Waynesville seeks solutions to Russ traffic problems
 

Waynesville seeks solutions to Russ traffic problems

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Nearly two years after receiving a grant to…
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Duke seeks permit for new coal plant
 

Duke seeks permit for new coal plant

A public hearing on whether Duke Energy should be allowed to build a new coal-fired power plant in the Shelby…
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Voter interviews reflect close race
 

Voter interviews reflect close race

Interviews with Cherokee voters exiting the polling booths last week revealed just how divided the tribe is over who will…
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Making the grade: Schools strain under pressure of misguided expectations
 

Making the grade: Schools strain under pressure of misguided expectations

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Much like a band-aid on a kid’s scraped elbow, No Child Left Behind was…
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Maggie mayor’s zoning request still up in the air
 

Maggie mayor’s zoning request still up in the air

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A petition by Maggie Valley Mayor Roger McElroy to re-zone a 90-acre tract of…
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EDC says marketing study not worthwhile
 

EDC says marketing study not worthwhile

An $18,000 marketing study conducted for Jackson County by consultants from Texas fell short of what the firm promised, according…
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Incumbent Hicks wins in tight Cherokee election
 

Incumbent Hicks wins in tight Cherokee election

The election for chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians came down to a mere 30 votes last week,…
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What Sylva is and isn’t: you be the judge
 

What Sylva is and isn’t: you be the judge

Buxton, a consulting firm that analyzes a community’s demographics, has 60 some population classes that it uses to describe the…
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Recreation plan attracts mostly supporters to bond hearing
 

Recreation plan attracts mostly supporters to bond hearing

A public hearing Monday on a $64 million bond for various construction projects in Macon County attracted relatively few naysayers.…
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Group forms to bring about revitalization of Cullowhee
 

Group forms to bring about revitalization of Cullowhee

A new community group dedicated to revitalizing Cullowhee will host an open house at the Cullowhee Café from 10 a.m.…
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Swain to put land transfer tax on November ballot
 

Swain to put land transfer tax on November ballot

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Swain County residents will vote November 6 on whether to enact a new tax…
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Bond hearings planned in Macon
 

Bond hearings planned in Macon

Macon County leaders will get their first real taste of how the public feels about a $64 million bond vote…
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Childcare center’s closing surprises community
 

Childcare center’s closing surprises community

First United Methodist Church’s Child Development Center in Waynesville suddenly closed its daycare and after-school programs two weeks ago, leaving…
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SCC ranks fourth among all U.S. community colleges
 

SCC ranks fourth among all U.S. community colleges

Southwestern Community College ranks fourth in the nation in a new listing of America’s best community colleges and was the…
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Jackson’s Green Energy Park undergoes expansion
 

Jackson’s Green Energy Park undergoes expansion

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The Jackson County Green Energy Park is slated to get even greener with the…
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Fontana Lake businesses close for the season
 

Fontana Lake businesses close for the season

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Two of the three boat docks on the Swain County side of Fontana Lake…
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When to teach, when to tell? Sexual exploration among pre-schoolers is normal, but some activities cross the line
 

When to teach, when to tell? Sexual exploration among pre-schoolers is normal, but some activities cross the line

When a workshop on proper and improper sexual behavior in preschoolers premiered at a childcare conference in the region a…
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Blue Ridge Paper Products changes name, moves headquarters
 

Blue Ridge Paper Products changes name, moves headquarters

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Blue Ridge Paper Products, long one of the largest employers in Western North Carolina,…
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Deed faux pas gives animal shelter to airport
 

Deed faux pas gives animal shelter to airport

Jackson County accidentally gave away the county’s animal shelter to the Jackson County Airport Authority 10 years ago, and now…
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On being Heath Shuler
 

On being Heath Shuler

The Smoky Mountain News caught up with Rep. Heath Shuler at his home in Haywood County. Here’s what he had…
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Case between McClure, Jackson County rages on
 

Case between McClure, Jackson County rages on

A lawsuit against Jackson County for disbanding the Jackson County Airport Authority two-and-a-half years ago is headed for another round…
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Voter rolls in Swain get house cleaning
 

Voter rolls in Swain get house cleaning

The Swain County Board of Elections last week purged 110 voters from its rolls who had listed their voting address…
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Mussel shoals: Researchers study endangered mussel in the Tuckasegee River
 

Mussel shoals: Researchers study endangered mussel in the Tuckasegee River

Families piling into rafts at the Dillsboro put-in on the Tuckasegee River last week cast a leery eye at what…
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Hospital defends timing of expansion
 

Hospital defends timing of expansion

Haywood Regional unveiled plans for a $16.5 million expansion two weeks ago on the heels of a workforce reduction designed…
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HRMC announces $16.5 million expansion
 

HRMC announces $16.5 million expansion

Haywood Regional Medical Center is planning a $16.5 million expansion including a surgery support wing, an endoscopy unit, a new…
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Shuler goes to Washington: WNC’s freshman House representative is already turning heads in congress
 

Shuler goes to Washington: WNC’s freshman House representative is already turning heads in congress

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Heath Shuler’s time so far in the House of Representatives is shorter than his…
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Republicans to Taylor: Make up your mind
 

Republicans to Taylor: Make up your mind

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Ever since Democrat Heath Shuler’s upset of incumbent Charles Taylor in the 2006 election,…
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County wins bidding war for Jonathan Creek land
 

County wins bidding war for Jonathan Creek land

Haywood County has emerged as the high bidder for 22-acre tract of land in Jonathan Creek that will become a…
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Macon leaders finally address animal shelter crisis: Five years with no animal laws wore public thin
 

Macon leaders finally address animal shelter crisis: Five years with no animal laws wore public thin

After years of debate over stray animals in Macon County — namely the lack of anywhere to take them —…
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Canton bridge project to cause delays
 

Canton bridge project to cause delays

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Construction is slated to begin immediately on a structurally deficient bridge in downtown Canton,…
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New TDA make-up leaves questions unanswered
 

New TDA make-up leaves questions unanswered

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer New legislation to restructure the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority calls for a drastic…
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Duke tries to get out of dredging behind dam
 

Duke tries to get out of dredging behind dam

Duke Power does not want to dredge backlogged sediment from behind the Dillsboro dam before tearing it down despite both…
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Muddy math plays into sediment calculations
 

Muddy math plays into sediment calculations

Calculating the volume of mud that washed downstream with the collapse of a large earth dam at Balsam Mountain Preserve…
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Dam escaped state permit threshold: Cause of failure stemmed from construction techniques
 

Dam escaped state permit threshold: Cause of failure stemmed from construction techniques

Balsam Mountain Preserve is off the hook on one front: it didn’t need a permit from the state dam safety…
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Clean-up slow in wake of dam break: Patience runs thin with Balsam Mountain Preserve
 

Clean-up slow in wake of dam break: Patience runs thin with Balsam Mountain Preserve

Balsam Mountain Preserve has failed so far in its promise to make things right following a dam break that unleashed…
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Many in Macon excited about rec center prospects
 

Many in Macon excited about rec center prospects

After visiting the Town of Waynesville’s recreation center, Michelle Green left marveling at the range and quality of activities the…
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Swain appoints members to re-configured TDA
 

Swain appoints members to re-configured TDA

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The restructuring of the Swain County TDA is well under way with a host…
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Macon leaders ask voters for property transfer tax
 

Macon leaders ask voters for property transfer tax

Macon County will be the first in Western North Carolina to test the idea of a new tax on real…
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Vice Chief candidates address a broad range of issues
 

Vice Chief candidates address a broad range of issues

Candidates for vice chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians shared their views on an array of issues facing…
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High and dry: Fontana boat dock owners losing money as TVA lowers lake
 

High and dry: Fontana boat dock owners losing money as TVA lowers lake

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer One of the driest periods in the last 118 years is prompting TVA to…
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How-to of dam removal still a source of debate: State, feds object to backlogged sediment being unleashed downstream
 

How-to of dam removal still a source of debate: State, feds object to backlogged sediment being unleashed downstream

Duke Energy has cleared a major hurdle in its efforts to tear down the nearly 100-year-old Dillsboro dam. Duke got…
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Orthopedist shortage costs HRMC patients, revenue
 

Orthopedist shortage costs HRMC patients, revenue

Every morning, the dispatcher for Haywood Emergency Medical Services starts his shift with a call to the emergency room of…
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Haywood records highest-ever room tax collections
 

Haywood records highest-ever room tax collections

Haywood County experienced its best tourism year ever during the 2006-2007 fiscal year, according to lodging tax figures released by…
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Profile: Rose Johnson
 

Profile: Rose Johnson

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The woman at the forefront of Haywood Community College’s progressive new vision of sustainability…
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The nuts and bolts of the property transfer tax
 

The nuts and bolts of the property transfer tax

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A bill hailed by state and local officials as a way to help pad…
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Q&A with David Rice
 

Q&A with David Rice

Has there ever been a workforce reduction at HRMC in the past 15 years, and does this workforce reduction indicate…
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Maggie Valley sways vote on recreation site
 

Maggie Valley sways vote on recreation site

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A sudden turn of events in Haywood County’s bidding for a 22-acre tract slated…
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Cherokee candidates square off at forum
 

Cherokee candidates square off at forum

With just one month left until the election, candidates for chief and vice chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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Jackson gives final OK to new development regulations
 

Jackson gives final OK to new development regulations

Jackson County commissioners have given final approval to what are generally regarded as the state’s toughest subdivision and steep slope…
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SCC’s Macon campus named after college president Cecil Groves
 

SCC’s Macon campus named after college president Cecil Groves

It’s a first for the president and a first for Macon County. Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees named the…
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