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Today’s Email Announcements

Lees-McRae College May School of Nursing and Health Sciences Faculty to Host Sigma Theta Tau International Conference November 3

As part of its ongoing demonstration of scholarship, the May School of Nursing and Health Sciences Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society (STTI) chapter will hold an open, evidence-based practice conference Saturday, Nov. 3.

With a focus on rural nursing leadership, the conference will begin at 9 a.m. in the May School of Nursing and Health Sciences Room 140.

“Rural nursing leaders must find strategies to promote healthy work environments, offer mentorship and support for professional growth, and drive evidence-based nursing practice,” Assistant Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences, Dr. Teresa Darnall said. “Nurse leaders in the Appalachia region must also incorporate the cultural context into their leadership style. The May School of Nursing and Health Sciences Honor Society will be providing an evidence-based practice conference discussing how nurses demonstrate leadership competencies incorporating rural Appalachian cultural values.”

The conference will feature presentations from a handful of faculty including Director of the Pre-licensure Nursing Program, Evelyn Brewer; Director of the RN to BSN Program, Dr. Claire Cline; and Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences and Director of Nursing, Dr. Laura Fero.

The conference is open to the entire campus community as well as the public. Cost, including lunch, is $30 for May School of Nursing and Health Sciences Honor Society members, $35 for non-members of the honor society (including the general public), and $10 for all other Lees-McRae students.

The conference will also feature student poster presentations in which the top three posters will be awarded a monetary prize.

Learn more about the nursing program as well as Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society here.

The Choir of St. Mary of the Hills to Present All Souls Concert at BRAHM November 4 

The choir of St. Mary of the Hills will present a concert, “Transeamus: Meditations on Mortality, on Sunday, November 4th at 2 pm at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum. The concert will focus on the themes of Light, Remembrance, and Rebirth, in honor of All Souls Day.

The concert will feature short readings and quotations on those themes, interspersed with both choral and solo music ranging from the moving Behold the tabernacle of God by Healey Willan and sweetly evocative I sat down under his shadow by Edward Bairstow, to Lori Laitman’s The silver swan, Anton Bruckner’s Ave Maria, and the angelic Gregorian chant In paradisum.

The choir of St. Mary’s has performed many times with various chamber orchestras, but its focus remains unaccompanied singing, and it’s heart is regular Sunday morning worship and monthly choral evensong (during the summer season). Dr. James Bumgardner has been organist and choir director at St. Mary’s for over 30 years, and has led the choir on several trips to study with the foremost directors of Anglican choral music in Cambridge England, most recently last May. The choir has represented North Carolina at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., sung services for St. Mary the Virgin in New York City, and been choir-in-residence at Durham Cathedral in England three times. For more information, please contact St. Mary’s at 828.295.7323, or follow us on Facebook @ MusicfromStMaryoftheHills.

What’s Happening at Mountain City’s Heritage Hall

Saturday, November 3, 7 p.m., Donald Davis, Nationally-Known Story Teller. Experience the warmth of a homespun story, know the goodness of a true tale…….Absolutely hilarious and unpredictable as well as emotionally reviving. During his twenty-five year career as a United Methodist Minister, Davis used stories more and more and was asked to perform at festivals and in other settings until he retired from the church to tell stories full time. The author of eighteen books and more than forty original recordings, Davis is the recipient of both the Circle of Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Storytelling Network. http://www.ddavisstoryteller.com Sponsored by Mullins Real Estate and Auction, Johnson County Community Hospital, and WMCT Radio, 1390 AM & 102.9 FM. Adv $15/Door $18

Tuesday, November 6, Barter Theatre presents “Sally McCoy”, In the midst of the first gruesomely violent event of the legendary Hatfield and McCoy feud, one woman does what she must to save her family. Sally McCoy tells a harrowing story which takes a hard look at how women’s stories and perspectives are too often excluded. Set in August 1882, Sally’s three eldest sons are captured by the Hatfield clan. Sally crosses miles of Appalachian wilderness in the dark of night to save her children from certain death at the vengeful hands of the Hatfields. After traveling all those miles alone, she arrives at the home of the Hatfield patriarch, “Devil” Anse Hatfield, and refuses to let anything stand in her way until she has seen the “Devil” face to face. Sponsors: Body/Mind Dynamics, Vistas Land & Sea, Watauga Lake Winery. Adv$20/Door $23.

For tickets, reservations, group or youth pricing, call 423-727-7444 and leave a message. The Box Office opens on Tuesday – Friday, 12 – 2 pm, 126 College Street. For more information: heritagehalltheatre.org.

Campus Emergency Siren Test to be Conducted November 7

Appalachian State University will test its campus siren warning system at 11:55 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 7.

Examples of the tones that are used in an emergency or during tests can be heard online at https://emergency.appstate.edu/siren-warning-system.

Appalachian uses the hi/low tone for emergencies, discontinuous air horn for tests of the system and the alert tone for all-clear signal.

For more information about the university’s AppState ALERT voice/text/email notification system, visit https://emergency.appstate.edu.

Campus siren tests are normally conducted on the first Wednesday of each month. Scheduled dates for Appalachian’s upcoming tests are Dec. 5 and Jan. 2, 2019.

A Life Dedicated to the Art of Poetry: A Stephenson Center for Appalachia Event

The Stephenson Center for Appalachia will present a two-day celebration of poetry on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 8 and 9.

Starting at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 in Evans Auditorium in the Cannon Student Center, film director Michele Poulos will introduce and present her film A Late Style of Fire: Larry Levis, American Poet.

The following day on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. in the Dotti M. Shelton Learning Commons, Poulos and producer of the movie Gregory Donovan will read from their original poetry.

A Late Style of Fire: Larry Levis, American Poet explores not only the life and poetry of Larry Levis, but also the risks and triumphs of a life devoted to making art.

The connection among Poulos, Donovan, and Levis comes from their ties to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where Levis taught and wrote before dying at the age of 49 in 1996. Donovan, a VCU creative writing faculty member, and Levis were colleagues and friends during his life. Poulos had already admired Levis’ poetry before entering the writing program at VCU in 2005.

 “You couldn’t walk down the street without bumping into someone who had known Levis and the stories people told were fascinating—they were savory and tangled as his poems,” Poulos said.

Poulos, who has a master’s in creative writing (with a focus in fiction writing) from VCU and a master’s in creative writing (with a focus on poetry) from Arizona State University, has a poetry collection titled Black Laurel. Donovan has published widely in fiction, poetry, and essays. His work titled Calling his Children Home won the Devins Award for Poetry.

“We invite everyone in the community to share these two celebrations of poets and poetry with us,” Michael Joslin, director of the Stephenson Center for Appalachia, said.

Stephenson Center for Appalachia programs are free and open to the public. For more information, email joslin@lmc.edu.

Farm Dreams Workshop Happening November 10

Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture and the Organic Growers School are excited to announce a one-day visioning workshop for aspiring farmers!

If you’re in the exploratory stages of starting your own farm, this entry-level workshop is designed just for you! You will receive practical, common-sense information on sustainable farming and how to move forward.

Participants will:

  • Learn about sustainable farming careers in Western North Carolina.
  • Discover and assess your resources, skills and farming intentions.
  • Begin to develop an educational plan toward farming.
  • Connect with regional training opportunities and support networks.
  • Prioritize their next steps toward their farming goals.
  • Hear from experienced farmers running successful farms in WNC.

What Past Participants Say:

“I realized my realities and where I am in my process of starting a farm and then all the resources that I was given to help me move forward with my plan. Also, the farmer panel was super informative.”

“I realized more about what would be a good fit for me. The resources shared are excellent.”

Featured farmer panel:

Casey Jordaan and Tyler Hoskinson of Mountainwise Farm, Zionville, NC

Casey and Tyler’s approach to farming and working with the land is an intuitive, collaborative process. By choosing cultural practices that are regenerative, earth-based and ecological, they focus on giving back to the land, for all that it abundantly gave to them. Focusing primarily on salad greens and mushroom production, they cultivate only one & a half acres throughout the growing season. Casey and Tyler participated in a Farm Dreams workshop in 2014 as they began to develop their farm.

Jacob Crigler of Full Moon Farm, Triplett, NC

Jacob and his partner Kara Dodson operate Full Moon Farm, a small farm dedicated to providing healthy, fresh food grown with horse power & earth centered values. During the growing season, they grow food for family tables and area restaurants and can be found at the King Street Market, High Country Food Hub, and their farm stand.

Workshop Details

Saturday, November 10, 2018

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center

252 Poplar Grove Rd.

Boone, NC 28607

Cost: $55, $35 (Organic Growers School CRAFT & Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture Members)

For More Information and to Register, Visit: https://organicgrowersschool.org/farmers/farm-dreams/

Organic Growers School is the premiere provider of practical and affordable organic education in the Southern Appalachians, building a vibrant food & farming community by boosting the success of organic home growers and farmers in our region. Our hands-on training, workshops, conferences and partnerships inspire, educate, and support people to farm, garden, and live organically.

Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture is dedicated to strengthening the High Country’s local food system by supporting women and their families with resources, education, and skills related to sustainable food and agriculture.

New Lifesaving Lung Cancer Screening Available, Less than 5 Percent of those Eligible Participate

Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths for both women and men, with 8,490 new diagnoses in North Carolina estimated in 2016 alone. However, there’s a new opportunity to turn the tide against this deadly disease through the newly available lung cancer screening, which helps diagnose the disease in the earliest stages when it’s most curable. During Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the American Lung Association highlights that awareness of lung cancer is more important than ever, as the lifesaving lung cancer screening has the potential to save thousands of lives.

“Screening for the disease can make all the difference, and if lung cancer is caught before it spreads, the likelihood of surviving five years or more improves to 56 percent,” said American Lung Association Senior Director of Advocacy June Deen. “We must ensure that people are aware of lung cancer and its risk factors and speak with their doctor if they’re concerned about their risk.”

According to the Lung Association, if the 8 million Americans eligible were screened, an estimated 25,000 lives would be saved. While screening is available at no cost through Medicare and most insurance plans, less than five percent of those eligible are currently getting screened. Screening is recommended for those who meet the following criteria:

  • Are between the ages of 55-80 and currently smoke, or quit within the last 15 years, and smoked the equivalent of30 “pack years” (1 pack a day for 30 years, 2 packs for 15 years, etc.)

Through its LUNG FORCE initiative, the American Lung Association works to raise awareness of this new screening, including through a partnership with the Ad Council in the first-of-its-kind public awareness campaign “Saved By The Scan.” The campaign encourages current and former smokers to talk to their doctor about their risk and take an online eligibility quiz at SavedByTheScan.org/quiz. The “Saved By The Scan” eligibility quiz has helped more than 137,000 Americans learn about their risk for lung cancer.

Since lung cancer screening is relatively new, to ensure that everyone eligible not only knows about screening but also has access to screening, the Lung Association has partnered with the American Thoracic Society to launch the Lung Cancer Screening Implementation Guide. The Guide helps community hospitals and healthcare systems implement lung cancer screening programs, which will encourage access to lifesaving screening for those who qualify, regardless of where they live.

“We want to make sure that everyone who qualifies for screening knows it’s an option, and that they can access screening in their communities,” said Deen. “We’re at a pivotal moment in addressing this disease, and we’re working to spread the word about screening as it is literally lifesaving for so many people.”

Even with the promise of screening, the Lung Association also continues to push for better treatment options and new methods of early detection for the disease, noting that screening is currently recommended only for select current and former smokers, yet there are a variety of risk factors associated with lung cancer, including exposure to radon gas, secondhand smoke and air pollution as well as genetic factors and sometimes the causes of lung cancer are unknown.

“To ultimately defeat lung cancer, we need to address all risk factors and continue to invest in lung cancer research funding,” said Deen. “Since 2014, the Lung Association’s investment in lung cancer research has increased by 160 percent, and we’re going to continue pushing for more research, advancements and awareness until lung cancer is a thing of the past.”

Visit Lung.org/lung-cancer to learn more about lung cancer, share your experiences with the disease and support lung cancer research.

Hometown Handmade Holiday Market Starts December 7

It’s that time again! The Caldwell Arts Council is gearing up for a wonderful holiday season, and our plans include you and your beautiful work!

This year, we’re changing things up a bit. To create new excitement for the holidays and to better work within our mission, we will be hosting three weekend indoor craft festivals to be held on Fridays and Saturdays on December 7-8, 14-15, and 21-22. The Friday hours will be noon until 7:00, and Saturday hours will be 10:00 until 4:00.

At the festivals, artists will set up and manage their own booths (similar to craft shows) for a booth fee of $35 per weekend. We will not be taking any commission. Schematics with available booth areas inside Caldwell Arts Council are available on our website: www.caldwellarts.com. Artists will run their transactions through their own booths. Booths may be set up on Thursday afternoons or Friday mornings and would need to be disassembled on Saturday nights.

Caldwell Arts Council will still manage the regular Satie’s Gift Shop for the holiday season through the month of December, however we will not be expanding the gift shop and will instead host the indoor craft festivals.

We hope you join us for these three weekends in December. We will also have art classes and make-and-take classes throughout December. If you would like to teach a class this holiday season, please let us know.

We look forward to offering our community access to your fine handcrafted items this December! We are proud of our incredible artists!