Beloved Man leaves behind lasting legacy
 

Beloved Man leaves behind lasting legacy

Jeremiah “Jerry” Wolfe, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Beloved Man, passed away Monday at the age of 93. 
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Drug crisis unit vote delayed in Cherokee
 

Drug crisis unit vote delayed in Cherokee

Plans to build a crisis stabilization unit in Cherokee for people battling addictions stalled this month when Tribal Council, for…
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Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and his attorney David Sawyer discuss Jerry Lowery’s candidate challenge with the two members of the board of elections. Jessi Stone photo
 

State, local boards of elections still in limbo

Gov. Roy Cooper’s legal battle challenging the Session Law 2017-6 — passed by a Republican-majority legislature — is having local ramifications…
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No decision on Duke Energy rate hike for WNC
 

No decision on Duke Energy rate hike for WNC

The North Carolina Public Utilities Commission has not yet ruled on a rate increase request for Duke Energy customers in…
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Small increase in Haywood schools budget
 

Small increase in Haywood schools budget

Haywood County’s high-performing public schools will see a small budget increase for the FY 2018-19 school year, but at the…
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Despite threats to funding, ARC soldiers on
 

Despite threats to funding, ARC soldiers on

The $100,000 grant to Haywood Community College from the Appalachian Regional Commission wasn’t the first made by the ARC in…
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Opportunities for entrepreneurs in advanced manufacturing will soon arrive on Industrial Park Drive. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Maker space movement comes to Haywood

The type of traditional manufacturing that put many small towns on the map and provided a decent living to generations…
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TWSA struggles with open meetings laws
 

TWSA struggles with open meetings laws

When the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority held its annual meeting Tuesday, March 6, no members of the media were…
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Sylva’s Creekside Oyster House to expand
 

Sylva’s Creekside Oyster House to expand

Sylva’s Creekside Oyster House and Grill will soon upgrade to a new building following the Tuckseigee Water and Sewer Authority’s…
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Franklin resident Tamara Zwinak is collecting signatures in hopes of appearing on the November ballot. Donated photo
 

Unaffiliated candidate mounts congressional bid

The five men — three Democrats, a Republican and a Libertarian — hoping to unseat Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows…
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This parking lot, known as the North Baseball Lot, is WCU’s preferred site to construct its first parking deck. WCU photo
 

Parking decks planned for Western Carolina

Parking decks could come to Western Carolina University sooner rather than later following the Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote to…
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‘Your everlasting summer. You can see it fading fast’
 

‘Your everlasting summer. You can see it fading fast’

Half the battle is just getting out of the house and on the road. Whenever we travel, we all understand…
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Psychologists, counselors and nurses will make schools safer
 

Psychologists, counselors and nurses will make schools safer

By Virginia Jicha • Guest Columnist I was in the process of writing about the need for school nurses when the…
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Time to take back the NRA
 

Time to take back the NRA

To the Editor: I would like to add some additional comments to Martin Dyckman’s guest column in the Feb. 21…
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Our senators are bought and paid for
 

Our senators are bought and paid for

To the Editor: Our state’s senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, have consistently opposed event he most modest form of…
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Liberals have lost touch with reality
 

Liberals have lost touch with reality

To the Editor: In reference to a recent article I read in The Smoky Mountain News, maybe if you took…
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Horrific twister is catalyst for insightful novel
 

Horrific twister is catalyst for insightful novel

It was April 5, 1936, Palm Sunday, about nine o’clock in the evening. People were tidying up their kitchens, strolling…
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Matt Kirby is now running about 40 miles a week in preparation for the 72-mile Georgia Death Race March 31. Donated photo
 

One mile at a time: Long-distance run will raise money for SCC students in need

The first time Matt Kirby attempted the 72-mile Georgia Death Race, he almost didn’t finish.  “I had a friend who…
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Wildlife Commission votes on management changes
 

Wildlife Commission votes on management changes

A proposal to add two weeks to the bear-hunting season in North Carolina’s Mountain Bear Management Unit didn’t pass muster…
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Hiker found dead near Waterrock Knob
 

Hiker found dead near Waterrock Knob

A missing person search along the Blue Ridge Parkway last weekend ended when Jackson County emergency responders found the body…
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Environmental ed groups win cash
 

Environmental ed groups win cash

Three area organizations landed a collective $6,000 to support youth environmental education following an online voting contest hosted by Diamond…
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Pier under construction at Lake Junaluska
 

Pier under construction at Lake Junaluska

A new meditation pier that will extend more than 40 feet into the water and seat eight people is under…
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The woodcock — secretive, rotund and acrobatic
 

The woodcock — secretive, rotund and acrobatic

While walking stream banks or low-lying wetlands, you have perhaps had the memorable experience of flushing a woodcock — that…
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Wayne Coyne, lead singer of Flaming Lips. George Salisbury photo
 

The gold in the mountain of our madness: A conversation with Wayne Coyne

For the last 35 years, the Flaming Lips have gone from a fringe rock act in Oklahoma to a highly-sought-after…
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This must be the place: ‘Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again’
 

This must be the place: ‘Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again’

When you’re young — full of confusion about the ways and means of a “stable adulthood,” amid a hazy sense…
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Cherokee to open first brewery
 

Cherokee to open first brewery

In keeping with the long tradition of women within indigenous cultures crafting fermented beverages, Seven Clans Brewing is born. 
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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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