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Ladies first: Cataloochee Ranch hosts skiing and snowboarding classes tailored to women
By Michael Beadle Once again Cataloochee Ski Area will be hosting a series of once-a-week skiing and snowboarding classes this…
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A wintry mix
Christmas Day brought showers interrupted by buckets full of sleet. Sometime late Christmas night or before dawn the next morning,…
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Work in process: In life as in art, glass artist John Nickerson is a student of methodology
By Sarah Kucharski John Nickerson is a very exacting man. Tall and solidly built, he moves with efficiency, his speech…
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Recommended diversions
“Firefly” As a proud member of the Star Wars generation, I enjoy a healthy dose of otherworldly sci-fi plots and…
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Adam’s 29 falls short of past achievements
By Joe Hooten When it seems like you’ve heard all there is to hear from our Carolina troubadour Mr. Ryan…
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Ishiguro’s novel raises troubling questions for modern humanity
“And so we stood together like that, at the top of that field for what seemed ages, not saying anything,…
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Casino alcohol proposal galvanizes conservative Cherokees
A debate over whether to sell alcohol at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino has pitted conservative tribal members against the economic interests…
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Fairview takes personal approach
By Sarah Kucharski Students at Fairview Elementary School in Sylva have a unique opportunity to experience the benefits of reading…
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At storytime, it’s llamas and pajamas
It’s 11 a.m. on Friday at the Haywood County Public Library in Waynesville, and that means Story Time, a regular…
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Getting kids to read
By Michael Beadle Remember when Mom or Dad read you your favorite bedtime story? Maybe it was a book like…
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How can parents encourage their children to read?
• Read with your child everyday. Make it part of the daily routine.
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Highlands mayor takes on contentious planning issues
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In his first month as the newly elected mayor of Highlands, Don Mullen has…
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Incubator board members admit to lax involvement
For nearly 20 years, Jerry Plemmons’ hour-long drive from Hot Springs to Waynesville every couple of months for a Smoky…
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Macon challenges building moratorium in Highlands ETJ
Macon County officials have contested the legality of a moratorium Highlands enacted on commercial building within the town’s extra-territorial jurisdictions…
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The grumpy traveler department
From time to time, I’ve contemplated compiling an anthology of travel writing from Western North Carolina. Such a volume would…
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Bear, skunk, coyote targeted in hunting regulations
Citing increased problems for humans, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has proposed new regulations that will step up hunting of…
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A long history culminates in one tumultuous day
When Haywood County Manager Jack Horton was asked to resign or be fired last week, it was, potentially, a watershed…
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Debate erupts over wording of new Park Service guidelines
The National Park Service says the management guidelines governing national parks need to be clarified in the face of a…
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Striking at the heart of Parks
An attempt by the National Park Service to rewrite the guidelines governing protection of parks has prompted conservation groups to…
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Holiday Bird Nerd Diary: Yellow-headed blackbird highlights Balsam bird count
The Carolina Field birders, friends and volunteers conducted their fourth annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, Dec. 29.
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Smokies: Road to Nowhere won’t impair park
Controversy over proposed changes to the mission of the National Park Service has landed at the doorstep of the Great…
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Pre-school to pirates, reading is still fun-damental
Preschool children are normally as full of questions as a quiz show host on a fast night. They want to…
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Chambers move closer to merger
Board members on the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce and the Maggie Valley Area Visitors Bureau voted unanimously to pursue…
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Daycare closing leaves 70 families in the lurch
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Approximately 70 families are in limbo as Jean’s Kids Palace, a daycare in Whittier,…
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So long, McDonald’s sign
Anyone approaching Waynesville from Russ Avenue has likely appreciated the distant view of downtown, its quaint brick skyline marked by…
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Swain student raises money to help those half a world away
By Michael Beadle Darfur may seem a world away from Bryson City, but a group of Swain County High School…
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TDA proposal would eliminate corridor funding
Turf divisions in the Haywood County tourism industry are melting away on more than one front these days. At the…
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A locust by any other name
I’m fairly good at the identification of deciduous trees during the flowering and fruiting seasons, when one can observe bark,…
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Living in fear of ... everything
It started over a discussion about the merits of that sanitizing gel that is now so often found in restrooms,…
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Time apparently not right for casino alcohol sales
The proposal to hold a referendum on whether alcohol could be sold at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino was withdrawn before it…
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Storytime just didn’t work out for me
By Stephanie Wampler One day last year, I had high hopes for a glorious time at the library. I envisioned…
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There were valid reasons for Horton’s departure
(Editor’s note: Haywood County Manager Jack Horton tendered his resignation to the board of commissioners on Jan. 3. The three…
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Cherokee reels in North Carolina Casting Championships
Top fly and bass fishermen will be coming to Cherokee to show off their skills at the North Carolina Casting…
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Bird nerds unite
I learned, when I worked full-time for the Smoky Mountain News, that it helps if newspaper writers are thick-skinned. It…
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Two-wheel motion: Long-time mechanic opens bikeshop
A new cycling shop opened in Waynesville just in the nick of time for Bob Gatis. The notion recently struck…
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Ordinary World: twisted, welcome catharsis
By Chris Cooper When the bio sheet for a band arrives with the greeting “Dear Pop Revivalists,” I feel a…
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Recommended diversions
A Soldier of the Great War Recently a friend recommended this book to my 17-year-old son as a sort of…
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The Sounds and the stories
By Michael Beadle In gathering the performers who would help make the Sounds of Jackson County a reality, organizers invited…
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The sounds of Jackson County: Landmark collection of local performers bands together for Jackson County library fundraising event
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Backstage at Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, the rehearsal room buzzed…
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Western counties celebrate hospital sale
A visiting team from LifePoint Hospital network made the rounds to their newly acquired hospitals in Haywood, Jackson and Swain…
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State budget provides raise for teachers: Critics say raise is ‘phony’
It took nearly two months of conferencing, but a state budget bill is finally passed and signed. At the heart…
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Record enrollment expected as WCU classes begin
The Western Carolina University community is making preparations to welcome what is expected to be a record number of students…
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Franklin, Forest Hills pass fracking resolutions
Two more local governments in Western North Carolina have passed resolutions opposing fracking this month. Franklin and Forest Hills are…
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Hagan visits Cherokee, touts Native American Children Act
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan visited the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation Aug. 6, meeting with Chief Michell Hicks, Vice…
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Whiteside cell tower off table
The cell phone tower proposed for the Whiteside Cove area is off the table for now. Verizon has “indefinitely suspended”…
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Haywood’s detergent war: Schools opt for EcoLab over local supplier
A Haywood County businessman who has historically supplied dishwasher detergent and rinse agent for Haywood County school cafeterias lost his…
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A concessionaire’s conundrum: Pisgah Inn owner hoping NPS contract renewal yields 10 more years of local ownership
By mid-August, there’s already a chill in the air outside Pisgah Inn. Employees and experienced guests walk around in pants…
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Pitching ‘Play On’: Jackson considers who to woo and how
The type of visitors being eyed by Jackson County tourism officials fall into various categories. Each one of those “types”…
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Round three: Haywood County takes on political adversary in property value dispute
A challenger in the Haywood County commissioner race lost ground last week in a fight with the county over his…
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The Golden Mouse: A Children’s Poem for Adults
Editor’s note: George Ellison’s column this week is a sort of fable based on one of the seldom-seen (almost mythical)…
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