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Use it or lose it: Canton acts quick to spend outstanding grant money from Rural Center
 

Use it or lose it: Canton acts quick to spend outstanding grant money from Rural Center

The clock is ticking for Canton to spend $25,000 in remaining grant money from the N.C. Rural Center.
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Swain deputies rack up 13 wrecks in three years
 

Swain deputies rack up 13 wrecks in three years

A Swain County deputy totaled his patrol car earlier this month after hitting a parked car while going more than…
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Kephart's life after Hazel Creek
 

Kephart's life after Hazel Creek

Horace Kephart left the cabin site on the Little Fork in the fall of 1907, spending considerable time in other…
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Mountain Heritage Day features 5K run
 

Mountain Heritage Day features 5K run

A 5K race will be held on the campus of Western Carolina University in conjunction with Mountain Heritage Day festivities.…
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Top honors for SCC students
 

Top honors for SCC students

No junior women’s freestyle kayaker in the world was better than Stecoah resident Rowan Stuart recently at the ICF Canoe…
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Conservation group to host fishing tournament Sept. 28
 

Conservation group to host fishing tournament Sept. 28

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee will host its first Fish Frenzy, a kayak and canoe fishing tournament, Saturday,…
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Track rising water on your phone
 

Track rising water on your phone

In time for peak hurricane season, Duke Energy is going mobile with its lake level information. The smart phone-friendly website…
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Mysteries of raptors revealed in Cashiers
 

Mysteries of raptors revealed in Cashiers

A group of raptors will be featured at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at The Village Green Commons in Cashiers. 
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Got bears?
 

Got bears?

For homeowners with bear problems, the B.E.A.R. Task Force is hosting a program to keep the persistent beasts away.
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Grant helps elk volunteers on bikes
 

Grant helps elk volunteers on bikes

A $1,000 grant given to the Elk Bugle Corps in Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will…
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Adopt A Stream helps clean Clyde waterway
 

Adopt A Stream helps clean Clyde waterway

Representatives from the town of Clyde and HomeTrust Bank removed 80 pounds of trash Saturday, Sept. 7, from the small…
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Fall out for the fallout
 

Fall out for the fallout

Thanks to an invitation from a friend — Blair Ogburn, senior naturalist at Balsam Mountain Trust — I was able…
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Cultivating dreams in Appalachia
 

Cultivating dreams in Appalachia

Sunshine spills into Jackson County. The warm late summer rays cascade down into the mountains, ultimately flowing into the fields…
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New Burke novel is not to be
 

New Burke novel is not to be

In Light of the World (ISBN 978-1-4767-1076-1, $27.99), James Lee Burke once again gives readers writing cut and polished like…
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Mountain Momma
 

Mountain Momma

I recently took stock of our craft supply cupboard and realized it’s looking a little paltry. At one time, I…
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Mountain Heritage Day brings Appalachian culture to WCU
 

Mountain Heritage Day brings Appalachian culture to WCU

The 39th Mountain Heritage Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, at Western Carolina…
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Fall harvest festival comes to Mountain Farm Museum
 

Fall harvest festival comes to Mountain Farm Museum

The annual Mountain Life Festival in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.…
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HART breaks ground on new facility
 

HART breaks ground on new facility

The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Daniel and Belle Fangmeyer Theater on the…
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Racy ‘Ave. Q’ comes to HART
 

Racy ‘Ave. Q’ comes to HART

The Tony Award-winning puppet musical “Ave. Q” hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20-21, 27-28 and Oct. 4-5, and…
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McCreery returns to WNC
 

McCreery returns to WNC

Country sensation Scott McCreery hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.
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Chicago tribute band to perform at WCU
 

Chicago tribute band to perform at WCU

Called “the world’s greatest tribute to Chicago,” musical group Brass Transit will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

I was born half-fish. No, not the mermaid kind, but close. As a kid, I grew up on Lake Champlain,…
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Shining bright: Amateur performers wow audience, judges at Haywood’s Got Talent
 

Shining bright: Amateur performers wow audience, judges at Haywood’s Got Talent

Even before the lights went down and the curtain went up, one thing was already clear: this wasn’t going to…
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State is on the way up
 

State is on the way up

To the Editor: North Carolina has the 49th highest unemployment rate in the USA, tied with Rhode Island and followed…
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McCrory gets defensive about voter law
 

McCrory gets defensive about voter law

To the Editor:  The national criticism of his voter suppression law — yes, he signed it, so it’s his — must…
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Government for the rich, by the vindictive
 

Government for the rich, by the vindictive

To the Editor: In January, Republicans swept into state government on a mission of frugality, vowing to trim fat from…
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Needed: a just, humane immigration policy
 

Needed: a just, humane immigration policy

By Doug Wingeier • Guest Columnist With all the current media attention being focused on Syria, budget deadlines, Obamacare, and the…
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District elections could be a partisan game changer in Jackson
 

District elections could be a partisan game changer in Jackson

In what he characterized as simply starting the discussion, Jackson County Commission Chairman Jack Debnam broached the idea of changing…
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Deserted factory to morph into agriculture venture
 

Deserted factory to morph into agriculture venture

An abandoned, county-owned furniture factory in Whittier could transform into a center for agritourism in Jackson County, or it could…
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National Guard Unit from Haywood to deploy to Afghanistan
 

National Guard Unit from Haywood to deploy to Afghanistan

The National Guard’s 211th Military Police Company based in Haywood County is deploying to Afghanistan.
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Forging a new economy: public input sought in roadmap for WNC
 

Forging a new economy: public input sought in roadmap for WNC

The creation of a monolithic blueprint that will lead the seven western counties into a new economy is under way,…
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Haywood acts to secure Mauney Cove trash site
 

Haywood acts to secure Mauney Cove trash site

Haywood County has secured the first right of refusal on the 1.4-acre tract where the Mauney Cove trash and recycling…
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Construction climate warming up again in Haywood
 

Construction climate warming up again in Haywood

Building permits are trending upwards in Haywood County thanks to an increase in single-family home construction. The majority of new…
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Model plane club allows members to take the pilot seat
 

Model plane club allows members to take the pilot seat

The Macon Aero Modelers Club members are not afraid to fly much of anything. Large, wooden aircraft churning through the…
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Macon County ponies up for airport upgrades, again
 

Macon County ponies up for airport upgrades, again

The Macon County Commission last week narrowly approved funding for upgrades and an expansion of the runway at the county…
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Maggie bites off more than it can chew in Stillwell concert
 

Maggie bites off more than it can chew in Stillwell concert

Maggie Valley residents and leaders are questioning how and why town taxpayers ended up footing the bill for a Country…
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Experts educate residents on cumbersome healthcare reform
 

Experts educate residents on cumbersome healthcare reform

Thousands of uninsured Western North Carolina residents will soon benefit from the Affordable Care Act, despite most people still being…
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Swain County fights for its just due
 

Swain County fights for its just due

Swain County Manager Kevin King made another trip up to Washington, D.C. last week, though this time the visit was…
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Appointment signals Meadow’s rising clout in Washington
 

Appointment signals Meadow’s rising clout in Washington

U.S. Congressman Mark Meadows was appointed as one of the country’ two representatives to the United Nation’s General Assembly last…
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A moving target: Small-towns’ eternal chase for doctors
 

A moving target: Small-towns’ eternal chase for doctors

Five full-time doctors practicing at Swain County Medical Center have left during the past year. The departures account for half…
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Bryson City: just what the doctor ordered
 

Bryson City: just what the doctor ordered

As Dr. Randall Castor stared down the final weeks of his residency, it was clear those long, grueling years of…
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How a tiny bracelet saved the life of a man with dementia
 

How a tiny bracelet saved the life of a man with dementia

During rehearsal for her church’s band one Monday night, Paula McElroy called home to check on her 82-year-old husband who…
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Canton factory revs up production of big-rig cab parts
 

Canton factory revs up production of big-rig cab parts

A manufacturing plant that makes parts for big-rig cab interiors has broken ground on a $5.9 million expansion in Canton…
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At least the rich got a tax cut
 

At least the rich got a tax cut

To the Editor: Congratulation, the Republican legislature just gave everyone in the state a tax cut. Well, maybe not, just…
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Hoping memories last until next election
 

Hoping memories last until next election

To the Editor: In a recent letter titled “New laws bring advantages to N.C. citizens,” the writer stated “It’s time…
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National spotlight shines on N.C.
 

National spotlight shines on N.C.

To the Editor: The 2013 North Carolina legislature has enacted numerous measures to benefit corporations and attract new business to…
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Let’s keep the AT as pristine as possible
 

Let’s keep the AT as pristine as possible

To the Editor: In the winter of 1979, in the midst of studying for a degree at a large university,…
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What a great day in Western North Carolina
 

What a great day in Western North Carolina

From the very first few days I lived in the mountains — as an 18-year-old freshman at Appalachian State University…
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Macon Aero Modelers Barbecue Fundraiser
 

Macon Aero Modelers Barbecue Fundraiser

The Macon Aero Modelers is holding its 5th annual BBQ Charity Fun Fly at 9 a.m. Sept. 21-22, at the…
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Join the famed Pink Glove Dance, be in a national video contest
 

Join the famed Pink Glove Dance, be in a national video contest

MedWest-Haywood is asking the community to step up to the plate and do their best rendition of the ‘Pink Glove…
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