Swain Commissioner snapshot
 

Swain Commissioner snapshot

Commissioner Democratic candidates • David Monteith is the longest serving county commissioner with 16 years on the board. Retired Ingle’s…
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Balsam was once bustling railroad community
 

Balsam was once bustling railroad community

It’s always entertaining to get back off main-traveled roads and poke around in the little villages here in the mountains.…
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Bethel Organization honored as heritage keeper
 

Bethel Organization honored as heritage keeper

The Bethel Rural Community Organization was recognized with the Mountain Heritage award at the recent Mountain Heritage Day festival held…
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Get your fall on with Lake Logan paddle
 

Get your fall on with Lake Logan paddle

A paddle tour of Lake Logan in Haywood County will be held on Sunday, Oct. 19, with Haywood Waterways Association,…
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Putting Haywood on the road-cycling map
 

Putting Haywood on the road-cycling map

A workshop and strategy session on making Haywood County a premier road biking destination will be held from 1:30 to…
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Student project looks to revitalize city park
 

Student project looks to revitalize city park

An effort to breathe new life into a neglected Waynesville park will be the focus of the next Trout Unlimited…
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Smokies have new acting superintendent
 

Smokies have new acting superintendent

Great Smoky Mountains National Parkhas a new acting superintendent following Dale Ditmanson retired as superintendent in January after nearly 10…
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Grants to help farmers branch out
 

Grants to help farmers branch out

Western North Carolina farmers can apply for farm diversification grants over the next two years totaling $340,000.
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A bon voyage: Cherokee teacher wins national fellowship, brings global perspective to classroom
 

A bon voyage: Cherokee teacher wins national fellowship, brings global perspective to classroom

After landing back in the Eastern Time Zone, Jessica Metz had a hard time keeping her thoughts still. Eight days…
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Protect the treasures of WNC from frackers
 

Protect the treasures of WNC from frackers

To the Editor: This is my first written word, publicly in 20 years. I pray that it be as in…
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Tillis, Davis responsible for increased premiums
 

Tillis, Davis responsible for increased premiums

To the Editor: Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, has been running ads that say N.C. citizens are paying more for health…
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Preserving air and water quality important
 

Preserving air and water quality important

To the Editor: Becky Johnson’s report on the Canton and paper mill landfills gives me a much-needed better understanding of…
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Hipps will make education a priority
 

Hipps will make education a priority

To the Editor: I am a retired classroom teacher and worked in Haywood County Schools for 37 years. During the…
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Take back our sacred property rights
 

Take back our sacred property rights

To the Editor: There has been a lot of discussion regarding environmental impacts of fracking, yet two areas have not…
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Midterms a chance to change leadership
 

Midterms a chance to change leadership

To the Editor: Our country is in a heap of trouble. Ebola has now been introduced into the United States.…
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N.C. Democrats go conservative
 

N.C. Democrats go conservative

To the Editor: The dictionary definition of “conservative” is, “Holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or…
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Celebrate community, support local (newspapers)
 

Celebrate community, support local (newspapers)

When National Newspaper Week (Oct. 5-11) was started 74 years ago, there wasn’t much competition for newspapers. If you didn’t…
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Learning how to organize information overload
 

Learning how to organize information overload

Twenty-five years ago, while under a good deal of pressure and stress, I began noticing I was forgetting things. I…
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Lopez to bring laughs to Harrah’s
 

Lopez to bring laughs to Harrah’s

Superstar comedian George Lopez will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Harrah’s Cherokee.  Lopez is a multi-talented entertainer…
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Church Street Art & Craft Show returns
 

Church Street Art & Craft Show returns

The 31th annual Church Street Art & Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct.…
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Farm-to-Mug, Nicholson at Walnut Cove
 

Farm-to-Mug, Nicholson at Walnut Cove

Bluegrass group The Darren Nicholson Band will be performing during the Farm-to-Mug brewery and food event at 4 p.m. Oct.…
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Storytellers spin yarns at Sylva’s 125th
 

Storytellers spin yarns at Sylva’s 125th

The upcoming celebration of the town of Sylva’s 125th anniversary will feature an array of local storytellers on Oct. 11…
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Top high school bands to compete in WCU tournament
 

Top high school bands to compete in WCU tournament

Twenty-three of the best high school marching bands from five states will compete for honors during the annual Tournament of…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

His voice will stop you in your tracks. Russ Wilson is a bridge to an era, a time when style…
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From the border to the backwoods
 

From the border to the backwoods

I didn’t know who Balsam Range was when I first met them. On Aug. 10, 2012, I had just moved…
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Hometown heroes: Balsam Range wins big in Raleigh
 

Hometown heroes: Balsam Range wins big in Raleigh

Caleb Smith had no idea. “I didn’t hear them announce it,” he chuckled. “I was backstage talking to Del McCoury…
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New documents released surrounding hospital sale
 

New documents released surrounding hospital sale

Haywood County Commissioners have released a collection of minutes from closed sessions going back to August 2013, detailing discussions surrounding…
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Franklin approves residential loop for commercial zoning
 

Franklin approves residential loop for commercial zoning

The Franklin Town Board unanimously approved a petition to rezone a small piece of property off Clyde Street at its…
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Sylva allows more time for window replacements
 

Sylva allows more time for window replacements

Downtown Sylva property owners will still have to replace any plywood currently covering up windows, but they will be provided…
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Alternative school gets $1.4 million to offer comprehensive help to struggling youth
 

Alternative school gets $1.4 million to offer comprehensive help to struggling youth

Tucked away on the corner of Kentucky and Virginia avenues in the old Hazelwood Elementary School building, the Alternative Learning…
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Haywood moves forward with landfill remediation
 

Haywood moves forward with landfill remediation

Work is underway on a multi-million-dollar environmental remediation project on the Old Francis Farm landfill near Waynesville. The first load…
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A drive-by version of the N.C. Senate debate
 

A drive-by version of the N.C. Senate debate

A candidate debate last week between N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and challenger Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, plowed a lot of…
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Audience turns political debate into rousing spectator sport
 

Audience turns political debate into rousing spectator sport

A debate between N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and his challenger Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, last week was lively, testy, heated,…
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N.C. Senate debate gets dicey when candidates talk race
 

N.C. Senate debate gets dicey when candidates talk race

N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, is known for his direct and unapologetic communication style, but it landed him in hot…
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Fund for Haywood surpasses $1 million mark
 

Fund for Haywood surpasses $1 million mark

Twenty years after Aaron Prevost and other community leaders provided the seed money to start the endowment, The Fund for…
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A helping paw: Guide dogs widen world for Waynesville women
 

A helping paw: Guide dogs widen world for Waynesville women

With a visitor in the house and his crate door open, Adam is all kinds of excited. The lanky black…
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Don’t call it a fracking resolution
 

Don’t call it a fracking resolution

Following multiple anti-fracking resolutions passed by local governments around the region, Jackson County commissioners have now taken an action of…
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Authorities find $1 million in pot plants in Swain
 

Authorities find $1 million in pot plants in Swain

Jerry Monroe Berry and his son, Joshua Monroe Berry, of Swain County have been charged with growing marijuana in the…
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Sylva celebrates its 125th anniversary
 

Sylva celebrates its 125th anniversary

The Town of Sylva is celebrating its 125th year since incorporation. To mark the occasion, a slate of activities are…
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Pisgah students get more classrooms, campus security
 

Pisgah students get more classrooms, campus security

With a long construction process coming to an end, students and teachers at Pisgah High School are enjoying a bit…
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DA candidates spar over work, family and gender
 

DA candidates spar over work, family and gender

The race for top prosecutor over the seven counties between assistant district attorneys Jim Moore and Ashley Welch has grown…
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District attorney candidate accused of mishandling extradition order
 

District attorney candidate accused of mishandling extradition order

A Tennessee man in a wheelchair accused of helping bury a dead body in a barrel has emerged as an…
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Franklin passes resolution to keep Nikwasi, allow Cherokee maintenance
 

Franklin passes resolution to keep Nikwasi, allow Cherokee maintenance

Franklin leaders made their intention to keep Nikwasi Mound in town possession clear this week, rejecting a formal call from…
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Library proponents unveil a visual
 

Library proponents unveil a visual

The new Swain County library isn’t a reality yet — except in the minds of the true believers. Last week,…
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2014 Election: Snapshot of U.S. House race in WNC
 

2014 Election: Snapshot of U.S. House race in WNC

About the race: This used to be a toss-up district, but clever redrawing of voting boundaries by the Republican-led legislature…
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Election 2014: Legislative races, a primer
 

Election 2014: Legislative races, a primer

N.C. House of Representatives, seat 118 Is this my state rep? Yes, if you live in Madison and Yancey counties…
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2014 District Attorney election primer
 

2014 District Attorney election primer

Do I vote in this race? Yes, if you live anywhere in the seven western counties.
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Still time if you hurry
 

Still time if you hurry

I’ve been on the Blue Ridge Parkway the last couple of weekends and have made it a point to stop…
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Gardening Grant helps at the Open Door
 

Gardening Grant helps at the Open Door

A pair of grants from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will help improve water resources in Haywood…
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Road and trail closure
 

Road and trail closure

• Ball Creek Road, a U.S. Forest Service road that begins at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and ends at Upper Nantahala…
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