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Nature Center to ramp up education efforts
The WNC Nature Center will launch a regional education outreach program thanks to a $52,000 grant Friends of the WNC…
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The Naturalist's Corner: It really is spring
I was reconnoitering the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens on Monday March 27, with Brent Martin, Southern Appalachian regional director at…
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David Joy’s new book is a dark gem
Just after I bought The Weight of the World, I ran into an old friend of mine who is extremely…
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Hand-me-down reasons: The DuPont Brothers return to Waynesville
It’s needed now more than ever before. The place of the singer-songwriter in a modern world is a tricky spot.…
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This must be the place: Just when you found me, I’m gone
You don’t know me. In recent weeks, I’ve found myself saying that exact statement above to folks I love and…
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Out of sight: Macon, Swain departments largely off-cam
Smaller cities and counties with smaller tax bases can’t always afford the capital expenses of their wealthier neighbors — it’s…
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Haywood cop cam use low, may grow
A variety of law enforcement agencies serve the 60,000 residents speckled about the 555 square miles of Haywood County, and…
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Jackson law enforcement navigates new age of police video
On Aug. 9, 2014, an encounter between Officer Darren Wilson and 18-year-old Michael Brown on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri,…
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The tools of truth
As the digital revolution proceeds unabated and technology exponentially shrinks in size and cost, law enforcement agencies have more tools…
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Police cameras in WNC
The increasing use of body-worn and dash-mounted police cameras in Western North Carolina has sparked privacy concerns from citizens and…
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Memorial service planned for Rev. Jimmy Carr
Lake Junaluska will hold a memorial service for Rev. Dr. Jimmy Carr at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in Stuart…
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Dillsboro river park vote planned in Jackson
With an April 3 vote on a proposed river park in Dillsboro just days away, all five members of the…
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Consolidated health department under discussion in Jackson
The Jackson County Commissioners got some food for thought during a meeting last week exploring the possibility of consolidating some…
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Following Tribal Council decision, former vice chief’s widow will lose her home
The widow of former Vice Chief Bill Ledford is refusing to move after Tribal Council’s January vote to strike the…
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Classroom size uncertainty to impact budgets
School systems in Western North Carolina were hoping a proposed piece of legislation regarding class size requirements would make it…
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Meadows in the middle of repeal and replace
Republicans under President Barack Obama voted more than 40 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no luck. Now,…
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App-alling: Trump budget gut shot to down-and-out Appalachia
Many rural Americans who voted for Donald Trump last November did so based on his promise to cut the federal…
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Empowering women to run for office
Women have a lot of internal dialogue when considering a run for public office — I don’t have time. I…
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Search for new Canton town manager begins
The sudden but amicable resignation of Canton Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss came as a surprise to many, but as the…
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The perfect game come round again
I found them in the corner of the basement, hidden like Easter Eggs underneath a blue tarp which was itself…
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What would we really get with a wall?
By Paul Strop • Guest Columnist Last summer when we returned to this country, the presidential election was in full cry,…
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Unity instead of division; keep politics friendly
By Joseph Trisha • Guest Columnist So who else is tired of negative politics and the constant negative President Donald Trump…
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Writer is right: you can’t fix stupid
To the Editor: After reading the letter “You can’t fix stupid” in the March 15 edition of The Smoky Mountain…
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Special places define us
One never tires of discovering special places here in the southern mountains. Through the years, such places readily become old…
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Making it awesome: Cherokee prepares to unveil 10-mile mountain biking system
When Ed Sutton first came to Cherokee in November to break ground on a new trail system, his directive was…
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Parkway visitation tops 15 million for 2016
The Blue Ridge Parkway welcomed 15.18 million visitors in 2016, a slight increase from the 15.05 million who visited in…
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Smokies association honored for interpretive work
The Great Smoky Mountains Association took home top honors from the Public Lands Alliance’s annual awards this year.
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Pour me a glass of great words, and let’s party
Having given up listening to the dreadful music and talk shows available in my car radio, last week I popped…
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New Jackson Arts president
Gayle Woody has been named the new president of the Jackson County Arts Council.
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This must be the place: I was never cool. Then again, who is?
She is still a fox. Midnight. Last Tuesday morning. Wide-awake and in front of a large HD television at my…
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Tapping Western North Carolina: Local craft breweries spill onto economy, culture
By all accounts, the craft beer business continues to boom in Western North Carolina. And that’s not just in Asheville…
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WCU’s physical therapy clinic expands
Western Carolina University’s student-run Mountain Area Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic has set a goal to expand the availability of…
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The tales the tombstones tell
High atop a knobby bald in central Haywood County sits lonely Dix Hill Cemetery, just yards from Jones Temple AME…
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Digitizing the deceased
From frost-churned fields on steep hills above shadow-soaked coves spring mossy fieldstones, hopelessly eroded and only becoming more so, season…
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Folkmoot’s Cultural Conversations: One big circle
Arriving in Waynesville shortly before last year’s Folkmoot Friendship Festival, I like many who’d come before me had no idea…
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Jackson considers giving toward land conservation effort
The fundraising deadline is drawing nearer for an effort to conserve 15.9 acres adjacent to Panthertown Valley, and the Jackson…
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Three Cherokee councilmembers decide not to run for re-election
Three seats will be up for grabs in Cherokee’s 2017 Tribal Council elections, with incumbent councilmembers from Big Cove, Snowbird…
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ADA compliant park coming to Waynesville
The Town of Waynesville will soon build a very special playground, thanks to a successful Connect N.C. bond application made…
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Girls on the Run: Training girls for a 5K, preparing them for life
Much can be learned through the process of training for a 5K race — physical strength, mental health, focus, determination,…
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Empowering a new generation of strong women
Girls at Junaluska Elementary School seem to have a renewed sense of pride in themselves and their peers after sharing…
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Dillsboro river park proposal draws a crowd
A proposed river park development in Dillsboro drew a crowd of roughly 75 people to a public hearing March 20,…
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Monteith remembered as man of the people
When speaking to the many people in Swain County and beyond who knew David Monteith either personally or professionally, they…
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Proposal would give Qualla area 24-hour ambulance
Harris Regional Hospital Emergency Medical Services is asking the Jackson County Commissioners to make changes to its service that would…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Today’s pterodactyl
A low guttural croak comes out of the fog hanging over the French Broad River. I turn and look towards…
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‘It was a very good ride’: Blue Ridge Breakaway cancelled for 2017 due to declining ridership, funding challenges
Every August since 2010, the Blue Ridge Breakaway has pulled in tens of thousands of dollars for Haywood County businesses,…
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Finding your ‘shero’: Bryson City woman explores state of women
Which female pioneers have paved the way for you to be where you are today? “Sojourner Truth,” Janice Inabinett answered…
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Oswalt becomes Cherokee’s third living Beloved Woman
Shirley Oswalt (pictured above, left, with sister Geraldine Thompson) was named a Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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Cherokee laughter: Tribe’s newest Beloved Woman reflects on life full of love for language and community
Shirley Jackson Oswalt can still remember the first words she said in English. Her older siblings had prepped her before…
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Businesswoman offers leadership advice
For all the women out there wondering if they can have it all in life — the career, family and…
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Women’s contributions to workforce celebrated
Sometimes it can feel like one step forward, two steps back for women in the workforce, but this year’s theme…
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