|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 NEWS
WRGC is a proud affiliate of these news organizations (click on a logo to visit their website):
When you see news in the making, contact our newsroom at (828) 586-2221.
“On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive” 08/31/2011
In a release from the State of North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety
The Highway Patrol, ALE and Wildlife Resources Commission Collaborate Assets in Operation “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive” The North Carolina State Highway Patrol along with the Division of Law Enforcement Wildlife Resources Commission and the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division are combing efforts in saving lives. Whether on the road or on the water, law enforcement officers across the state will be on the look out for impaired drivers by conducting DWI checkpoints near recreational boating areas as well as public service announcements that educate motorists on the dangers of drinking and driving. “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive” campaign is a multi-agency initiative that is designed to combine law enforcement resources to ensure that all motorists can safely travel on highway and waterways during the summer months. The Highway Patrol is reminding motorists to be careful as they end the summer travel month. Last year, the Highway Patrol investigated 270 fatal collisions and over 8,700 injury collisions during the summer months. This includes 62 fatal collisions and 871 injuries due to impaired driving. “Labor Day is the end of the summer travel season across the state,” said Colonel Michael Gilchrist, State Highway Patrol Commander. “We are asking all motorists to buckle up and be extremely careful when traveling to their various destinations. Troopers along with other agencies will be aggressively cracking down on motorists who drink and drive.” The Labor Day weekend, which is set aside to honor the working people’s contribution to society, is expected to be a busy one on North Carolina highways. This means more people will be on our highways, increasing the chance of traffic crashes. The holiday weekend officially begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 2, and ends at midnight, Monday, September 5. Last year 11 motorists died and 330 were injured in traffic collisions investigated by the Highway Patrol over the Labor Day holiday. Operation “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive”is focused on three key holiday travel weekends; Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. Troopers along with ALE and Wildlife Resource officers will be conducting various driving while impaired checkpoints near parks and water recreational areas. For additional information, contact First Sergeant Jeff Gordon, Public Information Officer at (919) 733-5027. Sheriff's Department Warns of New Phone Scam 08/31/2011 The Jackson County Sheriff's Department wants to allert residents that there is a new phone scam circulating around and they are saying you have won $250,000.00 and all you have to do is send a fee of $99.00 dollars to “Mega-Millions Sweepstakes and as soon as you send the money the truck will deliver your prize. This and may other similar phone scams are circulating where you are asked to produce some fee or cash in exchange for a larger prize or winnings. For complaints, please call The Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office. You can call toll free within North Carolina at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM, at (919) 716-6000 from outside of North Carolina, or at (919) 716-0058 for Spanish speakers.Lottery”. They state that there is a truck in your area Warrant Obtained For Suspect in Aug. 14th Sexual Assault in Cashiers 08/29/2011 This press release is a follow up to a previous press release from this office dated August 22, 2011in regards to a sexual assault in the Cashiers area. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has obtained a warrant for arrest for a suspect in the Cashiers area sexual assault that occurred on August 14, 2011. The Sheriff’s Office is attempting to locate Efrain Ubera Morales, Hispanic male, date of birth of 01/13/1981. He may also go by the name of Efrain Morales Ubera. The suspect’s last known address was 74 Burns Street, Cashiers, North Carolina, 28717. Anyone with any information about the location of this suspect is asked to contact the investigating detective, Lieutenant Clawson at 586-1391. Charges: First Degree Burglary and First Degree Rape
Photo is almost two years old. MedWest New Wide-Bore MRI 08/31/2011
Jackson Co. Health Department Starts Flu Shots September 6 08/26/2011
Seasonal flu season is upon us and typically peaks in late winter in Western North Carolina. The Jackson County Department of Public Health will begin giving flu shots on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at the health department building in Sylva. Flu shots will be given daily from 8:00-11:30am and 1:00-4:30 pm. The cost of seasonal flu vaccine is $20.00 or we will bill Medicare and Medicaid if you have your card available. For future updates, please call the Jackson County Department of Public Health Flu Information Line at 828-587-8201. If you are interested in the Health Department coming to administer the flu vaccine at your business, office, organization, or church, please call Carla or Debbie at 828-586-8994 to schedule a time. Harrah's Gift Helps Sponsor Native American Health Lecture Series At WCU 08/25/2011 WCU Receives Gift From Harrah's For Native American Health Lecture Series A recent gift from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel to Western Carolina University will help sponsor a public lecture series on Native American health issues offered through the university’s Culturally Based Native Health Program. The gift of $3,000 will enable the program to bring two nationally known speakers to campus in 2011 and 2012. Established in 2006, the Culturally Based Native Health Program, or CBNHP, provides health professionals with an opportunity to acquire knowledge about Cherokee culture and other Native American cultures that might help them in treating patients. A collaborative effort involving WCU, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Wake Forest University, the program has two components: a graduate and undergraduate Native health certificate offered through WCU; and a Native youth health careers summer camp at Wake Forest. Nearly 20 high school students and five health sciences teachers from Cherokee High School and from Cherokee, Graham, Jackson and Swain counties participated in the summer program last year. The program’s lecture series is designed to help inform the public of issues that affect the health and well-being of Native peoples and to be of interest to those who work in rural communities in Southern Appalachia with other underserved populations. Since the series began in 2010, hundreds of participants have attended the lectures. Past speakers include Dr. Ann Bullock, chief clinical consultant for family medicine for the Indian Health Service with the EBCI, and Dr. Eduardo Duran, a psychologist working in Indian country and author of several books including “Healing the Soul Wound: Counseling with American Indians and Other Native Peoples.” For more information about the CBNHP or the lecture series, contact Lisa Lefler, a professor of medical anthropology and director of WCU’s component of the program, at 828-227-2164 or llefler@wcu.edu.
Darold Londo (right), general manager at Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel, presents a check to Lisa Lefler (center), a professor of medical anthropology at Western Carolina University, and Linda Seestedt-Stanford, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, for the Culturally Based Native Health Program. WCU Recreational Therapy Program First In US To Win Accreditation 08/25/2011
Bill Studenc, Senior Director of News Services at WCU sent us a release stating that Western Carolina University’s undergraduate degree program in recreational therapy is the first in the nation to earn accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. The board of directors of CAAHEP, the largest programmatic accrediting agency in the health sciences field, gave its formal stamp of approval to Western Carolina’s recreational therapy program at its July 21 meeting. The organization added recreational therapy to the list of health science professions that it accredits at its annual meeting in April 2010. The accrediting body then conducted an open hearing on the profession’s standards and guidelines in July 2010, and the board of directors approved them in August 2010. Eleven months later, Western Carolina became the first to earn the new accreditation, said Peg Connolly, director of the program. “This puts us on the forefront of recreational therapy education,” said Connolly, who serves as a board member on CAAHEP’s Committee for the Accreditation of Recreational Therapy. “This recognition by CAAHEP is significant to our profession, our students and alumni, and the health care community.” The accreditation marks the second time that WCU’s recreational therapy program has made history. It also was the first program in the United States to offer an undergraduate degree in recreational therapy, beginning back in 1996. “When the accreditation standards were officially instituted in 2010, we immediately implemented them at WCU,” Connolly said. “We volunteered to be the beta site for the application of the standards.” Since WCU launched the program, it has produced more than 260 graduates with recreational therapy degrees. Program graduates work across the state, the Southeast region and the United States. About 80 students currently are majoring in recreational therapy at WCU, with another 45 students taking prerequisites courses and planning to major in the field. According to the 2010-11 occupational outlook by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, recreational therapists “help individuals reduce depression, stress and anxiety; recover basic motor functioning and reasoning abilities; build confidence; and socialize effectively so that they can enjoy greater independence and reduce or eliminate the effects of their illness or disability. In addition, therapists help people with disabilities integrate into the community by teaching them how to use community resources and recreational activities.” For more information about WCU’s recreational therapy program, call Connolly at 828-227-2481, email mconnolly@wcu.edu or visit the website http://rt.wcu.edu. Jackson County Tourism to Offer Mobile App 08/22/2011
Ugo Tour, a fully interactive and engaging tour guide, has been named the Official App of the NC Mountains. Jackson County Travel & Tourism Authority has joined forces with the sponsors (NC Dept. of Transportation, Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and Smoky Mountain Host) to offer a mobile app tour of Jackson County. Visitors will be able to thoroughly explore the mountains, including Jackson County, and have information to plan their trip and guide them on tours of the area while they are here. The new app-called “UGo Tour NC Mountains” – will be the first of its kind in North Carolina. “We know that marketing is moving toward mobile”, said Betty Huskins of Smoky Mountain Host. “We want to get in on the act sooner rather than later”. Smartphones now make up 54% of the cell phone market in the US. The designers of the program promise the app will offer a top rate experience for users. Ugo Tour NC Mountains will be rich in content and include informative text, photos, video, web links, phone links and GPS mapping locators. Jon Menick, President of StoryPoint Media and creator of the Ugo App filmed last week in northern Jackson County. “This app will bring a brand new market for advertisers and business owners, and help increase tourism in the area”, said Menick. Jackson County Tourism Authority Executive Director Julie Spiro stated, “This is definitely a forward thinking marketing concept, but we feel the time is right to try something new and fresh. We’re trying to find a new visitor, and broader audience, for Jackson County”. A free download of the Ugo Tour NC Mountains App is scheduled to be available soon on both Android Marketplace and ITunes. To learn more about Ugo Tour NC Mountains and how your business can be involved, interested owners can attend the presentation sponsored by the Jackson County Chamber & Tourism Authority scheduled for Tuesday, August 30th at the Best Western River Escape Inn in Dillsboro from 7:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. in the conference room. Michelle McCain, Vice President for Ugo Tour NC Mountains will be there to present the Tour concept and answer questions. Call the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce at 586-2155 to secure a seat for the presentation. Watch Out for False Emails Requesting a BBB Rating Verification 08/19/2011
In a release from the Better Business Bureau of Asheville, the BBB is cautioning businesses and consumers about an email that is purporting to come from BBB. The email appears to come from a fake BBB address (BBBupdate@post.com) in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area and falsely requests verification and validation of BBB Ratings. The email message reads, “Our data shows a pending rating or review about you or your business. Derogatory/Negative reviews or ratings can impact you business profile and become permanently visible to customers, clients, vendors, and agencies. CONTACT OUR NOTIFICATION DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATELY FOR VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF THIS ALERT.” BBB wishes to remind all businesses and consumers that we are not conducting a verification request nor are we issuing emails in response to a pending rating or review about you or your business. Should you receive such an email, please disregard its message, and report any information received to BBB’s Scam Portal. CBBB’s Legal Department is working to find out who is behind this and will take all appropriate action to protect its trademark. The Better Business Bureau Serving Asheville and Western North Carolina serves 17 counties and is supported by approximately 1,800 businesses. Consumers may call the bureau at 253-2392 from Buncombe County or 800-452-2882 from other counties in Western North Carolina. Consumers may obtain reports on companies and charities, file a complaint or get consumer tips by going to the Web site, www.asheville.bbb.org. WCU Jerseys and Athletic Equipment Benefit Nicaraguan Youth 08/19/2011
According to a press release, a Webster Baptist Church mission team whose members included Western Carolina University students and faculty recently gave away WCU athletic jerseys and equipment to villagers they worked with in Nicaragua. The idea surfaced after the sight of a high school volleyball team in Nicaragua practicing without a net stayed with Jackie Moore, a WCU adjunct faculty member in the School of Teaching and Learning, and her daughter, Kayla Moore, who were there last year with a group from Webster Baptist Church. The team had one volleyball and no uniforms or other athletic equipment. “It hit me,” said Kayla Moore, who played volleyball at Smoky Mountain High School and will join the Milligan College team this year. “It was so different. We live in a place where there are carts full of balls and uniforms galore.” So when the Moores returned to Jackson County, they met with then-WCU volleyball coach Manuel Concepcion to tell him about the experience and see if there was anything that could be donated to the team in Nicaragua. Concepcion and soccer coach Chad Miller agreed to help. “We had equipment within the program that we were no longer able to use, and we thought instead of throwing it away that we could give it to others who could benefit,” said Miller. The Moores pulled together about eight balls, an assortment of equipment and two sets of jerseys and practice uniforms. Aware of the unreliability of the mail system in Nicaragua, they were afraid to ship the items and held onto them until Webster Baptist Church’s summer 2011 mission trip to Nicaragua. To their delight, they connected with one of the volleyball players not long after their arrival because she had been asked to serve as the interpreter. They learned that on the same day they arrived, the girl had made arrangements to borrow a computer to try to ask for sponsors so their volleyball team could acquire equipment. “When she saw what we had brought, she responded with a part-laugh, part-cry,” said Jackie Moore. “She began texting the players and the coach.” The volleyball equipment was not the mission team’s only tie to WCU. The team worked with 2006 alumna Stephanie Schutz Estrada, who serves as a full-time missionary with Globe International in charge of short-term mission teams in Nicaragua. The trip was coordinated by WCU alumni Carrie Hachadurian, administrative support associate in WCU’s Writing and Learning Commons, and Frank Hachadurian, a technology support technician in WCU’s Office of the Registrar. Both had traveled to Nicaragua in 2010. Among the 12 participating mission team members were Moore and WCU students Alicia Fowler, a freshman from Cullowhee; John Luke Carter, a junior professional writing major from Wilmington; Kyrie Carlson, a senior nutrition and dietetics major from Vero Beach, Fla.; and Corey Benfield, a senior health and physical education major from Catawba. They came back with a new perspective. While in Nicaragua, they led villagers from Citalapa in Vacation Bible School and such activities as singing songs in Spanish and English, skits, clowning and parachute games. The prizes for their soccer tournament were WCU jerseys. They got to know people in the village and saw their lean-to houses with dirt floors and no electricity. They helped repair a school in a place where the number of people who complete primary school stands at just more than 25 percent. In a question-and-answer session with women of the village, Jackie Moore was asked if she had one of the things that a person cooks on indoors. She confirmed that she did, described her smoke detector and demonstrated the noise it makes when she burns her food. “They laughed so hard, and they couldn’t believe men would grill. There, men don’t cook,” said Moore. Benfield said he was moved to see the soccer players in the village racing to pick up the ball after a play to keep it from getting dirty. He was surprised by the strength of the community and how they all applauded and congratulated the winners of the contests. He also was struck by how people came and followed the members of the mission team. “They don’t want you to leave,” said Benfield. Fowler shared how impressed she was that so many came to a rainy hot dog cookout in which they gave away hundreds of hot dogs, chips, cookies and other items. “It was pouring rain – not cats and dogs, but horses and cows,” said Fowler. “Even under the shelter we were under at the school, we were getting soaked.” The food line was long, yet even after receiving food, the adults waited until every child had a hot dog before eating. On the last day, the group held a bicycle race and gave away two new bicycles to the winners. “Bicycles are important in the village. They mean a person can get a job outside their community. A bicycle represents a better future,” said Carrie Hachadurian. Benfield concurred. “To us, it’s just a bike,” he said. “But, to them, it’s everything.” For more information, contact Carrie Hachadurian at 828-227-7197 or cphachadurian@wcu.edu. MedWest Health System Adds New Wide-bore MRI 08/18/2011 In a statement from Lucretia Stargell, Director Corporate Relations for MedWest, patients at MedWest- Harris who need MRIs can now have a more comfortable experience during their scans, thanks to a new state-of-the art imaging system. The new wide-bore MRI system, which goes online Aug. 26 on the MedWest-Harris campus, offers exceptional image quality, advanced applications and increased patient comfort. The extra-wide opening is more accommodating, especially to larger individuals and those prone to claustrophobia. It’s the only wide-bore MRI in the region west of Asheville.
Scholarships Available to Eligible Children of NC War Veterans 08/11/2011
As families participate in the annual ritual of back-to-school preparedness, the N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs (NCDVA) reminds eligible students to apply for college scholarships available to children of North Carolina war veterans. “In appreciation for the service and sacrifices of North Carolina’s war veterans, these scholarships are provided to help to defray the ever-increasing costs of higher education,” said NCDVA Director Tim Wipperman. “The express purpose of the funds is to provide scholastic support to help children of certain disabled, deceased, combat or POW/MIA veterans.” With the legislature’s budget cuts that reduced both staff and class options at public universities and community colleges and increased costs for students, Wipperman expects requests for NCDVA scholarship support to increase this year. The annual application deadline is March 1. Scholarships may be used at schools located in North Carolina which are (1) state-owned institutions of higher education, community colleges and technical institutes or (2) privately-owned, non-profit colleges and universities. There are several classes of scholarship eligibility. Interested students should contact their local Veterans Service Office by visiting http://www.doa.nc.gov/vets/locations/. To qualify, the applicant must be domiciled and resident of North Carolina at the time of application. Additionally:
Most scholarships provide free tuition, certain fees and a reasonable room and board allowance in State-owned institutions and $4,500 per academic year in private institutions. In addition, a limited number of scholarships provide free tuition and certain fees in State-owned institutions and $1,500 per academic year in private institutions. For more information, or to submit an application, contact your local Veterans Service Office. Mountain Heritage Day To Include Food Competitions 08/09/2011
In a release from Randall Holcombe of WCU, local residents are invited to enter their honey and home food products in “A Gathering In,” the traditional foods competition held annually at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day. The 37th annual festival on Saturday, Sept. 24, will feature contests for canned goods, baked goods and “heritage foods,” the Best in the West Berry Recipe contest, and a competition for extracted honey with categories in light, dark, and comb. The recipe contest will highlight the importance of berries in the regional diet, said Peter Koch, education associate at the museum. “The recipe does not have to be original, but the entry must be made from scratch and must include berries,” he said. The foods contest is coordinated jointly by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service’s Jackson County Center and the Mountain Heritage Center. Ribbons will be awarded to the top three entries in youth and adult divisions, and a grand champion will be selected from each of the divisions of canned goods, baked goods, heritage foods conservation, and honey. Food entries will be accepted at the Mountain Heritage Center at specific times during the week leading up to the festival. Canned goods, honey, and heritage foods can be dropped off at the museum between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Baked goods and berry recipe contest entries should be brought to the Mountain Heritage Center between 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23. Winners will be announced at Mountain Heritage Day. All entries must be picked up from the Mountain Heritage Center by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. For more information about the foods contest or to obtain a contest guideline booklet, call Cheryl Beck at the Jackson County Center at (828) 586-4009 or Peter Koch at the Mountain Heritage Center at (828) 227-7129, or visit www.MountainHeritageDay.com for a downloadable booklet and entry form. Sheriff's Department Respond to Assault, Discover Meth Lab 08/05/2011
In a press release Major Shannon H. Queen of the Jackson Co. Sheriff's Office, at approximately 6:30pm on August 3, 2011 deputies from the Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Dicks Creek Road in regards to a domestic assault between a male and a female in the roadway. While responding to the reported area, a sheriff’s deputy was intentionally ran out of the road by the fleeing suspect. The same deputy located the female victim and along with other deputies began to render emergency medical aid and further requested Med West EMS to respond. The female had an altered level of consciousness and once on scene Med West EMS requested the assistance of Mission’s air medical ambulance commonly referred to as MAMA. The air ambulance was landed on US74/441 with the assistance of Sylva and Qualla Fire Departments. Further assistance arrived on scene from the Sheriff’s Office and a sheriff’s canine unit began a suspect track that started from the suspect’s vehicle which was found in Too How Campground off of Dicks Creek Road. During the canine track, the canine team located a methamphetamine lab set up on an overgrown old road way that runs from Too How Campground back to US 74/441. Upon the discovery, Deputies secured that scene and contacted assistance from the NCSBI. Agents from the NCSBI stationed here in Jackson County quickly responded and began the process of collecting evidence. Hazardous materials mitigation was not completed until the next morning by a certified company capable of the appropriate clean up. The NCSHP helicopter assisted in attempting to locate the suspect but efforts were unsuccessful. The Sheriff’s Office took the male into custody without incident on August 4, 2011 around 1330 hours from a trailer in Too How Campground.
Jay David Neugin III, Too How Campground, Sylva, NC Primary charges are: Assault on a female; Assault on Government Official; Assault on child under 12 (from separate incident) and Driving while license revoked, held in the Jackson County Detention under no bond at the time of this release.
MedWest-Harris Emergency Medical Services Earns Accreditation 08/05/2011
MedWest-Harris Emergency Medical Services was recently accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) for compliance with national standards of excellence. Photo credit: MedWest Health System Pictured are MedWest EMTs Kim Anthony and Paul Curtice. In a statement fromMedWest's Corporate Relations Director Lucretia Stargel, lMedWest-Harris Emergency Medical Services was recently accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) for compliance with national standards of excellence. To earn accreditation, MedWest-Harris EMS completed a comprehensive application and an on-site review by national experts in emergency medical services. The two-day review included a thorough evaluation of MedWest-Harris EMS policies, procedures and reporting processes. “By being CAAS accredited, we have proven that we have met the gold standard within the field of EMS,” said Steven Rice, MedWest-Harris EMS Director. “The designation reinforces to the community our commitment to continuous improvement and to providing the right care at the right time, whatever the need may be.”
|
|||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
WRGC Radio · 1846 Skyland Drive, P.O. Box 1044, Sylva, North Carolina 28779 · (828) 586-2221 · Fax (828) 586-6834 · Email |
|||||||
