The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice.

Saluda experiences its own winter solstice in January and February where businesses shorten their hours. It's a quiet and peaceful time of year that gives residents time to reflect on the previous year, rest up, and plan for the spring.

Many shop owners will have their "winter hours" posted. You may want to call ahead to make sure they are open before traveling into Saluda.

Painting of "Winter Shadows" by Beverly Pickard and prints are available at Saluda Fine Arts.

The Polk County Community Foundation is excited to announce the Saluda Community Fund! Any organization that is located in Saluda and serves the residents of Saluda is eligible to apply. Saluda nonprofits, Saluda organizations supported by tax dollars, and other Saluda organizations engaged in charitable or civic projects to benefit Saluda residents are all welcome to apply. An organization may request funding for any worthwhile endeavor whether it is a remodeling project, the purchase of needed equipment, a music festival or a traditional Saluda civic event.

This fund celebrates Saluda! An anonymous donor established the Saluda Community Fund in 2006 to benefit organizations located in Saluda that serve Saluda residents. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis beginning in 2007. The Polk County Community Foundation will review applications and award $10,000 in 2007.

“While there are a lot of small towns in America that seem to be dying, Saluda has the energy it takes to survive. There is hardly any problem that this little place can’t solve; I want to see what a little grease will do.” -Anonymous donor

“This is an important new fund that will encourage organizations in Saluda to dream bigger dreams, develop new projects, and strengthen existing programs. It was exciting and inspiring to work with this anonymous donor to accomplish this broad goal of supporting and celebrating community life in Saluda.” Elizabeth Nager, Executive Director, Polk County Community Foundation

For additional information contact the Polk County Community Foundation at, 255 South Trade Street, Tryon, NC 28782. (828) 859-5314 or foundation@polkccf.org

The Saluda Mountain Jamboree January Schedule:
Jan. 6th-Sound Investment
Jan. 13th-Gary & Lee Hedrick with Dime-A- Dozen
Jan. 20-Legacy
Jan. 27-Night Vision

Doors open at 7 and music and dancing is 8:00 to 11:00pm.

The Jamboree is a 12,000 sq. ft. facility and climate controlled for everyone's comfort, it has a huge dance floor, a beautiful stage and state of the art sound system. If you get hungry or thirsty, the concession area has hot dogs, popcorn, snacks,and drinks for refreshments. Beer and wine also available in the custom designed bar area.

Morgan Auction & Realty provide real and personal property sales and business liquidation. The firm auctions antiques and collectibles two and three times a month. Next scheduled auctions are January 6 and 20 at 7pm. The Auction House is located conveniently off Ozone behind the Apple Mill.

Curtis Wright Outfitters will be offering fly fishing classes for beginners on Saturdays in January (13th, 20th, 27th) and February (3rd, 10th). The class will be an overview of fly fishing equipment, trout species, habitat, entomology, reading water, knot tying, and casting. Curtis Wright will provide all equipment and materials. Cost is $75 per person with a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 6 people per class.

The popular Green River Boys perform at the City Club Grill Restaurant January 12 and 26 at 6:00pm. You can contact the City Club Grill at 749-1800.

The Purple Onion will be closed for repairs from January 1 to January 17. They will reopen on the 18th and musical performers will entertain as usual on Thursday and Saturday nights. Check their schedule on the Quick Links provided.

Wine Weekend at the Orchard Inn March 9-11, 2007
Tour some of the world's best vineyards -- right in our living room. A weekend of wonderful food and fine wine awaits. Rate includes lodging in the Inn, meals, wine and gratuity. Please call for details: 1-800-581-3800 or visit www.orchardinn.com.

President of SBA, Jim Carson is calling a special meeting of SBA members and invite all Saluda citizens who are interesed to also attend. The special meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 4,2007, at 5:30 PM at the library. The purpose of the meeting is to prepare for an upcoming zoning ordinance hearing. The public hearing is Tuesday, January 16 at 6:30. If you have any questions, call Jim at 749-3702 or 749-1118 or email to jimcarson@tds.net.

The shopping, the decorating, the baking and cooking are over. Relatives and houseguests have decamped, leaving you with left-over cookies you know you’ll end up eating. You’re looking a new year in the face, wondering whatever happened to the old one. As, hand to lower back, you gingerly stoop to retrieve a fallen ornament, a single thought invades your mind: Get me to a yoga class!

• If this scenario resonates with you,
• if you’ve intended to try out or get back to yoga but haven’t quite made it,
• if having some time and space where it’s just about you—your body, your needs, your nurturance— appeals to you,

Come be part of a merry band of explorers. Our territory is the body-mind. Our mission: to have fun learning its language, as we stretch, move, breathe, relax, observe, and compassionately allow sensational feedback. The rewards:

• reduced stress, lowered blood pressure;
• expanded breathing capacity (= more oxygen to the blood);
• increased strength and flexibility;
• balanced endocrine, nervous, and organ systems;
• greater clarity and peace of mind ;
• enhanced body awareness, self-acceptance, and well-being—
• among many other proven benefits.

Classes are mixed level—all are welcome. Bring a yoga mat (if you have one) and your zest for self- discovery through movement and asana (postures). The cost is $7 for the noon class and $10 for the evening class. Seniors (aged 60 and over) may participate on a donation basis.

Alice Carey, the instructor, has practiced yoga for 23 years and taught it for 18. A refugee from the Cold North (Boston) to this area, she lived and studied at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, where she received her 500-hour Advanced Teacher Training certification. She has also studied at Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s School for Body-Mind Centering, receiving certifications in Embodied Anatomy and Yoga and Embodied Developmental Movement and Yoga over a two-year period.

For further information please call Alice at (828) 698- 3299 (Hendersonville).

After four years of working with the Greenville Water System, a trailhead has opened through the 50-year old protected Greenville Water Shed to connect to the Palmetto Trail. The trailhead is behind Orchard Lake Campground off Fork Creek Road.

Link here to read more about the Palmetto Trail, get the rules for hiking on the Poinsette Passage, and retrieve a map.

Hometown Christmas 2006
Despite the unusually cold night, Saluda's Hometown Christmas celebration sponsored by the Saluda Business Association was well attended and a big success once again.

We should all make a special effort to express our appreciation to the fine musicians who volunteered their time and talent.

The Main Street merchants, too, should be included in the congratulations for their willingness to extend their day, provide venues for the musicians, and share a bountiful array of delicacies.

The character of this festive event is just another example of why Saluda is so special. Plan now to be part of this annual event next year--always the second Friday in December.

The participating musicians were Aaron Burdett, Susan Haskell and her friends int he Mountain Winds Flute Ensemble, Jan Daugherty and her Top of the Morning Suzuki Players, Grace and Pascall Reber, Cass Haskell and his friends, Robert Seiler, Jhon Akers, Alan Dillman and the Clam Japhry, Todd and Eric Neel, Sally Frye and the Saluda School Chorus, Mike and Mary Reeves, Matt Templeton, Jim Hall, and Katherine Raymond and friends.

A special thanks to Pam Smoak, Laura Fields, and Katha Underwood for organizing and conducting the Children's Workshop at the Saluda Volunteer Fire Department who co-sponsored the event.

The Saluda Business Association has elected officers for 2007. Jim Carson was elected President, Robert Thompson, Vice President, Charley Thompson, Secretary, Shelley DeKay, Treasurer, and Cathy Jackson, Promotions.

The Saluda Business Association sponsors Saluda Hometown Christmas and The Saluda Arts Festival, as well as promotes Saluda businesses by providing a web site,www.saluda.com, and rack cards, which describe Saluda businesses and show where they are located. The SBA also makes contributions during the year to various Saluda civic matters.

The Saluda Business Association (SBA) was formed in 1995 and represents approximately 50 area merchants, service people, artisans and crafts people, building contractors, and interested individuals who love Saluda. The vision of the SBA is to help Saluda prosper, preserve its heritage and culture, and keep revenue and the next generation in the community. The mission of this association is to:

• Maintain and enhance the quality of community life in Saluda
• Support and promote all local businesses, artists and crafts people
• Create and sponsor civic projects
• Provide unified representation of the views of Saluda businesses to local government
• Promote the growth of business in Saluda that fulfills the needs of the community

After four magnificent years, Frank and Amy Beeson have closed the FrontPorch Coffee Bar to pursue other endeavors. They generously taught Cindy at Tosh's Whistlestop Cafe to make the delicious Italian ice cream, Gelato. So along with the homemade ice cream the WhistleStop will be serving Frank and Amy's Gelato.

My father called me "Darling" when I was a boy, and he continued using this Southern term of endearment long after I was too tall and too lanky to fit easily on his lap.

Being called Darling was just one of the casual, everyday ways I was assured of my father's affection. (Modern day psychologists would call it unconditional love, but my father didn't take to psychologists nor to unconditional arrangements. He had many expectations for me. Great expectations, in fact, which he verbalized as often as his terms of endearment.)

He also called me "Son" as if it were a proper name. Sometimes he would say it sternly and with a prefix as in, "Now, Son." It was a sure sign that I should listen up and not stray into what he considered a wayward life.

Sometimes he would repeat the words, "Son. Son. Son." Usually this was said slowly and deliberately with a heavy tone of dispair, which was quickly and accurately interpreted by me to mean, "What am I going to do with you?"

Other times he would say, "Let me sing you a song, Son." And before I could say alright, he would go right into singing "You Are My Sunshine", and I could tell that he meant it.

Or, he would sing "Beautiful, Beautiful Brown Eyes" and when he finished, he never failed to tell me, "Son, you were the first boy child in our family to have brown eyes and I truly don't think I can ever love blue eyes again."

It wasn't until years later when I heard him singing "Beautiful, Beautiful Blue Eyes" to my own daughter that I realized he freely adapted this song to the color of the child's eyes presently on his lap. Nevertheless, I never doubted his sincerity, then or now.

I do miss having my father around to call me Son, yet I will always be extremely grateful for being his Darling, his Brown Eyes, and his Sunshine.

The Senior Center serves warm nutritious lunches Monday through Friday from 11:30-12:30 at a cost of $3.00 a person.

The Senior Center welcomes all Saluda citizens to join in the activities and programs offered. You don't have be a "senior" to participate!

Decorating the walls of the Saluda Senior Center are original artwork from local residents. Students of well- known artist, Dale McEntire, these artists have created beautiful work. The center invites you to view these paintings. They are:

• "French Connection" by Janice Honeycutt (pastel)
• "Autumn Splendor" by Claudia Seagle (oil on canvas)
• "Tracey Grove Road" by Sally Thomas (oil on canvas)

Monday Activities Schedule
9:30 Walking Group
9:30 Line Dancing
10:00 NIA Class
12:30 Yoga
5:30 Yoga
Closed New Year's Day

Tuesday Activities Schedule
10:00 Bridge

Wednesday Activities Schedule
9:30 Walking Group
10:00 Trash Train and NIA Class
12:30 Tai Chi

Thursday Activities Schedule
9:30 Knitting Group
10:00 NIA Class
2:00 Art class
2:30 Board Meeting (January 11)

Friday Activities Schedule
9:30 Walking Group 10:00 Trash Train 11:00 Bones, Balance and Bend-Chair Exercise

Special Note: A Thrifty Barn needs people who will pick up and deliver for customers. They would like to have a list of people on call for this service. Payment would be between delivery person and the customer. Please call Joyce at 749-3320

For more information about activities at Saluda Senior Center call Donna at 828-749-9245.

The Saluda Senior Center provides many services to the growing retirement community in Saluda. Volunteers to provide these services are needed. They encourage you to share your time to help deliver meals on wheels or work in A Thrifty Barn retail shop. Please contact Donna at 828-749- 9245.

Basement Sale at A Thrifty Barn first and third Saturdays of the month.....great bargains!

Readers have requested that Saluda Lifestyles provide a listing of local church services. This is not a complete list but a representation of the denominations in Saluda. Painting of Transfiguration Church was done by Sylvia Jones.

Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration
The Reverend Paula C. Morton
8:00 a.m. - Holy Eucharist - Rite I
9:15 a.m. - Sunday School
10:30 a.m. - Holy Eucharist - Rite II with music

Saluda Presbyterian
The Reverend Gene Witherspoon
Adult SS 10:00 am
Worship Service 11:00 am

Saluda First Baptist Church
The Reverend Ray Talley, Interim
SS 9:45 am
Worship Service 11 am & 6:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 pm

Saluda Methodist Church
The Reverend Tony Sayer
SS 10:00 am
Worship Service 11:00 am

Memo To Saluda Board of Commissioners, City Staff, Planning Board Members

Subject: Proposed Zoning Ordinance; Proposed Leadership Retreat—Future Saluda 2007

Date: December 16, 2006

Opening Remarks

The City of Saluda is entering the future that we’ve all talked about but have been fortunate enough to avoid thus far. This era is one that will pit multiple views and visions of what Saluda is and what it should be. The current Board of Commissioners, City Staff, Citizen Boards and Mayor will now have to confront this future with wisdom, resourcefulness, creativeness, tolerance, patience and understanding. We have had the fortune of previous leadership that did put into place many basic tools that we have at our disposal and we are adapting those tools because of the realities of growth and culture . However, the pace of change is increasing and we must respond vigorously to the challenges.

As such I’m proposing that we conduct our annual leadership retreat on Saturday, January 20 or Sunday, January 21. If it’s to be held on Sunday, we will provide a “worship” break in the agenda.

Saluda Mission

The role of the Mayor is to understand and keep the Board of Commissioners and Citizen Boards focus on the Saluda Mission. It is also the Mayor’s role to provide leadership on governance and the administration of governance. From this viewpoint, I offer that the Mission of the Governing Board is simply:

“To provide services and leadership that protect and enhance the quality of life for our citizens."

I’m sure this can mean a lot of different things to different people, as any mission should. However, it is our duty to fairly implement pragmatic solutions to our present and future challenges. In the sense of public duty, our ideology is the mission statement but the solutions must come through practical steps and actions. As such, you can expect that no solutions will provide a 100% solution and that each action needs to consider the impact on not only our current citizens but our future citizens.

Current Challenges and Focus

We have had a very unsettling and difficult path to walk over the last few years regarding land use planning and zoning. Through the efforts of past planning boards and the current planning board, we have seen the future through different approaches and philosophies, learned a number of lessons with regard to our citizens viewpoints and I think, are learning to better govern as a result of these lessons.

We are now at the crossroads on several initiatives regarding land use and zoning. We have two important challenges that we must give our immediate attention. I offer the following information and viewpoints for your consideration:

Challenge No. 1. The proposed zoning ordinance has been in progress for some time and it has been a tough, sometimes an agonizing journey for all involved. We now have a proposed ordinance that represents a fundamental restructuring of the language and approach to land use and zoning. It is now written more clearly, simplified in its approach and I believe it will “protect and enhance the quality of life for our citizens." As I stated, there are no 100% solutions but the proposed ordinance would establish a sound foundation for our next challenges.

There are many voices that I hear concerning the matter as I talk with our constituents. I hear concerns that there are missing elements and the concerns are not being heard or disregarded in the debate. It is important to understand and hear these concerns because they represent the joint wisdom and knowledge of our community. The first of our challenges is to hear and properly address these concerns. What I hear is:
1. The proposed zoning ordinance is less stringent than the current ordinance. In many ways, it appears to be less stringent, but in application I believe it to be no less stringent and in some cases more stringent that the existing ordinance. It does need to be pointed out that there are aspects of our existing ordinance, such as parking requirements that have not been addressed and are not changed by this ordinance.
2.We shouldn’t pass the ordinance until it is complete. Often this argument states that we have momentum on the land use planning and zoning issue and need to keep the momentum going. Well, I agree that it’s nice to keep the momentum going, but it is also necessary that to keep the momentum going, we need to bring closure to our first goal. The first goal was to put into place an ordinance that I think is substantially the proposed zoning ordinance.
3. The current ordinance does not adequately deal with the Ozone Corridor issues. I have to totally agree with this statement. As the ordinance stands, the dreaded “Four Seasons Boulevard or Columbus Exit” future could be very real part of our future and degrade rather than protect and enhance the quality of life for our citizens. We do not have to accept this future, but that does not mean that the current ordinance should be held up until this complex issue is resolved.
4. Once you pass this ordinance, the effort will lose its momentum. I can assure everyone that the effort is not going to lose its momentum if we pass the proposed ordinance. That is part of the reason for the “Saluda Future 2007” retreat—to keep our focus and momentum on this very important aspect of governance. But to go forward, we need to “refresh” and “refocus." Every journey needs to have defined accomplishments and our committed Planning Board volunteers deserve our support and recognition for this very significant accomplishment. This will allow them to “refresh” while the “refocusing” occurs.

Challenge No. 2. We must now refocus on the next big challenge from a land use and planning perspective. Our next challenge is the manner in which we will manage the development of our “Gateways” into the City. The “Gateways” are a combination of the roads and/or streets that lead into and out of our City, and the impressions that they make regarding the quality of life and priorities by which our citizens live. These “Gateways” not only reflect on “who we are” but they reflect on “who we want to be." If we all believe that Saluda is a way of life, then the Gateways need to reflect “Saluda’s way of Life."

There are going to be many opinions on this matter. There are also going to be many challenges and roadblocks to implementing any programs that direct and control the development of the “Gateways." However, I believe we have the wisdom and fortitude needed to meet this challenge.

Factors to Consider

1. Urgency. It is of the utmost urgency that we not lose our commitment and momentum on land use and zoning. We are in a period of potentially rapid growth, especially in our “Gateways” and it is likely that current development plans will degrade the quality of the “Saluda way of life." It is our duty to move responsively and quickly.
2. Private Property. The sanctity of the private property rights in America is a very real ideal and there are laws that protect private property. We must recognize this in our efforts. It must also be recognized that there is a juncture at which private property rights begin to conflict with the general rights of the community to protect itself from harm. It is in this realm that we are operating and idealism is threatened. Both sides of the argument will be made and heard, but we must find the line that provides a solution to our ideal, “protecting and enhancing the quality of life for our citizens."
3. Tax Revenues. Tax Revenues are not a sound reason for opening up the Gateways to wholesale, unmanaged growth. The tax revenue we receive from sales from businesses is distributed on a county- wide, population basis. Saluda’s population does not grow very quickly, now or historically, compared to the rest of the county. Therefore, our percentage cut on each dollar collected will continue to decline on a percentage basis. Hence, we get the same amount of sales tax for a franchise chain whether it locates in Columbus, Tryon, Mill Springs, etc as we would if it is located in Saluda. The property tax is only moderately affected by the type of business that goes on the property. Whether it’s a franchise restaurant or an individual sole proprietor, our tax revenues would benefit about the same for the same square foot of facility. We can affect this positively by having high value businesses develop that do not use “cookie cutter” low cost, low value structures. 4. Options. We have floated a number of ideas about regulatory controls on the “Gateways” and find that there are obstacles (perceived or real) with regard to most of them. It is obvious that there are no “silver bullets” and that it will take a wholistic combination of infrastructure, land use and zoning “tools” to protect and enhance the quality of life for our citizens. I don’t believe minimalist, Laissez-faire approaches are an option in our community and neither are overly-burdensome, micro- managing regulations. It will take a combination of negative and positive regulatory constraints that allow private property owners significant freedom to use the value proposition of their land while at the same time limits the degradation of the “Gateways” away from “Saluda’s way of life”. This does not mean unrestrained development or overpowering governance. 5. Attitude. The process will be contentious. We will have to learn, seek knowledge, listen and discuss. We will find ourselves angered by comments, threatened by implications, insulted by assumptions and worn into despair. But we will prevail and create a new sustainable governance that balances the interests of each individual and the interests of our community at large. WE, the Community, will be enriched and our reward will be that we have protected and enhanced the quality of life for our citizens now and in the future.

Land Use and Planning Tools

To better prepare you for the upcoming retreat it will be helpful if we do some thinking (noodling) on the different approaches and tools that we know we have available to help us manage the quality of the growth so that it protects and enhances the quality of life for our citizens. These are things to think about not proposals to vote on nor all inclusive control approaches.

Approaches: •One approach is to do nothing but pass the proposed ordinance and hope that developers will invest in “Saluda’s Way of Life” and not just their own short-term, self-interest.
•A second approach is to use general incentives. We have a few controls, but still mostly rely on the developers own self-interests to shape the future
•A third approach is to use positive and negative incentives, and synergies with other infrastructure elements such as water and sewer to create a “wholistic” approach.
•A fourth approach is the “Chaos” approach. Eliminate everything and just let it go—you get what you get, like Russian Roulette. Some like to call this the “Free Market” approach—“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose" History tells us that the lack of controls is as bad as too much control (e.g., Robber baron era, the Great Depression, 80’s savings & loan crisis, current energy policy)

Specific Incentives/Disincentives—These are some ideas. We’ve been told that moving franchises outside the Interstate would be illegal.
•Limit drive-through businesses to outside the Interstate. This promises to lower the incident of accidents, allows us to keep the Ozone Corridor more neighborhood-like. This also puts potential transient crime elements further from our neighborhoods and city center.
•Limit the quantity of water and sewer allotted to new businesses (something like 1,000 gallons/day). We have limited capacity for growth and that should be reserved for current residents. The use of our existing capacity should be directed towards encouraging businesses that are low water and sewer quantity users. When we start using 80% capacity for the sewer, we have to start planning to spend millions of dollars on a new system. A couple of fast-food restaurants will never increase revenues enough to offset this kind of cost. •Require eating establishments to provide adequate space for sit-down eating. Put criteria in that uses kitchen and food preparation area size (square feet) to factor in a minimum amount of sit-down eating space---say, for every square foot of kitchen/preparation area that there be 10 square feet of sit-down space. •Require that all parking and loading areas be behind the building. Changes the architecture of the building and site to limit flat long buildings whose main architectural feature is the parking lot in front. Gets the buildings close to the road where we can install sidewalks and green space to give it a neighborhood feel rather than a urban sprawl feel.
•Work with the NCDOT to work out a green space plan with sidewalks on both sides of the corridor. This allows the City to develop the green space and create a neighborhood feel long before significant business growth occurs. If the “Green Corridor”is installed piecemeal as each lot is developed, the “Green Corridor” will be spotty and inconsistent for years to come. Having the Green Space already in place will help attract businesses with a vision more aligned with the Saluda Quality of Life. Additionally, we would need development fees for new businesses to offset the costs of the “Green Corridor."
•Use and implement strict architectural standards. This will require new development fees that are significant—say $25,000– $50,000 for each new business. We would need to get an architect to make a consistency determination and support a City position to enforce the requirements. •Impose significant restrictions on signage for new businesses. Say keep the signage to 20 square feet, no higher than 6 feet above ground level and lighting that is passive and indirect. The City can do like the DOT and charge people to put their name on direction signs that we would control and locate in the “Green Corridor."
•Other ideas ????

Final Words

I have a few general guidelines that I use to help me sort through issues of Governance. I’ll pass them along to you—you might find them useful.

1. Is the issue something that needs government involvement?

2. Does it improve the quality of life for the residents?

3. Who benefits, who loses? Always take care of those who have the least first--it creates sustainability.

4. Are the beneficiaries looking for tax breaks and threaten to go elsewhere if they don’t get them? Tell them to hit the road.

5. Once you make a rule, everybody conforms--no exceptions.

6. If the proposed solution is really an ideological dictum, it’s probably not worth talking about. Pragmatism is the only thing that works.

7. Keep everything transparent and tell the truth even if people don’t want to hear it.