Dreaming of Toyko: A conversation with Michal
 

Dreaming of Toyko: A conversation with Michal

Since the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Michal Smolen has been hopping continents to finish out the post-Rio racing season,…
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Dreaming of Toyko: Following competition in Rio, NOC paddler sets sights on 2020 Olympic medal
 

Dreaming of Toyko: Following competition in Rio, NOC paddler sets sights on 2020 Olympic medal

Much of America spent Aug. 5-21 with eyes glued to a television, cheering on athletes from all corners of the…
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Protect your beehive
 

Protect your beehive

Mosquito spraying for Zika virus in other states has led some North Carolina beekeepers to ask what they can do…
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Red wolf reintroduction to cease in southeast N.C.
 

Red wolf reintroduction to cease in southeast N.C.

Red wolves will be removed from the majority of the five-county area of eastern North Carolina where they now exist…
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Woman dies following fall in the Smokies
 

Woman dies following fall in the Smokies

A woman perished following a fall at the Newfound Gap parking lot in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last…
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Sales strong for Smokies plates
 

Sales strong for Smokies plates

Sales of North Carolina Friends of the Smokies license plates brought in $118,240 to support the Great Smoky Mountains National…
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A rollicking debut novel with a Hemingway twist
 

A rollicking debut novel with a Hemingway twist

In December 1922 Hadley Hemingway set out from Paris to join her husband Ernest, then a newspaper reporter and an…
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Remember when you were ‘16 going on 17?’
 

Remember when you were ‘16 going on 17?’

When I was 16 years old — going on 17 — I had a poster of Stevie Nicks, the mystical,…
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There are plenty of good reasons to vote for Hillary
 

There are plenty of good reasons to vote for Hillary

By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both have their liabilities, but his are so much more…
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N.C. leaders remain – indignantly – on wrong side of HB2
 

N.C. leaders remain – indignantly – on wrong side of HB2

When it comes to HB2, our state’s Republican leadership will eventually prove to be on the wrong side of history.…
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Wrecker service denied location in Sylva
 

Wrecker service denied location in Sylva

A vacant lot along the gateway to Sylva from Dillsboro will stay empty for a while longer following the town…
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Engineers say burn building needs to be replaced
 

Engineers say burn building needs to be replaced

Last month Macon County commissioners said they wanted a second opinion on the remaining lifespan of the first responder training…
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WCU faculty set new precedent for standing up to political influence of big donors
 

WCU faculty set new precedent for standing up to political influence of big donors

Western Carolina University faculty tasked with overseeing a $2 million gift from the Charles Koch Foundation had their work cut…
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WCU faculty closely monitoring $2 million Koch gift
 

WCU faculty closely monitoring $2 million Koch gift

A firestorm over a $2 million gift from political operative Charles Koch ignited the campus of Western Carolina University last…
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Haywood County high-impact development ordinance passes
 

Haywood County high-impact development ordinance passes

Children, the elderly, the ill, the mentally challenged and the incarcerated in Haywood County all have at least one thing…
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Waynesville annexes charter school property
 

Waynesville annexes charter school property

The Town of Waynesville’s area increased by 2.82 acres last week with the annexation of a parcel at 1023 Dellwood…
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Cherokee council votes to keep vans gifted from Washington Redskins
 

Cherokee council votes to keep vans gifted from Washington Redskins

A pair of Mercedes-Benz vans that The Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation once bestowed upon the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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No elk allowed: Two-mile fence keeps elk off dairy farm following winter shooting of seven animals
 

No elk allowed: Two-mile fence keeps elk off dairy farm following winter shooting of seven animals

These days, bovines — not elk — are the only cows wandering around the Ross dairy farm in Jonathan Creek.
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Growing elk population triggers landowner conflicts, land conservation efforts
 

Growing elk population triggers landowner conflicts, land conservation efforts

Elk may be the most polarizing animal in Western North Carolina right now, but William Carter has kept a closer…
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Upcoming political forums and debates
 

Upcoming political forums and debates

If you are undecided or just want more information about the Nov. 8 election, there are plenty of opportunities to…
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State candidates speak to Macon residents
 

State candidates speak to Macon residents

Every election cycle, the Macon County League of Women Voters aims to educate its community about local and state candidates…
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Finding the root of your rhythm
 

Finding the root of your rhythm

The RPMs hovered around 4,000, the truck huffing and puffing up the steep hillside. Approaching Sam’s Gap (elevation 3,760 feet)…
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True patriotism comes in many colors
 

True patriotism comes in many colors

We drove through the small town of Clyde on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 11, right in the midst of the commemoration…
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Finding my way in this season of change
 

Finding my way in this season of change

Not long ago my front porch was a barren, pathetic place with a few pieces of hard, wooden furniture, zero…
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I remember John Snow, and what GOP did to him
 

I remember John Snow, and what GOP did to him

To the Editor: I remember John Snow. For those that don’t, he was the three-term state senator from this district who…
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Hillary does not deserve support of women
 

Hillary does not deserve support of women

To the Editor: In the August 31 edition of The Smoky Mountain News, guest columnist Hannah McLeod asked “Where are…
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Rep. Meadows should open up discussions
 

Rep. Meadows should open up discussions

To the Editor: I was one of the people who was turned away from Rep. Mark Meadows’ meeting at the…
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Hiking for Hope: Robbinsville man raises $70,000 for children with A.T. hike
 

Hiking for Hope: Robbinsville man raises $70,000 for children with A.T. hike

It was nighttime in the White Mountains, and Steve Claxton was pretty sure he wouldn’t make it till morning. Rain…
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Explore N.C. wildlife online
 

Explore N.C. wildlife online

A revamped website is allowing people to discover North Carolina’s natural heritage in new ways through the N.C. Natural Heritage…
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Grant supports Cherokee-infused environmental education
 

Grant supports Cherokee-infused environmental education

Classroom lessons focusing on Cherokee culture and ecology of the Great Smoky Mountains will expand to schools in seven Western…
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Must have been an omen
 

Must have been an omen

When I checked my email Friday morning (9/9), I had a message from Chris Kelly, mountain wildlife diversity biologist with…
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Putting a face on the growing white underclass
 

Putting a face on the growing white underclass

For decades, the lot of poor white Americans has worsened. Marriage rates have plummeted while out-of-wedlock births have skyrocketed. Unemployment,…
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WCU’s Mountain Heritage Day
 

WCU’s Mountain Heritage Day

Celebrating Southern Appalachian culture through concerts, living-history demonstrations, competitions and awards programs, Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day will be…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

It pushed me back a couple of feet.
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Fangmeyer Theater open house
 

Fangmeyer Theater open house

The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville is finally ready to show off its new second main stage, the Daniel…
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Trump promises to ‘fix’ problems
 

Trump promises to ‘fix’ problems

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke to a packed Asheville Civic Center on Monday as boisterous supporters cheered him on…
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Local politicians speak at Trump rally
 

Local politicians speak at Trump rally

Some local Republicans got their brief fling with fame during Donald Trump’s campaign rally Monday in Asheville.
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COMMENTARY: Fear and voting in Ashevegas
 

COMMENTARY: Fear and voting in Ashevegas

For 223 years, the highest office in the land has been passed from one man to another without bloodshed or…
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COMMENTARY: The Donald and The Doomed converge in Asheville
 

COMMENTARY: The Donald and The Doomed converge in Asheville

“You’re a Nazi,” the 20-something female screamed into the face of an elderly veteran. The veteran shrugged off the comment…
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The biker politic
 

The biker politic

Motorcyclists have always been a distinct subset of the American population, long before they gained infamy in Hunter S. Thompson’s…
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Cat museum looking for volunteers
 

Cat museum looking for volunteers

A museum honoring the American house cat is set to open soon in Jackson County, but cash and volunteer hours…
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WCU to host congressional, state legislative debates
 

WCU to host congressional, state legislative debates

Western Carolina University’s Public Policy Institute and Department of Political Science and Public Affairs are seeking questions from voters to…
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Jackson board tweaks cell tower ordinance
 

Jackson board tweaks cell tower ordinance

After surviving the first application process under the new wireless communication rules, Jackson County commissioners directed the planning board to…
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Huge success for Canton Labor Day fest
 

Huge success for Canton Labor Day fest

The longest running Labor Day festival in the South is meant to commemorate the contributions of the organized labor movement…
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Investigation results in 26 drug arrests
 

Investigation results in 26 drug arrests

Macon County Sheriff’s Office concluded “Operation Thunderstruck” on Sept. 9 with 26 arrests for drug-related offenses while three suspects are…
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Franklin to dole out funds to community charities
 

Franklin to dole out funds to community charities

Fourteen Macon County charities are vying for a piece of Franklin’s $40,000 nonprofit funding pool, but not all organizations will…
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Meadows introduces bill to save floating houses
 

Meadows introduces bill to save floating houses

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, introduced a bill last week to halt the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to ban floating…
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Comment

Case dismissed in council pay raise suit
 

Case dismissed in council pay raise suit

A lawsuit seeking to declare illegal a controversial Tribal Council decision to issue its members pay raises has been dismissed…
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Cherokee give $50,000 to oppose North Dakota pipeline
 

Cherokee give $50,000 to oppose North Dakota pipeline

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians threw its support behind the cause of the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota…
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Elk hearing draws a crowd
 

Elk hearing draws a crowd

A minor adjustment to elk depredation rules brought 70 people — about 40 of them college students — out to…
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