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  • Publications (documents)
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  • Western Carolina University
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  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2016-09-29_Vol84_No01_01

+ THE WESTERN C onal pea ae THURSDAY September 29, 2016 PY shall <9 oy, ~. get aa em ee en mene www.thewesterncarolinian.com Jackson County Farmer's Market 2016 Olympics recap Pineapple Sage Farms offers many different products including their lavender creations and potpourri mixes. Madison Klein Staff Writer Shop Local is a recent national trend that en- courages local communi- ties to come together to support small businesses instead of large corpora- tions. Though just a small speck on the map, Jack- son County is no excep- tion to this ongoing trend. Whether business owner or customer, the signifi- cance affects us all. The idea of Shop Lo- cal is to reinvest in your local community. By keeping your neighbors in business, money stays in the local economic system, thus ensuring better quality products and cutting down unem- ployment rates. Local businesses reflect the unique character of the community and by shop- ping local, the character is preserved and not un- dersold by large compa- nies with uniform design, layout and products. While walking down the streets of surrounding areas in Jackson County, character is around every corner. The Jackson County Farmers Market is a shining example of what all of Jackson County has to offer for its community members. Local vendors gather every Saturday to meet, greet and represent Western North Carolinas fine array of special- ties. At the market, you will find everything from fresh, local foods to plants and handmade crafts. Everything at the market is locally made, grown, raised or pro- duced. According to the J eats renee Farmers Market website, the mar- kets mission statement reflects their goals: We seek to inspire regional living by creating a meeting place for area family farms, entrepre- neurs, and local residents of all kinds. This is true as the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, thanks to the vendors and visitors that hold such pride in their businesses and their local community. To many, the market holds opportu- nity for business growth; for others, the market is a weekly treasure of friendly gathering. As the market manager and one of five members on the board of directors, Yvonne Scott holds the responsibility of commu- nicating the importance of shopping local and the effect this has on the local farmers and busi- ness owners. Scott is the liaison from-vendor-to~ customer on the days the market does not meet. Working with the farmers market here in Jackson County is my ideal way to give back to the community and support so many of the folks I respect and depend on so much in this area- small producers and local craftspeople, said Scott. Scott believes the mar- ket is already such a vital part of the community landscape that it only has the opportunity to grow and expand its influence. To Scott, the market is an important part of her life, but at the same time, it hardly feels like a job at This is a tiny vil- lage that blossoms like a mushroom in a matter of minutes early Saturday morning, comes to life, then quietly closes up and disappears for another week, she said. Local farmers Walter and Joanne Meyer of Pineapple Sage Farms travel close to 30 miles to attend the Jackson County Farmers Market every week. Originally from various locations, the two settled down in North Carolina from Florida to catch more of the countryside scene. Be- cause North Carolina has the climate better suited for farming, Pineapple Sage Farms has a variety of products cultivated directly from their own land such as herbs and their infamous pineapple sage. According to Walter, it is the first plant they propagated. Walter was the Waynes- ville Farmers Market manager, but today his main focus is the Jackson County market. Its more of a social andeculturalaspect rather than the business aspect, he said. It was no surprise to witness the couple being waved to, greeted and drawn into multiple con- versations with smiles all around. To the couple, shopping local means keeping these local farmers in business. When asked about their farm culture, Walter stated, its not easy, but its enjoyable. The lifestyle and amount of hard work is not something to take for granted. When buying from the local grocery store, you miss out on the history, stories of all kinds of experiences, the lifestyles, the culture and the friendliness of just as. an: simply buying from your neighbors. Besides hosting a farmers market every Saturday, the Jackson County Farmers Market also hosts annual events throughout the year. The 2017 Seed Order day is an upcoming event that takes place during the winter. Customers can order specific seeds from local farms to be distrib- Taste of the Market also takes place annually and is an opportunity for cus- tomers to sample items sold by vendors. The Native Garden is held by the market, and it still lives on today. The Native Garden is com- posed of each plant that surrounds the markets sign. A guide to all of the plants is conveniently available on the back of the sign itself, as well | ar about. why - these native plants are important. Events like this bring the commu- nity together while also spreading awareness of the importance of things like Shop Local. The market meets outdoors in the Bridge Park at Railroad Avenue tober. During the months of November - March, the market moves indoors to the Community Table on 23 Central Street in Sylva. storm, Lochte has been . dropped by many of his : major sponsors, such as individuals vendors, visit | SPeedo and Ralph Lauren. www.jacksoncountyfarm- | ail fox ton months ahd: : if charged, could serve : 18 months for his false : report. questions at jacksoncoun- ; To find out more about the Jackson County Farmers Market and ersmarket.org. Contact the market manager Yvonne Scott for vendor information or specific tyfarmersmarket@com. i Discarcgd.b Jordan Freeman Junior Editor For most of the students | here at Western Carolina, : summertime translates : to one of four things: : vacationing somewhere _ tropical, working, going to : summer school, or a com- ' bination of all of them. For somebody like Michael : Phelps, Gabby Douglas, : Simone Biles and Ryan : Lochte, their summer ' translated into two things: : training for the Olympics and then competing in them. The 2016 Olympics have come and gone, with these athletes supporting the United States to the best of their abilities. Located in Rio, Brazil, this years : Olympics were filled with Photo by Madison Klein/STAFF : and plenty of controversy. : Before the games even : began, concerns about the : countrys governmental : instability was an issue, : as Brazil was in the pro- : cess of impeaching their : president before, during : and after the games had : concluded. There was also : the issue of pollution in : the Guanabara Bay and : the threat of the Zika : virus, which turned many : athletes away from com- uted the following month. _ peting. great wins, great losses The American swim- ' ming team proved to be : a major source of contro- : versy due to the actions : of gold medalist Ryan an example of a past event | _ + Jack Conger, Gunnar : Bentz and James Feigan. | Lochte claimed he and his . fellow team members had been held at gunpoint and : robbed. As it turned out, . that was not at all true. : The Rio police department --and the Olympics commit- -- incidents with Ameri-. Lochte and his teammates : tee both launched investi- ' gations into the incident. | They discovered that the : person holding the gun : was a security guard. The guard had been holding : Lochte and his teammates : ata gas station they had : visited, in regards to an in Sylva from Aprilto Oc- act of vandalism they had : committed. They had also : been drunk from a night : of partying. Since the ensuing media He has also been suspend- However, the epic vic- _ tories of the Rio Olym- moneneuantet i Pisce ee m Carolina University .ROLINIAN Vol. 84, No. 1 > FREE pics far outshined the controversies. After a disappointing run in the 2012 Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps had a lot to prove coming to this one. Needless to say, he did not disappoint. He came home with five gold medals and one silver after breaking multiple Olympic records, such as being the only swimmer to win the 200m individual relay four times. Gabby Douglas, a gymnast, went on to help the womens artistic gymnastics team win two gold medals. Though her achievements helped make the womens team the best of the Olympics, she her- self faced some controver- sy of her own. During the National Anthem, she did not place her hand over her heart. This caused critics such as journalist Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times, to call her unpatriotic. This incident led to much con- troversy for both Douglas and her critics, but was not anywhere near as reported as Lochtes inci- dent. Simone Biles competed in her first Olympic Games and delivered spectacu- larly, winning four gold and one bronze medal. She also set a record for the most gold medals won in womens gymnastics during a single Olympic Games. Romanian gym- nast Ecaterina Szabo held the previous record set in 1984. Biles also became _ the seventh woman gym- nast to win five medals in a single Olympic Games. Despite the contro- versies surrounding the Olympics, including can athletes, the games remained mostly success- ful. With such an amazing array of athletes, Team USA returned the most victorious of all compet- ing countries, winning 121 medals: 46 gold, 37 silver and 388 bronze. Great Brit- ain and China rounded out the top three, with Great Britain winning 67 med- als: 27 gold, 23 silver and 17 bronze, and China win- ning 70 medals: 26 gold, 18 silver and 26 bronze. Though China won more medals, they did not win more gold than Great Brit- ain, thus putting them in third place. With big wins under their belts, these three countries have a lot to prove in the Summer Olympics in Japan in 2020. Dr. Brent Kristie Watkins Staff Writer Every three years the Western Carolina Univer- sitys English department nominates and elects a new department head to serve the program. This year, the department chose Dr. Brent Kinser for the job. Born in Bloomington, Indiana and raised in Normal, Illinois, Dr. Kinser was exposed to university life early on as both of his parents were involved on a campus. Dr. Kinser received his B.A. and M.A. at Illinois State University and his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Cha- pel Hill in 19th century Literature. In 2005, Dr. Kinser fin- ished his Ph.D. and was offered a job at Western Carolina, in which he took it happily. During his time at Western Carolina, Kinser has served as the Direc- tor of the Literature Pro- gram for six years. On July 1 of this year, Kinser stepped into his new role as the Depart- ment Head of the English Department. T was elected by my colleagues, which is a re- ally special thing. To be chosen by my colleagues was an honor, Dr. Kinser said. In this new position, Dr. Kinser explained that he is responsible for all of the instructors in the _English Department, scheduling and budgets. T do everything I can to help them do their work, he said. Also, helping students from registration to gradua- tion and all the time in between. Advocating for the department, being the public face for the depart- ment, I think thats an important part of it too. Dr. Kinser said that overall the transition between professor and department head has been very smooth. He explained that one of the main differences is mov- ing from a nine-month contract to a 12-month one. It wasnt that much different for me because ~ I was already here every day, he said. Dr. Kinser also at- tributes the smooth transition to his team of colleagues. He spoke highly of his administrative assistant, Allison Johnson, saying she has helped him out a lot. He also said the previ- ous department head, Laura Wright, has been of great help getting him on his feet. One thing Dr. Kinser is looking forward to is an initiative he and a few other departments are developing called Hu- manities at WCU. Its an effort to work in a more interdisciplin- ary way across campus to do a better job of seeing how humanities work on campus, Dr. Kinser said. He said the department is always looking for ways to improve and planning out ideas for the future. A lot has changed since Ive been here for the past 11 years. We want to continue to promote diversity in our department, all in the interest of the students, Dr. Kinser said. Dr. Kinser is very excited about the future prospects of the depart- ment and how it will con- tinue to serve as a crucial aspect of the university. He said Western Caro- lina is not just a second home, it is home for him. T love this place in the broadest sense of the word. Its the mountains, but also the people. A lot of my colleagues arent just colleagues. They are very dear friends. Its a great place to be, he said. In any university there are always challenges, and Dr. Kinser has seen it his whole life, but I believe in them and what they do, he said. He continued, Im interested in helping stu- dents, not just those here now but those who will come long after Im gone. He said getting to know people who are also invested in that is very important and truly satis- fying. Ive invested my intel- lectual energy into this place. Our time is short. Four years, twenty years is over like that, but WCU is a great place andI think it will be around for a long time, Dr. Kinser said. Dr. Kinser, along with the other English Depart- ment faculty, work hard Dr. Brent Kinser to equip students in the program to succeed after graduation. According to the de- partments website, Eng- lish majors dont get tied downthey open doors. Through our coursework in motion-picture stud- ies, professional writing and teacher education, youll explore an unex- pected range of fulfilling Photo by Katie Greene/STAFF careers. Our alumni can testify how, with creativ- ity and perseverance, English can take you anywhere. For any students who feel that this department would be a good fit for them, you can contact the department at 828-227- 7264 or contact Dr. Kinser at bkinser@email.wcu. edu.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
  • Text
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2016-09-29
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.5" x 11.25"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2016-09-29_Vol84_No01
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library