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Unto These Hills gets a facelift: Changes to include script rewrite, more Cherokee actors, better marketing plans, and more community involvement
By Michael Beadle For 56 years, the outdoor historical drama known as “Unto These Hills” has been a fixture for…
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A troubled talent
I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone by Nina Simone and Stephen Cleary. New York: Pantheon…
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New collection brings old materials into sharp focus at Western library
Working with four heritage partners, Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library is creating a virtual collection of objects, documents, letters, photos…
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Board majority said Horton violated trust
Haywood County Manager Jack Horton was dismissed from his post in early January by a 3 to 2 vote of…
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County Manager resignation fallout spills over into Haywood Rotary Club
The Waynesville Rotary Club has been caught up in the fallout following the forced resignation of Haywood County Manager Jack…
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DOT plows ahead despite outcry from residents
Despite overwhelming opposition from residents, the N.C. Department of Transportation is moving forward with plans to widen Plott Creek Road…
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Downtown may get internally lit signs
The Waynesville town board will consider a request to loosen sign regulations for the downtown district for the second time…
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Macon takes official stand against I-3
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Stop I-3 Coalition received a major boost in its efforts to prevent construction…
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Build the road, honor our sacrifice
Those who want the government to build the road it flooded when Fontana Lake was created say the issue boils…
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Call of the wild resounds loud and clear
Environmental groups and outdoors lovers packed the public hearing in Bryson City last week to decry the idea of building…
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Cash: a better deal than a road
There’s more than one way for the federal government to make up its promise to Swain County to rebuild the…
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North shore to Nowhere: Controversy countdown or just another chapter?
Opinions on whether to build a 34-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seem to be falling into…
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Wal-Mart talk still going strong in Cherokee
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In the meat aisle of the Reservation Foodliner IGA a customer picks up a…
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A wide open race in Jackson
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In what outgoing Jackson County commissioner Eddie Madden has called an “unusually quiet” election…
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Civil War in the Smokies
The war in the Smokies proved to be an intensely personal conflict. A curious conjunction of terrain, history, politics and…
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Looking in on the iPod cocoon
It is now official. I am not young anymore. I guess I should have paid more attention to the signs,…
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Customers say restaurant grades matter
Editor’s note: Last week The Smoky Mountain News cover story was about cleanliness at restaurants and what health department inspectors…
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Religion and public schools a volatile mix
When a high school biology teacher in Macon County asked students to compare evolution and creation from a scientific perspective,…
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Snowbird youth club gets a home
A dream eight years in the making met reality earlier this month when the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians cut…
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Hospital sales on track to close this week
The sale of the MedWest hospital trio in Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties will go through on July 31, in…
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Folkmoot festival inspires Waynesville leaders to restore town funding
After oscillating on how much money to give Folkmoot USA during annual budget machinations last month, Waynesville town leaders have…
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Canton debates public alcohol ordinance
A new push to change the public alcohol consumption and possession law in Canton has not come without controversy.
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Big dreams, but no money: A new library in Swain searches for funding
A day earlier the room was full. Wall-to-wall children and snakes. “That was in this room,” said Swain County Librarian…
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Junaluska merger plan sidelined until next year
Lake Junaluska homeowners have suspended their push to merge with the town of Waynesville until next year due to political…
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Maggie Valley mudslide lands in court
A lawsuit casting blame for a massive landslide in Maggie Valley four years ago is headed to a jury trial…
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WCU launches lifelong learning program
Western Carolina University is launching a new lifelong learning institute aimed at people age 50 and older across Western North…
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Cullowhee development standards get reviewed
The Cullowhee Community Planning Advisory Committee will meet July 31 to review proposed development standards for the area. The proposed…
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Hicks testifies before U.S. Senate committee on positive impact of tribal gaming
Michell Hicks, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, told a U.S. Senate committee in testimony on July…
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Canton gets new fire chief
The Town of Canton has selected J. Derek Littlejohn as its next fire chief. Littlejohn has been employed with the…
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Swain passes fracking resolution
Swain County recently passed a resolution in opposition to fracking. “Are you familiar with what fracking is?” asked Swain County Commissioner…
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After initially being overlooked, WNC gets fracking hearing
The North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission has scheduled a public hearing on fracking for Western North Carolina. The hearing…
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Prison protest: Hazelwood residents voice concerns about prison conversion
With the lease drawn up and fundraising underway, most people attending the Haywood County Commissioner meeting last week figured that…
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The need to achieve: Western counties work to satisfy state law, get young readers on track
Carson Angel is excited to show off her reading skills as she waits outside East Franklin Elementary for her mom…
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A bright idea: Skaters say park needs lighting
Austin Fore calls it “a blessing.” “If I’m not there every other day I’m bummed,” the Clyde skateboarder said.
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Looking back at strawberry wine, Kephart and Calhoun
In a letter to the editor of the Smoky Mountain News published several weeks ago, Gwen Franks Breese took exception…
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Graveyard Fields celebrates new look
Better public access and trail improvements for Graveyard Fields, one of the most popular spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway,…
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Native plants take root in new Cherokee greenhouse
Native plants are getting a boost in Cherokee with the opening of a 2,200-square-foot greenhouse designed to produce and propagate…
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Nantahala Racing Club and N.C. Wildlife Federation win funds for youth programs
The Nantahala Racing Club and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation came out on top in an online voting contest from…
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Booming triathlons bring economic impact to Haywood
More than 1,200 outdoor atheletes will converge on Lake Logan in Haywood County this weekend for the annual Lake Logan…
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Training initiative garners award for WCU instructor
Sam Fowlkes, who teaches paddlesports and rescue at Western Carolina University, has received prestigious recognition in the field of technical…
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Beyond blueberries: Backyard cornucopia revealed at native plants conference
Taking a walk with Ila Hatter is the outdoors equivalent of sitting beside a scrapbooker as she pages through the…
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Stephen King’s newest is more noir than horror
Each time Stephen King is interviewed, he finds himself responding to the same question: “Where do you get your ideas?”…
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This must be the place
When the camera bulb flashed, it hit me — had it really been that long? Standing in the Belhurst Castle,…
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BBQ Festival & Car Show in Franklin
The 6th Annual Mountain High BBQ Festival and Car Show will be held Aug. 8-9 at the Wayne Proffitt Agricultural…
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Knight brings ‘Songcatcher’s Notebook’ to Bryson
“A Songcatcher’s Notebook: Traditional Music and Storytelling” with singer-songwriter/storyteller Lee Knight will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 31,…
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Sylva welcomes Whitewater Bluegrass Co.
The Whitewater Bluegrass Company will perform as part of the Concerts on the Creek Series at 7: 30 p.m. Friday,…
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WCU dance program director wins national teaching award
Karyn Tomczak, director of the Western Carolina University dance program, will receive the 2014 Dance Teacher Award for Higher Education…
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In other beer news
A home brewing class for beginners will be led by Clark Williams of Frog Level Brewing Company every Tuesday from…
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Franklin brewery readies for spring opening
As the snow melts in Southern Appalachia, the beer will begin to flow from the taps of the Lazy Hiker…
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Bryson brewer named ABA president, hits the road
In the last two weeks, Joe Rowland has soaked in the California sunshine, rafted the Grand Canyon, wandered the Rocky…
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