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Taking it outside: The Balsam Mountain Trust offers nature hikes, outdoor seminars, workshops and research studies in a richly diverse tract of 4,400 acres in Jackson County
By Michael Beadle At first it sounds like a contradiction — a land developer interested in protecting the environment. Is…
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Landslide death case ends in mistrial
A wrongful death lawsuit surrounding a landslide in Maggie Valley was declared a mistrial this week after a jury failed…
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Wide variety of influences leaves sump’m for everyone
By Chris Cooper Let’s just go ahead and say it: terrible title for an album. Thankfully, a lot of the…
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Lamotte’s work branches beyond music with non-profit
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer David Lamotte is a safe driver. Headed south to Columbus, Ga., last Friday afternoon…
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Recommended diversions
“Elizabethtown,” Soundtrack From everything I hear, the movie turned out to be entirely less than it was cracked up to…
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Pottery, naturally
By Greg Sessoms • Correspondent Upon entering Susan Balentine’s home off of Howell Mill Road in Waynesville, one could be…
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Remembering the Civil War
This year marks 140 years since the end of the American Civil War. In that time a gigantic library of…
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The body count keeps rising
As of Nov. 20, the total number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom climbed to 2,083. Eleven more…
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Choosing replacement puts board, director at odds
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer There was a showdown at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Fontana Regional Library Board.…
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Finishing well: Canton native dies in a war he didn’t support for the country he did
By Michael Beadle Michael Parrott wanted to be in Iraq. He told his wife Meg about it every Sunday morning…
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Latest Ghost Town suitor eyes May 2006 opening
The owner of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad has teamed up with a venture capitalist and an amusement operator to…
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New laws should help curtail meth plague
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Swain County Chief Deputy Jackie Fortner never thought he’d equate marijuana with more simple…
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Trial forces widower to relive mountainside tragedy
Almost two years ago, a retired couple from Florida was crushed in their home after the hillside behind their house…
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Making use of natural surroundings
When the Cherokees emerged as a distinctive culture more than a thousand years ago, they situated themselves so as to…
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Pressure mounts to get out of Iraq
Many of us who call these mountains home rely on the isolation, the distance from the cold realities of modern…
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Brothers in arms
Jacob, Luke and Ben Sutton were once considered renegade snowboarders at Cataloochee Ski Area.
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Chickadee code cracked
Chickadee #1: Chick-a-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE! Translation: There’s a sharp-shinned hawk behind you!
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NOC founder inducted into Hall of Fame
Payson Kennedy, co-founder of Nantahala Outdoor Center, was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Whitewater Hall of Fame…
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Ranger Rick rappels into cave to rescue dog
Rangers with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rappelled into a 70-foot underground cave last week to rescue a hunting…
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Two parks, two leaders, one mission: Park assistant superintendent, Phil Francis takes over at Parkway
Phil Francis, the long-time assistant superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has been appointed superintendent of the Blue…
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Bright nights in Dillsboro
By Michael Beadle Dillsboro becomes a village of glittering lights for the first two Friday and Saturday nights in December…
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NY rock quartet conjures a blast from the past
By Joe Hooten Scene: A Friday night, Firebirds and Camaros fill a Main Street parking lot after the big high…
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New Faces, Familiar places: Galleries old and new wrap up a successful year
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer This Friday (Dec. 2) marks the close of what Waynesville Gallery Association chairman David…
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One year and all’s well: 2005 finale of Waynesville’s popular gallery stroll marks anniversary of Outer Spaces Gallery
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer On a cold, grey Sunday afternoon just before Thanksgiving, Polly Smith sits behind the…
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Recommended diversions
Graham Greene Recently I have begun revisiting authors I read back in my 20’s — Thomas Wolfe, Hemingway, Faulkner, some…
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In search of Will: One book falls short while another succeeds
Shortly after completing Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier discussed the possible subject of his next novel. Frazier said that he wanted…
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Land too valuable to conserve, residents say
Nearly two years after Bryson City town leaders agreed to conserve 900 acres once used as the town’s drinking water…
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School’s stormwater system will be state-of-the-art
A new elementary school under construction in Haywood County will serve as an environmental model for developers in the region.
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Study says water, sewer needs rising
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The state’s water, wastewater and stormwater systems are faced with $6.8 billion in capital…
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A long tradition of greenery and Christmas
Christmas greenery is a Southern Appalachian specialty. This region has been furnishing the eastern United States with quantities of various…
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Playing politics at the expense of our soldiers
By Major Gen. Geoffrey B. Higginbotham In 1998, while serving as a Marine Corps Bases Commander in Japan, I had…
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Things change, and sometimes not for the best
I’m not sure where home is, but my children know. They’re first-generation mountaineers, which means, should they stay, they’ve got…
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The Naturalist's Corner
The front that passed through the week before Thanksgiving brought the first waterfowl fallout of the season to Lake Junaluska.…
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Paddling for Gold: NRC’s world-class whitewater stars are paddling hard this winter to secure a place on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team
By Michael Beadle It’s 26 degrees on a November morning, and Jamie Tidmore has just finished another whitewater kayaking run…
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The boats that once plied mountain waters
When one thinks about navigation in regard to the rivers here in the Smokies region, its old-time ferries and modern-day…
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Kudos for Cantrell’s new book on fish in Cherokee country
When I read the notice about a new book — The Fishes Gathered in Cherokee Country — in the Nov.…
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The downside of motorcycle tourism
By Lee Shelton • Guest Columnist There has been much discussion about attracting more motorcyclists and motorcycle rallies to the…
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Remember the privilege of giving
By Bill Nolte • Guest Columnist Last week I was providing my ongoing parental taxi service. I can’t remember if we…
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Jackson, others need to learn to plan
By John Edwards • Guest Columnist Positive planning by developers, government officials and local citizens could be of great benefit…
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Hemp and the rule of law
It looks like the old adage “necessity is the mother of invention” may bear fruit (or gas) when it is…
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Watershed decision was right on target
Bryson City leaders avoided the temptation to sell off their watershed land for development, instead opting to follow through with…
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Exploring the creative side with handcrafted jewelry
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jewelry artist Debbie Higdon makes what she likes to wear — handmade pieces, created…
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Power guitar trio delivers
By Chris Cooper The G3 tours are a traveling celebration of the virtuoso rock guitarist. Joe Satriani developed the concept…
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Larry Watson — a student of the song
By Michael Beadle It was Chet Atkins who really put the hook in Larry Watson. Atkins had that masterful style…
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(Un)RecommendedDiversions
Here’s the deal. I’m not going to be “recommending” anything in this installment of “Diversions.” I’m just going to tell…
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Make way for the holidays
The Compleat Gentleman by Brad Miner. Spence Publishing, 2004. 264 pages. The Truth of the Matter by Robb Forman Dew.…
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Blaylock tries to salvage business after Haywood court cracks down on junkyard ordinance
When Ricky Stokely pulled out of Denver Blaylock’s junkyard in Cruso last Friday afternoon towing a junk green Saturn, he…
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Charters want cut of lottery money
Advocates of charter schools have launched a statewide campaign to correct what they claim is an inequality in the way…
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Jackson considers grant requests
Jackson County commissioners are weighing the merits of several municipal grant applications that will allocate a total of up to…
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$6.9 million gift to WCU largest in its history
As industry experts warn of a worsening international shortage of construction professionals, Western Carolina University and one of the nation’s…
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