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Gov. Cooper: Pactiv Evergreen must pay back $12 million state grant if mill closes
In a letter sent by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to Mike King, CEO of Pactiv Evergreen, Cooper says that…
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Federal law formalizes heritage area system
The National Heritage Areas Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law on Jan. 5, has implications for Western North…
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River in rebound: After mill closes, a healthier Pigeon could help Canton recover
For decades, concern about water quality has been the central tension between Canton’s paper mill and the environmental advocates monitoring…
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Parkway visitation falls
Visitation for 2022 to the Blue Ridge Parkway dipped by 1.5% compared to 2021, with the biggest drops coming from…
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EBCI recognized for dam removal efforts
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has received the 2023 River Champion Award from American Rivers for its leadership in…
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Red wolf plan delayed
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is delaying the publication of the final revised red wolf recovery plan, which courts…
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Notes from a plant nerd: Worts and All
Among the duff of last year’s fallen leaves lie many interesting and beautiful shapes to catch your eye on a…
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Anne Tyler gives us another never-ending song
It’s always nice when the good things just keep coming.
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This must be the place: Ode to Uncle Bobby, ode to bitchin’ Ford T-Birds
The last time I saw my Uncle Bobby was about four years ago, high up on some floor in the…
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‘Papertown’ through the eyes of a lifelong resident, historian
The whistle at Canton’s paper mill talked to me daily, sending the reassuring message that the mill was producing paper…
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Faith in our beloved Papertown
“Americana”: noun. Things associated with the culture and history of America. “Grief”: noun. Deep and poignant distress caused by or…
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Mill closing an example of American capitalism
To the Editor: I liked Scott McLeod’s column last week, but disagree with the characterization of Pactiv Evergreen’s disastrous decision to…
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Charges dropped against police shooting victim
Jason Harley Kloepfer left his home near Murphy on Dec. 13, 2022, with bullets in his body and criminal charges…
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‘It means everything’: Former worker reflects on career amid Canton mill closure
At 94 years young, Ben Best is proud of several things in his long, bountiful life — a marriage of…
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After the final whistle: Papertown stands strong in the face of an identity crisis
To visitors, the noise seems strange and maybe even concerning. To folks in Canton, it sounds like home.
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Survey will study impact of mill closure
When Pactiv Evergreen shuts its doors in a few short months, about 1,000 employees will be out of work. And…
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Eating an elephant: Canton, county will solve huge mill problems by taking small bites
No one living can remember a time when there wasn’t a paper mill at the heart of Canton. Now, after…
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Park it Forward: Congress won’t pay for Smokies maintenance backlog — you will
After years of inaction by Congress led to a massive $262 million deferred maintenance backlog in America’s most-visited national park,…
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Smokies record second busiest year ever
Great Smoky Mountains National Park experienced its second busiest year ever in 2022 with 12,937,633 visits. Last year’s visitation was…
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Tremont receives gift from Lawson Family Foundation
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont has been awarded $25,000 from Lawson Family Foundation to support their efforts to connect…
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Volunteers needed to help track seasonal changes of trees
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is currently recruiting local volunteers to ‘Adopt-A-Plot’ and track the seasonal change of trees, also…
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Up Moses Creek: Look up!
The day dawned clear, and I was standing on the ridge behind our house looking west and waiting for the…
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Planes, drugs and bears, oh my! Hollywood film has WNC connections
Who would have thought a true story with a link to Clay and Macon counties would arguably be the most…
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This must be the place: Ode to Canton, ode to Small Town America
On Aug. 10, 2012, I took on my first assignment for The Smoky Mountain News. It was the “Papertown” album…
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Books vs. the winter blues — and books win
It’s another one of those unremarkable winter afternoons when the outside temp is identical to the inside of my refrigerator,…
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The mill’s legacy looms large over Haywood
“The mill.” In Canton, as in hundreds of other towns across America, that was the only description needed to describe…
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When your child blossoms, all is good in the world
The earliest expressions of our daughter’s deep and abiding affection for cute, fragile creatures were frightening and very nearly catastrophic.…
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Five years later, residents still mourn the loss of Angel Medical Center’s maternity unit
Before the sun rises on a Tuesday morning in December, Amelia Cline smooches her partner goodbye and heads out the…
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Parker wins special election in Cherokee
During a special election Thursday, March 2, Wolfetown and Big Y voters chose Mike Parker to fill the Eastern Band…
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Jackson applies for medication-assisted treatment grant
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has applied for a grant to fund a Medication Assisted Treatment program in the county’s…
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Transitioning from Medicaid to marketplace coverage in 2023
The process of termination (unwinding) of Medicaid coverage for those enrolled in the program because of the Covid Public Health…
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Schools support calendar flexibility
School boards across Western North Carolina are signing resolutions in support of flexibility and local control when it comes to…
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Area manufacturers, colleges could help laid-off mill workers write their next chapter
When the Pactiv-Evergreen packaging plant in Canton closes this spring, 1,000 people who thought they’d secured steady work to last…
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‘We’re still here’: Canton businesses, residents react to mill closure
It’s 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Southern Porch restaurant in the heart of downtown Canton. Less than 24 hours ago,…
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Canton mill’s closing means uncertainty for county, region
In less than three months, Pactiv-Evergreen’s Canton mill will cease operations after more than a century of serving as the…
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Canton mill will close by summer
After more than a century of serving as the cultural, economic and geographical center of the tiny Haywood County town…
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It’s party time – Pless again files bill to make Haywood, Madison municipal elections partisan
Despite strong opposition last year, Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) has again filed a bill that if passed would bring partisanship…
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Prescribed burn planned for Graham County
A 1,295-acre prescribed burn in the Yellow Creek area of Graham County could take place any time before April 15.
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Spur Tunnel work to switch lanes
Much of the maintenance on one side of the Spur Tunnel is complete, allowing contractors to begin work on the…
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Wildlife Commission approves rule changes
During a business meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission voted to adopt eight proposed rules related to…
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Notes from a Plant Nerd: Red Maple Winter
There’s a change in the air every year around this time. A subtle shift in energy. Days start getting longer,…
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Schools – and libraries – should bring communities together
It seems to me that when we talk about the spaces in our community for our children, we should be…
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Transitions are hard on a mom’s heart
I’m the mom to two boys, ages 14 and 11. Both of them are currently on the cusp of a…
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Truckstop traffic is very dangerous
To the Editor: I was heartened to see the recent coverage that the Pilot Travel Center off of I-40 on Exit…
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‘Being a Ballerina’ includes powerful life lessons
This year, the women’s basketball team of Christendom College, a small school in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, includes a forward, Catherine…
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Final forest management plan draws mixed reactions from stakeholder groups
The Pisgah and Nantahala national forests are now operating under a new management plan, ending an arduous, 11-year process to…
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Franklin High project moves forward
Progress will continue on the new Franklin High School after a vote by the Macon County Commission to enter into…
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Haywood schools announce new leadership
Haywood County Schools has new leaders at several schools after the resignation of the Tuscola High School Principal left a…
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