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Glenville getting handicap accessible upgrades
 

Glenville getting handicap accessible upgrades

People with physical disabilities will have better access to Lake Glenville, thanks to upgrades to some of the lake’s amenities.…
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Conservancy buys 250 acres and a peak
 

Conservancy buys 250 acres and a peak

Blackrock Mountain summit, a 5,700 foot peak that overlooks the Blue Ridge Parkway, has been purchased by the Southern Applachian…
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Changing of the guard
 

Changing of the guard

I believe the annual treks into the Town of Waynesville’s watershed began back in 2007. They have provided a unique…
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Zeb’s big jump: Middle-schooler gets invite to elite snowboarding school
 

Zeb’s big jump: Middle-schooler gets invite to elite snowboarding school

Flips, spins, big jumps and high speeds — these things challenge the average human being, but, for big-air snowboarder Zeb…
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To those teachers who exacted excellence
 

To those teachers who exacted excellence

Book reviews shouldn’t begin with dedications. But with Strings Attached (ISBN 978-1-4013-2466-7, $24.99) being the book under review, I feel…
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The return of the sharecropper state
 

The return of the sharecropper state

To the Editor: When Reconstruction came to the South after the Civil War, big plantations were worked by nearly destitute…
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Replace Tea Party with rational Republicans
 

Replace Tea Party with rational Republicans

To the Editor: With the government shutdown fiasco, we have learned what TEA in Tea Party really stands for “Totally…
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Learning to compromise would restore hope
 

Learning to compromise would restore hope

To the Editor: I would like Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, to realize that there was a time when opposing parties…
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Dependency is what leads to vulnerability
 

Dependency is what leads to vulnerability

To the Editor: I once asked a gentleman why he placed so much reliance on government and he replied, “Because…
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Legislators pass judgement on the poorest among us
 

Legislators pass judgement on the poorest among us

I am writing this in my classroom on a Friday evening in the hours of quiet before the kickoff for…
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HCC receives $20,000 grant
 

HCC receives $20,000 grant

Haywood Community College recently received a $20,000 matching grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership (BRNHAP) to develop…
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Murder charges filed in child’s death
 

Murder charges filed in child’s death

Eric Davis, 23, was indicted on one charge of first-degree murder and two charges of felony child abuse Monday. He…
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Input sought on Cullowhee’s future
 

Input sought on Cullowhee’s future

The Jackson County Planning Department will host a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at Cullowhee Valley School to gather…
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Waynesville to get four electric car charging stations
 

Waynesville to get four electric car charging stations

A for-profit company will install an electric car charging station in Waynesville’s public parking lot on Montgomery Street.
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State GOP leaders choose Cherokee for 2014 convention
 

State GOP leaders choose Cherokee for 2014 convention

Come next June, the number of visitors to Western North Carolina will jump by at least 1,500 Republicans.
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Sen. Davis unworried about low poll numbers
 

Sen. Davis unworried about low poll numbers

A recent poll shows that a Western North Carolina state representative has fallen out of favor with voters.
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Swain targets education, infrastructure and high tech with $2 million grant
 

Swain targets education, infrastructure and high tech with $2 million grant

Swain County residents have finally learned where exactly its $2 million in grants from the Golden LEAF Foundation will go…
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MedWest dissolves to make way for sale of Harris, Swain hospitals: HRMC acquisition announcement pending
 

MedWest dissolves to make way for sale of Harris, Swain hospitals: HRMC acquisition announcement pending

The MedWest system forged by the hospitals in Haywood, Jackson and Swain County three-and-a-years ago will dissolve, ending a short-lived…
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Soul searching time for the GOP
 

Soul searching time for the GOP

When N.C. GOP Director Todd Poole emailed a list of state job openings — some 300 vacant positions in all…
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Internal debate divides Haywood GOP
 

Internal debate divides Haywood GOP

Some mainstream Republicans in Haywood County fear their local party is being hijacked by a far-right faction with extreme views…
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Cherokee theater expands to six screens
 

Cherokee theater expands to six screens

When Cherokee Phoenix Theatres on the Qualla Boundary closes on All Hallows’ Eve, it will only have two movie screens.…
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Waynesville sweetens pot for affordable housing project
 

Waynesville sweetens pot for affordable housing project

The Waynesville Board of Aldermen has waived more than $140,000 in water and sewer fees in the hopes that a…
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Lucrative licensing fees on sweepstakes machines may have been bad bet
 

Lucrative licensing fees on sweepstakes machines may have been bad bet

Maggie Valley has become the latest town in North Carolina to face the threat of a lawsuit regarding licensing fees…
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Haywood Community Band to honor Hall
 

Haywood Community Band to honor Hall

The Haywood Community Band will honor founding director Bob Hall during a performance at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at…
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Art After Dark returns to Waynesville
 

Art After Dark returns to Waynesville

Art After Dark will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, in downtown Waynesville. Stroll through working studios…
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Ticket sales for WCU’s Madrigal Dinner
 

Ticket sales for WCU’s Madrigal Dinner

Tickets for the 2013 Madrigal Dinner at Western Carolina University will go on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5.…
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Mountain Momma
 

Mountain Momma

I’ll admit I’m not the fastest draw in the West when it comes to pop culture fads. I’ve yet to…
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Jackson crafters place at state fair
 

Jackson crafters place at state fair

Quilter Susan Sheets (pictured) was one of many first place winners from Jackson County at the 2013 Mountain State Fair.
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WCU’s Frizzell wins service award
 

WCU’s Frizzell wins service award

George Frizzell, head of special collections at Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library, is the 2013 recipient of the Thornton W.…
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Brass Quintet hits WCU stage
 

Brass Quintet hits WCU stage

The Western Carolina University School of Music will present a concert by the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet at 7:30 p.m.…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

I sat there, under old copper piping and newly formed spider webs, wondering where the hell my story was. It…
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Where shadows walk: Franklin ghost tour brings past alive
 

Where shadows walk: Franklin ghost tour brings past alive

October, of course, is the month for haunting, when lawns become littered with skeletons and witches fly in through branches…
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Taproom to donate sales to conservation
 

Taproom to donate sales to conservation

A Sylva conservation organization was featured at the Making a Difference Monday program Oct. 21 at the Oskar Blues Tasty…
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New brew benefits A.T. maintenance
 

New brew benefits A.T. maintenance

A Bryson City brewery has chipped in $1,000 to support the Appalachian Trail Ridgerunner program, whose mission is to preserve…
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Area bicyclist to share her Olympic story
 

Area bicyclist to share her Olympic story

Olympic silver medalist and Asheville resident Lauren Tamayo will serve as guest speaker at the Haywood Chamber of Commerce Women…
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Tuckaseegee River selected as site of swiftwater rescue conference
 

Tuckaseegee River selected as site of swiftwater rescue conference

Paddlers and swiftwater rescue experts from across the country will gather Oct. 25-27 in Jackson County for the 2013 American…
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Land Trust to host Fall Celebration
 

Land Trust to host Fall Celebration

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT) will host its 14th annual fall celebration from 11 a.m. to 3…
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WCU wants native flower back
 

WCU wants native flower back

Forget roses. Susan Belcher is hoping for beds of Cullowhee lilies to blanket Western North Carolina in the coming years. …
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Ellison to lecture on ‘spring greens’
 

Ellison to lecture on ‘spring greens’

Award winning naturalist and writer George Ellison will present a lecture titled “Edible, Utilitarian, and Religio-Medical Plants Used by the…
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A climate for change
 

A climate for change

Last week we talked a little about how mountains can influence climate. Lenticular clouds are often created when warm air…
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Who protects the bear?
 

Who protects the bear?

Every fall, folks flock to Rhodes Big View between Highlands and Cashiers to photograph the bear shadow that appears in…
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Pumpkin probing: Researchers at test farm gather valuable data on the orange orbs
 

Pumpkin probing: Researchers at test farm gather valuable data on the orange orbs

By Colby Dunn • SMN Correspondent What makes the stem of one pumpkin better than another for chunkin’? Why is one…
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A ‘writer’s writer’ delves into 1929 explosion
 

A ‘writer’s writer’ delves into 1929 explosion

I am convinced that author Daniel Woodrell is what is frequently referred to as “a writer’s writer.” In other words,…
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WCU’s head of special collections wins service award
 

WCU’s head of special collections wins service award

George Frizzell, head of special collections at Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library, is the 2013 recipient of the Thornton W.…
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WCU Health and Human Sciences building wins awards
 

WCU Health and Human Sciences building wins awards

Western Carolina University’s state-of-the-art Health and Human Sciences Building, which opened in fall 2012, has won two awards for its…
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Sylva candidates support helping downtown
 

Sylva candidates support helping downtown

The town of Sylva has struggled this year with balancing its budget and keeping businesses filling its downtown storefronts. Going…
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Franklin mayoral candidates offer contrasting styles
 

Franklin mayoral candidates offer contrasting styles

Franklin’s mayoral candidates are offering voters distinctly different visions of leadership as they square off for the town’s top political…
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Additional staff needed in Jackson as construction jumps
 

Additional staff needed in Jackson as construction jumps

An uptick in building permits in Jackson County has prompted the county to hire an additional office clerk to keep…
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Court system in Jackson angling for more space
 

Court system in Jackson angling for more space

An expansion of Jackson County’s court facilities could be in the cards, pending a $30,000 analysis of what some in…
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Jackson planners cut student apartment project slack in slope engineering rules
 

Jackson planners cut student apartment project slack in slope engineering rules

Developers of a large college student housing complex in Cullowhee got an OK from the Jackson County Planning Board to…
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