Holly Kays

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The beloved Greening Up The Mountains Festival will once again be absent from its traditional date of the last Saturday in April — but the Sylva Board of Commissioners has pledged that the event will take place in 2021.

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For Ash Rovecamp, keeping honeybees has never been about honey.

“I don’t really consider myself a beekeeper,” he said. “I’m a bee feeder. I hardly even go into my hives, have hardly even gotten honey for myself.”

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It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Sylva resident Ben Guiney was spending the morning decorating the Christmas tree with his wife and daughter, pondering the possibility of a mountain bike ride to take advantage of the unseasonably warm day. 

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While the issue has not yet come before county commissioners, the Village of Forest Hills has passed a resolution supporting a request from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to substitute former Principal Chief Walter S. Jackson as the county’s namesake. Other towns in Jackson County are considering similar resolutions. 

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In a closely divided vote following an at-times tense discussion Thursday, Dec. 3, the Cherokee Tribal Council removed Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise Chairman Jim Owle from his post. 

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After a yearlong delay, the effort to bring sports betting to Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos is finally moving forward following Gov. Roy Cooper’s approval of a proposed amendment to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ gaming compact. Tribal Council approved the amended compact by unanimous vote on Thursday, Dec. 3, a move that those present in the chamber greeted with enthusiastic applause.

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The Jackson County Board of Commissioners said goodbye to outgoing Commissioners Ron Mau and Mickey Luker on Tuesday, Dec. 1, the body’s last meeting before the swearing-in or new representatives.

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Two people have died related to a COVID-19 outbreak at Maggie Valley Nursing Home and Rehabilitation, bringing Haywood County’s total COVID-19 death toll to 42.

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After Jackson County voters narrowly approved a Nov. 4 referendum to bring an indoor pool to Cullowhee, the lanes are expected to welcome their first swimmers by Christmas 2023. 

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A 150-foot section of Allen Street in Sylva has been closed since April as the town board decides what to do about an ever-worsening slope failure that is now threatening the road in two separate places. 

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Four people at Hermitage Assisted Living and Memory Care in Sylva have tested positive for COVID-19, constituting a new outbreak.

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During the month of November thus far, three people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died in Jackson County, bringing the county’s total to 10 deaths since the pandemic began.

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Public lands in Western North Carolina are set to get a chunk of the $950 billion approved for deferred maintenance projects with the Aug. 4 ratification of the Great American Outdoors Act. The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service both released project lists last week. 

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An Alabama man is dead following a fall from an overlook in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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Blythe Winchester has known since a young age that she wanted to be a doctor. She remembers “doctoring” her dolls as a child in Cherokee’s Wolfetown community, using the empty needleless syringes her father would bring home from his job as a social worker. The little girl would inject the toys with Coca-Cola, staining their plush bodies brown. 

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The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is hoping to close a deal to buy Caesars Southern Indiana Casino, with Tribal Council on Nov. 12 giving Principal Chief Richard Sneed the go-ahead to incur the costs necessary to pursue the purchase, to the tune of approximately $10.5 million. 

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The face of Cashiers could change significantly if a proposed 55.52-acre development is approved. Planned as a mixed-use development in the northeast corner of the N.C. 107 and U.S. 64 intersection, it would add 726 residential units and 158,557 square feet of commercial space right at the crossroads. 

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A recount of votes cast in the race for the District 4 seat on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners has confirmed that Mark Jones won the seat against his opponent Mark Letson with a slim majority of just seven votes. 

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As a writer focusing on the outdoors, some of my favorite people to work with are the ones who power the area’s many environment-oriented nonprofits. Generally speaking, they’re passionate about their purpose and excited to involve as many people as possible in achieving it. 

The Pisgah National Forest plans to conduct prescribed burns in multiple areas of the forest this week.

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The few remaining leaves hanging in the trees shine like stained glass as the morning sun rises high enough to outrun the slopes above Trillium Gap Trailhead in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The abnormally warm November day is perfect for hiking, the play of sunlight on autumn leaves and the sweeping views glimpsed through mostly bare branches commanding complete attention. It’s easy to forget the ground beneath your boots, feet moving forward automatically as eyes focus up and around, only occasionally flickering downward. 

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Patrick Cochran and Blair Smoker have lived in the Atlanta area their whole lives, but they’ve long believed that Sylva would someday be their home. 

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A longtime leader in the Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad is facing criminal charges and a civil suit claiming he used lies and deception to position his construction company for a $2 million job building a new rescue station. 

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Following canvass Friday, Nov. 13, Democrat Mark Jones is still ahead in the race for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners’ District 4 seat — but barely. 

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The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will visit Asheville today, making its appearance 3 to 6 p.m. at the Asheville Outlets on Brevard Road.

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Environmental groups are decrying the Trump Administration’s execution of the Great American Outdoors Act and the Dingell Act, which permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The acts were hailed as major bipartisan victories providing sorely needed funding for maintenance and conservation of public lands, with Trump signing both into law.

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In the wake of COVID-19, 2020 has been a banner year for the outdoor recreation economy, and throughout the month of October the third annual Outdoor Economy Conference focused its lens on making the most of this moment. 

“What we have to do as an industry, and as an outdoor economy, as a region, is to not lose that — don’t miss that opportunity,” said conference organizer Noah Wilson, director of sector development for Mountain BizWorks. “That was that was definitely an intentional theme of the conference.”

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The first phase of a development effort worth tens of millions of dollars is expected to open in 2022 following the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Nov. 10 groundbreaking at the 200-acre site it purchased along Interstate 40 in Tennessee last year. 

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Election Day results showed Democrat Mark Jones edging Republican Mark Letson by a slim nine-vote margin in the race for the District 4 seat on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, but Jones’ victory is far from assured.

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The 18th chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was a lot of things — a World War II veteran, a dedicated father and stepfather, a leader in tribal politics — and if county commissioners OK a proposal from Tribal Council, “namesake of Jackson County” could soon be added to Walter S. Jackson’s list of accomplishments. 

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Election Day results showed Democrat Mark Jones edging Republican Mark Letson by a slim nine-vote margin in the race for the District 4 seat on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, but Jones’ victory is far from assured.

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Two employees at Skyland Care Center in Sylva have tested positive for COVID-19, meeting the N.C. Division of Public Health’s definition of an outbreak in a long-term care setting.

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When President Richard Nixon ‘s signature on the Clean Air Act of 1970 prompted North Carolina to create its Division of Air Quality, air quality was bad in Western North Carolina. 

“Back in the ‘80s or the ‘90s, once summer hit your mountains would disappear,” recalled Jim Renfro, longtime air quality specialist for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, during an interview earlier this year. “You’re outside in the valley looking up, and you couldn’t see the mountains through the haze.”

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With 51.41 percent of voters in favor of the measure, Jackson County residents approved a referendum that will allow the county to borrow $20 million for a new aquatic center.

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The Democratic majority on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners could strengthen to a 4-1 hold following Election Day results. In District 3, Republican Ron Mau will pass the torch to fellow Republican Tom Stribling, but in District 4 Democrat Mark Jones is currently ahead in the race for the seat currently held by Republican Mickey Luker.

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Due to decreased casino profits related to the pandemic, December per capita payments to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will be only about two-thirds the size of last year’s distribution — but that number is better than expected.

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Tribal Council voted 11-1 during Annual Council Oct. 29 to approve the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise’s request to borrow up to $80 million more than the $250 million initially budgeted to finish an expansion project at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee. The decision came following an hour of closed session discussion and just four days after initially voting to table the request. 

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Amid a spike of coronavirus cases in October, some members of the Sylva town board advocated for passing a mask mandate for the downtown area during the Oct. 22 meeting. However, it now appears that such a mandate is unlikely to come to a vote — for the moment, anyway. 

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After a 15-minute closed session discussion, Tribal Council voted unanimously Oct. 29 to allocate up to $25 million to develop the 197.5-acre property it purchased last year in Sevier County, Tennessee. 

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Due to decreased casino profits related to the pandemic, December per capita payments to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will be only about two-thirds the size of last year’s distribution — but that number is better than expected.

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Search and Rescue Team members in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park found missing hiker Fred Braden Jr. last night approximately 21 hours after he was reported missing. 

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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has gotten a lot busier since its creation in 1931. In 1932, its first full year of existence, the park received only 300,000 visitors — these days, annual visitation is more than 40 times that figure, coming in at 12.5 million last year. 

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A Knox County man was reported missing yesterday after day hiking alone on the Middle Prong Trail in the Tremont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

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Two years into construction of a $250 million expansion at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise approached Tribal Council Oct. 26 requesting permission to borrow an additional $50 million for the project — and council members were not pleased. 

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Buildings at Smokey Mountain Elementary School will remain closed through Friday, Oct. 30, following identification of a COVID-19 cluster there on Monday.

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As the Coronavirus Pandemic continues, people worldwide are rediscovering the outdoors in a big way — leading to record visitation at public lands in Western North Carolina and offering a marked boost to outdoor-oriented businesses and communities even as the nationwide economy continues to suffer. However, even this successful sector has met its share of challenges related to labor market shortages, supply chain disruptions and the sheer challenge of making up for revenue lost during full-on closures this spring.

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Lured by the promise of drivable, socially distanced adventure, visitors from across the region have flocked to Jackson County in record numbers this year.

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With the economic powerhouse that is Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort surfacing as one of the pandemic era’s most-impacted local businesses, it stands to reason that the future of Cherokee’s business community would be among the region’s most uncertain. 

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Jackson County commissioners voted 4-1 Oct. 20 to approve a $4.33 million contract to build a new animal rescue center as well as walking trails and other improvements at the Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. 

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The Town of Dillsboro is launching a grant program to help struggling businesses using $200,000 it received as part of the value engineering proposal for the Haywood Road bridge project.

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