“Moose Catches Horse Chased by Elk”

A humorous article appeared in the latest issue of Bearpaw, the quarterly magazine put out by the Great Smoky Mountain Association and I have quoted the title of the article in toto.

It seems that a North Carolina rancher lends two of his horses, Bill and Rocky, to the Mountain Farm at Oconaluftee for demonstrations each year. Twice early this spring handlers found the corrall fence broken and one of the horses out in an adjacent field. Elk tracks were also noted. The second time it happened, quite a struggle was waged to recapture one of the horses and get him back.

Evidently, Elk #22 lost two of his elk friends, one having died and the other wandered off. Elk are gregarious animals and #22 was lonely, having visited with cows earlier in the year before being relocated within the park. This time old #22 jumped the fence into Bill and Rocky’s field and spooked old Rocky who ran through the fence and took off, galloping down US highway 441 toward Cherokee! That’s when a moose got involved…….Ranger Jay Moose, that is. He grabbed some apples and headed off after Rocky. The Ranger found Rocky’s tracks in the snow and #22’s tracks were in hot pursuit! Somewhat farther along, Ranger Moose noted the elk’s tracks veered off, and very soon he caught up with Rocky, still trotting and determined to put distance between himself and the lonely elk.

Finally the apples did their trick and the horse let himself be caught and walked back to the ranch, some 4 miles back down 441. Both horses have been sent to their owner’s ranch for a break and they will be returned later this fall. Good story!

Science-Based “WonderWorks” Coming to Pigeon Forge

Two of the Smokies most generous benefactors, Earl and Margit Worsham have announced their major investment in an Orlando based theme company called WonderWorks. The closed Music Mansion property will undergo a transformation into the upside-down look of the new property within the next few months.

The Dollywood property was officially sold to WonderWorks for $7.25 million and construction of another $7 million will go into the 70 foot tall building. This location will mark the second of four expansions planned by the owners of the WonderWorks company, and the Smoky Mountains are expected to exceed the popularity of the Orlando based enterprise. The Orlando business has had over seven years of success and Worsham said, “We know that its potential for success in Tennessee will far exceed the Florida venue. In our visits to similar science-based facilities around the world, we found that WonderWorks was equal to or better than any we have seen.”

Sande Weiss, the former GM of Louise Mandrell’s theatre was hired to become vice president over the new company, and she expressed pleasure at being considered for the project. She said, “I’m honored and very excited about this unique project. I remember when I flew to Orlando to preview the property. My imagination ran wild about how successful WonderWorks would be and how a unique attraction such as this was needed in Pigeon Forge. I’d never seen anything so visually extraordinary, targeted for family fun and yet educational. It has elements for everyone.”

There will be a state of the art theatre within the facility that will seat 300 people for dinner, which will include an outrageously funny show. The size of the structure will be over 45,000 square feet, and they expect to hire over 100 people for the spring ’06 opening.

Another New Cabin Resort in Wears Valley

In the aftermath of the horrendous Katrina hurricane that wiped out so many coastal cities, everyone has become more conscious of ways to prevent damage to the places they love. This is certainly true of those of us who love the Smoky Mountains and the surrounding foothills that are being scraped of foliage and trees and planted with one cabin after another.

Now we’ve learned that another developer from out of state has taken a ridge line and cleared it of trees for a cabin development called the Preserve Resort, and we are struck by the irony of that name when no regards are being given to the old stand timber along some of the ridges. We’ve posted other blogs about the over-building of cabins in the area and we’ve hated to see the damage that has been done to Wears Valley……….one of the most beautiful, scenic valleys in the Smokies and one of the least developed, until now.

Two years ago, our campground clients experienced the best year they’ve ever had here, and at the same time we were hearing from cabin businesses that their numbers were down. We worried then about the number of cabins being built and felt that maybe a saturation point was being met. But since then, around 400 more cabins have been built and the Preserve Resort is just the latest.

However, as much as we want to carp and complain about the scarred hillsides, we do have to send kudos to the developers of this resort for doing something that our Sevier County Commissioners should be demanding of all new developments. They are adding built in fire protection to each cabin.

Legacy Homes, a Montgomery, Alabama based business, will be adding 12,000 gallon water storage tanks underneath each of the cabins as they are built in the Preserve Resort. It is well known that the local fire department can only fight a fire with the water that is in their tanker truck, and that would not be sufficient in case of a serious blaze. The fire department is furnishing technical help to Legacy about the specific valves to be used in the water storage tanks.

So thank you, Dale Noland, CEO of Legacy Homes, for volunteering this safe guard for the community. Now we wonder when the county commission is going to get up to speed and implement new zoning laws that require all new mountainside developments to add the storage tanks to their cabins? Subdivisions are required to have fire hydrants, but cabin developments have no regulations in place to protect them or the mountains from which they derive their income.

Lee Greenwood Theater Will See New Life

We’ve never understood the ill fate of the lovely Lee Greenwood Theater along with the restaurant and retail complex formerly known as the Maplewood Farm Shops complex that was opened in 1996 in Sevierville and closed in 2000. We ate at the gorgeous restaurant with awesome views atop the bluff overlooking the French Broad River, and while the restaurant was never a sell out, the food was good enough. But word has come out today that a church and a developer have purchased the 57 acres of land and buildings and we feel like raising three cheers!

The Knoxville News Sentinel announced that Blue Ridge Development and the new Hope Church of Sevierville have purchased the complex for $13.5 million, with Blue Ridge taking the 30,000 square foot retail center and 25 acres of land, and the Church taking the 1,776-seat theater for future sanctuary and office space, and the restaurant for a conference center.

There is a lot of undeveloped land included in the purchase and Pastor Tom Sterbens’ plans include the construction of a home for unwed mothers, a drug rehabilitation center and a retreat for visiting ministers here. On the other hand, Blue Ridge principal, Don Barnett plans to build condos on the awesome bluff, and his plans may also include a Christian Superstore in the retail space that is available. It sounds like a win-win situation for the bank that held the foreclosed properties and the two entities that have interesting plans to refurbish the properties. We’ll watch the progress with great interest and new hope!

Pot-Bellied Pigs Killed by Bears

It seems awfully early for bears to be coming off the mountains in search of food, but one or more bears found three pot-bellied pigs on a farm in Friendsville, located fairly close to the Smokies. The pigs were killed and eaten over a two-day period on the farm of Blount County Commissioner David Graham.

Wildlife officers are certain they were attacked by bears since the carcasses had deep scar wounds from a bear’s powerful claws. One pig that was wounded in the first attack was attacked again the next day and succumbed to the injuries. The pigs each weighed about 300 pounds.

If the mast and forage in the mountains is in short supply, it could be a long winter for the area farmers and care should be taken to protect cattle and horses and obviously, pot-bellied pigs. On second thought, I guess all livestock could be imperiled if the bears are hungry.

Bass Pro Shop Superstore to open November in Sevierville

What great news this is! The huge 135,000 square foot superstore is 65% complete and this week the local Job Fair saw over 1,000 applicants sign up for jobs! There are still 240 full time and part time positions open and they encourage anyone with retail experience or training experience to apply. Although the Grand Opening is set for November 15, the actual opening will occur in October.

The store will feature a 25,000 gallon aquarium and a 3 story waterfall. When completed it will also feature an Isla Morada Seafood Restaurant and “ultimately, we’ll probably have a Starbucks Coffee bar on the inside, too,” said General Manager Jim Osborne, who has been with the business for six year.

The company is very community oriented and Osborne said, “we have a lot of donation requests that we get on a regular basis. We try to hit as many as we can, our focus being on conservation and youth.”

In fact, on November 16, the store will hold an Evening for Conservation event and we can expect to see this type of responsible public event very often. Welcome to Sevierville Bass, we’re very happy to have you here!