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Rash draws on his own Civil War ties in his new novel, The World Made Straight
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer History books and literature long have recounted and regaled the Civil War, examined its…
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Books that evoke special times
Sometimes a book touches our hearts in a very special way. In the winter and spring of 1978, having saved…
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Carden wins Brown-Hudson Folklore Award
Author, storyteller and playwright Gary Carden of Sylva has been awarded the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award presented by the North Carolina…
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Commissioners get slope ordinance from planners
Haywood County commissioners are examining a slope development ordinance that would regulate the safety of cut and fill slopes for…
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N.C. Education Lottery sparks debate over how dollars will be spent
By Michael Beadle The North Carolina Education Lottery might be seen by state officials as a boon for public education,…
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Officials hope taping TDA will promote civility
Turmoil surrounding the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has landed the entity a regular slot on the government television station…
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A raw deal for WNC
According to provisions in the state’s lottery law, about a third of the money raised in the lottery (35 percent)…
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Retailers get ready for opening day
By Michael Beadle As the opening date approaches for the North Carolina Education Lottery, local retailers in Western North Carolina…
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State OKs sewage plan for part of Gorge development
A controversial high-end development along the Nantahala River in the Nantahala Gorge has received the green light for an alternative…
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Subdivision ordinance talks continue in Macon
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Macon County Planning Board members will continue their first discussion of a draft subdivision…
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Sylva leaders survey citizens about town services
By Sarah Kucharski * Staff Writer Is there enough affordable housing in Sylva? Do you feel safe in your neighborhood?…
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The doghobble’s claim to fame
Whenever I’m conducting a native plant identification workshop, I try to note several regional plants — one each in the…
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There are many good reasons to get slope ordinances on the books
There’s no more pressing issue in this region than enacting ordinances to control steep slope development. If we snooze on…
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Media consolidation just ain’t good
It happened months back, but the request was typical of what we hear everyday in this business: will you do…
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A public grace worth emulating
By Stephanie Wampler I didn’t know her. I never met her. I haven’t even read that much about her. I…
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Filming on the fly
By Sarah Kucharski Standing in the shallows of the Tuckasegee River between Webster and Dillsboro, cold water flowing around the…
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Burroughs Wellcome Fund welcome
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has renewed its commitment to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s inquiry-based, hands-on science education programs.…
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Park lifts ban on brookies thanks to long-term trout recovery
For the first time in more than 30 years, fishermen in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be allowed…
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‘Spend or lose’ law leads to unspoken credo to use money
The investigation into an off-the-books account kept by the former Haywood County Schools maintenance director at Haywood Builders Supply has…
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Supporters confident Wingate will be exonerated
When Danny Wingate agreed five years ago to set up a credit line for the Haywood County Schools maintenance department,…
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Cast out the castor
The gardening season is upon us. Many gardeners here in the Smokies region are familiar with mole bean plant, also…
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Slaves to titillating news and ....
You have already read or heard about the three guys who were arrested for “operating” — yeah, I guess the…
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Lottery funding formula needs to be changed now
It’s past time to keep rehashing the same old arguments about whether having a state lottery is a good idea.…
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Alien vs. Predator in the GSMNP
A new breed of predator beetles that could help fight the hemlock wooly adelgid were released in the Great Smoky…
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Deep into Gorges State Park
By Ed Kelley Tiptoeing quickly across the Toxaway River, my ankle gaiters did the job and kept the cold water…
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Gus the gruffy grouse gets territorial
Jerry Smathers is public enemy number one for a ruffed grouse named Gus that lives on the forest bordering Smathers’…
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Park: Don’t blame us for the ladybugs
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials say they have been erroneously blamed by some residents for introducing large, black and…
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I wanna another peep outta ya!
Jeepers creepers, don’t ya here those peepers. Gram for gram, Pseudacris crucifer is one of the loudest amphibians out there.…
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The Doc is still in: Legendary Appalachian musician scheduled to play in Haywood County for Arts Council benefit concert
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer There are two things Arthel Watson fans are sure to mention when asked about…
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‘Doctors for Doc’ takes the lead in Watson concert fundraising
As part of an innovative fundraising effort called “Doctors for Doc,” Haywood County physicians affiliated with Haywood Regional Medical Center…
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Solid country from outside the Nashville machine
By Chris Cooper The name Radney Foster takes me back to the earlier days of home satellite dishes and music…
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Recommended diversions
National Poetry Month April may have been “the cruelest month” for poet T.S. Eliot, but for me it is truly…
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An attempt to straighten the world
There is a passage in the heart of Ron Rash’s novel, The World Made Straight, in which Leonard Shuler remembers…
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Stillwell earns fans the hard way
By Chris Cooper What do the words “music career” mean to you? For many it’s big fancy studios, nice cars…
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Recommended diversions
Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse I first saw the Truckers eight or nine years ago in a little…
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Words on the wind: New Cherokee youth radio program offers students a chance to record and broadcast news reports, tribal culture and local history
By Michael Beadle It’s Thursday morning and Cherokee High School junior Brandi Oocumma is preparing to read a news story…
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Simple significance
Writers typically aim to give the reader a protagonist who is likeable. Most of us don’t want to spend hours…
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Cherokee anthem realized through WCU
What began as a request to translate “The Star-Spangled Banner” into Cherokee evolved instead into a new song, the “United…
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Armor – Eclectic to the nth degree: Highlands Republican wants to pry loose Taylors’ grip on 11th District
When CNN chose John Armor’s web blog as the political site of the day several years ago, coining him an…
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Jackson Democrats must choose among a crowded field
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Voters in Jackson County will elect predominately Democratic county commissioners in this May’s primary…
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Local PAC exerts influence
For the first time in Haywood County, a group of residents has formed a political action committee with the goal…
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Morgan runs to win: Swannanoa candidate says he’ll beat Shuler in Democratic primary
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Michael Morgan sits at a table near the back of Malaprop’s Bookstore Café in…
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Squirrel stories
It seems to me that the general reputation of squirrels has declined within my own lifetime. I don’t recall hearing…
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Changing budget laws would save taxpayer money
The words still ring in my ears, coming as they did from a teacher who had spent years playing by…
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Forging a wise immigration bill
Amnesty? In the immigration controversy that is dividing Congress and the nation, this has become the most misused term in…
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Happy trails: Franklin mountain biker sets his sights on a busy racing season
By Michael Beadle Some people bike for the fun of it. Some people bike to race. For Franklin’s Owen Simpson,…
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The ivory-billed swami predicts
For those not acquainted with the ivory-billed swami, I will give you a bit of history. This is from the…
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Winged migration of a different sort
After getting all the two-leggeds to bed last night I went out to the yard to wrangle the four-leggeds. Dusk…
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Taylor tangled in Abramoff’s web
The recent revelations about Rep. Charles Taylor’s ties to a lobbyist who has confessed to federal bribery charges is a…
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Mixed drinks won’t be good for Sylva
By Jason Kimenker • Guest Columnist What makes Sylva great? The people of rural Sylva, North Carolina are as unique…
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