Results of zip code study revealed Sept. 28
 

Results of zip code study revealed Sept. 28

Results of a much anticipated zip code study conducted in Waynesville will be shared at a public meeting at 7…
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Swain sheriff challenger wants a turn at the helm
 

Swain sheriff challenger wants a turn at the helm

When word of a shooting in Whittier roused Swain County Sheriff Bob Ogle from his house last Thursday night, he…
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Archeologist to visit proposed quarry site
 

Archeologist to visit proposed quarry site

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Tuckasegee residents are hoping that the proximity of an ancient Cherokee village to the…
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Candidates share similar views on immigration
 

Candidates share similar views on immigration

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series on campaign issues in the…
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Duke convinces Dillsboro to ‘retract’ letter
 

Duke convinces Dillsboro to ‘retract’ letter

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Dillsboro Mayor Jean Hartbarger has retracted a letter that could have led to a…
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Taylor vs. Shuler: In the hot seat
 

Taylor vs. Shuler: In the hot seat

By Michael Beadle Editor’s note: From today until the election on Nov. 7, The Smoky Mountain News will run a…
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The war in Iraq: local residents speak out
 

The war in Iraq: local residents speak out

By Michael Beadle When it comes to the war in Iraq, Americans are divided on what should be done, but…
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Slate of events focuses on Hispanic Heritage
 

Slate of events focuses on Hispanic Heritage

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The third annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties…
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Haywood School Board voices support for flood rebuilding decisions
 

Haywood School Board voices support for flood rebuilding decisions

Controversy over the handling of flood repairs by Haywood County Schools two years ago have been the subject of media…
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Town quells Allens Creek ‘jake’ brake problem
 

Town quells Allens Creek ‘jake’ brake problem

Residents along Allens Creek in Waynesville are cheering a long-sought ban on the use of “jake” brakes by gravel trucks…
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Camp’s name officially attached to WCU building
 

Camp’s name officially attached to WCU building

A Western Carolina University building now bears the name of a beloved community leader in public education as the WCU…
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Residents warned to limit contact with  contaminated soil
 

Residents warned to limit contact with contaminated soil

Recent soil and water testing in the former Francis Orchard in Haywood County have not revealed levels of contamination high…
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A flood of accusations: Former maintenance director claims his career was cut short because he criticized school system’s flood-related spending practices
 

A flood of accusations: Former maintenance director claims his career was cut short because he criticized school system’s flood-related spending practices

Ted Norman, former maintenance director of Haywood County Schools, claims he was the target of whistle-blower retaliation by the school…
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Kudzu players to build theater
 

Kudzu players to build theater

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer On a conference table covered with blueprints perches a small paper model of a…
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Quarry opponents urge state to deny permit
 

Quarry opponents urge state to deny permit

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About 200 concerned citizens packed into a Jackson County courtroom to show their opposition…
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Reclaiming a piece of history: Dillsboro leaders work toward making renovations to the historic Monteith farmstead, building a new park and community theater
 

Reclaiming a piece of history: Dillsboro leaders work toward making renovations to the historic Monteith farmstead, building a new park and community theater

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Shoes stained with red clay mud and covered with sweat and bits of hay…
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Scams targeting elderly a growing problem
 

Scams targeting elderly a growing problem

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Assistant Attorney General David Kirkman hits the play button on a small stereo and…
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Study credits park for tourist spending
 

Study credits park for tourist spending

According to a recently-released National Park Service study, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not only the nation’s most visited…
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Former employee questions school spending in the aftermath of ‘04 floods
 

Former employee questions school spending in the aftermath of ‘04 floods

Haywood County schools must pay back more than $300,000 in state flood repair grants after double-billing both the state and…
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Franklin VA clinic to open in April 2007
 

Franklin VA clinic to open in April 2007

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A new outpatient clinic designed to serve 3,200 area veterans will open in Franklin…
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Quarry opponents speak out at public hearing
 

Quarry opponents speak out at public hearing

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer   About two hundred concerned citizens packed into a Jackson County courtroom Tuesday night…
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SCC students help with Parkway film
 

SCC students help with Parkway film

When Bentley Robison enrolled in the Surveying Technology program at Southwestern Community College, he never imagined he would become an…
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Sylva set to extend planning jurisdiction to Allen’s Branch
 

Sylva set to extend planning jurisdiction to Allen’s Branch

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Town aldermen are moving ahead with plans to vote the Allen’s Branch community into…
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Rutherford Trace: Local historians examine the legacy of a shock-and-awe Revolutionary War campaign against the Cherokee
 

Rutherford Trace: Local historians examine the legacy of a shock-and-awe Revolutionary War campaign against the Cherokee

By Michael Beadle To some, it was a crucial military campaign early in the Revolutionary War, an unprecedented patriot force…
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Reunion emotional for many former Ghost Town workers
 

Reunion emotional for many former Ghost Town workers

When Todd Berrong, a former gun fighter at Ghost Town amusement park, walked through the gate of his old stomping…
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Quarry opponents get county support
 

Quarry opponents get county support

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The grassroots group United Neighbors of Tuckasegee celebrated another victory in the battle to…
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From military campaign to political campaign
 

From military campaign to political campaign

If politics makes strange bedfellows, then surely Rutherford Trace offers some curious pillow talk in the legislative halls of Raleigh…
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Grant allows Sylva to conserve Fisher Creek
 

Grant allows Sylva to conserve Fisher Creek

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Clean…
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Cotton selected as Haywood manager
 

Cotton selected as Haywood manager

David B. Cotton of Seven Lakes has been named Haywood County manager
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$5 million upgrade planned prior to May 2007 opening
 

$5 million upgrade planned prior to May 2007 opening

As the new owners of Ghost Town in the Sky pondered whether the dated mountaintop amusement park was a good…
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Sylva set to expand planning district
 

Sylva set to expand planning district

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Sylva Town Board members are expected to move forward with plans to make the…
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New neighbors: Change is moving into Jackson County’s Tuckasegee community
 

New neighbors: Change is moving into Jackson County’s Tuckasegee community

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About half way between Sylva and Cashiers on N.C. 107, between Jackson County’s Caney…
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Loan obtained for Waynesville fire station
 

Loan obtained for Waynesville fire station

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., has helped Waynesville obtain a loan of $2 million to construct its new fire station.
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Ghost Town comes to life
 

Ghost Town comes to life

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Once more, for the last time — Ghost Town has sold. The announcement came…
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Community appeals to Jackson commissioners
 

Community appeals to Jackson commissioners

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Members of a grassroots citizens group rallying against a proposal to build a rock…
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Blue Ridge shows profit
 

Blue Ridge shows profit

By Michael Beadle Profits are up for Blue Ridge Paper Products nearly two years after devastating floods washed through the…
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Documentary to look at past century of Canton’s history
 

Documentary to look at past century of Canton’s history

Canton’s 100th Labor Day Celebration will feature three showings of a 30-minute documentary about the town’s history at 7:30 p.m.…
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Sylva mulls over creating ETJ
 

Sylva mulls over creating ETJ

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Residents from Jackson County’s Allen’s Branch community said they didn’t know exactly what Sylva…
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Maggie Valley Country Club’s transformation moves along
 

Maggie Valley Country Club’s transformation moves along

As part of its transformation to an upscale club and resort, the new Maggie Valley Club is in the midst…
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Keeping downtown alive: Revitalization organizations debate how to best improve downtown communities, as Sylva refocuses following a major spending cut
 

Keeping downtown alive: Revitalization organizations debate how to best improve downtown communities, as Sylva refocuses following a major spending cut

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With a quick trip on Main Street in downtown Sylva, it’s easy enough to…
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Haywood Extension receives Pigeon River Fund grant
 

Haywood Extension receives Pigeon River Fund grant

The Haywood County center of the NC Cooperative Extension Service has received a $15,000 grant from the Pigeon River Fund.…
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Appearance commission holds its own
 

Appearance commission holds its own

“You can do better.” That was the message last week from Waynesville town leaders to developers of a Super Wal-Mart,…
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Pathways gives awards to mark signing of ADA
 

Pathways gives awards to mark signing of ADA

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Pathways for the Future Center for Independent Living and the Jackson County Department on…
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Neighbors surprised by Dayco development
 

Neighbors surprised by Dayco development

Brenda Fowler’s customers usually keep her posted of the latest news and gossip when they stop in at her produce…
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Champion and Blue Ridge Paper timeline
 

Champion and Blue Ridge Paper timeline

1893 — The town of Pigeon River is reincorporated by the N.C. General Assembly as Canton, N.C.
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Franklin OK’s alcohol sales
 

Franklin OK’s alcohol sales

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Franklin Board of Elections went to work Tuesday morning (Aug. 1) to certify…
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Election official concerned about voters being unduly influenced
 

Election official concerned about voters being unduly influenced

The Swain County Board of Commissioners heard concerns from a county election board member last week over the adequacy of…
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Canton celebrates 100 years as a town that works
 

Canton celebrates 100 years as a town that works

Labor Day festivities start early this year in Canton. In commemoration of its 100th Labor Day celebration — believed to…
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The birth of a Haywood County institution: Negotiations for the Champion Fibre Mill and Peter G. Thomson’s Labor Day Legacy
 

The birth of a Haywood County institution: Negotiations for the Champion Fibre Mill and Peter G. Thomson’s Labor Day Legacy

By Patrick Willis • Guest Writer Just more than 100 years ago, Canton welcomed a man from Ohio who would…
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150 show up to oppose Tuckasegee quarry
 

150 show up to oppose Tuckasegee quarry

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Opposition to a proposed rock quarry near the intersection of N.C. 107 and N.C.…
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