Asheville Symphony, WCU team up
 

Asheville Symphony, WCU team up

Western Carolina University student musicians will join members of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra for a performance of orchestral masterworks at…
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Mountain Heritage Day celebrates Appalachian culture
 

Mountain Heritage Day celebrates Appalachian culture

The 41st annual Mountain Heritage Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at Western…
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Galaxy of Stars opens with tribute to Groucho
 

Galaxy of Stars opens with tribute to Groucho

Award-winning actor and director Frank Ferrante will perform his acclaimed portrayal of legendary comedian Groucho Marx at 3 p.m. Sunday,…
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Highlands gala welcomes Three Tenors and a Diva
 

Highlands gala welcomes Three Tenors and a Diva

The Three Tenors and a Diva Gala will be held at 5 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Highlands Performing Arts…
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Disco for a soulful cause
 

Disco for a soulful cause

The inaugural Mountain Disco Music Festival will be held from 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Soul Infusion…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

I just wanted to break 18 minutes. Taking a seat in Ms. Trudeau’s second period social studies class, all I had…
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Climbing the Mountain: Following ‘America’s Got Talent’ appearance, Mountain Faith looks to the future
 

Climbing the Mountain: Following ‘America’s Got Talent’ appearance, Mountain Faith looks to the future

Standing behind the counter of High Country Tire, Summer McMahan is a long way from the bright lights of New…
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Community needs supporters to step up
 

Community needs supporters to step up

To the Editor: This past weekend I had the privilege of working beside my fellow students and colleagues in an…
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When faith and government collide
 

When faith and government collide

To the Editor: In Rowan County, Kentucky, Kim Davis has been ordered to jail for contempt of court.  Her confinement…
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Canton can rebrand itself, but it won’t be easy
 

Canton can rebrand itself, but it won’t be easy

With the right leadership, it can happen. If the national and regional economy continues chugging along for another few years…
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HCC students collaborate to commemorate 50 years
 

HCC students collaborate to commemorate 50 years

It isn’t often students in the creative arts program and the high-tech machinery program get to collaborate on a project,…
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50 years forward: HCC invites community to ‘Big Day’ of celebration
 

50 years forward: HCC invites community to ‘Big Day’ of celebration

What better way to celebrate 50 years of education at Haywood Community College than to invite the community for a…
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HCC graduates find success
 

HCC graduates find success

Not every success story starts with a four-year degree from an elite university, and there are many Haywood Community College…
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History in the making: HCC grows to meet community needs
 

History in the making: HCC grows to meet community needs

As Haywood Community College leaders look to the future, it’s import to reflect on how far the institution has come…
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HCC President Parker looks forward 50 years
 

HCC President Parker looks forward 50 years

What is the significance of HCC’s 50th anniversary? The 50th anniversary celebration gives us an opportunity to reflect upon those…
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McMahan convicted in vehicle death
 

McMahan convicted in vehicle death

Christopher Harold McMahan was recently convicted of felony death by vehicle and felony serious injury by vehicle in Macon County…
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Stecoah man found guilty of sexual offense
 

Stecoah man found guilty of sexual offense

Michael Lee White, 38, of the Stecoah community, was recently found guilty by a jury in Robbinsville of sexual offense…
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Swain to dissolve outdated ordinances
 

Swain to dissolve outdated ordinances

Swain County commissioners will hold two public hearings at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, before deciding whether to dissolve ordinances…
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Yellow Mountain residents complain of shooting range
 

Yellow Mountain residents complain of shooting range

Some residents of the Yellow Mountain area near Lake Glenville are hoping Jackson County commissioners will step in to address…
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Waynesville now owns park, can forcefully remove partiers
 

Waynesville now owns park, can forcefully remove partiers

Hazy ownership of a de facto three-acre park in Waynesville has been resolved, allowing the town to remove a group…
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Waynesville sidesteps fallout from severing its wholesale power buys from Duke
 

Waynesville sidesteps fallout from severing its wholesale power buys from Duke

Duke Energy has roped Waynesville in for another year even though the town hoped to quit buying its wholesale power…
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Steep slope hearing postponed: Commissioners kick back date to comply with public notice laws
 

Steep slope hearing postponed: Commissioners kick back date to comply with public notice laws

The final public hearing in the two-year-old saga of revisions to Jackson County’s steep slope ordinance was all set to…
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Residents say no to two-way Main Street, advocate for more parking in Sylva
 

Residents say no to two-way Main Street, advocate for more parking in Sylva

Sylva is likely nearing the end of a months-long debate over a recurring question: is there a better way to…
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Schools end traditional knighting of valedictorian
 

Schools end traditional knighting of valedictorian

The senior with the highest grade point average will no longer be crowned valedictorian at high school graduation in Haywood…
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Swain elections board hires lawyer for county dispute
 

Swain elections board hires lawyer for county dispute

Swain County Board of Elections has retained an attorney to provide guidance on an ongoing dispute between the board and…
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Macon educators rally for more state funding
 

Macon educators rally for more state funding

The state budget was 78 days overdue last Tuesday night when a group of more than 20 public education supporters…
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Hicks to take Gaming Commission top job when political term ends
 

Hicks to take Gaming Commission top job when political term ends

The day after Chief-Elect Patrick Lambert takes his oath of office, Principal Chief Michell Hicks will take over Lambert’s old…
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WCU celebrates retention milestone, looks toward future enrollment challenges
 

WCU celebrates retention milestone, looks toward future enrollment challenges

Meeting a deadline five minutes ahead of time can be challenging, so after meeting an important enrollment goal five years…
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Unstable rock causes I-40 closure
 

Unstable rock causes I-40 closure

Instability in the rocky roadside caused by blasting along Interstate 40 in Haywood County has caused the second road closure…
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My favorite literary opening paragraphs
 

My favorite literary opening paragraphs

I don’t like to talk or write about writing — but when forced to do so by, say, an approaching…
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WNC’s African-American history
 

WNC’s African-American history

This is a monumental work. Ann Miller Woodford has gathered an astonishing amount of information, including old letters, church records, unpublished…
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Fall harvest festival returns to Cherokee
 

Fall harvest festival returns to Cherokee

The annual Mountain Life Festival in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.…
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Cherokee festival in Hayesville
 

Cherokee festival in Hayesville

The Cherokee Heritage Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Cherokee…
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Youth Art Festival coming to JCGEP
 

Youth Art Festival coming to JCGEP

The Youth Arts Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Jackson County Green…
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Mountain Faith ‘Welcome Home Parade’
 

Mountain Faith ‘Welcome Home Parade’

There will be a “Welcome Home Parade” for acclaimed bluegrass act Mountain Faith at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

It’s funny, isn’t it? When you cross paths with folks you haven’t seen in years, and yet you are all still…
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Three’s Company: Sylva welcomes third craft brewery
 

Three’s Company: Sylva welcomes third craft brewery

John Duncan won’t forget Aug. 19 anytime soon. “It was damn scary,” he chuckled. That day not only marked the…
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Friday night lights still shining bright
 

Friday night lights still shining bright

“So, you’re a band parent, huh? Boy, is your life about to change.” My wife and I heard that a…
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A bag of stories and an oil can
 

A bag of stories and an oil can

By John Beckman • Guest Columnist Forty-two years ago a very interesting man moved into the broken, haunted brick mansion two…
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Despite Sanders’ rhetoric, nothing is free
 

Despite Sanders’ rhetoric, nothing is free

To the Editor: Such a nice man, this Bernie Sanders, we just love him, he just wants to help everyone!…
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Jackson signs jail health contract
 

Jackson signs jail health contract

When John Buchanan first took the jail captain job at the Jackson County Detention Center, one assignment quickly rose to…
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Amid Raleigh wrangling, ‘the clock ran out’ on Lake Junaluska merger bill
 

Amid Raleigh wrangling, ‘the clock ran out’ on Lake Junaluska merger bill

Any day now.  That’s what Robbie Inman has been telling himself for weeks as he cruises Raleigh news sites, trying…
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SCC jumps the gun on building start
 

SCC jumps the gun on building start

Southwestern Community College broke state policy this summer when it launched a construction project before securing final contract authorization from…
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YO offers support to LGBTQ youth in Franklin
 

YO offers support to LGBTQ youth in Franklin

The world can be a confusing and lonely place when you don’t know where you fit in to it and…
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Swain County working toward securing trash site
 

Swain County working toward securing trash site

Beginning in January, Swain County residents will no longer have 24-hour access to the county’s trash and recycling convenience center. 
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No cross proposed for Buck Mountain; Ghost Town asks for cell tower permit
 

No cross proposed for Buck Mountain; Ghost Town asks for cell tower permit

Alaska Presley has talked for years about her vision of having the tallest cross in the western hemisphere placed on…
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Landslide win makes Lambert new Cherokee chief
 

Landslide win makes Lambert new Cherokee chief

There was nothing ambiguous about Patrick Lambert’s win in the race for Cherokee Principal Chief last week. His victory came…
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WCU moving up on the dial: Winners and losers in the shifting world of radio frequencies
 

WCU moving up on the dial: Winners and losers in the shifting world of radio frequencies

A protracted tug-of-war over the 95.3 FM radio frequency is finally over, setting the stage for Western Carolina University’s campus-run…
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Recovery rally aims to offer hope
 

Recovery rally aims to offer hope

It takes a village to combat a drug addiction or mental illness, and Richie Tannerhill is hoping to see a…
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Waynesville candidates share vision of an even more prosperous town
 

Waynesville candidates share vision of an even more prosperous town

Waynesville candidates running for the town board and mayor got an audience with the business community last week at the…
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