Things and Stuff: 11/23/00

Notes from our business community
- and everywhere else

Kim Clayton & President Bill Clinton

KIM CLAYTON ...

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Clayton of Cullowhee, met President Bill Clinton during the G-8 Economic Summit in Okinawa, Japan. Clayton, who represented the Japanese English Exchange Program, is currently teaching English in Okinawa.

COUNTRY ROAD FARMS ...

is holding its Christmas open house this weekend. The nursery is featured this week in our Business Spotlight. Owners Doug and Sue Hall invite everyone out Friday and Saturday to enjoy refreshments and register for door prizes. For details, see their color ad on the back page of this section.

REGULAR THURSDAY ...

trash pickups within Sylva's city limits will be made on Friday this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

TERRY WILSON ...

of Sylva is the winner of the final football contest of the season. The newspaper would like to thank all those who participated this year, both the merchants who sponsor the page and the many who enter each week. We anticipate another successful series when the 2001 contests begin just 42 weeks from now.

JACKSON COUNTY'S TRAVEL AND TOURISM ...

Authority is now selling advertising for the 2001 county visitor's guide. Businesses interested in placing advertising in the guide should contact Julie Spiro or Bill Graham at 586-2155 to receive an advertising packet. Deadline for advertising is Dec. 15.

A VIDEOTAPE ...

of "The Ballad of Frankie Silver" is now available at City Lights Bookstore for $25. Silver descendant Jim Harbin, author of "To Right the Legend of Frankie Silver: Nancy's Story," is associate producer of this 1 hour, 42 minute video. An hour and 15 minutes of the video is a drama re-enacting Charlie Silver's death and the subsequent famous antebellum murder trail in 1832. Frankie was hanged for chopping up her husband and burning his body in the fireplace. The remaining 30 minutes is a documentary, said Harbin, who conducted extensive research for this family story. Harbin believes Frankie is buried very close to Jackson County. Viewers can also catch Harbin on screen in a brief appearance as a distinguished attorney.

SHEAR IMAGES ...

is sponsoring a Christmas angel tree to brighten Christmas for area children. Customers and visitors may pick an angel at the shop and return a present for a local child. For more information, call 586-0135 Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

ALMOND TWIRLERS ...

will host an All-Plus dance Thursday, Nov. 30, at 8 p.m. at the old Whittier School. Ace McGee will be the special caller.

"TWAS ONE CRAZY ...

Night Before Christmas" will be presented Sunday, Dec. 3, by the Jackson County Family Resource Center and Southwestern Community College's Department of Human Services Technology at SCC's Myers Auditorium. There will be performances at both 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2.50 for children age 3-12. Both performances will include music by the Smoky Mountain High School Band Quintet under the direction of Kenneth Franklin. Group rates are available. Call 586-2845 for information.

MAUDE BRYSON ...

was the winner of the camcorder raffled off by the American Legion William E. Dillard Post 104. The event raised more than $2,000 to support local veterans and their families and was the most successful raffle ever, said Ed Jones, post commander.

LOTS OF SHOPS ...

are having after Thanksgiving sales. Check their ads in this issue and "shop at home" whenever possible.

INTERESTED IN MAKING ...

money while staying at home? Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Better Business Bureaus across North America have confirmed this in a year-long study of work-at-home companies that advertise in newspapers, magazines, on the Internet and on signs posted in various communities. Operation Job Fraud and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service coordinated to project.

The task force identified a variety of work-at-home occupations, including envelope stuffing, product assembly, medical billing, mystery shopping and business opportunities such as vitamin sales, auto-dialing machines, selling advertising on the Internet and telemarketing of videotapes, books and seminars.

While the ads claim high earnings, the task force found no evidence of people actually making the promised money. Rather, after paying advance "registration" fees or "good-faith" deposits, the consumer receives nothing or is provided with information that encourages involvement in an illegal scheme or supplies to assemble a product that is virtually impossible to complete.

Most prevalent are product assembly and envelope stuffing. In most assembly cased, the company sends specific instructions for the worker to follow, warning the items will be rejected and no money earned if products do not meet the company's standards.

"Our experience shows that even that the most competent of workers couldn't meet these so-called standards," said Norma Messer, president of the BBB in Asheville. "The only one getting rich is the person who owns the company."

Typical stuffing offers, which have been around since the Great Depression, promote earnings of $1 or $2 per envelope and promise that a worker can make thousands of dollars monthly. Some advertised offers also pledge to refund the advance fee once a thousand envelopes are stuffed. It doesn't happen.

The BBB offers a pamphlet on such offers. Consumers may go to www.bbb.org and obtain it or they may call the Buncombe County office at 1-800-452-2882. The BBB's Asheville web address is www.asheville.bbb.org.

The Sylva Herald receives such ads each week. While the newspaper tries to screen and exclude advertising thought to be fraudulent, occasionally one slips into the paper, said Herald Publisher Jim Gray.

"We urge our readers to watch out for such ads in other publications that may not be as vigilant," he said.