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Moral March is not a moment, but a movement
By Doug Wingeier • Columnist As I write this, I have just returned from a tiring but exhilarating day participating in the Moral…
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Jackson fire tax goes up in smoke
Jackson County commissioners have nixed the idea of making volunteer fire departments financially autonomous.
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Farm Bill secures 2014 payments for counties home to federal land
County leaders in Western North Carolina breathed a collective sigh of relief after the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into…
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Cherokee Bear Zoo fined by OSHA
Cherokee Bear Zoo has been fined by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violating worker safety regulations. Cherokee…
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Wild ride with a log splitter leads to larceny arrests
Four Asheville residents were arrested after an attempt to steal a logsplitter from Lowe’s in Waynesville drew the attention of…
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2014 election filing season opens
The 2014 election season officially got underway this week. Candidates could begin signing up to run for office on Monday.…
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Steep slope redux: A pocket guide to proposed revisions in Jackson’s steep slope ordinance
Limits on mountainside development and standards for steep slope building are once again in the spotlight in Jackson County. The…
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Franklin merchants want bigger voice in gazebo make-over
By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent A design for a new gazebo on the town square in downtown Franklin has been…
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Ghost Town gunfight negotiations finalized
A compromise has been reached between Ghost Town in the Sky and state inspectors over a violation and fine stemming…
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Eighth Macon school officer position goes to Nantahala
Robert Holland has been pushing to place a resource officer in every school for years — long before the Sandy…
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Districts grapple with directive to identify top 25 percent of teachers
Usually, you’d expect a school system to jump at the chance to give its teachers a raise, but superintendents statewide…
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Melange of the Mountains caters to food fans with bigger lineup
Restaurants in Haywood County are being encouraged to jump on the Melange of the Mountains train, which will return this…
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Canton debates alcohol policy at armory
A request to serve keg beer at an event in the Canton Armory prompted a broader discussion of the town’s…
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Mixed feelings among residents on new plans for old prison
By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent Haywood County leaders have all but signed off on plans by a pair of faith-based…
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Tallulah Hike steps off a year of wilderness
A guided hike along the Tallulah River in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, to…
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Outhouse race to run in Sapphire
So, when else would you have an opportunity to race an outhouse down a ski mountain? Thought so.
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WNC Nature Center reaches record attendance for 2013
A whole lot of people visited the WNC Nature Center last year. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center report…
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Haywood teacher recognized for conservation education
A Haywood County teacher, Janet Frazier, has been named the 2013 North Carolina Elementary Conservation Education Teacher of the Year.
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Macon hiker talks about life feat
Octogenarian Jim Pader will talk about his record-setting hike up Mount Whitney from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12,…
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Dinosaurs, LEGOS and toads, oh dear
No better way to celebrate a big thaw than an impromptu field trip. We rounded up kids, friends and friends’…
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Hooked for life: Mills reels in memories with artisan rods
There’s nothing abnormal about the pair of armchairs in Jim and Baraba Mills’ living room, or about the television —…
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‘Night Film’ is a tiring yet mesmerizing read
I did not like this book. My first response on finishing it was that I would not review it, but there…
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Background checks are government overreach
To the Editor: The Jackson County commissioners recently made a mistake — an honest, well-meaning, well-intentioned error, yet a mistake…
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How did county finance not catch on?
To the Editor: The alleged embezzlement of around $50,000 from Macon County taxpayers by a county employee highlights incompetency within…
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Teachers, public education get raw deal
To the Editor: If you have been following the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you have recently learned that…
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Public Art Commission needs to speak up
To the Editor: I served on the Waynesville Public Art Commission from 2006 until March of 2011. Public art was a…
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Vouchers are just bad education policy
The Smoky Mountain News published an excellent analysis of the controversy centered on the current legislation called the “Opportunity Scholarship…
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Moving forward: Commissioners express support for use of old prison by trio of ministries
A plan to turn the old state prison campus in Hazelwood into an epicenter for changing lives is moving forward…
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For some pet owners in rural west, round-the-clock vet care out of reach
By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent Years have passed since Jack McJunkin’s dog was struck and fatally injured by a car…
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Finding a culprit behind parking crunch in Canton
Free parking has its drawbacks, at least for the Country Music and Dance Parlor in downtown Canton.
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Steep slopes on the rocks: Relaxed building rules try to strike a balance
David Brooks grew up dirt poor. His dad farmed corn, apples and tobacco, always with a plow and mule, never…
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Step up and be counted: Public could tip scales in steep slope rewrite
Who shows up and speaks out at a steep slope public hearing in Jackson County next week could alter what…
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Macon election office assesses damage in emergency meeting
After discovering $50,000 worth of unauthorized checks had disappeared from its budget and placing director Kim Bishop on paid investigatory…
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Macon County reviews policies as embezzlement investigation continues
Three weeks after the State Bureau of Investigation launched a probe into possible embezzlement at the Macon County Board of…
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REO Speedwagon to rock Harrah’s
Iconic rockers REO Speedwagon will play at 9 p.m. Feb. 14 at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. Formed in 1967, signed…
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‘A Doll’s House’ at WCU
The 1960s version of the production “A Doll’s House” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12-15 and at 3…
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Artist reception, showcase for Macon painter
A reception and conversation with artist Lizzy Falcon will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb.13, at the…
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‘Coffee and Chocolate Reception’ with printmaker at Jackson library
A “Coffee and Chocolate Reception” and gallery talk with artist Matt Liddle will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m.…
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Haggard brings honky-tonk to Harrah’s
Legendary country singer Merle Haggard will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. Haggard has…
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This must be the place
What does the “K” stand for? “It stands for Kavanagh,” I told the lady behind the counter. “My mother’s maiden…
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Haywood revives film commission
Becky Seymour can see the bright lights of Hollywood from Haywood County. “Right now we’re in the major infancy stage,…
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You yellow-bellied sapsucker
In my youth, never did a B-western movie make it to the end without the bad guy being cornered and…
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Agritourism contributors needed
Buy Haywood is collecting listings for an agri-tourism guide to feature produce stands, farmers markets, value-added products with local ingredients…
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Students to participate in regional science fair
The Western Regional Science and Engineering Fair will bring students from across the region to Western Carolina University on Wednesday…
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Photography happenings
Photography workshop to focus on Appalachian barns A weekend photography workshop called “The Appalachian Barn Workshop: The Barns of Haywood and…
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Birds of prey program to be held in national park
A program about birds of prey called “Heads Up for Hunters of the Sky” will be held at 2 p.m.…
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Polar Plunge makes final fundraising case before this weekend’s chilly jump
More than 60 brave souls are taking the Polar Plunge challenge by jumping into Lake Junaluska this Saturday, Feb. 1.
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“Armored” mammal spotted in Pisgah National Forest
Roger Skillman had just finished a hike and was driving home through the Pisgah National Forest in Transylvania County when…
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Forest fixer-upper: Logging clears the way for a more ecologically robust watershed
The silence seeped from the mountain ridges and hung heavily over the forest, silence like a deep well, so deep…
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Raising youth in the digital age
Four years ago in November, a schoolteacher in Knoxville asked her English class to write a composition on family dinner…
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