Home Care In Lake Junaluska, NC

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (WLOS) — With the clock ticking, Pactiv Evergreen workers are scrambling to find new work.

International Paper is holding a 3-day job fair at Lake Junaluska geared specifically towards Pactiv Evergreen employees who will lose their jobs in June.

The company is especially looking for paper mill employees who want to remain in the industry.

International Paper has plants within a 3-and-a-half to 5-hour drive from Canton, in places like Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.

CANTON JOB FAIR OPENS WITH DOZENS OF EMPLOYERS AND A WHOLE LOT OF MILL WORKERS

Lake Junaluska hosts paper company for job fair geared towards Pactiv Evergreen workers

For those looking to stay in the paper business, International paper may be a good fit.

"Well, I’m just hoping to find something I like. This kind of stuff is what I’m used to and what I like," said Justin Bumgarner, Pactiv Evergreen worker. "So, maybe it will work out. We’ll see."

Bumgarner said if he takes a job with International Paper, it will be a tough decision. He took a job with Evergreen three years ago and said he hoped to retire there.

“My mom and dad live in Haywood County. We've lived here all our lives. So, if I had to move, it would be hard, definitely. But you got to do what you got to do, unfortunately,” Bumgarner said.

FACEBOOK PAGE SET UP TO HELP CANTON MILL WORKERS FACING UNEMPLOYMENT

He said the job fair does give him hope and a sense that people care.

“It's just a new chapter, I guess,” said Kenneth Haney, who has been with Pactiv Evergreen for 24 years.

Now, he finds himself looking for a new job, perhaps with International Paper, hoping he can transition to a similar job at a similar pay scale.

“The way they talk, this guy here is saying that this mill in Georgia, they actually hire you and put you in at the level you left,” Haney said.

Still, there's concern over the notion of uprooting, as Haney said he, too, has lived in the mountains his whole life. Haney said whether he likes it or not, it's time to turn the page.

“It's a shock to everybody, and we're just going to have to make do with what the good Lord gives us," he said.

International Paper says it has openings at all its plants -- more than 20 nationwide.

“It's a variety between leadership positions, manufacturing operations and maintenance positions,” said Maggie Cain, International Paper retention and recruitment manager.

She said they're good-paying jobs, too.

“It varies from mill to mill, and the hiring facilities have different pay structures. We have some non-union facilities represented and some union facilities represented,” she added.

International Paper will be at Lake Junaluska until 5 p.m. Thursday and then again Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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WELL FED — Ken Zulla tends the feeding station for swans can get special feed all year around.

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SWAN KEEPER — Ken Zulla has been tending to the flock of swans at Lake Junaluska for the past 17 years.

PLATFORM — The swan nesting platform was built to hopefully entice swans out of dangerous areas where their eggs are stolen by possums or eaten by wildlife once hatched.

ATTRACTION — While not native to Western North Carolina, the carefully tended flock of swans have become a major point of interest for those visiting Lake Junaluska.

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NESTING SWAN — Jim Pearson captured this photo of a swan nesting this spring.

DANGEROUS — One of the biggest threats to the swan population is the fish hooks that end up being lost or discarded at Lake Junaluska. Jim Pearson shows one of the culprits.

BAD FOR SWANS — Jim Pearson has collected a whole tub of fish hooks that can severely damage a swan should they become tangled in the lines attached to the hooks.Below, a swan carries her cygnet in a safe way — on her back. See more photos at www.themountaineer.com.

HELPING SWANS — During a recent fundraiser, those who contributed to the swan keeping effort received a water color painting.

SWAN FEED — A secure bin has been constructed to protect the swan feed, which is quite costly and needs to be supported through donations.

A BEAUTIFUL HOME — The Lake Junaluska swans are a major attraction for those visiting the lake. Above, the swans and geese get along well.

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO — This swan has hatched one egg, but will need to set a bit longer while the other egg hatches.

LAKE JUNALUSKA — Though swans aren’t native to Western North Carolina, there is a vibrant flock at Lake Junaluska that’s blossomed through tender, loving care over the years.

Ken Zulla and Jim Pearson volunteer their time to feed and nurture the 11 “mute” or domesticated swans on the lake. Now there is a one cygnet to watch — the only egg to hatch or survive this year out of two nesting swans.

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For generations, Methodists from across the United States have converged on a small community in Haywood County that’s been a place of renewal and transformation. But Lake Junaluska has undergone some transformation of its own over the past few years, and as the historic Christian retreat emerges from funding cuts and the Great Recession, it’s poised remain an important economic engine well into its second century.

Nestled around a small artificial lake tucked away in a scenic valley just outside Waynesville, the Lake Junaluska Assembly was established in 1913 as a conference and retreat center for Methodists. Homes, auditoriums and hotels began to spring up at the site, as did church busses from around the Southeast, bringing thousands of visitors each year searching for spiritual renewal and transformation. “It’s grown into being a top destination for people from around the United States,” said Lake Junaluska Executive Director Ken Howle. “Since our inception, the plan was that we would be both a community of private homes but then also a meeting location and a conference center where people could come and assemble, and the two really work hand in hand.”

Residents and visitors alike take advantage of a plethora of physical activities like canoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking, golfing or just strolling the miles of lakeside walking trails, all in full view of the idyllic splendor of the Western North Carolina mountains. But Lake Junaluska still holds an intense spiritual meaning for Methodists. “This is been a place where over the last 50-plus years, more Methodist ministers have been ordained, more United Methodist bishops have been elected and consecrated, than any place in the world,” said Howle.

And as those pastors go out into the world, they’ll retain that connection to the Lake.

“Methodist pastors typically will move around to different appointments throughout their career, but Lake Junaluska is the place that remained stable for them,” he said. “You can talk to a lot of children of Methodist pastors and when you ask them where they’re from, they’ll probably say, ‘The only place I’m consistently from is Lake Junaluska,’ because that’s where they go each year.”

Among them may be a several members of a well-known musical group. “The Avett family has a home here at Lake Junaluska. The Avett Brothers have visited here periodically. Our name is mentioned in one of their songs. We’re always thrilled to see them here on the property,” Howle said. “I’ve never had them tell me this, but my guess is they find the same type of renewal here that all of our other guests find as well.”

In 2008, the United Methodist Church restructured and made Lake Junaluska a standalone entity and by 2012, the Lake didn’t receive any funding from the UMC at all. Since then, the Lake’s business model has changed to one of self-sustainability. Long an important economic driver in the local tourism economy, the Lake has embarked on an extensive campaign of renovations designed to keep it that way. “The renovations since 2012 are extensive,” he said. “Just this year alone we’re investing $5 million into improvements throughout the entire property. That includes a $3.2 million renovation of the Lambuth Inn, which is the follow-up to a similar renovation of the Terrace Hotel that was three years ago.” The Lambuth Inn is a historic hotel with more than 130 guest rooms, perched atop a hill that commands an incredible view of the grounds and the surrounding landscape. Howle calls it the “crown jewel” of the Lake.

Retired Mississippi pastor Bill Lowry lives at lake Junaluska and is just 10 years younger than the 98 year-old inn. “The list of recognizable personalities who’ve walked in the doors of this building is long indeed,” said Lowry. “Eleanor Roosevelt was here, Jimmy Carter was here, Richard Nixon was here. If you start getting into the realm of the religious leaders it’s a long, long list indeed.”

The rejuvenated Lambuth still has that same feel, according to Marketing Manager Mary Bates. “The renovations were incredible in how they were able to preserve the historic nature of Lambuth Inn,” Bates said, “but also upgraded to the modern expectations of what guests are wanting in hotel today,”

Today, tomorrow and for the next hundred years.

Haywood 209 Café owner, Drake Fultz has opened a new crepe restaurant at Lake Junaluska called Crepe & Custard. The opening day was May 18, and business has been brisk ever since.

The restaurant can seat 26 inside and about the same at outdoor tables on the patio that overlooks Lake Junaluska.

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PERFECT GROUNDS — Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is rich with activities for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy during their visit.

Outdoor enthusiasts from across the state will flock to Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center this spring and fall for two big events: the annual Mountains to Sea Trail conference in April and the starting point for the Mountains to Coast bike ride in October.

The wins aren’t just good news for Lake Junaluska, but all of Haywood County.

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