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Fri05172013

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Wednesday, 26 December 2012 00:00

The source of the sound

It’s the greatest show in town, but the location is a secret. With the tall smokestacks of the Canton paper mill falling into the rearview mirror, the pickup truck meandered up into the surrounding hills. The road snaked deeper into…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 14:33

College kids gum up Jackson County’s economic stats

The economic situation seemed to be looking up in Jackson County: unemployment was on a steady decline; the real estate market was rebounding; and tourists were finding more expendable income to travel.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 14:27

Haywood County economy outpaces its peers

Joey Del Bosque scrolled through his appointment book for the week; time slot after time slot was filled, with just enough room to breathe. Belle On Main, a salon and massage parlor along South Main Street in Waynesville, opened in…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 14:03

Economic indicators show WNC’s pump is primed but still waiting to flow

More doom and gloom or a light at the end of the tunnel? For five years, the nation has waited eagerly for economic forecasters to tell us what we want to hear — that home sales are rebounding, wages are…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Dismal participation in Sylva’s recycling begs the question

Since the town of Sylva’s curbside recycling program was reinstated about five years ago, its participation has stagnated, with the vast majority of residents not partaking.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

So long sweepstakes: Supreme Court upholds state’s authority to regulate gambling

The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled last week that state lawmakers indeed have the power to ban video gambling in its various forms, including the latest reincarnation known as video sweepstakes.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Old hospital building needs a new lease on life, but takers are few

What to do with a hulking, four-story, run-down, decades-old, now-empty former hospital in Waynesville?
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Confederate flag flap in holding pattern in Haywood

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners have postponed voting on a controversial flag display policy until after the New Year, but that did not keep Confederate flag supporters from protesting outside the county courthouse Monday.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Franklin ambulance garage to hold green-go power over nearby stoplight

Ever wanted a magic button you could press to make the stoplight turn green? Macon County Emergency Medical Services will soon hold that power for one stoplight at an intersection near its ambulance garage in Franklin.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Billing error for casino IT services translates into $4.1 million refund for tribe

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was accidentally overbilled $2.7 million for IT service over several years by the company that manages Harrah’s Casino.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Bryson City radio station fine tunes programming for local AM airwaves

Two years after being saved from imminent death in the nick of time, WBHN began broadcasting regularly in Bryson City last week. Lloyd Brown, pastor of Spruce Grove Baptist Church, bought the Swain County radio station in 2010 and has…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Compromise forged to save metal truss bridge

Macon County residents hoping to save an old metal truss bridge spanning the Little Tennessee River scored a small win, but the victory is bittersweet.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Arrest comes down in case of missing headstones in Sylva

An ongoing investigation into gravestones purchased from Moody’s Funeral Home in Sylva but never delivered to the buyers has resulted in charges against the former funeral home director.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Business notes

Haywood Community College’s Adult Education Department celebrated GED Instructor Ernest Lee as an example of outstanding determination and success for his work with Haywood Vocational Opportunities during National Disability Employment Awareness month. After working for more than 20 years at…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Winter mushrooms a welcome find

Most people who hunt mushrooms do so in late summer and fall when an array of choice edibles are abundant or in spring when morels are in season. It’s easy to forget — or maybe never even know — that…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Historic Appalachian Trail shelter gets a lift

The Nantahala Hiking Club recently renovated an 80-year-old Appalachian Trail shelter about a mile north of Burningtown Gap in Macon County.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Franklin Young Professionals awarded for trash pick-up

The Franklin Young Professionals were recently awarded a plaque for their participation in the N.C. Big Sweep river cleanup this fall.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Foundation makes year-end push for one donation per mile

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has once again launched a year-end fundraising campaign called the 469 Challenge. Inspired by the miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 469 Challenge is an effort to bring in one donation for every mile…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Project to engage farmers in biofuel industry

A $130,000 grant from The Biofuels Center of North Carolina is providing seed money aimed at developing the clean energy industry in Western North Carolina. The Field to Fryer to Fuel project, led by AdvantageWest, will pilot a new business…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Reintroduce rudolph! (You may need your children to help you read this)

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a great wilderness of about a half-million square acres. It has been the mission of the Park to preserve the thousands of species of plants and animals that live there and, where and…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

WNC lakes join list with mercury warning for fish

Two more lakes in the region are now under a fish consumption advisory due to mercury contamination. Unsafe levels of mercury have been detected in fish species in Nantahala Lake in Macon County and Lake Chatuge in Clay County, leading…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Re-discovering a child’s outlook and a sense of humor

Although its publisher marketed Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever as a children’s book, this touching story of a mother’s love for her boy and the subsequent love and care of the boy for his mother in her old age soon…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Help protect local nonprofits from fiscal cliff fallout


To the Editor: As the executive director of Cherokee Preservation Foundation for the past 10 years, I’ve seen the tremendous value that a wide range of wonderful nonprofits contribute to our region. Unfortunately, the federal “fiscal cliff” poses a serious…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Make gun, ammo buyers pay to solve problem

Gary Peebles • Guest Columnist In an entirely predictable way, the Connecticut shootings have touched off another round in the debate about gun control in America. Both sides have valid points. The left is correct; guns are exceptionally efficient killing…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Investment in mental health might provide some answers

By Bob Scott • Guest Columnist After the killing of 26 children and adults by a young man using a semi-automatic gun best used for combat, the knee-jerk reactions have begun. Politicians on the Democrat side of the aisle are…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Martin’s CD explores somber themes without being dark

By Dean Williams • Contributing Writer Angela Faye Martin’s Anniversary, the follow-up CD to her Mark Linkous produced Pictures From Home, opens appropriately with the line “My heart is broken today/I’ve got some dreams that just won’t go away.” Martin…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

KC and The Sunshine Band hits Harrah’s Cherokee

Keeping disco alive, legendary group KC and The Sunshine Band will be hitting the stage with their wild, funky music at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. A native of Miami, Fla., KC’s music is a…
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Celebrate the end of the World with polka and craft beer

There will be a winter solstice party at from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, at City Lights Café in Sylva.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

WCU professor releases live-recorded jazz album

Pavel Wlosok, associate professor of jazz studies in the Western Carolina University School of Music, is releasing a jazz record of original compositions recorded live at a club in Asheville.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Steep Canyon Rangers receive Bluegrass Grammy nomination

Nationally acclaimed bluegrass sensation Steep Canyon Rangers from Asheville has racked up yet another accolade — and their second Grammy nomination.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 00:00

Great Smokies music revived, receives Grammy nomination

He went east to discover the final frontier. In 1937, Californian Joseph S. Hall was a 30-year-old graduate student. Hired by the National Park Service for a summer job, Hall was commissioned to seek out and capture the essence of…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:13

Memories of the lost village of Needmore

Is there another region in the United States that has had more flourishing towns and villages disappear than the one along the Little Tennessee and Tuckasegee rivers in Swain and Macon counties? Almond, Japan, Judson, Bushnell, etc., in Swain went…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:05

REI grant used to save Chimney Tops trail in the Smokies

Recreational Equipment Inc. donated $5,000 to support the Smokies Trails Forever program and helped fund a crew and 106 volunteers to preserve and protect the iconic Chimney Tops trail. The Chimney Tops trail, located in the Great Smoky Mountains National…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:03

New speciality plate looking for support

Show your support for the Mountain to Sea Trail by being one of the first 300 people to buy a specialty Trail license plate. Once the Trail has pre-sold 300 plates, the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles will start producing…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:02

Appalachian Trail ambassadors sought

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy seeks to fill 15 volunteer positions as Appalachian Trail community ambassadors. These ambassadors will support the AT Community program and their designated communities with outreach, education, local projects, events and initiatives.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:59

The day the sun stood still

Ladies and gentlemen, return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Spaceship Earth will be screeching to a stop at 6:12 a.m. EST, Dec. 21. After we’re stopped, feel free to unclick; go to the restroom; get up and stretch…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:58

Gear Guide 2012: Blackrock Outdoor Company

Hammocks by Eagle’s Nest Outfitters — $55 to $80 These hammocks are a great gift for anyone simply looking to relax or hit the trail with an ultra-light, overnight shelter. Within seconds, you can be swinging from your favorite backyard…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:56

Gear Guide 2012: Nantahala Outdoor Center Wesser

GoPro Hero3 Camera: Black Edition — $400 If you’re tired of showing boring vacation photographs and videos to friends and family, try strapping a camera to your head. With this new camera form GoPro, you’ll be able to show them…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:55

Gear Guide 2012: Outdoor 76 Franklin

Outdoor 76 t-shirts and “828” caps — $22 to $26 If you fish local, hike local or kayak local, then you might as well support local outfitters or organizations that protect the resources that make those activities possible. Outdoor 76…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:54

Gear guide 2012: Mast General Store

Sawyer Squeeze Filter — $60 This may be the best, and last water filter, you ever buy. The new filter by Sawyer is guaranteed for up to one million gallons of crystal clear, ready-to-drink H2O. And, there are no obnoxious…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:52

Holiday gear guide to the rescue: SMN serves up goods bets for the outdoors person on your shopping list

For outdoors enthusiasts, Christmas brings but fleeting respite from the cold, dark days of winter — with the promise of spring hikes still many months off. If it’s impossible to bring them to their favorite trailhead or mountain top, the…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:26

Bringing out the horror of teen angst

In recent years, there has been a kind of Swedish literary invasion in America, especially in the horror genre. Perhaps the most notable is John Lindqvist, who wrote the cult classic, Let the Right One In, which became an international…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:24

The fiscal cliff is already in our rearview mirror

By Kenn Jacobine • Guest Columnist Washington is full of drama. Americans are constantly being treated to high political suspense. Whether it’s the scandal ridden death of an ambassador, an outrageous gun dealing policy gone wrong on our southern border,…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:21

Taking advantage of our unique attributes

The recently announced plans for a Blueways Trail focusing on the recreational uses of Western North Carolina’s waterways is one of the better recent ideas for promoting our region. Its focus on the unique natural wonders of our mountains will…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:10

Franklin merchants run afoul of festival planning protocols

Some downtown merchants in Franklin have clashed with town leaders in recent weeks over a perceived lack of support for new ideas and initiatives to boost commerce.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:07

On the job with Franklin’s Main Street director

Franklin’s Main Street Program has found itself in an uncomfortable spotlight in recent weeks as Franklin merchants have complained that the town’s formal downtown association isn’t doing enough.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:05

Newspaper says advertising was pulled after critical news coverage

A side drama playing out in the downtown Franklin fracas involves an unusual public display of the tension that often exists between newspapers and the government leaders they cover.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 13:59

Downtown discord prompts call for renewed collaboration

Both sides in a downtown Franklin dispute have pledged to work together after publicly locking horns in recent weeks. “It seems there were a lot of issues because people were bumping in the dark. Both sides really need to reach…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 13:53

Despite student pleas, WCU hikes tuition again

Western Carolina University’s Board of Trustees approved an 8 percent increase in tuition next academic year — much to the vexation of its student body. “We came in here, and it was not an easy decision,” said Trustee Grace Battle. “I…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 13:49

Professors struggle with increased class sizes

While Western Carolina University’s budgets have been shrinking in recent years, its class sizes have been growing.
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