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Jackson NAACP researching provisional ballots
With a high number of ballots being rejected from the Nov. 8 election, Jackson County’s NAACP branch is asking for…
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In a season of feasting, finding food for the soul
I’ve always embraced change, perhaps to my detriment. I suspect it has something to do with a youth where we…
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Still can’t get my bearings in this alternative universe
It has been a few weeks now since the election, and I feel like someone who just came out of…
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Social media is new ‘opiate of the masses’
To the Editor: I would like to thank you for your excellent opinion piece in the Nov. 22 issue of…
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The media have always lied, so what’s new?
To the Editor: While I agree with many of the concerns you have with fake news (www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/18865), it didn’t start…
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Drought disaster declared in Haywood
Haywood County has been declared a primary disaster area due to drought, making family farms eligible for federal assistance such…
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Waynesville Judo Club wins big
Each of the Waynesville Judo Club’s six members came home with a medal from their Oct. 29 competition at University…
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To the bluffs: Two-year Alum Cave Trail project culminates
It’s a miraculously warm, blue-skied November day, the iconic Alum Cave Trail stretching smoothly from the trailhead. The trail invites,…
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Hemp could be grown in N.C. by 2017
North Carolina is working to establish rules for a pilot program allowing industrial hemp production, with the newly formed N.C.…
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Dicks Creek Fire could become outdoor classroom for WCU
When the wildfires burning across Western North Carolina are extinguished, Western Carolina University faculty will likely be eying their footprints…
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Donation will restore HCC dahlia garden
After disease wiped out Haywood Community College’s famed dahlia garden this year, the Carolinas Dahlia Society stepped up with a…
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Elk volunteers snag support
The elk viewing experience in the Cataloochee Valley area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will get a boost…
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When frost comes, we know winter has arrived
The first frost serves as a given year’s most distinctive dividing line. It’s hard to pinpoint just when winter becomes…
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Local bookstores should be celebrated, supported
In My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc., 2012,…
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George Ellison releases new book, reflects on decades of life lived in nature
The Fourth of July, 1976, was just around the corner when George and Elizabeth Ellison embarked on a hike that…
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Ellison releases new title
When George Ellison first started writing nature columns for the Asheville Citizen-Times back in 1986, it was with the assumption…
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As N.C. wildfires slacken, Smokies blaze roars into Gatlinburg
Just as wildfires were beginning to subside in North Carolina, gusty winds whipped a flare-up in the Great Smoky Mountains…
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Support heard for TDA tax increase
Supporters of a proposed hike in Haywood County’s room occupancy tax were silenced in the state legislature in 2013, but…
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Playground for disabled in the works for Waynesville
A Connect N.C. bond application approved by the Town of Waynesville could bring more than $90,000 to the town for…
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Macon to pay off Parker Meadows loan
With an unexpected increase in sales tax revenue, Macon County commissioners voted in favor of paying off a $5 million…
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SCC asks Macon for 40 percent of bond project cost
Southwestern Community College is asking Macon County commissioners to pitch in 40 percent of the cost to construct a new…
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County, nonprofit work to chart sustainable future for homeless shelter
Cold temperatures have arrived, but efforts to ensure the future of Jackson Neighbors in Need are heating up.
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Locked in the longest-running ping-pong match in mountain politics, Joe Sam Queen reflects on his latest loss
Joe Sam Queen counts his campaign wins and losses like innings in a baseball game.
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Solar in the Smokies: Duke proposes microgrid for Mt. Sterling
Utility companies are not often known for being in harmony with nature; indeed, Duke Energy’s recent coal ash fiascos come…
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Straight from the Source: A conversation with Marty Stuart
It’s about staying true to yourself. When you converse with country/bluegrass legend Marty Stuart, you’re speaking to the source. From…
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Lines in the Sand: Balsam Range looks ahead
The eternal struggle of bluegrass is being able to balance evolution with tradition. How does one adhere to the pickin’…
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This must be the place: Last call at the Brar Patch
“Blue-collar heaven.” When asked just what the Brar Patch is, Trey Smith was quick with that response. Huddled under a…
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Fire, drought and… floods?
Smoky, intense wildfires and a historic drought have been visited upon the region over the past few months, but as…
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Bringing in the harvest: Despite drought, students and farmers join forces to feed Haywood’s hungry
Armed with five-gallon buckets and a groundswell of energy, 14 teens from Balsam-based SOAR Camp descended on Eugene Christopher’s Waynesville…
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Forest fire updates
Arboretum collecting firefighting donations Due to heightened fire danger throughout the region, the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville will not have…
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Drought disaster declared in Swain and Jackson
Swain and Jackson counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas due to losses from the ongoing drought.
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Drought increases disease risk in cattle
Drought conditions are taking their toll on livestock operations in the area, according to Jackson County Cooperative Extension, causing a…
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Parkway conservation projects celebrated in new website
A new website highlighting land protection projects along the North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway is up and…
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Sustainable forestry an award-winner for EBCI
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was honored for its use of positive-impact forestry on the Qualla Boundary when the…
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Glad to live in a republic and not a democracy
To the Editor: Thank you for publishing The Smoky Mountain News. We enjoy reading it every week. I would like…
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A community that is truly stronger together
Don’t worry. This column isn’t about the election. There’s plenty of that going on elsewhere. With that being said, I…
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Historians discover lifeless remains of the truth
So this, perhaps, is how we in the traditional — and dare I say legitimate — media will meet our…
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You might enjoy a visit to Broken Wheel, Iowa
One of the great joys of reading occurs when we bump into a book by an author we’ve never heard…
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This must be the place: Stones sax player, improv legend rolls into WNC
It’s a whirlwind. With his group Tiny Universe, saxophonist Karl Denson seamlessly creates this vortex onstage, a sonic hub where…
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Local writers, film wins awards
Two local authors and the Bethel Rural Community Organization’s Historic Preservation Committee were among award winners at the annual meeting…
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Haywood moves to solve affordable housing crisis
During his tenure on the Haywood County Commission, retiring Chairman Mark Swanger has certainly shaped what the future of the…
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Public restrooms, art coming to Hazelwood
The tiny but blossoming business community along Hazelwood Avenue is about to get a major boost from the town of…
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Expansion, safety improvements for Waynesville concrete plant
Nearly a decade ago, Southern Concrete Materials began toying with the prospect of leaving its 201 Boundary St., location for…
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Canton pool project hits another setback
Canton officials may be starting to wonder if plans to replace the town’s aging public pool aren’t cursed.
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Canton undergoes visual rebranding
To the naked eye, there appears to be a lot going right in Canton these days.
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Franklin Chamber of Commerce finds new home
The Franklin Chamber of Commerce is looking for financial support from the community to purchase new office space.
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Swain hospital makes changes to ER
Swain Community Hospital has announced plans to change how it operates its Emergency Department, but administrators say the hospital will…
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Jackson County seeks input on draft comprehensive plan
As the saying goes, change is life’s only constant — so Jackson County is looking for input to guide its…
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The last chapter: Reflections on Mark Swanger’s political era
Mark Swanger tucked into his leather armchair beside a roaring gas fire, an expansive view of his Fines Creek family…
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