Don’t legislate your ‘beliefs’
 

Don’t legislate your ‘beliefs’

To the Editor: According to a couple of newsletters I got, the week of May 14-20 was National Women’s Health…
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Minor correction on partisan voting
 

Minor correction on partisan voting

To the Editor: I would like to offer a small clarification to Ron Rokstool’s fine column last week  concerning Rep.…
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Real reporting is much appreciated
 

Real reporting is much appreciated

To the Editor: My oh my, but Janet Presson, R.N., M.Ed., seemed intent on ripping Cory Vaillancourt a new one…
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Remembering our aging warriors
 

Remembering our aging warriors

When I was growing up and even in early adulthood, World War II veterans were the elder of the veterans…
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The U.S. just can’t really ‘budge it’
 

The U.S. just can’t really ‘budge it’

The national budget is often compared to that of a family. We are told to “Live within your means just…
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Towns don’t need to be politicized
 

Towns don’t need to be politicized

To the Editor: Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, does not seem to have a clue as to what cities and towns…
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Thanks to SMN for their investigative work
 

Thanks to SMN for their investigative work

To the Editor: As a subscriber to Smoky Mountain News, I wish to thank Politics Editor Cory Vaillancourt for his…
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Dreams are now memories, and a line’s been crossed
 

Dreams are now memories, and a line’s been crossed

For years, Tuscola High School’s location high on the hill overlooking the Lakeside Plaza, a fragment of Lake Junaluska, and…
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Election bill would encourage uninformed voting
 

Election bill would encourage uninformed voting

I read the recent article by Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, regarding partisan municipal elections . I am dismayed that this…
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The mayapple flower (below) is easy to miss as it blooms under the plant’s wide, lobed leaves. Adam Bigelow photos
 

Mayapple of my eye

I love coming across a large patch of mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) while walking in the woods in the spring. They are…
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A litter of five red wolves was recently born in eastern North Carolina’s wild population. Red Wolf Recovery Program photo
 

Red wolf litter born in the wild

A new litter of red wolf puppies has been born in the tiny wild population in eastern North Carolina.
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A blue arrow signals a bend in the path on Kingfisher Trail. Holly Kays photo
 

HCC opens new Dahlia Ridge Trail System

When A.L. Freedlander issued the 1966 fundraising challenge that birthed the Haywood Community College campus in Clyde, he envisioned a…
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Embracing the sisterhood of motherhood
 

Embracing the sisterhood of motherhood

Last weekend, I flew to Phoenix for a conference. During the four-hour flight, I sat beside a lap child, which…
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Django was a wanderer, a free spirit
 

Django was a wanderer, a free spirit

This morning was one of those times when Django being gone hit home, when I got a little emotional thinking…
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Journalism is cesspool of propoganda
 

Journalism is cesspool of propoganda

To the Editor: Journalism used to be an honorable profession, but over the past two decades or so has become…
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Dive into the interconnected world of birds and insects
 

Dive into the interconnected world of birds and insects

Explore the love-hate relationship between birds and insects during a talk from Balsam Mountain Trust Executive Director Michael Wall at…
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William Nealy exhibit on display in Johnson City
 

William Nealy exhibit on display in Johnson City

Adventure-themed artwork by the late William Nealy on loan from Nantahala Outdoor Center is on display through June 9 at…
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Connect to the spirit of the Smokies
 

Connect to the spirit of the Smokies

The University of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Field School has announced a new slate of programs for 2023, offering adults who…
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Highlands Biological invests in undergrad field work program
 

Highlands Biological invests in undergrad field work program

Since 2021, the Highlands Biological Foundation has invested $300,000 in its University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Highlands Field…
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Volunteers pick up trash during a previous cleanup. Donated photo
 

Polish up the Pigeon

Pick up the Pigeon River during a cleanup 9-10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, in Canton.
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Laurel Falls is crowded during a Friday in August 2021. NPS photo
 

Environmental Assessment for Laurel Falls plan out for comment

An Environmental Assessment examining the impact of proposed changes associated with the Laurel Falls Trail Management Plan is out for…
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Active search stops for missing man
 

Active search stops for missing man

After an extensive 11-day search, on May 6 the Great Smoky Mountains National Park halted its active field search for…
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A peony flower opens in the morning light at Wildcat Ridge Farm. Holly Kays photo
 

One thousand peonies

Each May, Crabtree couple invites the public to drink in field of blooms  Ricardo Fernandez Battini and his wife Suzanne…
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Snapping turtles have long, saw-toothed tails. Fred Coyle photo
 

Up Moses Creek

Snapper, Part I  Snapping turtles have been on my mind this spring after one showed up in our pond. Its…
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Waynesville changes name of governing board
 

Waynesville changes name of governing board

The Town of Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen will now be known as the Town Council, after an April 25 vote…
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Staggered terms adopted in Waynesville
 

Staggered terms adopted in Waynesville

This year’s election for seats on Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen — recently re-styled as “Town Council” — will proceed with…
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Can’t go wrong with a ‘Literary Mother’s Day’
 

Can’t go wrong with a ‘Literary Mother’s Day’

Don’t worry. We’re not going to explore the relationship of Mrs. Bennet with her daughters in “Pride and Prejudice” or…
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Comment

GOP should not politicize debt ceiling
 

GOP should not politicize debt ceiling

To the Editor: During the Trump administration, bipartisan votes increased the debt ceiling three times, without conditions. Now that a…
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Comment

Most vote for those ‘they know nothing about’
 

Most vote for those ‘they know nothing about’

Editor’s note : State House Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, wrote this column to describe why he filed a bill that…
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Thanks for the gift of music
 

Thanks for the gift of music

The nicest thing my mother ever did for me was buy me a stereo I didn’t deserve. I was a…
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The Blue Ridge Parkway winds up toward Waterrock Knob. File photo
 

Stretch out on Waterrock

Take a leisurely hike to the Waterrock Knob overlook for sunset yoga with Tara Scarborough at 7:15 p.m., Tuesday, May…
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The Linville Gorge fire reached 12 acres before humid conditions allowed firefighters to take an indirect approach in their response. USFS photo
 

Lightning responsible for Linville Gorge fire

Lightning ignited a wildfire in the Linville Gorge Wilderness last week, but humid conditions and rainfall allowed firefighters to take…
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Brian Railsback. Donated photo
 

WCU professor named Smokies writer in residence

Brian Railsback, an English professor at Western Carolina University, has received the 2023 Steve Kemp Writers’ Residency from the Great…
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Wildlife Commission, DOT, pledge to work together on wildlife crossings
 

Wildlife Commission, DOT, pledge to work together on wildlife crossings

A recently signed memorandum of understanding between the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the N.C. Department of Transportation signals the…
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A red trillium (Trillium erectum) blooms alongside the Appalachian Trail. Holly Kays photo
 

Trilliums, Trilliums, Trilliums

Trilliums are some of the most beautiful and iconic wildflowers in the world, and the Southern Appalachian Mountains are a…
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Comment

The majority of local current expense funds pay for salaries and benefits.
 

HCS budgets for a changing school system

As Haywood County Schools hammered out its 2023-24 budget, administrators faced declining student population and the imminent end of COVID-era…
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A group takes an HCLT EcoTour in Whiteside Cove with view of Whiteside Mountain. Donated photo
 

Protecting the plateau

Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust welcomes new director  For the first time in its 114-year history, the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust is saying…
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Lambert Wilson died Oct. 20, 2022, at El Camino Motel in Cherokee.
 

No charges filed in Lambert Wilson death

No criminal charges will be brought against a South Carolina resident who shot and killed Lambert Wilson last fall, according…
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Gordon Kaye. Donated photo
 

Search continues for missing man near Bryson City

Update: 4:47 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has reduced the scale of the search for…
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Preliminary sketches submitted to the town of Waynesville show Aldi joining Harbor Freight Tools at the old Kmart site on Russ Avenue.
 

Multiple signs that Aldi is coming to Waynesville

A real estate marketing flyer along with correspondence between Waynesville’s Land Use Administrator Byron Hickox and an Asheville sign company…
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Comment

On the road with Charles Frazier’s new novel
 

On the road with Charles Frazier’s new novel

Asheville’s award-winning author Charles Frazier has a new novel just out this month (“The Trackers,” Ecco/Harper Collins, April 2023, 324…
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The Appalachian Trail stretches out toward the view at Max Patch. Holly Kays photo
 

An ounce of comfort: A.T. hikers share the extras they take on trail

II I don’t own a bathroom scale, which means I had no way of measuring the exact weight of the…
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The tail of a southern gray-cheeked salamander emits a greenish glow.  Jonathan Cox photo
 

Word from the Smokies: A salamander’s glow could shed light on a biological mystery

Three years ago, researchers from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota captured the attention of biologists around the world with…
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Comment

Since 1957, the old Pigeon Street school has served a marginalized component of the community.
 

Celebrate the Pigeon Center this Saturday

Once upon a time, the old school on Pigeon Street was a striking symbol of divisiveness and inequality.
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Comment

GREAT Grant approved for Jackson
 

GREAT Grant approved for Jackson

Last week, the Jackson County Commissioners approved a GREAT Grant agreement that will fund a project to connect more than…
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Comment

File photo
 

Tribe adopts overdose tracking tool

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has become the first tribal nation to adopt a tool that gives real-time updates…
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Comment

Help fill the West Fork of the Pigeon with trout
 

Help fill the West Fork of the Pigeon with trout

Volunteers are wanted to help the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stock trout into the West Fork Pigeon River in Haywood…
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Comment

Pick your plants at Lake Junaluska
 

Pick your plants at Lake Junaluska

The Lake Junaluska Annual Plant Sale and the Corneille Bryan Native Garden plant sale will be held together 8 a.m.…
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Sylva allows chickens
 

Sylva allows chickens

Residents in the Town of Sylva will be able to keep poultry in the downtown business district after commissioners voted…
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Franklin A.T. Council welcomes new supporter
 

Franklin A.T. Council welcomes new supporter

Gracious Plates Restaurant in Franklin is the newest A.T. Supporter in Franklin, recognized by the Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council.…
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