Jay & Jewell Kaiser

Could This Dog Win $1 Million?

Transylvania County's Little Bitsy is nipping at the heels of a $1 million prize that will be used for animal rescue efforts in Transylvania County, but she's going to need your help to win.

Local residents Sylvia and Barney Evans recently adopted Little Bitsy from local animal rescue volunteer Evelyn Bridges, who found the Rat Terrier mix after she had been hit by a car.

Now that she's all healed, Little Bitsy finds herself as a front-runner in the All American Pet Brands Cutest Dog Competition. In order to be eligible for the $1 million grand prize, she must first win one of 12 weekly competitions; 10 of those have already passed.

"We've only got two more weeks," said Bridges. "Little Bitsy has been in the top five for the past five weeks, out of over 60,000 dogs. She's receiving over 2,000 votes a week, but the other weekly winners have had four or five thousand.

"If we could just get the community to vote for her, we could win."

The prize money will be used for animal rescue efforts in the county. Bridges, a passionate animal advocate, works closely with the Transylvania County Animal Shelter and animal rescue groups such as TAAG, Friends For Life,

Animal Lighthouse, the Animal Compassion Network and others to help place animals in homes.

According to Bridges, last month she and other volunteers and friends pulled 31 animals from the local animal shelter.

Eight puppies were flown by the Pilots And Paws program from Greenville, S.C. to Orlando, Fla., and were then driven by volunteers to Port St. Lucie.

Bridges' husband, Marion, recently drove another seven dogs from Brevard to Minneapolis.

"Chuck Byrd and the staff at the local animal shelter work diligently to help us rescue the animals, Bridges said. "They do a great job with limited resources. But our shelter is a kill shelter. Owner turn-ins are the first to be put down. Strays are kept for five days, unless they get full, in which case it's first in, first down."

For Bridges, saving animals has been a life-long crusade. She conducted her first animal rescue almost 50 years ago, when she brought home a stray mother dog and four pups.

"My father, Charlie Powers, showed me by his example how to love animals, and that it was my duty to take care of them," she said.
Bridges is the first to admit that her passion can get expensive, which is why winning the contest is important.

The animals must be spayed, neutered and vaccinated before they can be transferred, not to mention the cost of feeding and housing them.
In fact, that's how Silvia and Barney Evans first met Little Bitsy. They volunteered to keep Little Bitsy while she became healthy enough to have surgery on her injured leg. Ultimately, the leg healed itself, but by that time they were so attached to Little Bitsy that they decided to adopt her.

To vote, do a Google search for "Little Bitsy Cutest Dog," which will take you directly to the voting page. First-time visitors will have to give an email address and password. You can only vote once per day.

If she wins one of the next two weekly competitions, she will receive $500. The public will vote once again for the top four out of those 12.

The finalists will receive $5,000, and the one chosen as the winner by the judges will get the $1 million grand prize.

Regardless of whether or not Little Bitsy wins, Bridges plans to keep right on rescuing animals.

"I have six rescue dogs in my home, and one rescued cat," she said. "I stop for every dog or cat I see on the side of the road. That's how I met Little Bitsy. It's my passion; it's what I want to do."

Bridges is in the process of forming a 501-C3 non-profit, Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue, named in honor of her father.

If you would like to know more about Bridges' rescue efforts, you can e-mail her at ebridges@citcom.net. Monetary support can be sent to the Charlie Powers Memorial Animal Fund, c/o Evelyn Bridges, Steve Owen And Associates, 49 Pisgah Highway, Suite 4, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768. By Sean Trapp
Staff Writer

Riding my Motorcyle on Blue Ride Parkway looking at the Fall Colors & Check out the video's

Yesterday I rode with 60+ other riders from Brevard NC to Cherokee NC across the Blue Ridge parkway in the Pisgah National Forest. The fall colors were nothing but spectacular as well as the views at the overlooks.

We started our ride from the Brevard Wesleyan Church located in downtown Brevard and with a police escort as far as the entrance of the Parkway (maybe 2 miles) we headed up Hwy 276 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. At the entrance of the Parkway we rode into the clouds and often the visibility is so poor that it's hard to see 20 feet ahead of you so we decided to ride down into Waynesville and then into Cherokee NC.

After a buffet meal at Granny's (I highly recommend it) we headed back towards Brevard again but this time onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for some of the prettiest early season colors I have seen in a long time. The overlooks were full of lookers at the long range views and guessing some 60 miles of absolutely clear skies. Well it was cloudless until we got almost into Transylvania county and the clouds (some call it fog) rolled in as you will see in one of the below videos.

I hope you can get a since of the fall colors as they were really spectacular and ever changing almost every mile of the way. Don't ask how I took the videos' but after I told my wife she said now you know why I don't ride with you. She even asked how many times I checked my blackberry and e-mailed.

If you have never been to this part of Western NC its time you paid us a visit!

Riding in the Pisgah National Forest on the Blue Ridge Parkway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGcyt9JiSsU

Here we are at over 5000 feet in elevation riding into the clouds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hkRO05-pB0

One more at almost 6000 foot Elevation on Blue Ridge Parkway headed home to Brevard from Cherokee NC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xANgM50Ri3k

This is one tip I recently recieved from a home inspector that I am glad I got. I have been on a mission at home replacing all incandescent lights with CFL bulbs and was about to change the opener bulbs. Thanks to Altamont Inspections, LLC for some great tips.

There have been several warnings concerning the use of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in garage door openers. Most garage door openers use electronic switching similar to a dimmer switch to operate the light bulbs and it is not compatible with CFLs, even CFLs that are supposed to be "ruggedized" or dimmable. This switching incompatibility coupled with the inherent vibration of a garage door opener can damage the electronic circuits and can cause the electric motor to overheat to a potentially dangerous level. Neither the Genie Company, a company which makes door openers (call them at 800-354-3643), nor the General Electric Company, a CFL manufacturer, recommend the use of CFLs in garage door openers.

Fall Colors are going to be spectacular. Picture is from last year

I am really excited as the colors are starting to change a little faster than they were last week. As I just drove from Hendersonville this afternoon, and looked back across the mountains into the Pisgah National Forest you can see the contrast of yellow and some bright reds just starting out.

Now Downtown Brevard being at 2200 feet in elevation the color changes will be a little slower than those at the higher elevations. The picture I have attached was taken by John Krause a colleague of mine last year and the elevation is just over 2400 feet and taken from his lot he has for sale in SylvanHeights. See this link of the lot I own in SylvanHeights for pictures I took during the winter. Sylvan Heights in Brevard NC

Don't let the beautiful fall colors pass you by this year. Plan a trip to Brevard NC (click on the link to view the video). Jewell and I hope to see you soon and stay turned for leaf progress reports.

Great elk once roamed the region of the Great Smokies and much of North Carolina, but were hunted to extinction in the late 1700s. In 2001, an experimental release of 25 Kentucky elk was made in this remote section of Western North Carolina, the Cataloochee Valley, about a 90 minute drive from Brevard.

The valley is definitely off the beaten track and requires a 10-mile drive on a winding, narrow (often one laned), mostly gravel road that seems much longer than it is. The valley was once the largest and most prosperous settlement in what is now the park with a population of 1,200 residents. Once known for its farms and orchards, today it's famous for its dense wildlife. The elk herd was grown to 106, all tagged but free to roam with no fences.

We were fortunate to visit today because it is the middle of the rutting season. The big bulls were constantly busy herding their cows and fending off bachelor intruders. The "season" for an elk cow is a matter of minutes, although it repeats several times during the rut. Consequently, the bull has to be constantly monitoring the condition of his cows so that he can be "Johnny on the spot" when the time arrives. We watched as two bulls were fighting and another bull attempted to move in while the other guys were pushing each other around the valley. It didn't work....timing is everything! So, enjoy these shots and make plans to visit the valley if you visit this region...and especially during September and October.

Brevard NC in October may not have the Elk, but the fall colors are spectacular, and the waterfalls are nearly everywhere. Photo's by Tom Getz who have been faithful friends and customers that purchased some of the finest lots available in our area with Long Range View in Sylvan Heights, Brevard NC.