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By Chris Cooper Inspiration comes from a variety of sources. And as much as a new love, a rainy day or a broken heart can provide the fuel for inspired songwriting and performance, so can the pain of loss and…
By Michael Beadle Imagine hundreds of stainless steel threads woven together to make a scarf that looks like silk. An optical illusion of sorts, but nonetheless real and exquisite.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Working her way past the miniature Christmas village homes and a star topped tree, Vickie Horne stood fingering ornaments on the wall of Nancy Tut’s Christmas Shop in Dillsboro with an index card full…
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Pickles and sun gods?

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer For Germanic cultures having a Christmas tree was all about finding the pickle.
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Recommended diversions

Stand on Zanzibar In 1968, a British science fiction writer named John Brunner wrote a novel, a 50-year projection into the future entitled Stand on Zanzibar. Already the noted author of such books as The Crucible of Time and The…
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Christmas stories aloud

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. Penguin - 6th edition, 2006. 432 pages Of course, we cannot all read aloud with the same success as Charles Dickens, who brought not only Macready but entire audiences to outbursts of tears and…
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

ER physicians call foul over contract termination

After a sudden termination of their contract by Haywood Regional Medical Center last week, emergency room doctors say the reputation of hospital CEO David Rice is making it difficult to recruit new doctors to the county.
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Macon prepares high-rise moratorium

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A high-rise moratorium is in the works for Macon County. On Monday night (Dec. 4), county commissioners directed new county attorney Lesley Moxley and Macon County Planner Stacy Guffey to draft an ordinance prohibiting…
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Mid-stream contract rewrite

Haywood Regional Medical Center and Haywood Emergency Physicians disagree over whether it was necessary to rewrite the doctors’ contract with the hospital while there is still 18 months left on the agreement.
A regional effort is afoot to address mountainside and slope development as a region rather than relying on individual counties to implement development standards.
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Sylva librarian resigns as of Jan. 31

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County Librarian Michael Cartwright will be resigning from his post by the end of the year, prompting the Fontana Regional Library System to begin a search for his replacement.
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Turf war leads to ousting of ER docs

An ongoing power struggle between Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice and doctors in the emergency room came to a head last week when the hospital board, at Rice’s recommendation, voted to hand over ER operations to a corporate…
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Spreading seeds — a special feat

While conducting plant identification workshops, I always try to remember to discuss two aspects that are essential if one is really going to enjoy plants. I think of these as plant “strategies.” They have to do with pollination and seed…
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Backroom deals should all just go away

In the years I’ve been going to Swain County, David Monteith has emerged as a barometer of sorts. One may disagree with Monteith on a particular issue, but the independent-thinking county commissioner can almost always be counted on to vote…
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Sylva’s elected leaders should take the lead

Downtown Sylva Association members are doing all the legwork on discussing the creation of a special downtown taxing district. At a point in the near future, however, town of Sylva leaders are going to be forced to take a stand…
A new initiative is now underway to encourage landowners to keep the Upper Pigeon River Valley in the Bethel community of Haywood County rural.
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Go forth and add

It’s time once again for the Granddaddy of bird counts. Audubon’s 107th annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) takes place between December 14 and January 5.
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 00:00

Simple Living: Care to unplug?

It’s highly possible that you have been daydreaming about a less stressful holiday season, and it includes those memories of how it was for you as a child, when things were kinder and slower.
By Michael Beadle Kathy Boydston was never one to sit quietly in retirement. A veteran elementary school teacher, world traveler, mountain biker and marathon runner, she’s now keeping busy coordinating programs in Haywood County Schools that teach students about the…
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

By the numbers

A private research and public opinion firm was hired by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to measure public sentiment toward Sunday hunting — namely whether it should be allowed. North Carolina is one of the last states with a…
Landowners in Jackson County are in the process of protecting 154 acres on Cowee Mountain from future development by placing the property in a conservation easement with the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Fat and sassy

Dwayne Martin loves birds, loves learning about birds and loves educating about birds.
Many hunters in Western North Carolina are hoping that an 1869 law banning hunting on Sunday might finally be lifted.
By Michael Beadle Cyrano’s Bookshop in downtown Highlands may be all of 700 square feet, but that hasn’t stopped its new owners, Clair and Arthur Simpson, from setting up book signings for such nationally notable authors as Pat Conroy, Steve…
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Three from the vault

By Chris Cooper I’m beginning to notice a relationship between the acquisition of “new” used CDs at my place of employment and my need to write in a “multiple CD” review format. Coincidence? I think not. But this week I…
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Recommended diversions

NPR’s All Songs Considered Podcast Admittedly, I’ve been slow to catch on to the iPod revolution. I received a green, personalized iPod mini almost two years ago, but just this month began puttering around on iTunes’s Podcast Web site to…
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

A darkness that resides

Coronado by Dennis Lehane. William Morrow Publishers, 2006. $24.95 — 232 pages.
The Francis Mill Preservation Society in Haywood County is gearing up for a major campaign to replace the metal wheel on the grist mill.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Community Assurance Statement

The following statement was provided to The Smoky Mountain News following a meeting of the Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospital Authority Board of Commissioners on Monday, Dec. 11.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Divided Franklin board OKs Super Wal-Mart

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With the announcement of plans to bring a new Wal-Mart Supercenter to Franklin, some say town aldermen have given away their only real bargaining chip that would aid negotiations to make the Big Box…
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Mayor wants windfall from watershed invested

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has begun surveying the Fisher Creek watershed in anticipation of receiving a $3.5 million conservation easement to be awarded by the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Phoenix says doctor recruitment going well

Phoenix Emergency Physicians is making progress rounding up a new set of emergency room doctors to work at Haywood Regional Medical Center, according to Chris Lutes, the manager of the corporate physician staffing agency.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Physicians seek solution to HRMC-ER dispute

The Haywood County medical community was expected to voice its disatisfaction Tuesday night with a move by Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice to oust a long-time group of emergency room physicians and turn over the ER to a…
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Sylva discusses downtown parking woes

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Parking along Sylva’s downtown Main Street is a challenge.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

WCU students help with Cullowhee church plans

The competition between Western Carolina University students to win a building contract at a Cullowhee church was just for fun, but the construction ideas and issues they pointed out recently were real — and appreciated.
Emergency room doctors at Haywood Regional Medical Center have been on a collision course with hospital administration since a brand-new $5 million emergency room opened in December 2004.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Journal to remember

Maintaining a nature journal has been one of my ongoing, albeit intermittent, preoccupations. Keeping such a journal assists me in maintaining a record of my outdoor experiences — and indoor ruminations — many of which would otherwise be lost.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

The joy of jogging was the eating

There was a time, about 18 years and 80 pounds ago, that I actually enjoyed jogging. I was never exactly a marathon man, but I could run six miles without much problem.
Wednesday, 13 December 2006 00:00

Reinstating draft could be a good thing

Jan. 20, 1961. Inauguration Day. The words that stuck in the minds and hearts of all citizens: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” said President John F. Kennedy.
When the administration of George Bush argued Nov. 29 before the Supreme Court that the EPA did not have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, it was doing this country and its people a monumental disservice.…
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 00:00

Recommended diversions

“A Man for All Seasons” Robert Bolt’s award-winning play was released as a movie in 1966, winning six Academy Awards that included Best Director and Best Actor.
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Craft Revival: Shaping Western North Carolina Past and Present Web site is located at http://craftrevival.wcu.edu. Much of what is considered to be historic Appalachian art work began as anything but. The quilts and…
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 00:00

Frankly eye-opening

Militant Islam in America by Marshall Frank. Fortis Books, 2006. 198 pages. This morning (Dec. 9), I sat down to write my next review for this paper. Before writing, I often scout out several familiar Web sites while I think…
By Becky Johnson • Staff Writer Community outrage with Haywood Regional Medical Center continues to escalate over a move by hospital administration to oust a long-time group of emergency room doctors.
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 00:00

Q&A with Haywood ER doctors

Haywood Emergency Physicians held a two-hour town hall style meeting Tuesday night to answer questions about the termination of their contract by Haywood Regional Medical Center.
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 00:00

Biodiesel station opens in Cullowhee

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The delivery of 3,000 gallons of B-20 biodiesel manufactured by Smoky Mountain Biofuels made Hop’s Gas and Grocery on Old Cullowhee Road the first station to offer a public biodiesel pump west of Asheville…
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 00:00

Doctor's resolution

Here is a copy of the resolution, which was passed by the Medical Executive Committee on Dec. 6 and affirmed by a meeting of the medical staff on Dec. 12:
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 00:00

Jackson County mulls EDC participation

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Two years have passed since the Jackson County Commissioners suspended their participation with the local Economic Development Commission, launched an internal investigation and audit of the EDC and EDC office and attempted to remove…
Wednesday, 20 December 2006 00:00

Land for Tomorrow wins Jackson support

Jackson County Commissioners passed a resolution Monday night (Dec. 18) encouraging the state General Assembly to provide funding for the Land for Tomorrow program in 2007.
The Haywood County medical community sent a strong message at a countywide meeting of doctors last Tuesday night (Dec. 12). In a 50 to 2 vote, physicians asked the hospital board of Haywood Regional Medical Center to reconsider their decision…
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