Shelter advocates turn out in force
 

Shelter advocates turn out in force

Easily identifiable in their teal T-shirts with the “#buildtheshelter” hashtag emblazoned on the back, an estimated 100-plus person crowd turned…
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Franklin property proposals focus on outdoors, gardening
 

Franklin property proposals focus on outdoors, gardening

The Franklin Board of Aldermen has yet to agree on what it should do with a 13-acre tract it owns…
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County increases operational funding to Macon schools
 

County increases operational funding to Macon schools

After further negotiations, Macon County Schools and the county commissioners will both have some skin in the game when it…
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Waynesville boosts fire protection
 

Waynesville boosts fire protection

Waynesville’s 2016-17 budget includes funding for eight new full-time firefighters, effectively doubling staffing, shortening response times and increasing firefighter safety…
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Brown’s budgets warrant deeper look
 

Brown’s budgets warrant deeper look

After several public opportunities for comment resulted in sparse discussion, Waynesville’s 2016-17 budget passed June 14 with the largest tax…
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Open call for Folkmoot guides, volunteers
 

Open call for Folkmoot guides, volunteers

Applications are now being accepted for Folkmoot USA Festival 2016 volunteers and guides. This year, Folkmoot is seeking volunteers for…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

It’s a rabbit hole. When one dives into a band, performer or genre, you find yourself swimming in the depths…
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Jackson hires new county manager
 

Jackson hires new county manager

The Jackson County Board of County Commissioners has selected Don Adams to succeed Chuck Wooten as county manager.
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Trying to make sense of Orlando
 

Trying to make sense of Orlando

I don’t know what to tell my children, so I don’t tell them anything. Not yet anyway. It is the…
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Jackson’s support for education appreciated
 

Jackson’s support for education appreciated

To the Editor:  As an educator and your neighbor, I want to thank the citizens of Jackson County for voting…
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Righteous people take care of their animals
 

Righteous people take care of their animals

To the Editor: In the article “Sound off: Haywood candidates talk animal shelter” from March 2016, Mr. Rogers wonders if other…
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Death in the afternoon, or my Hemingway day
 

Death in the afternoon, or my Hemingway day

On the wall by the closet behind my desk is this quotation from Ernest Hemingway: “All good books are alike…
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Pollinate, propagate, cultivate: 2016 garden tour to show off the best beds in Haywood
 

Pollinate, propagate, cultivate: 2016 garden tour to show off the best beds in Haywood

When Sarah Scott first started work at Haywood County Cooperative Extension in February 2015, planning for the 2016 Haywood County…
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Sylva earns national recognition as a green town
 

Sylva earns national recognition as a green town

Sylva earned recognition for its efforts to be clean and sustainable when the travel site Expedia.com named it the fourth…
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HCC qualifies for national championship
 

HCC qualifies for national championship

Haywood Community College’s Bass Fishing Team recently competed in the 2016 Carhartt College Eastern Regional Bassmaster Tournament where teammates Ryan…
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Jackson declared Premier Trout Fishing Destination
 

Jackson declared Premier Trout Fishing Destination

Jackson County won’t officially become the North Carolina Trout Capital this year, but legislators expressed their support of the county’s…
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Common ash tree deserves more attention
 

Common ash tree deserves more attention

“How many thousand-thousand of untold white ash trees are the respected companions of our doorways, kindliest trees in the clearing…
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A new voice for Southern Appalachian fiction
 

A new voice for Southern Appalachian fiction

To review a book or to write a “book review” is to pinpoint its particular presence and its peculiarities. To…
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Cherokee docudrama reveals untold history: Author takes on directing, producing and composing
 

Cherokee docudrama reveals untold history: Author takes on directing, producing and composing

Nadia Dean has dedicated the last 10 years of her life to telling a story. It’s a historical account of…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

It’s all about what you’re willing to sacrifice.
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Gatekeeper to the Smokies: Longtime Western Carolina University Head of Special Collections retires
 

Gatekeeper to the Smokies: Longtime Western Carolina University Head of Special Collections retires

I was five minutes late. Trying to track down a parking spot outside the Hunter Library at Western Carolina University…
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Rezoning request packs Maggie meeting
 

Rezoning request packs Maggie meeting

There wasn’t an empty seat in the house when the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen met for its public budget…
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Shelter at bear attack site now open
 

Shelter at bear attack site now open

Nearly a month after an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker found his night interrupted by an attacking bear, the backcountry shelter in…
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Rev. Barber preaches love at Sylva rally
 

Rev. Barber preaches love at Sylva rally

Following the recent shooting in Orlando that left 50 dead and more injured, Dr. Rev. William Barber’s keynote address to…
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Haywood School Board restores funding for music, sports
 

Haywood School Board restores funding for music, sports

Although the closing of Central Elementary School was met with cheers, jeers, and even a lawsuit, its recent closure is…
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Waynesville board works to plug budget hole
 

Waynesville board works to plug budget hole

A sparsely-attended special meeting held June 7 at the Waynesville Town Hall was meant to serve as a public hearing…
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Business leaders honored at Chamber dinner
 

Business leaders honored at Chamber dinner

Each year the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce honors local businesses and leaders for their contributions to the community during…
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Defendants in pay raises case ask for dismissal
 

Defendants in pay raises case ask for dismissal

About 20 tribal members filled the audience benches in Cherokee Tribal Court last week, watching the first court hearing in…
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Taxes remain steady, highest in county, in proposed Canton budget
 

Taxes remain steady, highest in county, in proposed Canton budget

The Canton Board of Aldermen took another three hours June 9 to conduct a required public hearing on the 2016-17…
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Can bold proposals remake Canton?
 

Can bold proposals remake Canton?

The Canton Town Board is considering proposals that could boost Canton’s appeal to residents and tourists alike — especially those…
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Jackson County prepares offer for new manager
 

Jackson County prepares offer for new manager

The finish line is in sight to choose a new county manager for Jackson County.
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Shelter advocacy group to hold awareness event
 

Shelter advocacy group to hold awareness event

Friends of the Haywood County Animal Shelter will host a kickoff reception and informational session in support of the county’s…
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Largest indoor shooting range in WNC set to open soon
 

Largest indoor shooting range in WNC set to open soon

Work has begun on a controversial Haywood County indoor shooting range that had some residents at odds last winter.
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Bryson wins June 7 congressional primary
 

Bryson wins June 7 congressional primary

Democrat Rick Bryson will move on to run against U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows in the general election after narrowly winning…
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Sales tax to increase in Jackson
 

Sales tax to increase in Jackson

Nearly two-thirds of Jackson County voters who visited the polls last week said yes to a referendum question asking to…
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After investigation, casino board member will keep her seat
 

After investigation, casino board member will keep her seat

A casino board member who came under fire for possible “conduct unbecoming” of a public official will keep her post,…
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If this were the wild, he would already be gone
 

If this were the wild, he would already be gone

When next week’s edition of The Smoky Mountain News hits the streets Wednesday, June 15, my youngest will be a…
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Finally got a tattoo, and it’s raising a few eyebrows
 

Finally got a tattoo, and it’s raising a few eyebrows

I got a tattoo a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t on a whim. I wasn’t intoxicated. I wasn’t in…
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Legislators passed smart coal ash plan
 

Legislators passed smart coal ash plan

To the Editor: This is a critical time for our community and all North Carolinians. Decisions being made right now…
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Let’s build animal shelter to do the job adequately
 

Let’s build animal shelter to do the job adequately

To the Editor: I am seeing and hearing various opinions about the need for a new animal shelter in Haywood…
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Trump’s ‘nativism’ is just frightening
 

Trump’s ‘nativism’ is just frightening

To the Editor: For one who has never held an elected office, Donald Trump is a brilliant politician. His TV…
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Hilarious and serious; two different summer reads
 

Hilarious and serious; two different summer reads

Novels that make me laugh aloud are rare. Two novels, Confederacy of Dunces and Freddy and Fredericka, brought laughter, and…
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Keep your salamander away from my newt
 

Keep your salamander away from my newt

I often remind everyone who reads “The Naturalist’s Corner” to remember to look up. But each spring while surveying birds…
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Stories, salad and wildflowers: Plants a passion for Bigelow
 

Stories, salad and wildflowers: Plants a passion for Bigelow

Adam Bigelow bears down on the gas pedal of his biodiesel-fueled Jetta, urging it up the steep contours of the…
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Go all-out with Lake Logan races
 

Go all-out with Lake Logan races

The Lake Logan Multisport Festival will bring in athletes galore for the 11th year running with its lineup of events…
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Moral Monday comes to the mountains
 

Moral Monday comes to the mountains

The Jackson County Branch of the NAACP will host more than a dozen like-minded Western North Carolina organizations in Sylva…
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NAACP gains ground in WNC communities
 

NAACP gains ground in WNC communities

Katherine Bartel has a long list of reasons why a NAACP branch started in Haywood County a couple of years…
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Local leader represents NAACP’s changing face
 

Local leader represents NAACP’s changing face

As an associate professor of physics at Western Carolina University who specializes in astronomy, Dr. Enrique Gomez may be used…
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Swain aims to avoid tax hike
 

Swain aims to avoid tax hike

As Swain County continues to struggle with a decrease in funding from several revenue sources, commissioners hope to pass a…
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