Finding civility in a polarized society
 

Finding civility in a polarized society

Globalization has made our big world seem much smaller, but it’s also pushed us farther away from one another.  Instead…
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Abraham Jam (top), a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim musicians, performs at the Interfaith Peace Conference. Part of the Interfaith Peace Conference included a field trip to the Islamic Center in Asheville to attend a service (below). Lake Junaluska photo
 

Speakers call on interfaith work for social justice

Christian Perspective The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman hadn’t even started his talk from the Christian perspective, and already there wasn’t…
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Conference attendees had time to discuss issues during break out sessions.
 

Participants take home renewed faith

It’s easy to grow weary in a world that is deeply divided and when efforts to reach out to the…
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Meadows’ bill to reimburse counties with federal land
 

Meadows’ bill to reimburse counties with federal land

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., introduced legislation to supplement counties that have expended local taxes on…
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David and Susan Belcher (seated) watch the live broadcast launching Lead the Way in the A.K. Hinds University Center, surrounded by members of the Catamount Nation. Holly Kays photo
 

Leading the Way: WCU celebrates $5 million gift; aims for $60 million by 2019

Excitement and purple attire filled the second floor of A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University March 1 as…
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Green Energy Park revival discussed; Plan would merge art, education and innovation
 

Green Energy Park revival discussed; Plan would merge art, education and innovation

The Jackson County Green Energy Park has long been a topic of conversation in Jackson County — various boards of…
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Judges' order won’t allow Swain board to hear challenge
 

Judges' order won’t allow Swain board to hear challenge

Around the same time people were packing into the board of elections office in Swain Monday afternoon, a three-judge panel…
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Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran walks into the Board of Elections Office with his attorney David Sawyer. Jessi Stone photo
 

Swain sheriff’s eligibility for office questioned

Cars lined the sides of U.S. 19 in Bryson City Monday night as people tried to find their way inside…
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Congressional candidate Clif Ingram, L-Sylva, hopes to capitalize on recent growth in the Libertarian Party. Donated photo
 

Libertarians in it to win it in 2018

For the first time in a decade, citizens in much of Western North Carolina will have the chance to vote…
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Several last-minute candidates added to election roster
 

Several last-minute candidates added to election roster

Regional Three-term incumbent Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, has a number of challengers this year, including one from his own party.…
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Agreement axed for Dillsboro river park
 

Agreement axed for Dillsboro river park

Eleven months ago, the Jackson County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve development of a river park on county-owned land along…
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Kina Swayney’s husband Doug (right in right photo) shakes hands with Principal Chief Richard Sneed while holding the newly approved resolution honoring her as a Cherokee Beloved Woman. Holly Kays photo
 

‘Spirit of the Cherokee woman’: Swayney honored for life of service to tribe and country

A courageous leader. An empathetic caretaker. A driven taskmaster. An intelligent, resilient and love-driven organizer. A person who had no…
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McCoy pleads guilty in marriage fraud case
 

McCoy pleads guilty in marriage fraud case

Ruth Marie Sequoyah McCoy, former deputy superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Cherokee agency, pled guilty to conspiracy to…
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Hunter to step down as Western Carolina basketball coach
 

Hunter to step down as Western Carolina basketball coach

After a 13-year tenure as Western Carolina University’s head Men’s Basketball coach that also saw him notch his 700th career…
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Lake Junaluska Executive Director Ken Howle (second from left) stands with members of the Lake’s executive team (from left) Rob Huckaby, Mitzi Johnson and Jack Carlisle. Lake Junaluska photo
 

Ken Howle named executive director of Lake Junaluska

In keeping with the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center’s transformative efforts to remain a thriving spiritual and economic hub…
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The pendulum will swing — it has to
 

The pendulum will swing — it has to

Would you turn your back on a long and meaningful friendship because of widening political differences? I won’t do it,…
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My faith is both strong and unique
 

My faith is both strong and unique

I didn’t go to church growing up, but my parents were the godliest people I knew. They were giving, compassionate,…
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Attitudes toward guns have changed dramatically
 

Attitudes toward guns have changed dramatically

To the Editor: I grew up in a small, rural community, one not unlike many of the small towns in…
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President’s budget is simply immoral
 

President’s budget is simply immoral

To the Editor: The White House budget for 2019 seems designed to hurt the elderly and people born with disabilities.…
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Americans deserve better health care
 

Americans deserve better health care

To the Editor: Politicians love the photo op with veterans. We celebrate the wounded warrior, but seldom praise the system…
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Environmental champions recognized
 

Environmental champions recognized

The Commission for a Clean County has announced the winners of its 2017 Community Pride Awards, which recognizes people and…
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Haywood Waterways elects new president
 

Haywood Waterways elects new president

Tim Petrea, program supervisor at the Waynesville Recreation Center, has been elected president of the Haywood Waterways Association. 
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Cataloochee ends 2017-18 night skiing
 

Cataloochee ends 2017-18 night skiing

Prolonged warm temperatures have prompted Cataloochee Ski Area to cancel night skiing for the rest of the season. 
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The Discovery Trails at Monteith Farmstead and Community Park are designed to take users on a tour of the plants, animals and ecology that make the place tick.
 

Working for the watershed: Clapp steps down after 14 years as WATR’s director

It’s been nearly four decades since Roger Clapp, then a math and science teacher for a middle school in Virginia,…
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EMT students run a scenario during a class at Landmark Learning. Holly Kays photo
 

Become a master outdoor educator

The Landmark Outdoor Educator Semester will return with classes May 9 through June 28, a 51-day program that yields a…
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Recaptured Carolina wren. Bill Hilton Jr. photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Birds in the hand

The Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History in York, South Carolina, is one of the few year round banding…
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Sucking the marrow out of a great word
 

Sucking the marrow out of a great word

What’s in a name? In You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness And Start Living An Awesome…
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Graham Nash. Amy Grantham photo
 

Wind on the water, carry me home

When you simply mention the name Graham Nash, a multitude of sounds, images, movements and ideas flood your field-of-vision. You…
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Margo Robbie as Tonya Harding. www.margot-robbie.com
 

This must be the place: ‘There’s no such thing as truth. Everyone has their own truth.’

Now, let’s get this out of the way. What happened to U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan from within the social…
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Student threats taken seriously after Parkland shooting
 

Student threats taken seriously after Parkland shooting

The latest mass shooting on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has spurred a number…
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The nine schools in the Jackson County Public Schools system have four school resource officers and one DARE officer between them. The Sheriff’s Department has applied for a grant requesting four additional resource officers. Holly Kays photo
 

‘On all of our minds’: Jackson County leaders plan to prevent school violence

When a teenage shooter shattered an otherwise normal day in Parkland, Florida, with gunfire and bloodshed, the ripples of fear…
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Swain County High School students participate in a walkout to show solidarity with the survivors of the mass school shooting in Florida and call on leaders to take action. Donated photo
 

Swain High students walk out of class

Following a social media threat that led to a countywide school lockdown and an early dismissal on Thursday, Feb. 22,…
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UNC School of Government professor Frayda Bluestein lectures elected officials during a conference Feb 23. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

UNC School of Government prepares local leaders

“First, congratulations. Second, why are you here?” he asked. The airy hotel conference room fell silent, nearly 200 eyeballs glancing…
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Monroe Miller.
 

War of words: public records requests troublesome for Haywood County

Despite being called “a shameful person to deal with” and “obsessed” in highly unusual comments directed at him by a…
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TWSA will discuss a policy to release the remaining 20,000 gallons of capacity at its Cashiers plant during its March meetings, including a work session March 13 and business meeting March 20. Holly Kays photo
 

New sewer capacity could soon come to Cashiers

A new sewer treatment plant being planned for Cashiers will start allowing for growth in the mountain community before the…
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Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher will seek another four-year term. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Haywood sheriff all about customer service

Growing up in Haywood County, Sheriff Greg Christopher certainly learned the value of hard work at his family’s farm and…
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Downtown Sylva. Margaret Hester photo
 

Homeless shelter question looms in Jackson

As a startlingly cold winter lapses into a startlingly early spring, Jackson County leaders are pondering a question they’ve been…
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State approves partial rate hike for Duke Energy
 

State approves partial rate hike for Duke Energy

The North Carolina Utilities Commission has issued an order granting a partial rate increase for Duke Energy Progress.
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Swain County Board of Elections Chairman John Herrin speaks to commissioners about unpaid retirement benefits for Elections Director Joan Weeks. SMN photo
 

Swain County responds to election director lawsuit

Swain County Election Director Joan Weeks finally got a response from the county regarding a lawsuit she filed against the…
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Voters need to realize what Trump really is
 

Voters need to realize what Trump really is

To the Editor: Try as hard and I can, I just can’t make myself believe someone would write such as…
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NRA controls our politicians with blood money
 

NRA controls our politicians with blood money

By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist Cars don’t kill. Drivers do. Remember that? No one does, because although Detroit dragged…
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We can change, as the past has shown us
 

We can change, as the past has shown us

My grandfather loved guns. He had a magnificent collection, including a dazzling array of pistols, shotguns, and rifles, some very…
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Public broadcasting cuts would not serve WNC well
 

Public broadcasting cuts would not serve WNC well

By Peter Nieckarz • Guest Columnist The Trump administration in mid-February unveiled its proposed federal budget for 2019. The proposal calls…
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Opening the gates: Lake Logan opens up to public recreation
 

Opening the gates: Lake Logan opens up to public recreation

Lake Logan is a familiar fixture of any cruise along Haywood County’s stretch of N.C. 215, an 80-acre expanse of…
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Colorful reminders of long-ago homesteads
 

Colorful reminders of long-ago homesteads

A chimney standing all alone where a fire burned a house down long ago … a crumbling stone wall overgrown…
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A strange mix of books crosses my desk
 

A strange mix of books crosses my desk

The first weeks of 2018 have seen some offbeat books shamble across my desk and into my fingers. First up…
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On your plate, on the plateau: Chef Ken Naron of Canyon Kitchen
 

On your plate, on the plateau: Chef Ken Naron of Canyon Kitchen

Though the culinary and agricultural history of Southern Appalachia is as vast and robust as the tall and rigorous mountains…
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Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
 

This must be the place: ‘It’s herd behavior, it’s evolution, baby’

Cape Cod. Well, to be more specific, the small seaside town of Chatham, Massachusetts, on the southeastern coast of Cape…
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Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe.
 

‘American Pickers’ return to WNC

Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and their team are excited to return to Western North Carolina to film more episodes of…
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Dr. Anne Garrett (center) looks on as HCS Board Chair Chuck Francis (left) presents her with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Making the Grade: Garrett leaves a legacy of learning

As someone who’s spent 13 years as a school superintendent and four decades as a teacher and administrator fostering the…
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