2 pm.

• Red Velvet Cake War Challenge at The Dil-lard Playhouse (same building as Dillard City Hall).$5 entry fee. $100 Grand Prize, plus 4 tickets to theplay! $25 Runner-Up Prize, plus 2 tickets to theplay! Cakes & recipes should be dropped off 10am-12. Judging will take place noon to 2 pm Winners willbe called following judging to pick up Prizes! We willpublish your recipe in our play program! For moreinformation email [email protected]

Sunday, March 11• The Foxfire Boys Bluegrass Group will be

participating in the morning worship service at FirstPresbyterian Church at 11 am on Sunday. All arewelcome to attend. The church is located at the cor-ner of Main and 5th Streets. Handicap entrancesare located on 5th Street and on Church Street.

March 12-April 12• USDA Farm Service Agency Macon County

is having a four-week Conservation Reserve Pro-gram (CRP) general signup, beginning March 12and ending April 6. CRP has a 25-year legacy ofsuccessfully protecting the nation’s natural resourc-es through voluntary participation, while providingsignificant economic and environmental benefits to

By Michelle PriceExecutive Director J-MCA

On March 15, the Jackson-MaconConservation Alliance is teaming upwith the North Carolina State Universi-ty’s Soil Science Department and localsponsors to bring technical erosion con-trol training to the community.

This is a unique opportunity in ourarea, because most training opportuni-ties like this, happen “off the mountain”and require local business owners to in-vest more resources in travel and timeto receive current information based onscientific research. Also it is a rare op-portunity to be able to meet with tech-nical experts in the field, who are ableto answer your questions and provide ahands-on opportunity.

The field component will allow par-ticipates to actually practice proper in-stallation of best practices including siltfences, drop inlets, baffles, wattles andground cover. This program has result-ed from a group planning effort led bythe Jackson-Macon Conservation Alli-ance and funded by the Cullasaja Wom-en’s Outreach. The classroom presenta-tion and field component will be in-structed by representatives from theNCSU’s Soil Science Department.

We encourage all people within theHighlands and Cashiers Communitythat actually install, inspect or designthese types of erosion control measuresto attend; so they may have an opportu-

nity to ensure these practices are proper-ly installed. Proper installation of thesebest management practices is importantto maximizing their potential to reducesediment from leaving the disturbed area.Proper installation will also minimizethe occurrence of notice of violations andmaximize the protection of off-site prop-erty and surface water quality.

We are also seeking donations fromlocal businesses to provide materials forthis training event, such as wattles,ground cover, silt fence, staples and more.If you are interested in co-sponsoring thisevent by donating materials for our fieldtraining please contact J-MCA.

Attendees are encouraged to dressappropriately for the field training andthe weather. Please bring your own hardhat and safety vest if you have one.

The Sediment and Erosion ControlTraining is scheduled for Thursday,March 15 at 9 am at the Albert CarltonCashiers Community Library located onFrank Allen Road in Cashiers. Space islimited, pre-register is required for thisevent.

Scholarships are available for peo-ple that actually install erosion controlmeasures within the Cashiers and High-lands area. To register for this event andfor more information call J-MCA at 828-526-0890 x320 or email Anna [email protected]. Registrations are dueon or before Monday, March 12th.

Erosion control training set for March 15


Highlands Area Upcoming Events PULL OUT

rural communities across the United States. Formore information on CRP and other FSA pro-grams, visit the Macon County FSA Service Cen-ter at 189 Thomas Heights Road, Franklin, NC.Or call (828) 524-3175 Visit www.fsa.usda.govfor additional information.

Tuesdays beginning March 13• NAMI offers Peer-to-Peer Recovery Edu-

cation Course. NAMI Appalachian South, the localaffiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, isoffering a 10 week education class in Franklin onTuesdays, starting March 13, 6:30-8:30. This is anationally recognized course designed for individ-uals living with the challenge of mental illness. Thecourse covers the major mental illnesses, treat-ments, coping strategies, relapse prevention, re-covery and wellness in a confidential setting. Thereis no charge. Pre-registration is required. For moreinformation or to register contact: Paul 524-9133or Hank 342-34789.

Tuesday, March 13• At the Hudson Library, the move “The Big

The Eckerd College Concert Choirand the Eckerd Ringers will perform ina concert at 3pm on Sunday, March 18at First Presbyterian Church. The groupswill also participate in the 11:00 wor-ship service that morning. The concertchoir and ringers are directed by Dr.Marion Smith, who serves as Professorof Music and Director of Choral Musicat Eckerd College. Dr. Smith receivedhis Ph.D. from Washington University.

The Eckerd Concert Choir isopen to the vocal amateur as well as themusic major and performs on and offcampus and tours each spring. One ofthe goals of the choir is to provide eachsinger a complete musical experiencewithin the framework of a liberal artseducation. The Concert Choir and Eck-erd Ringers have made a number of In-ternational tours including a tour toEngland with performances in Oxford,

Eckerd College Concert Choir and Eckerd Ringersto perform in March 18 Concert

York, Canterbury, and London; the People’sRepublic of China, Italy, Spain, and more.

Formed in 1990, The Eckerd Ring-ers is an ensemble of twelve ringers. Mem-bership is open to all students. The EckerdRingers play on five octaves of Schulmer-ich handbells and five octaves of Suzukihandchimes. The Eckerd Ringers play a va-riety of music ranging from arrangementsof familiar hymns and other well knownworks to original compositions written es-pecially for bells and chimes. The EckerdRingers appear in concert with the Con-cert Choir throughout the academic year.

Since Eckerd College (formerly Flor-ida Presbyterian College) opened its doors,it has earned a reputation for creating newand better opportunities for learning. Eck-erd has been consistently rated among theforemost of American colleges and univer-sities. The college looks for superior meth-

ods of educating its students, not in orderto be different but to offer a more reward-ing and useful educational experience.

Eckerd College is located in St. Pe-tersburg, Florida, and was named afterphilanthropists, the late Jack and RuthEckerd, long time seasonal residents ofHighlands. Dr. Donald Eastman, III hasserved as president of the college since2001. He and his wife, Christine, are sea-sonal residents of Highlands, and attendFirst Presbyterian Church.

Everyone is cordially invited to at-tend the morning worship service as wellas the afternoon concert, which will takeplace in the sanctuary at First Presbyteri-an Church. The church is located at thecorner of Main and 5th Streets. Handi-cap entrances are located on ChurchStreet and on 5th Street.

•See EVENTS page 14

Ruby CinemasFranklin, NC

DR. SEUSS' THE LORAXin Digital 2D / 3D

Now Playing Through 3/22/12PROJECT X

Now Playing Through 3/15/12JOHN CARTER

Starting March 9th

Quin TheatersSylva, NC

JOHN CARTERStarting March 9th

Coming Soon21 Jump Street

Wrath of the TitansAct of Valour


Highlands Area Upcoming EventsPULL OUT

Year” Tuesday at 4 pm. Steve Martin, Jack Black,and Owen Wilson headline the cast of this comedy.The story is about two bird enthusiasts who try todefeat the cocky, cutthroat world record holder in ayear-long bird-spotting competition. The HighlandsPlateau Audubon Society is offering the film for yourenjoyment. There is no charge to watch the movie,and there just might be free popcorn offered aswell.

• Come and listen to the Irish Blarney Talesand Tales of Spring stories at the Story Swap onTuesday at 7 pm, at the Ugly Dog Pub at 294 S.Fourth St. in Highlands. If you have a special 3-7

minute blarney or spring story to tell or read, sign upat the pub or call 369-1927. Note – Our winter starttime is a half hour earlier!

Thursday, March 15• Sediment & Erosion Control Training; Thurs-

day at 9 am at the Cashiers Library. Classroompresentation and hands-on field component byNCSU Soil Science Department. Learn how to prop-erly install silt fences, drop inlets, baffles, wattles andground cover. Earthmovers, Graders, Contrac-tors, Landscapers, Architects, Designers, Engineersand Inspectors are encouraged to attend. The costis $20 for materials and a boxed lunch. Pre-regis-tration required, call J-MCA at 828-526-0890 x320

OR [email protected] to register and for more in-formation.

• Taize at the Highlands United MethodistChurch at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, March 16• An American Red Cross Adult CPR/AED

course will be conducted through Macon CountyPublic Health. The course will be held on FridayMarch 16th from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 pm at MaconCounty Public Health located at 1830 Lakeside Drive.Participants must pre-register and pre-pay at theMacon County Public Health Center by Monday,March 12. For more information on class fees andto pre-register please call Melissa at 349-2459.

Sat. - Fri., March 17-30• At The Bascom. From Mud to Art Highlands

High School Ceramics, Landing Gallery. Explorewith the students as they not only demonstrate theirproficiency in pottery but their understanding of thescience and chemistry that makes it happen. Studentwork and an explanation of clay bodies, firing andglazing will be on view. Now in its third year, the HighSchool Ceramics Class is an ongoing partnershipbetween Highlands School and The Bascom.

Sat. & Sun., March 17 – 18• At The Bascom. Everything Kitchen. 10 am –

4 pm. You can make those every day happeningsmore fun by creating your own custom pieces to usein the kitchen. Make anything and everything youcan imagine. Instructor: Frank Vickery. Levels: I, II &III. Tuition: $175 member/$210 non-member.

Sat., March 17• At The Bascom. From Mud to Art Highlands

High School Ceramics Opening Reception. 5 –7pm

• At The Bascom. Art Cinema. Sit back andenjoy our weekly feature presentation “Secrets ofStonehenge” 2 pm.

Sunday, March 18• The Eckerd College Concert Choir and the

Eckerd Ringers will perform in a concert at 3 pm onSunday at First Presbyterian Church. The groupswill also participate in the 11 a.m. worship servicethat morning. The concert choir and ringers aredirected by Dr. Marion Smith, who serves as Pro-fessor of Music and Director of Choral Music atEckerd College. Dr. Smith received his Ph.D. fromWashington University. Everyone is cordially invit-ed to attend the morning worship service as well asthe afternoon concert, which will take place in thesanctuary at First Presbyterian Church. The churchis located at the corner of Main and 5th Streets.Handicap entrances are located on Church Streetand on 5th Street.

Mon. & Wed., March 19, 21, 26, 28• At The Bascom. Ceramic Sculpture. 12noon

– 2pm. This is a great class for all interested inlearning how to construct sculptures in clay. In-structor: Colette Clark. Levels: I & II. Tuition: $125member/$160 non-member per month.

Tuesday, March 20• Macon County Public Library Blood Drive,

149 Siler Farm Road, Franklin, 10 am to 7 pm.Please call 524-3600 for more information or toschedule an appointment. All presenting donorsare automatically entered into a drawing for a pairof Delta Airline Tickets!

Highlands Pharmacy& Main Street Pharmacy

Neighbors, friends and family fromRabun, Macon and Oconee counties willgather Saturday, March 31 at the annualbluegrass-and-barbecue fundraiser put onby the Satolah, Georgia, volunteer fire de-partment, this year to benefit fellow fire-fighter Joe Munger and family.

The volunteer firefighters and thehard-working women of the Station 8 aux-iliary will begin serving food at 4 p.m.,with the music starting around 6 p.m.

Chief James Reed is hoping for a bigturnout, as this family-friendly benefit al-ways highlights the coming of spring (andthe official start of the trout season) in thispart of the tri-state area. “We hope every-one will mark their calendars, and do theirbest to help,” Reed said.

Here’s the line-up:• Food plates will include your choice

of a smoked pork barbecue or grilledchicken, served with baked beans, Cole

Family-friendly benefit at Satolah VFDslaw, applesauce, a roll and soft drink ($7)or a combo plate with both chicken andpork ($10). Children’s plates, ($4). Thosewith a real appetite also can order a wholebutt ($35) if pre-ordered by Tuesday,March 27. Call (828) 371-0722 to pre-order.

• Then, starting around 6 p.m., getset for some mighty high-and-lonesomebluegrass music that will set hearts a-thumping and toes a-tapping.

• The ladies’ auxiliary also will auc-tion off its delicious homemade cakes andthere will be a raffle for a $300 cash prizeand other valuable items.

The station is located 3.5 miles southof the Georgia-North Carolina line onstate Route 28 (the Highlands-WalhallaRoad) and about 2 miles from the Route28 intersection with Warwoman Road.The public is invited -- and bring all yourfriends!

Call or email about 2012Advertising Packages

828-526-3228 or [email protected]

• HEALTH MATTERS •Highlands’ Newspaper - Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 828-526-3228 - Page 15

Dr. Joseph H. Wilbanks, D.D.S.

706-886-9439 • 800-884-9439www.WilbanksSmileCenter.com

278 East Doyle St. • Toccoa, GA

You are only 50 miles away from 30 years experience intop-notch, high-tech, one-stop dentistry known for its

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By Richard Blue, M.D.In the ever-changing field of medi-

cine and in an age when there is an infi-nite amount of information instantly ac-cessible, the medical community facesthe constant challenge of dealing withthe propagation of myths and misinfor-mation of all kinds. With regards to myown chosen field of medicine, Ophthal-mology, and more specifically the LASIKprocedure, I have conversations with pa-tients nearly every day in which the pa-tient has been given some kind of misin-formation regarding their particular can-didacy for LASIK. Some of the most com-mon reasons patients are told that theyare not a LASIK candidate are that theyhave astigmatism; their prescription istoo high or low; there may be age restric-tions; they have cataracts; they are toldLASIK can cause scar tissue; they are toldthat they’ll probably end up back in glass-es anyway; or, they are simply told theyare not a candidate and not given a rea-son.

There are indeed rare occasionswhen I have a patient who may havesome condition that makes him or her aless than ideal candidate. The good news

Lasik Candidacyis that, for experienced LASIK practitio-ners, today’s incredible level of diagnostictechnology allows us to easily identifythat rare person who is not an idealLASIK candidate. It must be understood,though, that this person is indeed rare.The vast majority of my patients who re-port having been told they are not a can-didate turn out not only to be candidates,but are among my happiest patients.

So why are so many patients told thatthey are not candidates? Since it wouldn’tbe a productive exercise to engage in spec-ulation, my best response to this questionis simply to arm patients with the rightquestions to ask to form their own con-clusions. Is the person who made theclaim a Medical Doctor who specializesin LASIK and therefore uniquely qualifiedto judge your candidacy? Does this personuse the specialized level of equipmentand technology needed to make an accu-rate judgment of your LASIK candidacy?And finally, does this person and the in-dustry he or she represents have anythingto gain or lose by your having the LASIKprocedure? Once these answers are

•See HEALTH MATTERS page 16


found, patients can usually understandwhy LASIK myths have been perpetrat-ed, keeping them in glasses and contactsunnecessarily.

As medical doctors, it’s not our jobto convince patients to have a particularprocedure or not. Instead, our duty is togive our patients the best facts and infor-mation we can based on our knowledge,experience, technology and our analysisof each individual patient’s situation.Most often, LASIK is a great option forthose who seek to end their dependenceon glasses and contacts. In rare cases, itis not. It’s my job to accurately discernthe difference and give you all the bestinformation you need to make yourown decision.

... HEALTH MATTERSfrom page 15

to the pure Council-Manager form, thenthese are the steps you need to take,” hesaid.

Evidently, about three years ago, thetown neglected to amend its charter andordinance in the proper order – first thecharter then the ordinance. Highlandsamended the ordinance first and was pro-ceeding to amend the charter when Com-

missioner Gary Drake turned the tables atthe Feb. 7 meeting.

Commissioner Drake, who haspushed for the standard Council-Managerform from the start, said a Local Act to makethe hybrid form currently in place “legal”would take a unanimous vote — not the 3-2 vote taken last year. He and Commission-er Larry Rogers voted against the form.

Drake said he had spoken to SenatorJim Davis – Highlands’ steward at the statelevel – who said he would not push a LocalAct for a hybrid form through without100% agreement on the Town Board.

When interviewed, Senator Davis said“I left local government because I didn’t liketo be micro-managed so I understand thisand this is Highlands’ problem,” he said.

Even though representatives from theSchool of Government said Local Acts areoften sought and successful at the state lev-el, Davis said in his eyes a majority vote of3-2 wasn’t enough to push for a Local Actfor a hybrid form of government.

Dotson asked Coward why a Local Actcouldn’t be considered with a 3-2 votewhen it represented the wishes of the ma-jority of the board and the citizens.

He said that’s what Senator Daviswants and said “That’s the difference be-tween a democracy and a republic. You wereelected to represent the people,” said Cow-

ard. “We don’t have a system where the peo-ple vote on every issue that comes beforethe board.”

Dotson was referring the to public hear-ings last year where the majority of the cit-izens present wanted the hybrid Council-Manager form – which passed with the 3-2vote.

Meanwhile, when CommissionerAmy Patterson asked Coward if Highlandswas operating legally he said he was defer-ring all opinions as to legality about High-lands’ form of government to the School ofGovernment. However, over the last threeyears he has said that he didn’t agree withthe School.

So, the 3-2 vote taken Feb. 7 to pursuethe avenues necessary to align Highlands’ordinance with the charter with Commis-sioners Patterson and John Dotson dissent-ing, needed a second vote to move to thenext step.

Tuesday night the vote was taken again,but just concerning amending the ordi-nance applying to the Police Chief and theStormwater Administrator. Changing ver-biage in the ordinance pertaining to theZoning Administrator takes a public hear-ing which is scheduled at the March 20meeting.

Commissioner Brian Stiehler madethe motion to proceed with amending theordinance to align it with the charter andCommissioner Eric Pierson seconded the

... HYBRID continued from page 1 motion with this statement:“I wasn’t here through all this, so I’m

starting from square one and where we gofrom here, that’s to be determined.”

Once again the vote was 3-2 withCommissioners Patterson and Dotson dis-senting. Mayor David Wilkes broke the tiesince Commissioner Drake was absent.

Nevertheless, Commissioner Dotsonwanted a statement in the record.

“We passed this 18 months ago andthought we were moving in the directionvoted on by the majority of the TownBoard. We knew we had some housekeep-ing to do and seemed to be moving in thatdirection until a phone call was made …I’m not sure in my mind we are illegal, it’sa situation of what came first the chickenor the egg? I think that based on the publichearing we had, the citizens of Highlandsexpressed the type of government they pre-ferred,” he said.

Since the required two years under anew form of government is up, Highlands’can at any time opt to change its form ofgovernment to a standard form that wouldnot require Senate intervention or a LocalAct. Those forms are the Mayor-Councilform or the Mayor-Council-Administra-tor form which served Highlands for years.

Citizens are encouraged to turn outfor the public hearing on the matter at theMarch 20 Town Board meeting at 7 p.m.

– Kim Lewicki


PULL OUTRandy Reed, Pastor

828-421-9172• 165 S. Sixth StreetSundays: Worship – 11

HIGHLANDS CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCHPastor Dan Robinson

670 N. Fourth Street (next to the Highlands Civic Center)Sunday: School 9:30 a.m.; Morning Worship 10:45 a.m., Evening

Worship, 6:30 p.m.Wednesday: Prayer Service, 6:30 p.m.

HIGHLANDS UNITED METHODIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS UNITED METHODIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS UNITED METHODIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS UNITED METHODIST CHURCHHIGHLANDS UNITED METHODIST CHURCHPastor Paul Christy 526-3376

Sun: School 9:45 a.; Worship10:50 a.; Youth Group 5:30 p.Wed: Supper; 6; 7:15 – children, youth, & adults studies; 6:15 –

Adult choir (nursery provided for Wed. p.m. activities)Thurs:12:30 – Women’s Bible Study (nursery)

HOLHOLHOLHOLHOLY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY LUTHERAN CHURCH – ELCAY LUTHERAN CHURCH – ELCAY LUTHERAN CHURCH – ELCAY LUTHERAN CHURCH – ELCAY LUTHERAN CHURCH – ELCAChaplain Margaret Howell

2152 Dillard Road – 526-9741Sundays: Sunday School and Adult discussion group 9:30 a.m.;

Worship/Communion – 10:30HEALING SERVICE on the 5th Sunday of the month.

MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCHMACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCHMACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCHMACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCHMACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH8 miles south of Highlands on N.C. 28 S in Satolah

Pastor Roy Lowe, (828) 526-8425Sundays: School – 10 a.m.; Worship – 11

Choir – 6 p.m.Wed: Bible Study and Youth Mtg. – 7 p.m.

MOUNTMOUNTMOUNTMOUNTMOUNTAIN SYNAGOGUEAIN SYNAGOGUEAIN SYNAGOGUEAIN SYNAGOGUEAIN SYNAGOGUESt. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, Franklin

828-369-9270 or 828-293-5197MOUNTMOUNTMOUNTMOUNTMOUNTAIN BIBLE CHURCHAIN BIBLE CHURCHAIN BIBLE CHURCHAIN BIBLE CHURCHAIN BIBLE CHURCHPastor: Clayton Lopez • 828-743-9704

Independent Bible ChurchSundays:10:30 a.m. at Big Ridge Baptist Church, 4224 Big Ridge

Road (4.5 miles from NC 107)Weds: Bible Study 6:30 p.m.; Youth Group 6 p.m.

OUR LADY OF THE MOUNTOUR LADY OF THE MOUNTOUR LADY OF THE MOUNTOUR LADY OF THE MOUNTOUR LADY OF THE MOUNTAINS CAAINS CAAINS CAAINS CAAINS CATHOLICTHOLICTHOLICTHOLICTHOLICCHURCHCHURCHCHURCHCHURCHCHURCH

Rev. Dean Cesa, pastor – Parish office: 526-2418Mass: – Sun: 11 a.m.; Sat: 4 p.m.; Thurs & Fri.: 9 a.SCALSCALSCALSCALSCALY MOUNTY MOUNTY MOUNTY MOUNTY MOUNTAIN BAPTIST CHURCHAIN BAPTIST CHURCHAIN BAPTIST CHURCHAIN BAPTIST CHURCHAIN BAPTIST CHURCH

Rev. Clifford WillisSundays: School –10 a.m.; Worship –11 a.m. & 7

Wednesdays: Prayer Mtg. – 7 p.m.SCALSCALSCALSCALSCALY MOUNTY MOUNTY MOUNTY MOUNTY MOUNTAIN CHURCH OF GODAIN CHURCH OF GODAIN CHURCH OF GODAIN CHURCH OF GODAIN CHURCH OF GOD

290 Buck Knob Road; Pastor Alfred Sizemore • 526-3212Sundays: School – 10 a.m.; Worship – 10:45 a.m.; Worship – 6

p.m.Wed: Adult Bible Study & Youth – 7 p.m.SHORTOFF BAPTIST CHURCHSHORTOFF BAPTIST CHURCHSHORTOFF BAPTIST CHURCHSHORTOFF BAPTIST CHURCHSHORTOFF BAPTIST CHURCH

Pastor Rev. Andy Cloer.Sundays: School – 10 a.m.; Worship – 11Wednesdays: Prayer & Bible Study – 7

UNITUNITUNITUNITUNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIPARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIPARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIPARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIPARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP85 Sierra Drive • 828-524-6777

Sunday Worship - 11 a.m.Child Care - 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Religious Education - 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.Youth 8th - 12th grades meet the 2nd Sundays 5 - 7:30 p.m

WHITESIDE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHWHITESIDE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHWHITESIDE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHWHITESIDE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHWHITESIDE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHCashiers, Rev. Sam Forrester, 743-2122Sundays: School – 10 a.m.; Worship – 11

BLUE VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCHBLUE VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCHBLUE VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCHBLUE VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCHBLUE VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCHRev. Oliver Rice, Pastor (706) 782-3965Sundays: School – 10 a.m., Worship – 11

Sunday night services every 2nd & 4th Sunday at 7Wednesdays: Mid-week prayer meeting – 7 p.m.

BUCK CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHBUCK CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHBUCK CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHBUCK CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHBUCK CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHSundays: School – 10 a.m.; Worship – 11

CHAPEL OF SKY VALLEYCHAPEL OF SKY VALLEYCHAPEL OF SKY VALLEYCHAPEL OF SKY VALLEYCHAPEL OF SKY VALLEYSky Valley, GA

Church: 706-746-2999Sundays: 10 a.m. – Worship

Holy Communion 1st Sunday of the monthWednesdays: 9 a.m. Healing and Prayer w/Holy Communion

CHRIST ANGLICAN CHURCHCHRIST ANGLICAN CHURCHCHRIST ANGLICAN CHURCHCHRIST ANGLICAN CHURCHCHRIST ANGLICAN CHURCHRector: Jim Murphy, 252-671-4011

Worshipping at the facilities of Whiteside Presbyterian Church,Cashiers

Sun.: Holy Communion - 9 a.m.; Adult Forum - 10:45 at Buck’sCoffee Cafe, Cashiers

Mon.: Bible Study & Supper at homes - 6 p.m.Wed.: Men’s Bible Study -8:30 a.m., First Baptist Church

Thurs.: Women’s Prayer Group - 10 a.m., Whiteside PresbyterianChurch; Healing Service at noon

CLEAR CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHCLEAR CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHCLEAR CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHCLEAR CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHCLEAR CREEK BAPTIST CHURCHPastor Jim Kinard

Sundays: School – 10 a.m.; Worship – 11Wednesdays -- 7 p.m.

COMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCHCOMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCHCOMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCHCOMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCHCOMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCHwww.cbchighlands.com • 526-46853645 Cashiers Rd, Highlands, NC

Senior Pastor Gary HewinsSun.: 9:30 am: Adult Sunday School

10:30 am: Middle School; 10:45 am: Children’s Program,. WorshipService. 12:30 pm Student Arts Group, 5 p.m. HS

Wed.: 6pm: CBC University ProgramEPISCOPEPISCOPEPISCOPEPISCOPEPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE INCARNAAL CHURCH OF THE INCARNAAL CHURCH OF THE INCARNAAL CHURCH OF THE INCARNAAL CHURCH OF THE INCARNATIONTIONTIONTIONTION

526-2968 • Reverend Bruce WalkerSunday: Education for children & adults and choir rehearsal

beginning at 9:00am. Holy Eucharist Rite II Service held at 10:30amin the Main Nave of the Church.

Monday: 4 p.m. Women’s Cursillo GroupTuesday: 8 a.m. Men’s Cursillo Group; Bible Study 10:30 a.m.

Reverend Howard L’EnfantThursday: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCHFIRST BAPTIST CHURCHFIRST BAPTIST CHURCHFIRST BAPTIST CHURCHFIRST BAPTIST CHURCHDr. Charles Harris, Pastor • 526--4153

Sun.: Worship 10:45 a.m.; School – 9:30 a.m.; Evening Worship6:30

Wed.: Men’s Bible Study 8:30 a.m.,Prayer Meeting – 6:15 p.m., Choir – 7:15-8:15 p.m.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHDr. Lee Bowman, Pastor

Dr. Don Mullen, Parish Associate 526-3175Sun.: Worship – 11 a.m.; Sun. School – 9:30

Mondays: 8 a.m. – Men’s Prayer Group & BreakfastWednesdays – Choir – 7

GOLDMINE BAPTIST CHURCHGOLDMINE BAPTIST CHURCHGOLDMINE BAPTIST CHURCHGOLDMINE BAPTIST CHURCHGOLDMINE BAPTIST CHURCH(Off Franklin/Highlands Rd)

Rev. Carson GibsonSunday School – 10 am, Worship Service – 11 am

Bible Study – 6 pmHIGHLANDS ASSEMBLHIGHLANDS ASSEMBLHIGHLANDS ASSEMBLHIGHLANDS ASSEMBLHIGHLANDS ASSEMBLY OF GODY OF GODY OF GODY OF GODY OF GOD

• PLACES TO WORSHIP •John 3:16 Proverbs 3:5• SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING •“Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger.Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers;pray for powers equal to your tasks.Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle,but you yourself shall be a miracle.Every day you shall wonder at yourself,at the richness of life which has come to youby the grace of God.”

Phillips Brooks (1835 – 1893)Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts

By Rev. Bruce WalkerEpiscopal Church of the Incarnation

Being new to the community, I have much to learn. There are so manyinteresting people and fascinating places to explore and get to know.The possibilities for life here are exciting to contemplate. I have only

been here a short time, and I already know that Highlands is great place tolive, move and have my being.

Generally, my family has been met with exceeding hospitality, andgenerosity of spirit. The kindness that many people have shown is beyondanything that I could have imagined. We are in the midst of Lent, but it stillseems like Christmas.

Even so, I know that there is a reason for me being here, and the call toministry is not to be denied. I know there is work to be done. With this in mind,I am engaging life here both inside and outside the church I now call home, theEpiscopal Church of the Incarnation.

My impression to date is that the people here genuinely care for eachother, and most are working to create a community that is good and just andtrue. I pray that I might be given the strength and the will to contribute to thegreater good, and to join the ranks of those who call Highlands their home.

One way to contribute is to break down any walls that separate us.Mind you, I haven’t seen many, but in any community, they are usually there.Therefore, it might be good for all of us to consider how we are contributing tothe common good in our community. Whether we have lived here forever, oronly for a season, we might ask ourselves, “what contribution am I making toenrich the lives of those I share my life with?”

Maybe we could start with our religious community. We have someoutstanding clerics in our town, and the people they represent look to them forguidance and direction in dealing with each other. This season of Lent would bean appropriate time to reflect on our common life and seek ways that we mightinterject greater religious harmony and tolerance that would lead us to a morefull and meaningful coexistence.

Perhaps we could focus on what is true and good among us, which tome would start with the understanding that we are all created from the samestuff, and born out of the same God. In truth, we cannot dishonor our sistersand brothers without bringing dishonor on ourselves; likewise we can onlyhonor ourselves when we honor our brothers and sisters.

Harmony is created out of an understanding that we are all one, andwhat we do affects those around us. We cannot help another without helpingourselves, and we cannot hurt another without hurting ourselves. Peacebegins at home, and within our own hearts as we make peace with our-selves.

Lent is really about drawing us back into this peace, and into the lovingarms of God. So, as we practice our disciplines of prayer, meditation, fastingand almsgiving, we do so with hopeful anticipation that some real change forthe better will occur within us, making us stronger and more fit for the journey.

As we are faithful in these things, we will wonder at the miracle wehave become. This way, Easter will truly mean something - new hope, newlife, and new blessing! I wonder at the richness of life that has come to me, bythe grace of God.


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ing when they enter school.”Luckily, on Thursday, March 1, follow-

ing public outcry and protests from schoolofficials, the legislative House Select Com-mittee on Early Childhood Education Im-provement (Committee) backed away fromthe controversial proposal, which was tofully privatize state-funded preschools.

In North Carolina, more than half thestudents in prekindergarten are in publicschool programs. The effort to restrict pre-kindergarten to private settings waslaunched after private providers told legis-lators that school districts that run the pro-gram favor their own classrooms over childcare centers.

Outcry that turned the tide includedstatistics from educators who now say theCommittee demonstrated respect for thedemocratic process when it responded topublic comment. It has since submitted and

passed a revised recommendation for NCPre-K, which includes more research.

The original legislation proposedwould have reduced access to NC Pre-Kbased on income. Currently, 4-year oldsfrom a family of four with an income ofaround $50,000 are eligible for the NC Pre-K program. The Committee’s proposalwould have lowered those guidelines to$22,000 so basically a single mother withthree children making $23,000 would notbe able to enroll her children.

Research has shown that high quality,pre-k education programs are effective inpreparing students for kindergarten andboosting their academic achievementthrough third grade and beyond. That iswhy educators believe NC Pre-K shouldcontinue to be an important part of publiceducation.

The proposal as initially drafted would

cut off nearly 10,000 children from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to receive high-quality early learning at a critical time intheir brain’s physical development and asthey seek to reach key educational mile-stones, said NC State Board of EducationChairman Dr. William C. Harrison.

“The privatization proposal would un-dermine a decade of work to connect pre-kindergarten through effective partnershipsacross pre-K, K-12 and higher education toefficiently, and in a results-based way, edu-cate all young North Carolinians for futuresuccess,” said Harrison. “Also, we were dis-mayed that the House Select Committeewould want to divest from one of the mostproven strategies to build economic oppor-tunity in our state.”

An example of the language from theoriginal draft piece of legislation includes:“Beginning July 1, 2013, local school ad-ministrative units (public school districts)shall not serve as contract administratorsfor the NC Pre-K program. It is the intent ofthe General Assembly that NC Pre-K class-rooms be provided within licensed privatechild care centers exclusively.”

“The Committee’s plan to phase outNC Pre-K from all public school classroomsconflicts with the following core values oftransparency, access and quality, and it isclearly not in the best interest of the stu-dents and families the program was de-signed to serve,” said Harrison.

He continues: “In regards to transpar-ency, by removing all pre-k programs frompublic schools, lawmakers would be fun-neling more taxpayer dollars to for-profit,private daycare centers. Some of these or-ganizations are focused more on the bot-tom line then the children served. To keepprofits coming in, some private centers willcut corners and sacrifice the high qualityacademic program all NC Pre-K programsshould provide. In addition, the Commit-tee members failed to consider input fromlocal school districts (many of which al-ready run successful NC Pre-K programs)when they were drafting their report andthey have not yet shared any research onwhich they based their recommendations.

“In terms of quality, the legislation pro-posed in this report would reduce the num-ber of licensed teachers working in our pre-k programs. Right now, all pre-k teachersworking in public schools are appropriate-ly licensed while the percentage of licensedteachers working in private centers is about30%. Currently 51% of children enrolledin NC Pre-K are served in public school set-tings, so pushing public schools out of thisequation will reduce the percentage of li-censed teachers working in these programsto unacceptably low levels,” said Harrison.

The Committee has now agreed totake some of these concerns into accountand slow down the process of restructur-ing NC Pre-K. Over the next few weeksand months, the central question of whatpoverty looks like and who experiences itwill be at the core of the discussion overNC Pre-K’s future.

In a unanimous vote, the Committeevoted to send multiple recommendationsto the General Assembly for considerationinstead.

Recommendations include a com-mitment to continue funding and moni-toring early childhood programs, estab-lishing criteria to determine which kidsshould be eligible for the programs, andreaffirming public and private childcareprovider participation in the programs.

These recommendations will now begiven to the full General Assembly as law-makers work to continue to find cost sav-ing measures within the pre-kindergartensystem, because as usual, it all comes downto money.

Meanwhile, Gov. Bev Perdue says heradministration will create 2,000 addition-al slots this year in NC Pre-K classroomsacross North Carolina.

She has identified $9.3 million thatwill allow the additional at-risk 4-year-oldsto attend NC Pre-K. The additional fund-ing will come from child care subsidyfunds on a one-time basis to meet the ur-gent need of at-risk children who are notcurrently served by NC Pre-K.

The children would attend NC Pre-Kfrom mid-March through mid-August, atwhich point, they will enter kindergarten.Local administrators have a process inplace to determine which children will beplaced in Pre-K programs.

Each year, approximately 67,000 at-riskfour year olds in NC are eligible for theprogram. Current funding provides servicefor approximately 24,700 children.

The Department of Public Instructionreleased the results of two studies that havefound that pre-k programs implementedin public schools perform better than pro-grams in private centers.

Its 2011 analysis based on a randomsample of More-at-Four (NC Pre-K) class-rooms for three cohorts of children, 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2007-08, found that teach-ers with a least a BA coupled with a Birth-Kindergarten license caused greater stu-dent learning gains on assessments of es-sential literacy skills than teachers with-out this level of education and there aremore of them in the public schools ascompared to the private sector.

— Kim Lewicki

... NC PRE-K continued from page 1

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• BIZ/ORGANIZATION NEWS •

The Macon County Economic De-velopment Commission has announceddetails of the upcoming BizWeek 2012to be held April 9 to 12. BizWeek is acelebration of business, industry andentrepreneurship in Macon County.

“The Macon County EDC and ourpartners have several events plannedduring this celebration,” said TommyJenkins, Director of the Macon CountyEDC. “Each event is designed to showour appreciation for all our businesses,both large and small, that are part of thefabric of Macon County’s economiccommunity.”

The first event, slated for Tuesday,April 10, is an Entrepreneur Network-ing Night to be held at the Rathskellerin downtown Franklin. Those attendingwill have the opportunity to meet andhear Pam Lewis, the Director of Entre-preneurship for the Asheville Chamberof Commerce.

“Pam‘s forte is working to supportand attract individuals who either wantto start companies or relocate their smallbusinesses,” Jenkins continued. “We’resure her remarks and one-on-one con-

Macon County EDC announces BizWeek 2012versations will be very helpful to thosebudding entrepreneurs who attend.”

Then on Wednesday, April 11 nation-ally known speaker and author Tim Dan-nelly can be heard from 9 a.m. to noon atSouthwestern Community College’s Ma-con Campus. Dannelly will speak on theart of salesmanship.

“We’re appreciative of SCC for join-ing with the Macon County EDC to bringTim Dannelly for our BizWeek event,”said Jenkins. “He has more than 40 yearsexperience in the areas of sales, publicrelations and broadcasting and we knowthat anyone involved in sales can learnfrom this master of the art.”

The BizWeek celebration concludeson Thursday, April 12 with the annualEDC banquet, this year featuring keynotespeaker Keith Crisco, Secretary of theNorth Carolina Department of Com-merce. The banquet will be held at 6 p.m.in the fellowship hall of Holly SpringsBaptist Church.

“We are excited to have SecretaryCrisco come to the area to share his in-sights on business and commerce inNorth Carolina,” Jenkins concluded.

All events are free of charge. Howev-er, space is limited and pre-registration isrequired.

You can register online for both theEntrepreneur Networking Night andEDC Banquet by visitingwww.maconedc.com.

To register for the Tim Dannellyseminar, contact Tommy Dennison,Business and Industry Training Coordi-nator for Southwestern CommunityCollege by calling 828.306.7019 or [email protected].

On Tuesday, March 6, Hillrie Quin received the Duke Volunteer of the Year awardfrom Fred Alexander of Duke Power. Quin was recognized for his work on the High-lands Greenway system over the past five years. While accepting the award he said: “Iam proud to accept this award on behalf of all the volunteers who have worked on theGreenway.” Over the years Quin and his crew of volunteers have resurrected andexpanded the Greenway system by improving trails, building bridges and steps therebymaking the system safe and passable. He and volunteers are pictured with the Chamberof Commerce staff.

Quin recipient of Duke award

Creative Concepts Salon, Inc.

549 East Main Street “Falls on Main”Highlands, NC (828) 526-3939

OpenTues-Fri: 9-5 • Sat. 10-2

Walk-Ins Welcome!

Owner/Stylist: Lacy Jane VilardoStylist: Heather D. Escandon

Stylist: Christa Hooper

March Special$35 De-Tox Pedicure!

... LETTERS continued from page 2like a board, to pass the buck.

Financing the new position would come from existing budget lines. We alreadypay a town manager a six-figure salary with benefits and perks. By eliminating the sal-aries of the mayor, commissioners, manager and throwing in a few more thousand,we could have a salary befitting a CEO of about $160,000! At that level we would becompensating the CEO close to the level of a US Congressman. There are alwaysformer congressmen out of work. Encourage one of them to run for Highlands CEO.If a former congressman was elected, the town could then be in the federal earmarkstream. The CEO could use past DC connections and lobby for Highlands. I wouldsuggest a federal grant to subsidize electric power rates in towns over 4,000 feet abovesea level with a population under 1,000. What a way to solve our high electric rateproblem!

Now some may think this is a preposterous proposal that Raleigh would never•See LETTERS page 21

You know us as RUNNERS, butdon’t forget we are also NCREAL ESTATE BROKERS.

You can count on us every stepof the way to get you to thefinish line. We train hard for

races, and we will work equallyhard for you!

Richard Betz 828-526-5213Martha Betz 828-200-1411

Country Club [email protected]

Allan Dearth & SonsGenerator

Sales & Service, Inc.

828-526-9325Cell: 828-200-1139

email: [email protected]

J&J Lawn and Landscaping

John Shearl, Owner • 1663 S. 4th St. Highlands

Serving Highlands & Cashiers for20 years!

Phone: 526-2251Toll Free: 888-526-2251

Fax: 828-526-8764Email: [email protected]

HELP WANTED

FRESSERS EATERY NOW HIRING TEAM PLAYERS. Serversmust be experienced and have good references.Please come by Helen'sBarn location to fill out an application or drop off a resume.

• Service Directory •$17 weekly – add $5 for color

CLASSIFIEDS – $6 FOR 10 WORDS, 20 CENTS EACH WORD AFTER, ADD A HIGHLIGHT FOR $2INNKEEPER'S ASSISTANT - Highlands, part time, flexible hours,

cust. svc. exp. preferred, Email resume to [email protected] orfax to 866-941-6302. Will set interviews week of March 20th. (3/15)

DELI AND BARISTA POSITIONS AVAILABLE AT MOUNTAIN

FRESH IN HIGHLANDS.Apply in person or call 828.526.2400.(3/15)SALES ASSOCIATE FOR HIGH END RETAIL CLOTHING

STORE IN HIGHLANDS. Part time to full time. Must work weekends.Retailclothing sales experience preferred. Please call 828-526-4407. (st. 2/29)

MED TECH/CNA NEEDED FOR CHESTNUT HILL OF


Cord of Seasoned OakOnly $300!

CallMichaelRogers

828200-0268

Garage: (828) 526-9805Cell: (828) 342-0583

Towing: (828) 526-0374TIRE • BRAKES • OIL CHANGES • TUNE UPS

Larry HoustonRock Work

Walls • Fireplaces • Patios • PiersAll Rock Work • Stucco

(828) 526-4138 or (828) 371-7451

Deluxe, IndoorClimate Controlled Self Storage

With covered loading zone

Highlands Storage Village526-4555 • Cashiers Rd.

• Units Available •

Cut n PatchQuilt Shop

Please Call for hours & directions526-9743 • Highlands

Custom QuiltsFabrics, Notions

Coming Soon!Highlands Barber Shop

288 Franklin RoadOpening in March


CLASSIFIEDSvate. Close to town. $675/mth.W/D.Furnished or unfur-nished. Call 828-421-4681. (3/7)

CLOSE TO TOWN -- spacious 3BR/2BA, largekitchen, 2-car garage. $1250/mth. (859)351-7279 view athttp://608holt.blogspot.com (3/21)

3-BED,3 1/2-BATH 3,400 SQ.FT. Sapphire Val-ley home on creek, game room, media room, large kitch-en, granite countertops, Brazillian cherry floors, large din-ing/gathering room, work shop. $1,500/mo. + util. 828-508-2597. (3/21)

PRIME HIGHLANDS RESTAURANT SPACEAVAILABLE. Call Bill Bubenick at 828-371-2583. (3/21)

REMODELED EFFICIENCY APARTMENT RIV-ER RUN II Washer Dryer, Large Deck. Walking distanceto Skiing, Swimming, Restaurants, Exercise Amenities,and Meeting rooms and Public Golf Coarse $550 month-ly annual rent plus utilities. 561-626-7467 (3/14)

HOUSE FOR RENT IN GLENVILLE, NC Longterm. 2+ bedroom, 2BA, Fully furnished.Wi-Fi,SatelliteTV. $890 per month. Deposit required. For more infocall:(828)-332-9703 or email:[email protected]. (3/7)

2BR/1BA DUPLEX 122 Dog Mtn Rd $750/mo +util, kitchen & dinette fireplace, 1 car garage, wash/dryer.No smoking, small pet OK. Call 828-508-0664.

3 BD/1BA, 5 MILES FROM DOWNTOWNHIGHLANDS, Buck Creek area, $750/mth plus utilites,boarders USFS. Pets ok, 706-746-7279. (st. 1/18)

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

$149,000 -- 3 bed, 2 bath manufactured home. 6miles from downtown in Clear Creek/Blue Valley. 3.55acres. Workshop. Closing cost assistance. 828-526-8191(5/2)

COMMERCIAL SPACE PLUS RESIDENTIALAPT. -- 535 N. 4th St. In town. Great location. $285,000.Fresh remodel. Business upstairs, one-bedroomapartment downstairs. Call 770-827-0450. (St. 2/8)

2/2 SINGLE-WIDE WITH GREAT VIEW ANDPRIVACY, backs to national forest and move-in ready.$89,000. 526.1971or 482.2050.

$103,000! LOWER CLEAR CREEK. 5.5 milesfrom Main Street. 2 Lots .55 & .95 acres. Septics installed.Borders National Forest. 2005 2/bed, 2/bath. Very cozywith fabulous view. Call 828-482-2050. (st. 11/11)

HIGHLANDS. Please apply in person at 24 ClubhouseTrail. (828)526-5251.(st. 2/15)

HOUSEKEEPER NEEDED FOR CHESTNUTHILL OF HIGHLANDS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY.Please apply in person at 64 Clubhouse Trail, Highlands,NC. (828)526-5251. (st. 2/8)

EXPERIENCED WAITSTAFF NEEDED ATCHESTNUT HILL OF HIGHLANDS RETIREMENTCOMMUNITY. Please apply in person at 24 ClubhouseTrail, Highlands, NC. (828)526-5251.(st. 1/25)

WANTED TO RENT

FAMILY WITH SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS INHIGHLANDS LOOKING FOR HOME WITH LEASEOPTION. Range $1,250 to $3,000 per month dependingon location and size. Please call 828-787-1673. (st. 2/29)

RESIDENTIAL / COMMERCIAL FOR RENT

VACATION RENTAL: Architect’s private homewith stunning features. Three bedrooms, plus den, threefull baths, and an open living area, two stone fireplacesand two decks overlooking stream and private stockedtrout pond. Full Privacy. Designer furnished. Walkingdistance to town. Rate dependant on term. Non smokersonly. Deposit required. Weekly, monthly or yearly rental.Call 770-639-2682. (5/30)

ADORABLE 2 BED HOME – Great views. Pri-

Med/Surg RNEmergency Room RN

IT ManagerMedical Assistant

SERVICES

NEED HELP FOR A LOVED ONE? 18 yrs exp.References.Clara, (828) 349-3479 or 342-1603. (4/12)

AVON - for catalogs & orders, call local salesrepresentative Amy Jenkins Ramey 342-2279.

ACUPUNCTURE & HEALING ARTS — Herbs,bodywork, women’s health, healthy weight, all ailments,wellness. 828-526-0743. (7/19)

HIGHLANDS CLEANING SERVICES – house,office, auto. Expert floor restorer,minor repairs. For estimatescall 828.526.1971.

HANDYMAN SERVICE – electrical, plumbing,pressue cleaning, painting, carpentry, yardwork.References. Call Al Edgar at 332-7271 (cell) or 369-6245.(st.3/8)

HANDYMAN SPECIAL – Repairs and remodelling,electrical and plumbing, carpentry, painting, pressurewashing and more. Low prices. Free estimate. Call 828-421-4667. (st. 8/1)

CRAWLSPACE MOISTURE PROBLEMS?Musty smell in your home? Call 828-787-1673. (St. 4/28)

J&J LAWN AND LANDSCAPING SERVICES –Complete Landscaping Company, Design, Installation andMaintenance. Also featuring Plants, Trees, Hardscapes,Water Features, Rockwork, Fencing, Drainage, ErosionControl and RR-Tie work. 20 years serving Highlandsarea. 828-526-2251.

ITEMS FOR SALE

20-TON LOG SPLITTER. $900. Call 828-526-9027.

VENTLESS FIREPLACE $600 obo. Like new con-dition. Colonial style white mantel. 25,000 btu’s. Sky Val-ley pick up. 704-608-8097. (3/15)

TOTAL GYM #11000 WORKOUT BENCH -- Likenew. Original cost $995. Priced to sell at $450. 526-1917.(st. 3/8)

PORTER CABLE TIGER SAW $75. Porter Ca-ble Router with two bases, $165. Makita Power Planer$65. Plus other woodworking tools. (st. 3/8)

GO CART FOR SALE. Blue. $160. Call Michaelat 526-2508.

approve. But on second thought, there isa political trend to cutback and shrinkgovernment. What would we be doing?Cutting back government and making itefficient.

Is there an even better solution?Well, we could go back to the town ad-ministrator form of government. Underthat system the Town Commissionerswould have direct oversight of the opera-tion of this small town. The Town Boardcan implement this change with a sim-ple majority vote. No unanimous voteand an approval from Raleigh would benecessary.

Patrick TaylorTown of Highlands Resident

... LETTERS continuedfrom page 19

Dear Editor,On Friday night, February 17th, I

attended an event at the Jackson CountyEarly College. It was a dance presentedfor “Special Needs People.” Theaudience for this remarkablepresentation was from pre-school toseniors – and every age in between.

Two ladies – Cindy Ellis and GloriaPainter – put on this event. I cannot sayenough wonderful things about them,their efforts, the festive decorations, thedelicious food, and the excellent DJ. Asplendid time was had by all, the proofbeing in the smiles of all involved.

Other than the Special Olympics,very little is done for people with specialneeds. Another such event will becoming up in the future – watch yourpaper – and I encourage you to give ityour strongest support.

Pat Griffin, HighlandsProud grandmother of a special

needs child

Dancing with thestars

Highlands PD log entries from Feb. 28. Onlythe names of persons arrested, issued a Class-3misdemeanor, or public officials have been used.

Feb. 28• At 12:11 p.m., officers responded to an accident at

a residence on Brooks Lane where a vehicle hit a house.• At 3:10 p.m., officers responded to a two-vehicle

accident on Pierson Drive.Feb. 29• At 1:15 a.m., a call possible drunk driver was

reported on Satulah Ridge Road.• At 5:05 p.m., a suspicious vehicle was reported

near Regions Bank.March 2• At 4:35 p.m., officers responded to a two-vehicle

• POLICE & FIRE •accident in the RBC Centura parking lot. Subsequently,Freddy Ruis Ruis, 37, of Highlands, was arrested fordriving with a fictitious license and expired license plates.

• At 7:20 p.m., officers conducted a welfare check ata residence on Oak Street.

March 3• At 5:24 p.m., officers conducted a welfare check at

a residence on Dogwood Drive.March 5• At 9:32 p.m., a suspicious vehicle was reported on

Sassy Lane. Unfounded.March 6• At 4:50 p.m., a suspicious sound was reported at

a residence on Harris Drive. It was a septic alarm.• At 11:20 p.m., a suspicious vehicle was reported

parked on US 64.• During the week, police officers responded to 5

alarms and issued 12 citations.Highlands F&R Dept. log entries from Feb. 28Feb. 28• At 12:13 p.m., the dept. responded to an accident

on Brooks Lane where a vehicle drove into a housecausing severe damage.

• At 4:36 p.m., the dept. responded to an alarm at aresidence at VZ-Top. It was set off by workers.

March 1• At 2:31 a.m., the dept. responded to a vehicle

accident on US 64 west with minor injuries.• At 6:20 p.m, the dept. responded to a structure fire

on Russell Ridge Road. No one was home. Total loss.


• BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION NEWS •

The Rotary Club of Highlands honored the February High-lands School Scholars of the Month at its February 28 meet-ing. Shown with Highlands school counselor, Thomas Jessupand Rotary club president, Bill Futral, are and Middle Schoolwinner, Analyse Crook, Elementary School winner, Jacob Holtand High School winner, Reta Thatcher.

February Rotary scholars

The Rotary Club of Highlands partnered with Highlands BoyScouts to sponsor Bingo on March 1. All proceeds went tosupport our local Boy Scout troop. Martha Parish won theSuper Bingo game and took home $100. She is shown col-lecting her winnings from Rotarian and Boy Scout leaderTay Bronaugh and our local Boy Scouts.

Rotary bingo benefits Boy Scouts

A Town Hall meeting for Cecil Bothwell was held at the homeof Jan and Farrel Zehr on Friday evening, February 24. inHighlands. Pictured from left are: Democrat Princint ViceChair Faviola Olvera, Asheville City Councilman and candi-date for US House of Representatives District 11 Cecil Both-well, Democrat Precinct Chair Karen Hawk, and Ben Utely,Macon County Democrat Chairman.

Precinct meeting featurescandidate Cecil Bothwell

At its Feb. 6 meeting, the Lau-rel Garden Club approved a grantrequest from the Highlands Bio-logical Station to purchase aGreenhouse Package (8’X12’) to beused in the propagation of nativeplants, specifically from localsources. The overall intent of thegrant project is to develop a nativeplant rescue and propagation pro-gram.

Max Lanning, Botanical Gar-den Supervisor, of the HighlandsBiological Station, says “it has be-come increasingly apparent thatmany of our most endemic andwell-adapted native species in theSouthern Highlands region can bedifficult to obtain in the nurserytrade. Further, many of these spe-cies are state or federally-listed asthreatened, endangered, or sensi-tive; and therefore, difficult to ac-quire without special permits.”

The Highlands-CashiersLand Trust has generously allowedthe collection of some plant ma-terial from select properties, in-cluding seeds, vegetative cuttings,and some whole plants in dangerof trampling.

Collection and storage ofseeds has already begun. The nextstep will be the construction of aHeart Cypress framed greenhouse,funded by Laurel Garden Club.Future plans include transplant-ing these propagated plants to rockoutcrop communities, not only inthe Botanical Gardens, but also forecological restoration projects atother Land Trust properties.

These plants, nurtured in thegreenhouse, will be used to repop-ulate rare and endangered nativeplants and communities at placeslike Satulah Mountain and Sun-set Rock, which are heavily visit-ed and in danger of trampling byhikers.

Laurel GardenClub providesgrant to theBiological

Station

The Macon County Republican Party held it's 2012 Repub-lican Congressional Forum on Saturday, March 3, at the Com-munity Building in Franklin. About 100 people attended. Eachof the six congressional candidates attending spoke for fiveminutes and then answered questions from the audience. Can-didates attending were Spence Campbell, Jeff Hunt, MarkMeadows, Vance Patterson, Kenny West and Ethan Wingfield.The event opened with the local Marine Corps League ColorGuard presenting the colors, Vietnam and Marine Corp Veter-an (USMC) Jim Basey leading the pledge. The event was co-sponsored by the Gem Country Republican Women's Club.

Candidate Ethan Wingfield addresses the audience.

Helens Barn Ave

CivicCenter

Rec Park

Newspaper

RestRooms

Carolina WayPlay

HouseTown Hall

EMS

H w y64w

The Bascom Covered Bridge

GAS

GAS

GAS

To Nature Ctr >& Sunset Rock

Main Street Inn & Bistro on Main526-2590 • www.mainstreet-inn.com

H-C Players

H-C Chamber Music

Police

78

Hwy. 64w to:

///Bridal Veil FallsDry FallsCliffside LakeBust Your Butt FallsCullasaja Falls

8485

“Ace is the Place!”

At Main & 3rd streetsHighlands 526-2157

HardwareReeves

Greenleaf Gallery

Custom Picture Framing • Art Pottery• Jewelry • Home Decor

Robert Tino Art

211 S. 4th St. • 526-9333

gree

nleaf

galle

rygif

ts.co

m

“We’re All About Birds”Next door to

Mountain Fresh Groceryat The Falls on Main

828-526-3910

Village Square • Oak at 5th526-3901 • 800-526-3902

Needlepointof

Highlands

Barbara B. Cusachs

EnjoyWine

Tastingsevery

Saturdayafternoon

Country Club PropertiesCountry Club PropertiesCountry Club PropertiesCountry Club PropertiesCountry Club Properties“Y“Y“Y“Y“Your local hometownour local hometownour local hometownour local hometownour local hometown

Real Estate professionals.”Real Estate professionals.”Real Estate professionals.”Real Estate professionals.”Real Estate professionals.”

3 Offices 828-526-25203 Offices 828-526-25203 Offices 828-526-25203 Offices 828-526-25203 Offices 828-526-2520wwwwwwwwwwwwwww.CCPHighlandsNC.com.CCPHighlandsNC.com.CCPHighlandsNC.com.CCPHighlandsNC.com.CCPHighlandsNC.com

800.438.2265www.maconbank.com

Member FDICEqual Housing Lender

WebCam

Dog Park

Mtn FreshMarket

HIGHLANDS PLAZA

Hwy 28s

H w y106

H w y 64e

23

2

2

2

HistoricVillage

5

5

11

15 16

16

15

19

19

23

21

23PINE PARK

24 26

3341

2934

43

2011 Copyrighted Map

30

To:GlenFalls

HudsonLibrary

Please Support OurAdvertisers - TheyMake It All Possible

7

13

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Creekside suites w/balconies, pet-friendly, deluxeJacuzzi & separate shower, gas log fireplaces, CableTV w/HBO, Wi-Fi, Continental

22

Suites526-5117 888-526-5117

22

17

4th St.4th St.4th St.4th St.4th St.BoutiqueBoutiqueBoutiqueBoutiqueBoutiquecomfortableclothing for

women

219 S. 4th St. ...on the hill

526-8878

14


14

31

10

In-Town Suites on Mill Creek

12

Reed Family Linens400 • 600• 1000 ct .Sateen Sheets

...and much more!Mtn. Brook Center

411 N. 4th St. • 526-5114 12

18

www.mountainbrooksuiteshighlandsNC.com

526-179668 Highlands Plaza • Highlands NC

The HighlandsPlayhouse

526-26959

9

7

20

20

Golden China & Sushi Bar

Lunch Buffet: 11 -2:30, M-FDinner: 3-9:30, 7 days

Wine & Beer

Listed in‘100 Top Chinese Restaurants in USA’

Delivery in town w/$15 order

Tammy MobleyBIC/Owner

Highlands NCRealty

535 N. 4thCell:

770-337-1000

1

www.HighlandsNC.info

1

Available

Mtn. Findings

www.chambersagency.net

TheChambers AgencyRealtorsHomes and Land For SaleVacation Homes for Rent

526-3717 OR 888-526-3717401 N 5th St, Highlands

11

But you can call me James!

• Computer Sales• Computer Services• Computer Parts

Ruka’s Tablein Wright Square

Fine Southern CuisineServing dinner daily from

5:30Bar opens at 4 p.m.

526-3636 8

8

Highlands Plaza526-5525

21

10

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Saturday, March 10• Chili Cook Off at the Community Building 6:30-9:30 p.m. To

enter the contest call 526-5841.Sunday, March 11• The Foxfire Boys Bluegrass Group will be participating in the

morning worship service at First Presbyterian Church at 11 am.Tuesday, March 13• Come listen to the Irish Blarney Tales and Tales of Spring stories

at the Story Swap on Tuesday at 7 pm, at the Ugly Dog Pub. If youhave a special 3-7 minute blarney or spring story to tell or read, sign upat the pub or call 369-1927.

www.firemt.com • (800) 775-4446

FFFFFOROROROROR ALLALLALLALLALL YOURYOURYOURYOURYOUR REAL EST REAL EST REAL EST REAL EST REAL ESTAAAAATE TE TE TE TE NEEDSNEEDSNEEDSNEEDSNEEDS!!!!!

828-371-2551 (C828-371-2551 (C828-371-2551 (C828-371-2551 (C828-371-2551 (CELLELLELLELLELL)))))[email protected]@[email protected]@gmail.comnadineparadise@gmail.comwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.NadineParadise.com.NadineParadise.com.NadineParadise.com.NadineParadise.com.NadineParadise.com

26

NNNNNADINEADINEADINEADINEADINE P P P P PARADISEARADISEARADISEARADISEARADISE,,,,, BBBBBROKERROKERROKERROKERROKER

MMMMMOUNTOUNTOUNTOUNTOUNTAINAINAINAINAIN B B B B BRRRRROOKOOKOOKOOKOOK C C C C CENTERENTERENTERENTERENTER

HHHHHWYWYWYWYWY 64 &C 64 &C 64 &C 64 &C 64 &CARARARARAROLINAOLINAOLINAOLINAOLINA W W W W WAAAAAYYYYY

HHHHHIGHLANDSIGHLANDSIGHLANDSIGHLANDSIGHLANDS

Contact me today!

Gary Garren(828) [email protected]

Let RBC Bank help you find the Mortgage Solutions that are

right for you.

Member FDIC.31

CCCCCASHMEREASHMEREASHMEREASHMEREASHMEREScotland’s Best Knitwear

41MMMMMCCCCCCULLEY’SCULLEY’SCULLEY’SCULLEY’SCULLEY’S

“Top of the Hill”242 S. 4th St.

Open 7 days a week526-4407

Joe DeckmanBroker

C: 828-371-3252H: 828-526-8217

www.joedeckmanrealestate.comwww.signatureproperties-nc.com

email: [email protected] • www.ontheverandah.com

30

Brad Smith, DVMAmanda Markum, DVM

828-526-8700Small & Exotic

Medicine & SurgeryDigital Radiographs & Laser

Surgery AvailableNext to Freeman Gas @ 2271 Dillard Rd.

Gallery ofFine American

Handcraftsincluding jewelry, pottery,

glass and much more!2820 Dillard Road

828-526-0229

2010Highlands #1 Agency

andHighlands-Cashiers

MLS #1 Agent

Jody LovellJody LovellJody LovellJody LovellJody Lovell828-526-4104828-526-4104828-526-4104828-526-4104828-526-4104

exurbiasothebysrexurbiasothebysrexurbiasothebysrexurbiasothebysrexurbiasothebysrealtyealtyealtyealtyealty.com.com.com.com.com

33

Voted #1 Realtor in Highlands!

[email protected]

828-200-9179 (cell)828-526-8784 (office)Pat Allen, Broker-in-charge

PaolettiWinter Promotions:

15%-25% OffEvery Evening

Thursday – Monday

Dinner from 5:30Reservations: 526-4906

29

Call526-8313

“Invest in Highlands, NC Real Estate ...and Invest in Your Life!”TM

(828) 526-8118 • 125 South 4th Street

40

Mal Phillips,Broker

[email protected] deVille Schiffli,

[email protected]

Call:828-482-2045

In-Town 4 bed, 3 1/2 bath HomeCompletely Finished Shell/Home

Ready for you to finish inside

Call:Highlands Flex/Shell Homes & Structures

$179,000!

Homes starting at $28/sq. ft. on your lot!

w/lot

...on the Verandah Restauranton Lake Sequoyah

FREE every Thursday - Highlands · 2013. 7. 26. · Ed Shatley, chairman of Macon County EDC, Connie Haire, for-merly of SCC, was reappointed to the EDC and Farrell Jamison, Franklin

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