The Southern Highland Reader

REGIONAL–Ken Wyatt, a New York native and a professor of communications at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, is wrapping up a documentary about Eric Rudolph.

Eric Rudolph

Rudolph, a “domestic terrorist” responsible for bombings at the Atlanta Olympics, abortion clinics and gay nightclubs, is a western North Carolina native. An outdoosman, he took to the back woods near Murphy to avoid capture, and was able to do so for many months.

Rudolph was captured rooting through a dumpster in Murphy in 2003, but not before he became somewhat of a folk hero. Wyatt’s goal was to learn something about that phenomenon, and the people of Cherokee County in general.

Here’s an excerpt from a story in the East Carolinian:

“The film will include where he is from, but the film is really not about Eric, it’s about the people in the area where he grew up. The film is about my neighbors. Who am I living amongst? I went to townspeople and did interviews. It is a beautiful area,” said Wyatt. Wyatt’s goal is to expose people to Western Carolina through his eyes. “I was on a journey to find out about my new neighbors, share this with an audience all around the world,” said Wyatt.

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“I learned a lot about my neighbors and North Carolina. I think people should be more willing to meet people face to face rather than going off of stereotypes. If we all did this, it will be a better place to live. North Carolina is really diverse,” said Wyatt.

Read the whole piece here.

GEORGIA–A team of research scientists from five universities has discovered a new species of salamander, and has named the animal in honor of a retired Western Carolina University professor.

Patch-nosed Salamander. Photo courtesy Bill Peterman/Univ. of Georgia

The newly discovered salamander, which is the second-smallest salamander species in the U.S. and one of the smallest in the world at just two inches long, is now under study by a diverse group of researchers from several U.S. colleges. The team is searching for more of the salamanders, which are detailed in a new paper appearing in the Journal of Zoology.

The formal Latin name is Urspelerpes brucei for Richard Bruce, professor emeritus at Western Carolina University and a well-respected, longtime salamander researcher who has connections to many members of the research team.

Faculty members and graduate students from the University of Georgia, the University of Missouri, East Carolina University, Piedmont College and the University of California at Berkeley are involved.

The initial discovery was made in 2007 near Toccoa, GA, by a graduate student from Georgia, Joe Milanovich, and a grad student from Missouri, Bill Peterman. The students knew they’d found a species unique to the region, but it took some time to ascertain that it was indeed a new species.

An excerpt from a University of Georgia release:

“It is truly a once-in–a-lifetime opportunity to be involved in such a big find, particularly one right in our backyard,” Milanovich said. “The fact that it is such a unique animal makes it all the better and gives us more opportunity to continue to learn about the species. One of the best parts of being involved with this project is the collaboration that has come out of the species description, so I am excited to continue working with the other coauthors as we keep unpeeling the onion of U. brucei.”

The research team’s suggested common name is patch-nosed salamander, based on the lighter coloring on the tiny salamander’s nose. The formal Latin name is Urspelerpes brucei for Richard Bruce, professor emeritus at Western Carolina University and a well-respected, longtime salamander researcher who has connections to many members of the research team.

“Dr. Bruce has done much of the foundational work on stream salamander ecology in the region and on the evolution of miniaturization in salamanders, so naming this species after him is a good fit,” (Georgia’s John) Maerz said.

(Piedmont’s Carlos) Camp marveled at the find.

“This animal is so distinct that it belongs in its own genus, a taxonomic level used for grouping closely related species,” he said. “The real significance of this find is that it represents the first new genus of four-footed creature discovered in the United States in 50 years.”

Read the entire release here.

RALEIGH/STATEWIDE–UNC President Erskine Bowles recently praised the state House for recommending tax hikes — which they call revenue packages — to help out the university system.

If the House plan were approved as is, he said, the net funding cut for the UNC system would fall from 11.2 percent to 8.7 percent.

Bowles:

Across our 17 campuses, this partial restoration of funding would save 600 jobs and enable us to teach 1,300 more class sections, helping our students get the courses they need to graduate on time. This vital funding would be applied directly to the University’s academic core.

At Appalachian State University, for example, these additional dollars would save about 40 jobs—more than half of them faculty—and restore 175 class sections. Western Carolina would save another 30 jobs in an economically distressed region of the state. Elsewhere, NC Central University would save more than 20 faculty and staff jobs and 75 class sections; East Carolina University would save 75 jobs, including nursing faculty; and UNC Wilmington would save another 50 jobs and 120 course sections. Restored funds would also help soften the impact of budget cuts on critical academic and counseling services and campus safety.

SYLVA – Lawrence F. Supik, M.D. has passed the 2008 Subspecialty Certificate in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine examination through The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Inc. Dr. Supik joined Sylva Orthopaedic Associates at WestCare Health System in 2002 where he served as chief of surgery.

Before coming to WestCare Health System, Dr. Supik was chief orthopaedic resident at Orlando Regional Medical Center where he completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery. He received his medical degree from East Carolina University School of Medicine and completed graduate level pre-med requirements at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Supik was inducted into the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 1998.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Supik is married and has three children.

ASHEVILLE–Plans to build a $450 million expansion of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Asheville, approved by the Board of Governors in the spring, are on hold because of the state budget crisis.

The plans for the medical school expansion have been steadily pushed by mountain leaders, who think medical training in the state is weighted to the east. Medical school expansion is seen as one way to offset a projected shortage of doctors in the state. The NC Institute of medicine thinks the state could see a 21% drop in the ratio of physicians-to-population by the year 2030.

In addition to the planned western campus in Asheville, leaders will expand the existing school of medicine at East Carolina University, and add another satellite campus in Charlotte.

Here’s a story from Nancy Bompey at the Citizen-Times.