Opera, ballet on the Highlands big screen
 

Opera, ballet on the Highlands big screen

The Live in HD Series will continue with “Carmen and The Legend of Love” at the ML Performing Arts Center…
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Professor, actor to receive state award
 

Professor, actor to receive state award

The North Carolina Literary and Historical Association will present Broadway star Terrence Mann, Western Carolina University’s Phillips Distinguished Professor of…
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Contemporary Christian music celebration hits Franklin
 

Contemporary Christian music celebration hits Franklin

The Beautiful Offerings Tour featuring Big Daddy Weave, with special guests Chris August, Dara Maclean and Group 1 Crew will…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

It never ceases to amaze me the incredible people, places and things I cross paths with here in Western North…
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Reach for the Skyway
 

Reach for the Skyway

They say the easiest way to hide something is to place it right in front of someone. Well, what would…
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You have permission to vote Democrat
 

You have permission to vote Democrat

To the Editor: Recently I have heard folks say things like, “My daddy” or “Momma” would “roll over in their…
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Best choice for school board is Goode
 

Best choice for school board is Goode

To the Editor: Don’t we all desire what’s best for our kids? The best schools. The best teachers. The best…
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Thanks for coverage of candidates
 

Thanks for coverage of candidates

To the Editor: I would like to applaud The Smoky Mountain News for the articles on the Haywood County Commission…
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We should fear the puppet politicians
 

We should fear the puppet politicians

To the Editor: In the campaign financial reports from 2012, Rep. Michelle Presnell, R-Yancey, spent $107,039 with $3,611 from individuals…
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Goode is fresh choice for school board
 

Goode is fresh choice for school board

To the Editor: Eleven years ago, I came home from work to find my wife — Wende Goode — holding…
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Keep all school staff in mind when voting
 

Keep all school staff in mind when voting

To the Editor: Most of the talk regarding education has been about teacher pay, which is critical such that we…
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Tillis clear over incumbent Sen. Hagan
 

Tillis clear over incumbent Sen. Hagan

To the Editor: The Senate race in North Carolina is the most important election in our state this year. Sen.…
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Choose science over a salesman’s snake oil
 

Choose science over a salesman’s snake oil

To the Editor: I’m really impressed with Tom Hill, candidate for District 11 of the U.S. Congress, hoping to unseat…
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This is what GOP legislature did for us
 

This is what GOP legislature did for us

To the Editor: Are you better off now than you were, say, a year ago? For most of us that…
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Hunter Murphy best option for Appeals Court
 

Hunter Murphy best option for Appeals Court

To the Editor: I would like to take this opportunity to recommend Mr. Hunter Murphy for election to the North…
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A letter to Gov. McCrory and the Legislature
 

A letter to Gov. McCrory and the Legislature

To the Editor: The actions taken in the last few years under Republican leadership have awakened a sleeping giant of…
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Vote for Hill, send Meadows home
 

Vote for Hill, send Meadows home

To the Editor: I truly believe Tom Hill will stand up for us, the common person. If you haven’t seen many…
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Time for new county commissioners
 

Time for new county commissioners

To the Editor:  What have the incumbent county commissioners brought to Haywood County? I am a 55-year resident of Haywood…
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Students will rise – or fall – to our level of expectations
 

Students will rise – or fall – to our level of expectations

My weekdays begin at 5 a.m. I have time to drink coffee with my husband, thank him for making my…
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‘Remember, the flying itself is the thing’
 

‘Remember, the flying itself is the thing’

It is a fine day for a cookout, this Father’s Day. It is hot enough that most of the younger…
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Monarchs to Mexico
 

Monarchs to Mexico

Monarch butterflies, like orange autumn leaves filling the skies, have been winging it to Mexico for the last month or…
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Duke Energy Progress to replace mercury vapor lights in N.C.
 

Duke Energy Progress to replace mercury vapor lights in N.C.

Duke Energy Progress customers may see some changes in their communities as the utility embarks on a new initiative to…
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Project aims to increase sales, food stamp use at farmers markets
 

Project aims to increase sales, food stamp use at farmers markets

A partnership between the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and the Rural Advancement Foundation International is aimed at increasing farmer direct…
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WCU gets $436K to protect coastal parks
 

WCU gets $436K to protect coastal parks

 The National Park Service has awarded a $436,000 grant to the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western…
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Trout Unlimited looking for photogenic fish
 

Trout Unlimited looking for photogenic fish

Trout Unlimited is looking for fishy photos to contend for gear prizes in its 2014 photo contest.  The contest is…
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Arboretum plans geocaching adventure
 

Arboretum plans geocaching adventure

Geocaching will be the main topic on the agenda Saturday, Nov. 1, at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. This…
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Park offers reward for information on theft
 

Park offers reward for information on theft

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are offering a reward for information after artifacts were stolen from a locked display…
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Learn how to keep gardening as temps dip
 

Learn how to keep gardening as temps dip

A workshop on winter gardening and spring garden prep to teach gardeners how to avoid putting growing season to bed…
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The bugle of triumph: Elk herd success spurs tourism, scientific innovation
 

The bugle of triumph: Elk herd success spurs tourism, scientific innovation

At 7:30 a.m., darkness is just barely beginning to lift from the pre-dawn fields and forest of Cataloochee Valley. Joe…
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Economic development summit set for Nov. 12
 

Economic development summit set for Nov. 12

Leaders from government, business and nonprofits across Western North Carolina will gather with economic development experts and others to discuss…
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Ebola panel discussion offered at WCU
 

Ebola panel discussion offered at WCU

A panel discussion and question-and-answer session on the Ebola crises and the risk it poses will take place 4-5:30 p.m.…
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Cherokee fly fishing museum sets opening day, fundraising dinner
 

Cherokee fly fishing museum sets opening day, fundraising dinner

It’s been two years since Alen Baker, the self-described “instigator” of the effort to create the Fly Fishing Museum of…
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Jackson TDA laying groundwork for hiring director
 

Jackson TDA laying groundwork for hiring director

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority is pursuing a leader, someone to act as the organization’s executive director. The workload…
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Haywood looks to start Friends of the Parkway chapter, clear overlooks
 

Haywood looks to start Friends of the Parkway chapter, clear overlooks

With park funding falling and visitation increasing, keeping those iconic views open along the 46 miles of Blue Ridge Parkway…
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Macon approves $1.5 million for landfill expansion
 

Macon approves $1.5 million for landfill expansion

With its landfill nearing capacity, Macon County is taking steps to add a new cell before the existing area fills…
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Swain’s museum offers new attraction, old relics
 

Swain’s museum offers new attraction, old relics

Inside and out, the Swain County Heritage Museum is an ode to history. The very building that houses the museum…
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Forest Hills hosts workshop, explores planning issues
 

Forest Hills hosts workshop, explores planning issues

The Village of Forest Hills is about to go on a vision quest. The quest begins Nov. 3 with a…
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Waynesville Soda Jerks win national award
 

Waynesville Soda Jerks win national award

The Waynesville Soda Jerks, an independent artisan beverage company, recently won first place at the National Association of Community Colleges…
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All OK after bomb threat clears Tuscola
 

All OK after bomb threat clears Tuscola

Things are back on track at Tuscola High School after some threatening graffiti found in a boys bathroom last week…
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Election Day countdown
 

Election Day countdown

Early voting turnout is outpacing the last statewide, non-presidential election year of 2010. And in the seven western counties, early…
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Dealing with violence: Children the focus of nonprofit’s $1 million grant
 

Dealing with violence: Children the focus of nonprofit’s $1 million grant

Domestic violence in Haywood County — and its effect on children — could take a hit as the Thirtieth Judicial…
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Cullowhee proposals in for a tweaking
 

Cullowhee proposals in for a tweaking

They weren’t thrilled about it, but members of the Cullowhee community did show an appetite for possible development standards during…
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Steep slope ordinance rewrite timeline: The inopportune arrival of a slow but steady train
 

Steep slope ordinance rewrite timeline: The inopportune arrival of a slow but steady train

When Jackson County commissioners halted the controversial rewrite of the steep slope development rules earlier this year, critics were both…
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Seven years war for the mountainsides rages on in Jackson
 

Seven years war for the mountainsides rages on in Jackson

Controlling mountainside development is a universal issue grappled with across Western North Carolina. But Jackson County’s residents have wrestled more…
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Mill town riddle: Bearing the burden and reaping the rewards
 

Mill town riddle: Bearing the burden and reaping the rewards

Canton exists against the backdrop of the paper mill. Both literally and figuratively.  For generations, the paper mill — currently…
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Canton economic initiative strives to hold on to past while looking to the future
 

Canton economic initiative strives to hold on to past while looking to the future

Hanging out at the confluence of crossroads that embraces downtown Canton, two young skateboarders while away a lazy afternoon. They’re…
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Take a stroll with Webster’s residents and leaders
 

Take a stroll with Webster’s residents and leaders

The Town of Webster invites the public to attend its Oct. 27 Community Stroll to help identify ways to improves the community's health,…
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Confused about voting procedures? Democracy North Carolina offers these 15 quick tips
 

Confused about voting procedures? Democracy North Carolina offers these 15 quick tips

By Bob Hall As an independent watchdog group, Democracy North Carolina receives all kinds of reports on our hotline at 888-OUR-VOTE.…
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Early voting has begun
 

Early voting has begun

Registered voters who can't wait until Election Day to vote now have the opportunity to vote in person across North…
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Cullowhee community meeting tonight
 

Cullowhee community meeting tonight

Tonight will be the last of two public input meetings concerning the proposed Cullowhee Planning Area  development standards. Tonight’s meeting…
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