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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
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
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
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 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
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?
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
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
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 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
There’s good news in the marketplace for Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton.
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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
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
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
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
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
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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Hurray for a Day of Clay: Dillsboro hosts inaugural Western North Carolina Pottery Festival Nov. 5
By Michael Beadle • Staff Writer As the retail industry gears up for another busy holiday season of sales, some…
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Art for fun and profit: Study finds cultural travelers spend more
A study released earlier this month by the North Carolina Arts Council shows that cultural travelers to the state spend…
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Recommended diversions
Wild animal sightings I was driving in Francis Cove near Waynesville before sunrise one day last week.
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Planning, affordable housing are issues in Highlands
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Mayor, pick one
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Harvey turns a supernatural eye to modern technology
Something is out of joint in the little fishing village of Bareneed on the coast of Newfoundland. The rules that…
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Smart growth, Main Street are hot issues in Franklin
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Mayor, pick one
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Crowded Dillsboro race includes write-in campaigns
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Mayor, pick one
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Challengers say changes are needed
Mayor running unopposed • Jerry Walker, 69, retired from Blue Ridge Paper Products engineering and maintenance. Part-time security at Blue…
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Sylva to get newcomers on board
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Some might call Sylva’s upcoming town board and mayoral races an election of attrition.
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More than armchair historians
Every regular reader of this column has an interest in this region’s history. But most of us are, more or…
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We are amusing ourselves to death
When I am at home, the TV is usually on. I like the company, and since I am almost deaf,…
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Every effort should be taken to help elk project succeed
The experimental elk reintroduction into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park should be given every chance to succeed. If that…
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To elk or not to elk
By the time this column hits the streets (11/2), the results from two public meetings regarding the Great Smoky Mountains…
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A view from above
Editor’s note: The Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project, a regional environmental group, took the Smoky Mountain News on an aerial tour…
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School systems work on changing the mentality of food intake
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Lunchtime at Smoky Mountain High School is like a swarm of orderly locusts, as…
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Public weighs in on methane project
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Planning for Jackson CountyÕs landfill gas recovery project continued last week with a series…
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Poetic license never hurts a good tale
Accounts of events always vary, especially when one is supposedly factual and one is admittedly fictional. Here's an instance.
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Press, newsgatherers get special powers in U.S.
I'm sure my paranoia was partly flamed by the buzz about the case of the CIA operative whose name was…
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Summer's gone, but not forgotten
By John Beckman • Columnist The summer now seems long gone and autumn is headed in the same direction as…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Endangered Species Act Threatened A California cowboy is trying to hobble the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Congressman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.),…
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All in the Family: Haywood County Arts Council presents Sanders Family Christmas at HCC
By Michael Beadle Journey back to Christmas Eve, December 1941. The United States has just entered World War II after…
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Park or promoter? Parkway looks for high ground in new role of peddling tourism
The Blue Ridge Parkway plans to build a visitor center outside Asheville in coming years that will provide information on…
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Bound Away - a great piece of work
By Chris Cooper Eric Brace writes damn fine songs. His band Last Train Home plays these songs pretty damn well,…
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Recommended diversions
Schoolhouse Rock Growing up on mindless hours of Saturday morning cartoons, I never knew how much fun parts of speech…
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Christmas reading: Some holiday ideas ranging from Christmas to religion in America
This week letÕs peruse three unrelated books whose only commonality lies in the fact that they were either written by…
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To Russia, with love: HART concludes season with Chekhov's The Three Sisters
By Michael Beadle By the end of the 19th Century, the once powerful Russian aristocracy was crumbling, and playwright Anton…
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Zoro's Field wins state non-fiction prize
Author Thomas Rain Crowe has been selected to receive the 2005 Ragan Old North State Award for his naturalist-based work…
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Cell tower proposal splits White Oak neighbors
Two Cingular cell towers proposed for the White Oak and Panther Creek communities - a rugged and rural part of…
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Community activist faces embezzlement charges
A well-known Waynesville community leader has been charged with embezzling a $15,000 donation made to the Pigeon Community Development Club…
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County declines to consider limits on construction noise
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County residents will continue to suffer the bang and the clatter of a…
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Dealing with strays a hit or miss affair in Swain
Every Monday morning, Justin Mack roles through the Swain County dispatch office to pick up a list of the week's…
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