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Tips for B&B guests
• Costs — Before you book a reservation at a B&B, be sure you check the fine print and know…
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A Quiet Industry: The quaint charm of Victorian bed and breakfast inns have captivated generations of tourists
By Michael Beadle Western North Carolina prides itself as a tourist destination — the mountain getaway where you can hike…
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Hepatica — a thing of beauty and lore
Nothing is fairer, if as fair, as the first flower, the hepatica. I find I have never admired this little…
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The past, present and future on Alarka
By Dawn Gilchrist-Young (Editor’s note: Writer Dawn Gilchrist-Young is conducting a series of interviews with mountain natives to gauge their reaction…
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The Bard is in: Atlanta Shakespeare Company wraps up week-long residency at Cherokee High School
By Michael Beadle Last week, Cherokee students found themselves stretching, swooning, thrusting imaginary swords and spouting 400-year-old Elizabethan English. All…
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The media is the muse: Jackson County potter will set up studios at Green Energy Park
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer From behind the waist-high counter that divides his studio and gallery in half, potter…
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Five CDs that deserve a spin
I’m going to take a brief detour from the regular album/show review format and present five CDs that I feel…
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Recommended diversions
Spring One diversion in my life this past month was the weather. Surely this spring is among the most gorgeous…
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Love sex print: Two different treatments of this oh-so-important ritual
Well, it’s spring — a beautiful spring indeed this year — and that time on the calendar when a young…
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Art auction brings in record amount
Quick Draw in the Mountains raised a record amount of money this year off a live and silent auction that…
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A good cause brings together local artists
As artist Ann Vasilik was nearing the home stretch in Quick Draw — an annual event in Waynesville where artists…
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Macon man honored for paper recycling efforts
The American Forest and Paper Association recently announced that Macon County resident Joel Ostroff has received the 2006 Ed Hurley…
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Peeping tom caugh in Ingles’ restroom
Kim Pettit and her husband were on vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains from Minnesota two weeks ago and had…
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Where to from here? Graduates wishing to stay in the region find themselves facing career, lifestyle compromises
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Turn to the classified pages in any Western North Carolina newspaper and the employment…
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The honest little bird
On one level, the natural history of a region consists of its terrain, habitats, plants, animals and how they interrelate.…
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Reflections on May 2 – what’s really going on?
By Lee Shelton Those who stated that Haywood County Commission Chairman Mark Swanger, who lost in last week’s primary election,…
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Gas prices, HCC’s needs and Sylva’s liquor dilemma
Around the region and throughout the world, there’s a lot going on right now. My “column ideas” folder runneth over,…
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Half a big day
What some masochistic birders do for fun is called a “Big Day.” It’s when birders set out to spend the…
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Have you seen this fish? Researchers probe new species called the sicklefin redhorse
When Dr. Robert Jenkins proclaimed in 1992 that he had discovered a new fish species in the Hiwasee and Little…
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Building a better life
By Michael Beadle Norma Brown knows how hard it is to get legal citizenship in the United States.
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Divided Franklin board OKs vote on alcohol sales
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer This summer residents of Franklin will vote on whether to allow restaurants to sell…
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Learning the language
By Michael Beadle When Lori McLeod first started teaching English as a Second Language at Tuscola High School in Haywood…
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New Waynesville recreation director has marketing expertise
Rhett Langston with the Buncombe County Parks and Recreation Department has been selected from a pool of 63 applicants to…
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Pesticide contaminants found in subdivision
The Haywood County Health Department has asked for state assistance to conduct tests in two subdivisions after soil samples from…
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Everything old is new again
The inter-related geologic and geographic heritage of the Blue Ridge Province is a complex but fascinating and rewarding subject to…
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Swain election protest appealed to state
An election protest in Swain County over alleged irregularities in the May 2 primary was dismissed in a 2 to…
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Railroad right of way claim could stall business expansion
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A Dillsboro business owner’s recent attempt to purchase and develop land near the Great…
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Becoming one with the multi-taskers
By Stephanie Wampler • Guest Columnist Multi-tasking? Not me. Or so I’ve always thought.
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Leadership is all about good ideas
Ideas. Those who have them become leaders and gravitate to places where they can implement them. All of the counties…
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Osteoporosis is real – get tested
By Darcia Bondurant I would like to think of myself as a healthy, 46-year-old woman. My weight, blood pressure, blood…
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Tammy deserved better
Mother’s Day was probably not everything Tammy had hoped for. She may have had visions of sleeping in until 9…
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Finding the forest less logged
For three years, Josh Kelly has been stalking forests in the Southern Appalachians in search of unmapped old-growth forests and…
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Horse outfitters apply for Panthertown permits
The U.S. Forest Service has been working on a master recreation plan for Panthertown Valley for more than two years…
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Of valleys and lilies
I was leading a program for the Theosophical Society at Lake Junaluska on May 6. We were touring the Corneille…
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Recommended diversions
Ebay Egad, it’s more addictive than heroin. My family always had a penchant for what some might refer to as…
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Child’s Play: Swain youth is champion picker
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer At age 12, Seth Taylor is a quiet, tanned, tow-headed boy. He seems well…
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A Melange of murder and myth
If you have a TV, you probably know that the film version of Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel is scheduled for…
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Blue Ridge banking on cool cartons
The war on soft drink vending machines in schools has found an unexpected ally in Haywood County. Blue Ridge Paper…
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Achtung Elf! Lessons in learning a foreign language
By Michael Beadle One thing that paralyzes American tourists about visiting foreign countries is the language barrier.
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Crafty, curious Codetalkers
By Chris Cooper To say that Col. Bruce Hampton has carved a colorful swath through the music industry is likely…
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Recommended diversions
A+ arts schools Call me biased, but Central Elementary School in downtown Waynesville is a great place. All three of…
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The Swiss experience
By Michael Beadle Editor’s note: Smoky Mountain News Writer Michael Beadle recently traveled to Europe. The following is the first…
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Discovering the dawn
In April I began working a few weekend hours in a bookshop in Asheville. Having operated my own bookstore for…
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Celebrating 10 years as an A+ school
By Michael Beadle Central Elementary School capped its 10-year anniversary as an A+ school Friday, May 19, with students, parents,…
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‘Not guilty’: Michelle Gibson freed after jury rejects second-degree murder, manslaughter charges
Michelle Gibson, a single mother charged with second-degree murder in the death of her 8-year-old son, Devin, was found not…
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One mother’s struggle: Gibson hits dead-end in quest to balance childcare and work
When Michelle Gibson showed up at her son’s second-grade classroom with balloons, ice cream and a decorated birthday cake signed…
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An outpouring of support
When Rose Smith read about the tragic death of an 8-year-old boy left in a car in the parking lot…
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