Dillsboro misses out on lion’s share of flood relief
 

Dillsboro misses out on lion’s share of flood relief

It appears Dillsboro is getting the short end of the stick in state grant money intended to revitalize business districts…
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Economic impact of methane project uncertain
 

Economic impact of methane project uncertain

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Translating the economic impact of Jackson County’s landfill gas recovery project into dollars and…
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Jackson five earn Governor’s Award
 

Jackson five earn Governor’s Award

Five Jackson County women were given the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service during a recent awards luncheon in Sylva.…
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Junkyard’s friends replace trees
 

Junkyard’s friends replace trees

A small contingent of friends and neighbors showed up on the doorstep of Denver Blaylock’s junkyard in Cruso Saturday (Dec.…
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Macon Friends get $200,000 Janirve grant
 

Macon Friends get $200,000 Janirve grant

The Friends of the Macon County Library have received a $200,000 pledge of support from The Janirve Foundation of Asheville.
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Some question attempt to help only one business
 

Some question attempt to help only one business

Some Dillsboro merchants have questioned why town leaders based their entire application for flood revitalization money from the state on…
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Waynesville downtown now on Historic Register
 

Waynesville downtown now on Historic Register

The Waynesville Main Street Historic District has been accepted to be on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Westmoreland says county’s cost for library not yet known
 

Westmoreland says county’s cost for library not yet known

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A recent statement that Cashiers area residents will be footing the majority of the…
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Traditional Cherokee dyes
 

Traditional Cherokee dyes

“Woven goods—baskets and mats—document what women did, when, and how. They illuminate the work of women who transformed the environments…
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Count on me to lead the Grinch Fan Club
 

Count on me to lead the Grinch Fan Club

About this time each year, when the days and tempers get short and the traffic lines get long — when…
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Not so long ago, we treated liars differently
 

Not so long ago, we treated liars differently

By Kirk Adcock • Guest Columnist I would first like to thank Gen. Geoffrey Higgenbotham (“Playing politics at the expense…
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Fishermen struggle with loss of stream access
 

Fishermen struggle with loss of stream access

Editor’s note: This article was written by Mallory Martin and Carl Kittel of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Martin…
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Bamboo by any other name
 

Bamboo by any other name

Bamboo is the common name applied to a wide and varied group of woody grasses from all around the world.…
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One step at a time
 

One step at a time

When Lisa Ashe signed up for the newly formed Jeff Galloway running group in Jackson County last year, her dream…
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Park considers more elk
 

Park considers more elk

The North Carolina Wildlife Commission is still weighing whether to allow the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to bring more…
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Tags raising money for Friends of the Smokies
 

Tags raising money for Friends of the Smokies

Those sporting the trendy turquoise and pink Great Smoky Mountains National Park license plates on their bumpers raised $181,800 this…
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In full swing: Appalachian banjo player and singer Laura Boosinger shares memories of an old-time mountain swing band in Canton with her latest CD, Let Me Linger.
 

In full swing: Appalachian banjo player and singer Laura Boosinger shares memories of an old-time mountain swing band in Canton with her latest CD, Let Me Linger.

By Michael Beadle Laura Boosinger was a student at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa in the late 1970s when she…
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Tobacco settlement money to help farmers
 

Tobacco settlement money to help farmers

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee was recently awarded a portion of a $200,000 grant from the North Carolina…
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Vocal and instrumental abilities carry through a wide variety of styles
 

Vocal and instrumental abilities carry through a wide variety of styles

By Chris Cooper If you didn’t know already, Jamie Cullum is that kid who was on Pay-Per-View last summer. It…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Christmas shopping Granted it’s four days before Christmas and those of you that haven’t yet gotten your shopping done are…
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Waynesville’s Performing Arts Center suffers damage after pipe breakage
 

Waynesville’s Performing Arts Center suffers damage after pipe breakage

By Michael Beadle The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre will probably have to rebuild its box office and concession stand after…
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Mind those manners
 

Mind those manners

Talk To the Hand #?*!: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home…
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Cashiers plant cuts 80 jobs; some go to Bryson, Canton
 

Cashiers plant cuts 80 jobs; some go to Bryson, Canton

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Approximately 80 workers will be laid off from Cashier’s Consolidated Metco plastics plant beginning…
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New Cherokee Chamber to give voice to business community
 

New Cherokee Chamber to give voice to business community

Cherokee business owners are forming a chamber of commerce that will give the business community a voice in shaping the…
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Damaged greenway section re-opens
 

Damaged greenway section re-opens

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Repairs along a section of trail on the Little Tennessee Greenway in Macon County…
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MAIN seeks support for wireless network in downtown Waynesville
 

MAIN seeks support for wireless network in downtown Waynesville

An effort to install wireless Internet service throughout Downtown Waynesville is making a year-end push for donations.
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McGill’s reputation makes it tough on the little guys
 

McGill’s reputation makes it tough on the little guys

McGill Associates, a large engineering firm in Asheville, gets the lion’s share of government water and sewer contracts in the…
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Nurture your spirit, and the details will take care of themselves
 

Nurture your spirit, and the details will take care of themselves

By Jason Kimenker • Guest Columnist Winter has arrived, and the holiday season is in full swing. Wonderful and warm…
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The little things in life
 

The little things in life

I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s the little things that, in the long run, mean the most in life? That’s a…
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Newspapers in need of iPod moment
 

Newspapers in need of iPod moment

We in the newspaper business are supposed to be having the bejesus scared out of us because of the power…
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Methane gas project at old landfill is all good
 

Methane gas project at old landfill is all good

It’s not always about the money, at least not at first. That’s a point to keep in mind as the…
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Birdigo
 

Birdigo

Brock Hutchins slid out of the front seat of his four-wheel drive and walked a few yards down a snow-crusted…
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Get your birding on a trail near you
 

Get your birding on a trail near you

A North Carolina Birding Trail is under way and could one day could link popular birding sites across the state…
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It’s hornets vs. swans in OLF controversy
 

It’s hornets vs. swans in OLF controversy

One would think swans would probably be a sure bet in such a scenario. After all, they are bigger and…
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At least I got the books
 

At least I got the books

When I heard the screen door slam, I knew she was gone. I made it to the window just in…
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They said it — 2005
 

They said it — 2005

Residents of Western North Carolina confronted many important issues in 2005, whether it was another chapter unfolding in an ongoing…
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James Mooney’s devotion to WNC
 

James Mooney’s devotion to WNC

For 36 years, from the time he launched his career with the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1885 until his…
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Words of warning, words of wisdom
 

Words of warning, words of wisdom

At a time when weather and the environment is making all the news headlines and is rendering hundreds of thousands,…
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Environment in 2005
 

Environment in 2005

Outdoor recreation and the environment go hand in hand. Paddlers like clean rivers, hikers prefer old-growth forests over those that…
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Parks in 2005
 

Parks in 2005

Nature’s lessons A $105,000 grant from North Carolina’s GlaxoSmithKline Foundation to Friends of the Smokies will connect several hundred teachers…
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Outdoor rec
 

Outdoor rec

The world of outdoor recreation had several milestones this year, especially in the whitewater arena.
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Eureka! Dilemma dissolved
 

Eureka! Dilemma dissolved

I can’t understand how imminent ornithologists, in particular, and biologists, scientists and researchers in general have overlooked the obvious truth…
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2005
 

2005

For the past two years the Smoky Mountain News has culled Top 10 Albums of the Year lists from avid…
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Gypsy Bandwagon plays true to the Appalachian tradition
 

Gypsy Bandwagon plays true to the Appalachian tradition

By Joe Hooten Throughout the 1700s, immigrants from European nations began pouring into the 13 colonies with dreams that were…
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Recommended Diversions – Best Albums of 2005 Edition
 

Recommended Diversions – Best Albums of 2005 Edition

1) The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday If lead singer Craig Finn weren’t fronting this band, he’d be writing short stories…
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Hail, hail the gang’s still here
 

Hail, hail the gang’s still here

I’ve recently been seeing lots of posts like these on Carolina Birders’ FaceBook page: “… My pine siskins have departed,…
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AT lay-over, Fontana Dam knighted as official trail town
 

AT lay-over, Fontana Dam knighted as official trail town

Hiker Haze Weekend will welcome the season’s first Appalachian Trail thru-hikers at Fontana Village Resort March 25-26, along with a…
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WNC air quality to be unpacked
 

WNC air quality to be unpacked

The Annual Ozone Season Kickoff will unveil the state of Western North Carolina’s air quality in 2014 with a program…
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Family Nature Summit comes to Lake J
 

Family Nature Summit comes to Lake J

Each year, the Family Nature Summit is held in some part of the country known for its special beauty and…
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Nature for the whole family
 

Nature for the whole family

By Danny Bernstein • Guest columnist When I first thought about taking my granddaughter, Hannah, on an outdoor experience, I looked…
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