New ER and operating rooms in the works for Jackson and Swain hospitals
 

New ER and operating rooms in the works for Jackson and Swain hospitals

Harris Regional Hospital and Swain County Hospital have finally settled on new names following the purchase of the hospitals by…
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Waynesville ditches Duke for new power supplier
 

Waynesville ditches Duke for new power supplier

Waynesville has emerged victorious in a nail-baiting quest for cheaper wholesale power to resell to its own electric customers.
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Race is on for tribal elections: Hicks not seeking re-election
 

Race is on for tribal elections: Hicks not seeking re-election

Cherokee will have a new chief when Election Day concludes this September. Principal Chief Michell Hicks, who is serving his…
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Fracking fight ropes in national environmental organization
 

Fracking fight ropes in national environmental organization

Jackson County Commissioners have voiced their opposition to fracking in the mountains loud and clear, and now they’ve signed an…
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Fracking rules go into effect
 

Fracking rules go into effect

The way is now open for oil and gas companies to start drilling in North Carolina, but no wells are…
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Judge rules harassing emails not tantamount to cyber stalking in Haywood GOP drama
 

Judge rules harassing emails not tantamount to cyber stalking in Haywood GOP drama

A Haywood County political operative and local government critic was cleared of alleged cyberstalking charges in court last week. Monroe…
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Conference digs toward the root of hunger in WNC
 

Conference digs toward the root of hunger in WNC

Sharing food can be a simple thing. Like passing a bag of trail mix to the hiking buddy who forgot…
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From a mustard seed: Churches get gardening to fight hometown hunger
 

From a mustard seed: Churches get gardening to fight hometown hunger

June Johnson’s foray into the world of gardening began in the dead of winter. A sunny January day last year…
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A noble cause on the surface, Waynesville’s smoking ban on sidewalks is fraught with what-ifs
 

A noble cause on the surface, Waynesville’s smoking ban on sidewalks is fraught with what-ifs

Waynesville leaders are wrestling over how far to go with a smoking ban in public spaces. The proposed ban would…
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Bear encounter causes camping restrictions
 

Bear encounter causes camping restrictions

Graveyard Fields is closed to overnight camping following a bear break-in to a tent in the popular recreation area, and…
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Winter ends for Cataloochee
 

Winter ends for Cataloochee

Cataloochee Ski Area closed for the season Sunday, ending 141 days of open slopes for 2014-15. The season outstripped the…
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Richland Creek restoration expands with new funding
 

Richland Creek restoration expands with new funding

A recently awarded $200,000 grant will pay for two years of work to improve water quality and raise public awareness…
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Brookies get a boost in the Smokies
 

Brookies get a boost in the Smokies

Following a seven-year brook trout restoration project, Lynn Camp Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now open…
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Blue Ridge Breakaway registration open
 

Blue Ridge Breakaway registration open

Early registration is open for the Blue Ridge Breakaway, a multi-distance bike ride based in Haywood County.
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Grants awarded to fight hemlock adelgid
 

Grants awarded to fight hemlock adelgid

The battle against the hemlock wooly adelgid in North Carolina will continue with help from a bevy of grants from…
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Sales strong for Smokies plates
 

Sales strong for Smokies plates

Friends of the Smokies got its largest-ever fourth-quarter check from sales of the Smokies bear license plate, accruing $105,080 for…
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WNC teens strut environmental know-how
 

WNC teens strut environmental know-how

Teams of middle and high school students from across Western North Carolina went head-to-head over their knowledge of environmental science…
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Grit and wonder: 2015’s thru-hikers reflect on trail hardships and thrills
 

Grit and wonder: 2015’s thru-hikers reflect on trail hardships and thrills

If the stack of boxes piling up on the counter of the outfitter store at Nantahala Outdoor Center is any…
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A story that makes one look differently at life
 

A story that makes one look differently at life

Like some other readers I know, my taste in books these last 20 years or so has shifted from fiction…
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Progress made on new HART theatre
 

Progress made on new HART theatre

The roof trusses went up on the new Daniel and Belle Fangmeyer Theater on March 21 at the Haywood Arts…
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Easter in Western North Carolina
 

Easter in Western North Carolina

With the celebration of Easter around the corner, below are several events in communities around our region, from church gathering…
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Conference focuses on fermentation sciences
 

Conference focuses on fermentation sciences

A conference with a special focus on fermentation science will be held by the Western Office of the North Carolina…
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Acclaimed gospel act to hit Franklin stage
 

Acclaimed gospel act to hit Franklin stage

Gospel singers Jeff & Sheri Easter will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, at the Smoky Mountain Center for…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

As I took the first sip of my second cup of coffee, my shoulders began to relax.
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All in the family
 

All in the family

Louis Perrone loves being part of an Italian family. “I come from a big family — always a reason to…
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SCC to give scholarships at open house
 

SCC to give scholarships at open house

Free food, giveaways and the opportunity to win scholarships and other prizes will be a part of Southwestern Community College’s…
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Brett Woods named SCC Foundation director
 

Brett Woods named SCC Foundation director

Brett Woods has been hired to serve as director of the Southwestern Community College Foundation. Woods brings more than 15…
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Highlands-Cashiers Hospital receives new beds
 

Highlands-Cashiers Hospital receives new beds

Highlands-Cashiers Hospital has received a generous contribution to purchase five state-of-the-art beds that improve the care for patients at the…
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Waynesville to drop back and punt on no-smoking zones
 

Waynesville to drop back and punt on no-smoking zones

A public hearing on whether to ban smoking in public spaces in Waynesville — including outdoors — was held Tuesday…
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Former Swain County clerk charged with embezzlement
 

Former Swain County clerk charged with embezzlement

Former Swain County Clerk of Court employee Rita Robinson Walls has been charged with embezzling $33,283 from the state in…
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School fundraiser gets family hiking
 

School fundraiser gets family hiking

Nancy East, a member of Shining Rock Classical Academy’s board, has rallied her family to an experience-full fundraiser to gather…
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Charter school finds a home
 

Charter school finds a home

After signing a five-year lease for a 29-acre property on Ratcliffe Cove Road, just past the traffic circle in Waynesville,…
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Front-door security coming to Jackson Justice Center
 

Front-door security coming to Jackson Justice Center

Security upgrades are on the way at the Jackson County Justice Center, but commissioners have decided to hold off on…
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Sylva parking rules land in the Legislature
 

Sylva parking rules land in the Legislature

A parking enforcement ordinance in Sylva is making an appearance in the state Legislature.
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Jackson County residents gear up for assault against unsightly roadsides
 

Jackson County residents gear up for assault against unsightly roadsides

If Lisa Muscillo has a superpower, it’s probably her ability to zero in on roadside litter, no matter how well…
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Sidelined rewrite of steep slope rules not going anywhere fast
 

Sidelined rewrite of steep slope rules not going anywhere fast

A stalled rewrite of Jackson County’s steep slope development rules will remain stalled for months, or even longer.
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Public gets chance to weigh in on noise proposal
 

Public gets chance to weigh in on noise proposal

Macon County commissioners appear to be amenable to the planning board’s proposed plan to deal with nuisance noise, but the…
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Macon to purchase additional landfill property
 

Macon to purchase additional landfill property

Macon County is taking the final steps to expand its landfill life expectancy by 60 years, likely the last expansion…
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Critics be damned, I’m watching it anyway
 

Critics be damned, I’m watching it anyway

There are plenty of Ron Rash fans who have been waiting — and waiting — for “Serena” the movie to…
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Hollywood take on novel a flop?
 

Hollywood take on novel a flop?

Just because something looks good on paper doesn’t mean it’ll work in method. Case in point, the new Hollywood film…
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Serena a thrilling mix of history and fiction for locals in the know
 

Serena a thrilling mix of history and fiction for locals in the know

Little bits of local lore riddle the pages of Ron Rash’s Serena. “As a fiction writer I know I am…
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The logging legacy unchained: In Serena, Rash lays bare the real story of the Smokies timber boom
 

The logging legacy unchained: In Serena, Rash lays bare the real story of the Smokies timber boom

It’s been nearly a century since the logging boom swept across Appalachia, but the story is timeless, forever engraved on…
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Evergreen clinic, pharmacy open for another month
 

Evergreen clinic, pharmacy open for another month

Evergreen Packaging Family Pharmacy and Family Medical Center in Canton announced that it has received an extension to stay open…
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Haywood’s paper mill emerges as the blue-collar mainstay
 

Haywood’s paper mill emerges as the blue-collar mainstay

There’s good news in the marketplace for Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton.
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Constitution protects people, not corporations
 

Constitution protects people, not corporations

To the Editor: On behalf of the Western Carolina Affiliate of the National Move To Amend and We the People…
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Fracking potential leads to need for education
 

Fracking potential leads to need for education

To the Editor: Last week I attended a really good workshop in Swain County on landowner rights that was sponsored…
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Too many weighing in on annexation issue
 

Too many weighing in on annexation issue

To the Editor: I was disturbed by the article by Becky Johnson regarding the annexation of Lake Junaluska into the town…
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I don’t want to smell smoke on Main Street
 

I don’t want to smell smoke on Main Street

To the Editor: Regarding the letter titled, “Waynesville smoking ban just a bad idea” printed in the March 18-24 issue…
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New leaders of Haywood GOP must prove their mettle
 

New leaders of Haywood GOP must prove their mettle

Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is…
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Freakwater offers up steely South
 

Freakwater offers up steely South

Every now and then a disc arrives that I have absolutely no idea what to do with. Freakwater’s latest, Thinking…
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