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School improvement costs rise in Jackson
Rising construction costs are causing problems for Jackson County Schools as it attempts to complete $9 million of much-needed capital…
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Main Street shuffle: Businesses move in, out of Waynesville core
Waynesville’s popular Main Street shopping district has seen some changes over the years, and as time goes by, everyone from…
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Carden in the rye: WNC storyteller bridges past, present
There is no middle ground. With Jackson County storyteller/playwright Gary Carden, you either love the guy or you tolerate him,…
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Disconnected from a connected world
Ugh. The moment my girlfriend handed over my soaking wet smart phone, a shiver of isolation ran up my spine.…
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Increase in state arts funding
With a boost in state appropriations, the North Carolina Arts Council will launch two new programs this year and provide…
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After elections, new Tribal Council will include only five incumbents
Yesterday’s Tribal Council elections delivered a blow to incumbents, with only three of the seven councilmembers who both supported the…
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Logging has always been dangerous work
Steam and water-powered sawmills were established here in the Smokies region during the 1870s and 1880s. But full-fledged industrialized logging…
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Team Ruebel hits the trail: Hiking is a bonding force for father-daughter duo
Once Jay Ruebel started seeing the billboard, which advertised the 28.3-mile Trailblaze Challenge hike, it seemed like he couldn’t stop…
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Forest Service offers free camping for flood victims
People displaced by flooding in Texas and neighboring states will be able to stay in U.S. Forest Service campgrounds for…
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Telethon raises $200K for the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies’ 23rd annual telethon Aug. 23 raised $208,321 in donations to support the Great Smoky Mountains National…
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Help rebuild a Smokies trail
Volunteers are needed to help with efforts to overhaul the Rainbow Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,…
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Book celebrates ‘all things Appalachian’
Some four years ago, I reviewed Matthew Baker’s first book, My Appalachian Granny, a delightful collection of anecdotes, photographs and…
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Reflections on a divided America
As President Trump’s administration continues to descend further into chaos with each passing week, there are a few truths that…
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Illegal signs are a continuing problem
By JoAnna Swanson • Guest Columnist There are all kinds of signs — signs of the times; signs of the…
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Reasonable benchmarks make for better debate
To the Editor: I’m writing in response to a letter by Tom Enterline in the Aug. 30-Sept. 5 issue. He…
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Fear of immigrants will hurt this country
To the Editor: I was glad to read intelligent responses with a different opinion than that of a recent letter…
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‘Trickle-up’: The grassroots greening of government
The proposition is simple — establish a transition from fossil fuels to 100 percent clean energy by 2050 or face…
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Green government efforts continue in WNC
Although the clean energy resolution circulating through many local governments of late has been alternately called “aspirational” and “empty” by…
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Swain to receive $4 million settlement payment
When U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke visited Pisgah Inn last week, he unexpectedly delivered some good news for…
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Swain County adamantly opposes wilderness designations
U.S. Forest Service rangers got an earful from Swain County residents last week during a public hearing regarding the proposed…
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SRCA discusses pros and cons of adding high school
Shining Rock Classical Academy leaders want to add high school grades to their growing charter school, but they’re just not…
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Chief vetoes special election
A Tribal Council resolution calling for a special election to choose the next Vice Chief sat, unsigned, in the office…
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Ground breaks on entertainment facility at Murphy casino
The bowling alley construction at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort wasn’t even finished when ground broke on a similar addition at…
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Bowling alley opens in Cherokee
A years-long effort to bring a bowling alley to Cherokee has come to an end with the opening of the…
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Community talks under way in Bryson City
Don’t let the quaintness fool you — the small town of Bryson City has plenty of challenges and opportunities facing…
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The Chimney Tops 2 timeline
The fire review process included a thorough analysis of all communications and decisions made from the time the fire began…
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Review released of Smokies’ wildfire response
Nine months after a small wildfire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park metastasized into a deadly blaze that wreaked…
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How to help Hurricane Harvey victims
With so many charities working to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, many Western North Carolina residents are curious…
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Schandevel to challenge Rep. Michele Presnell again
After a disappointing loss to an entrenched incumbent in 2016, Beaverdam’s Rhonda Cole Schandevel announced Aug. 26 that she’ll again…
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Sylva statue draws debate
Ever since an August protest over removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent, a nationwide…
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New director of WCU’s School of Music
An acclaimed pianist who has performed around the world and who teaches that musical artists must be entrepreneurs and good…
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This must be the place: Feeling lucky? Cast the first stone
I ain’t perfect. And the older I get, the more I realize just how true that statement is. Along with…
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Take it or leave it: Foghat to headline Cherokee Blue Ridge Run
It’s the intersection of American blues and British rock. When you throw some Foghat onto the stereo, you’re entering a…
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WCU fishing club rescuing Harvey victims
As members of Western Carolina University’s bass fishing club team — the Bass Cats — were in route to assist…
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When my last song is sung: A conversation with Rob Ickes
In the bluegrass world, it doesn’t get much bigger than Rob Ickes. Fifteen-time “Dobro Player of the Year” by the…
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Bear canisters recommended in the Nantahala
An increase in bear encounters in Panthertown and along the Appalachian Trail through the Nantahala National Forest has resulted in…
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A total eclipse of science
Two independent natural phenomena have occurred over the past few days that will be etched in the memories, minds and…
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‘We never gave up hope’: After 11 days missing, Tennessee teen walks himself out of the Smokies
Austin Bohanan, 18, had been lost in the wilderness for 11 days when he woke up the morning of Aug.…
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Better signage comes to Shining Rock
A group of 13 emergency responders made a 15-mile hike this month to place new wayfinding signs at trail intersections…
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Man dead following waterfall climb
A 50-75-foot fall from Moore Cove Falls in the Pisgah National Forest left a man dead Wednesday, Aug. 23. According…
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A predictable story of love, but one well told
It is late in the day, and 60-year-old Marianne Messmann of Germany stands on the Pont Neuf in Paris. She…
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The music of the heart: 48th annual Smoky Mountain Folk Festival
It gets to the point without distraction. Folk music — the intersection of the human heart and the greater world…
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This must be the place: ‘North Country Ice Storm of ‘98’
I can still feel the cold air, the sense of hopelessness. Watching the clips of the massive rainfall and flooding…
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Get busy living, or get busy dying
During the 1970s, my dad spent some time in prison. For over three years, he taught GED prep classes at…
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We need some constructive dialogue
To the Editor: It is very disappointing that a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the KKK, American Nazis and the…
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No monuments on public property
To the Editor: Let’s all agree on one fact: had the South won the war slavery would have persisted in…
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Liberals believe they are righteous
To the Editor: I read your article about the monuments. Well-written, but I think you’re missing the point. This current…
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Help needed in Mission-BCBS fight
To the Editor: The ugly fight between Blue Cross and Mission Hospital has no winners. Thousands of Western North Carolina…
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Rep. Meadows is hung up on the wall
To the Editor: Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, does a disservice to all Americans, but particularly to legal immigrants, by fanning…
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Disparaging terms are divisive
To the Editor: I am growing increasingly weary of hearing and reading the far right’s use of disparaging terms to…
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