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Strange happenings in music today
By Chris Cooper Here are a few things about “modern” rock and pop that I’ve found interesting (in a morbid…
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Recommended diversions
“Scoop” The world’s been in need of a good Woody Allen film and this murder-mystery/comedy fabulously fills the void. As…
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Betrayed, rejection and self-destruction
15 years ago, Donna Tautt’s The Secret History managed to acquire an amazing following among university students in the United…
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$5 million upgrade planned prior to May 2007 opening
As the new owners of Ghost Town in the Sky pondered whether the dated mountaintop amusement park was a good…
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Cotton selected as Haywood manager
David B. Cotton of Seven Lakes has been named Haywood County manager
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Grant allows Sylva to conserve Fisher Creek
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Clean…
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From military campaign to political campaign
If politics makes strange bedfellows, then surely Rutherford Trace offers some curious pillow talk in the legislative halls of Raleigh…
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Quarry opponents get county support
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The grassroots group United Neighbors of Tuckasegee celebrated another victory in the battle to…
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Reunion emotional for many former Ghost Town workers
When Todd Berrong, a former gun fighter at Ghost Town amusement park, walked through the gate of his old stomping…
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Rutherford Trace: Local historians examine the legacy of a shock-and-awe Revolutionary War campaign against the Cherokee
By Michael Beadle To some, it was a crucial military campaign early in the Revolutionary War, an unprecedented patriot force…
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Sylva set to extend planning jurisdiction to Allen’s Branch
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Town aldermen are moving ahead with plans to vote the Allen’s Branch community into…
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Wal-Mart rolls out unique design
The controversy over a proposed Super Wal-Mart complex in Waynesville took a turn at a town planning board meeting this…
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Chinquapins a hardy, unusual shrub
Do you have chinquapins growing on your property or in your vicinity? If so, you’re fortunate. For my money, “the…
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Immigration and a complicit, angry America
On July 13, the Buncombe County Republican Action Club posted two billboards in Asheville featuring a photograph of a Mexican…
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Quarry plan showcases planning shortfalls
Citizens in Jackson County’s Tuckasegee community should consider themselves lucky. The problem, however, is that luck doesn’t always hold. It…
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Bethel group receives grants for conservation
On-going farmland conservation efforts in the rural Haywood County community of Bethel got a boost with a $20,000 grant from…
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Two flew over the cuckoo’s nest
Nothing takes me back to that shotgun shack along the dusty road around Horseshoe Lake quicker than the call of…
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SCC students help with Parkway film
When Bentley Robison enrolled in the Surveying Technology program at Southwestern Community College, he never imagined he would become an…
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Quarry opponents speak out at public hearing
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About two hundred concerned citizens packed into a Jackson County courtroom Tuesday night…
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Charlie Daniels rocks Canton Sept. 1
The Town of Canton’s Labor Day celebrations reach fever pitch this weekend with the Paper Bowl — the football game…
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Jim Black’s enablers carry on
The scandals around N.C. House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, multiply like mushrooms on the forest floor. Yet a casual reader…
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Canary Coalition is leading in the right direction
Too often people tend to write off efforts by the most hard-core social activists as excessive or simply impossible to…
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The oil nut’s curious little green fruits
For me, the fall season is one of the most invigorating times to get out in the woods and prowl…
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The unfriendly skies
I was working in the yard the other afternoon when I heard a crisp “whap!” — like the sound of…
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Smokies’ coneflowers get around
Several times a year, Park Ranger Susan Sachs heads up to the ozone garden at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning…
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Air time: Students help with ozone study in high elevation garden
When Aaron Patterson graduated from Tuscola High this year, little did he know a big chunk of his summer break…
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Maggie re-invents itself – again
People are saying the new Ghost Town will be a shot in the arm for Maggie Valley. That’s probably an…
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Eric Johnson: Live at the Orange Peel 8/30/06
By Chris Cooper OK, the title of this one is a bit misleading, seeing as how Eric Johnson’s appearance at…
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The Joy of Jammin’: Smoky Mountain Folk Festival celebrates 35 years of music and dance at Lake Junaluska
By Michael Beadle What keeps people coming back year after year to the Smoky Mountain Folk Festival at Lake Junaluska…
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Recommended diversions
“Crash” Sometimes a movie or a book can rock us like a hook to the jaw. This movie, which tells…
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Steep Canyon Rangers climb to the top
The Steep Canyon Rangers, the host band of the upcoming Mountain Song Festival in Brevard, continues to carve out their…
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Frank delivers another fine detective novel
In Marshall Frank’s latest Miami detective novel, The Latent (ISBN 1-4137-9890-X), a serial killer is terrorizing Miami’s gay community. Rockford…
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Franklin VA clinic to open in April 2007
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A new outpatient clinic designed to serve 3,200 area veterans will open in Franklin…
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Former employee questions school spending in the aftermath of ‘04 floods
Haywood County schools must pay back more than $300,000 in state flood repair grants after double-billing both the state and…
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Franklin machinist writes shop book with subtle humor
By Fred Alexander • Guest Writer There’s never been a more entertaining book for those who enjoy working in a…
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Study credits park for tourist spending
According to a recently-released National Park Service study, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not only the nation’s most visited…
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Scams targeting elderly a growing problem
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Assistant Attorney General David Kirkman hits the play button on a small stereo and…
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Reclaiming a piece of history: Dillsboro leaders work toward making renovations to the historic Monteith farmstead, building a new park and community theater
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Shoes stained with red clay mud and covered with sweat and bits of hay…
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Quarry opponents urge state to deny permit
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About 200 concerned citizens packed into a Jackson County courtroom to show their opposition…
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Kudzu players to build theater
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer On a conference table covered with blueprints perches a small paper model of a…
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A flood of accusations: Former maintenance director claims his career was cut short because he criticized school system’s flood-related spending practices
Ted Norman, former maintenance director of Haywood County Schools, claims he was the target of whistle-blower retaliation by the school…
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Residents warned to limit contact with contaminated soil
Recent soil and water testing in the former Francis Orchard in Haywood County have not revealed levels of contamination high…
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Camp’s name officially attached to WCU building
A Western Carolina University building now bears the name of a beloved community leader in public education as the WCU…
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Expect the unexpected
When writing about the natural world, I prefer to write about specific natural areas, plants, and animals here in the…
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Who’s the wimp now?
Just in the past couple of months, I have been forced to confront a prejudice I didn’t really know I…
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In Taylor-Shuler race, party does make a difference
By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist As the final weeks of summer fade into the cooler days of autumn, we…
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Workers need help to secure their future
The month-long celebration of Canton’s centennial Labor Day festival, which had much to offer, wasn’t really about organized labor. Now…
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Night-jarring, goat sucking bullbats
I was clicking Izzy into her booster seat last Saturday about 9 p.m. when she said, “Look Daddy, there’s a…
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Summing up the game: New boat formula levels playing field for Tsali triathlon
In the old days, the months leading up to the Tsali Challenge triathlon meant a great scramble was on among…
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