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The realities of being green
 

The realities of being green

The Western Carolina Forest Sustainability Initiative (WCFSI) under the direction of Pete Bates, associate professor of Natural Resources Management at…
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On the mark: Cullowhee base-camp raises profile in wilderness emergency training
 

On the mark: Cullowhee base-camp raises profile in wilderness emergency training

Landmark Learning, a Cullowhee-based wilderness training center for the outdoor industry, has forged a new partnership with the National Outdoor…
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First of the Floppy Disc: Almond School
 

First of the Floppy Disc: Almond School

I wrote first by hand and then with a manual typewriter. Starting about 1990, I moved “up” to a Tandy…
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Outdoor gear store in Franklin celebrates expansion
 

Outdoor gear store in Franklin celebrates expansion

Franklin’s downtown outdoor gear store just got bigger.
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Canoe series starts this weekend in the gorge
 

Canoe series starts this weekend in the gorge

June kicks off the first of a three-part event at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, near Bryson City, called the Canoe…
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Eat to support the Blue Ridge Parkway
 

Eat to support the Blue Ridge Parkway

Eateries in Western North Carolina have agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation…
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Learn to co-exist with mountain black bears
 

Learn to co-exist with mountain black bears

Mountain visitors and residents can learn more about their black bear neighbors at an upcoming seminar. A program called “Understanding…
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Predator birds come to Waynesville
 

Predator birds come to Waynesville

Get ready for live talons, Waynesville. Doris Mager, better known as “The Eagle Lady,” will appear with her birds of…
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Book details the fall and the rise of elk in the East
 

Book details the fall and the rise of elk in the East

A new book has been published detailing the story of the grand, four-legged keepers of the Great Smoky Mountains Park:…
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From slaughterhouse to garden sanctuary
 

From slaughterhouse to garden sanctuary

The Macon County Master Gardener Association is hosting an open house from 1 until 4 p.m. June 15 at the…
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Like a good neighbor
 

Like a good neighbor

The folks in the mountains of Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee share more than a common boundary, they share…
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Great Smoky Mountains Association looks back
 

Great Smoky Mountains Association looks back

The Great Smoky Mountains Association has turned 60 years old, and although it has changed during the years, its mission…
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Bridging the gap between young, old
 

Bridging the gap between young, old

With each passing day, the first-person accounts of what life was like in the Smokies before Google, iTunes or even…
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Morgan conjures the past with a poet skill
 

Morgan conjures the past with a poet skill

Robert Morgan has a rare and cunning gift: he can sift through the detritus of the past, pluck objects and…
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Cutting courthouse trees was a disgrace
 

Cutting courthouse trees was a disgrace

To the Editor: I have returned to Waynesville for the summer. I drove past the courthouse and could not believe…
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Rep. Meadows becomes Tea Party poster boy
 

Rep. Meadows becomes Tea Party poster boy

To the Editor: Rep. Mark Meadows would like us to think of him as a “moderate or centrist Republican” (SMN,…
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Let’s stop the senseless civilian deaths
 

Let’s stop the senseless civilian deaths

To the Editor:  At this Memorial Day time of year, we not only honor veterans but also mourn the recent tragic loss…
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GOP leadership wasting money, time and more
 

GOP leadership wasting money, time and more

To the Editor: The 2013 legislation coming out of Raleigh is bad enough to cause sleepless nights and worried man…
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GOP ‘progress’ takes this state backwards
 

GOP ‘progress’ takes this state backwards

To the Editor: Recently I saw Ralph Laughter, chairman of Macon County’s “Me Party.” We talked about his letter to…
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Pay on, Jackson residents, pay on
 

Pay on, Jackson residents, pay on

To the Editor: It is true I have been accused of being a negative person concerning a few of the…
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Wilderness Society had key role in Hall Mountain
 

Wilderness Society had key role in Hall Mountain

To the Editor: Thank you for your coverage of the historic return of Hall Mountain to the Cherokees (www.smokymountainnews.com/outdoors/item/10467). While the…
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Even in tight times, libraries deserve priority funding
 

Even in tight times, libraries deserve priority funding

By Doug Woodward • Guest Columnist What entity in our community serves the needs of every one of our citizens, whether…
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Waynesville proposes to hold line on taxes, hike water rates and licensing fees
 

Waynesville proposes to hold line on taxes, hike water rates and licensing fees

Waynesville officials are looking under a different couch cushion for additional revenue after losing income from sweepstakes operations and its…
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A good year to work for Macon: New pay plan includes salary hikes for everyone
 

A good year to work for Macon: New pay plan includes salary hikes for everyone

Nearly two months after a majority of Macon County commissioners approved a slew of salary raises for all county employees,…
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Police targeted by sweepstakes industry suits
 

Police targeted by sweepstakes industry suits

For law enforcement, video gambling is like a bad case of poison ivy that keeps cropping back up all over…
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Some downtown Sylva leaders oppose church move
 

Some downtown Sylva leaders oppose church move

A church is looking to bring a little more religion to downtown Sylva, but some local business owners, as well…
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Swain revaluation bumps values up 16.5 percent
 

Swain revaluation bumps values up 16.5 percent

Four years after Swain County leaders trashed a skewed property reassessment, the county has completed a new revaluation.
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Sylva dips into reserves to avoid tax hike
 

Sylva dips into reserves to avoid tax hike

Sylva town leaders have chosen not to raise taxes next year and instead delay town expenditures, save money where they…
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Weaker planning regulations discussed June 17
 

Weaker planning regulations discussed June 17

Jackson County commissioners will discuss two sets of proposed planning regulations at an upcoming workshop at 2 p.m. on June…
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Balsam Lake high and dry as tourist season hits full stride
 

Balsam Lake high and dry as tourist season hits full stride

Repairs to the dam at Balsam Lake in the Nantahala National Forest have been delayed because of high creek levels,…
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County leaders to kick start discussions on Cullowhee planning district
 

County leaders to kick start discussions on Cullowhee planning district

The effort to introduce zoning laws in Cullowhee is being taken up by Jackson County Commissioners at an upcoming workshop…
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From the backyard to your table
 

From the backyard to your table

The “Buy Haywood” initiative is a work-in-progress example of how local businesses benefit by connecting with each other.
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Haywood soda company aims to change palettes
 

Haywood soda company aims to change palettes

Haywood County just got a little sweeter. Specializing in “handcrafted, locally produced, artisan beverages,” Waynesville Soda Jerks is a new…
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Landslide forces family into unsettled lifestyle
 

Landslide forces family into unsettled lifestyle

For more than a month, 25-year-old Slyenia Rhein and her three children lived in a single hotel room with her…
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Long time street cleaner replaced by work crew
 

Long time street cleaner replaced by work crew

Foot traffic undeniably brings dollars to Waynesville’s downtown businesses. But what the passerby also brings is trash.
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NASA helps geologists try to understand WNC landslides
 

NASA helps geologists try to understand WNC landslides

Mitigating the deadly and damaging effects of mountain landslides might be as simple as understanding them.
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Mountain Momma
 

Mountain Momma

Count my daughter among the millions of kids whose first word was “doggy.” For a several-week stretch, “doggy” was also…
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Dog show trots into Waynesville
 

Dog show trots into Waynesville

Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association, an area AKC Kennel Club, will host an American Kennel Club all breed dog show…
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New discoveries in Kephart presentation
 

New discoveries in Kephart presentation

A panel discussion will present recent discoveries and observations relating to legendary Western North Carolina figure Horace Kephart at 7…
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Beer and barbecue in Bryson
 

Beer and barbecue in Bryson

A BBQ & Brews Dinner Train will depart at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad…
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Pow Wow festival in Cherokee
 

Pow Wow festival in Cherokee

The 38th annual Cherokee Pow Wow Festival is June 14-16 at the Acqouni Expo Center (Old Cherokee High School).
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Alt-country, Americana and bluegrass in Balsam
 

Alt-country, Americana and bluegrass in Balsam

Kim Richey, Irene Kelley and Thomm Jutz will bring an adventurous musical spirit to the Songwriters in the Round series…
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Bluegrass royalty to converge at Cherokee campground
 

Bluegrass royalty to converge at Cherokee campground

The Cherokee Bluegrass Festival will run from June 13-15 at the Happy Holiday RV Village in Cherokee.
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Appalachian storyteller to play Haywood library
 

Appalachian storyteller to play Haywood library

Storyteller/singer-songwriter Dusk Weaver performs at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 16, at the Waynesville Public Library. Weaver is an upbeat entertainer…
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Stecoah arts center receives grant
 

Stecoah arts center receives grant

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership has announced an award of $10,000 to the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

I had never seen the color green like that before. Touching down at the Shannon Airport in southwest Ireland, the…
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Finding your roots in Appalachia
 

Finding your roots in Appalachia

Ronan MacGregor didn’t know where he came from. He knew he was of Scottish decent, but that was about it.…
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Smoky Mountain Living magazine seeks reader photos
 

Smoky Mountain Living magazine seeks reader photos

Smoky Mountain Living prominently features images from across the southern Appalachians in each edition. Photo essays adhere to the issue’s…
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Wi-Fi part of regional wireless initiative
 

Wi-Fi part of regional wireless initiative

A new 8.5-mile fiber optic cable linking government buildings in Waynesville has recently been installed.
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Now what will the wagging tongues talk about?
 

Now what will the wagging tongues talk about?

Jack Cox and Kayden Zollinger (soon to be Cox, pending paperwork) are proud — and relieved — to announce the…
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