Scientists look at ways to stop invasive species
 

Scientists look at ways to stop invasive species

Resource managers and plant specialists with the Blue Ridge Parkway are calling on neighboring landowners to help rein in the…
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Marge Carpenter
 

Marge Carpenter

1. What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list?
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Phil Haire
 

Phil Haire

1. What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list?
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Ken McKim
 

Ken McKim

1. What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list?
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John Snow
 

John Snow

1. What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list?
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Playing with the numbers: School board accused of arbitrarily deflating cost estimates
 

Playing with the numbers: School board accused of arbitrarily deflating cost estimates

Bond numbers Haywood County voters approved a $25 million school bond in May 2005 intended to pay for a host…
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Safe haven: Domestic violence hits home
 

Safe haven: Domestic violence hits home

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Editor’s note: The names of domestic violence victims Linda and Anne, who were interviewed…
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Slope proposal supported at hearing: Concerns raised, but most agree it’s time for steep slope laws
 

Slope proposal supported at hearing: Concerns raised, but most agree it’s time for steep slope laws

Slope ordinance Haywood County commissioners are considering a slope development ordinance with the following restrictions:
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Cold weather and deep sleepers
 

Cold weather and deep sleepers

This past weekend’s sudden drop in overnight temperatures into the high 20s (26 degrees and 28 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, at…
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Where do you get medical advice?
 

Where do you get medical advice?

By Mark Jaben I always marvel at people that tell me they haven’t been to a doctor in 25 years.…
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Need negative ad material? We’ve got it
 

Need negative ad material? We’ve got it

Heath Shuler says he will bring integrity and accountability to Washington? Ha! We have here in our satchel 76 examples…
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Lauderdale’s Country Super is super country
 

Lauderdale’s Country Super is super country

By Chris Cooper The stellar songwriting talents of Jim Lauderdale have been tapped by a “who’s who” of country music…
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Tisn’t the season, but...
 

Tisn’t the season, but...

A couple of Sundays ago Bob Olthoff, Blair Ogburn (senior naturalist at Balsam Mountain Preserve) and I were at Balsam…
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Going the distance: Elite runner Jason Bodnar sets his sights on Olympic Trials
 

Going the distance: Elite runner Jason Bodnar sets his sights on Olympic Trials

By Michael Beadle The marathon can be such a fickle race. As much as you prepare for it, a lot…
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Connecting with nature
 

Connecting with nature

Editors note: Bill and Sharon Van Horn with the Nantahala Hiking Club in Franklin recently attended a conference in West…
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The debate logjam: Politically calculated, popularly mistaken
 

The debate logjam: Politically calculated, popularly mistaken

Democratic congressional candidate Heath Shuler’s decision to back away from a debate with Rep. Charles Taylor sent shockwaves through the…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

A Tall One Earlier this month North Carolina won five medals at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival Competition —
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Ashes to ashes
 

Ashes to ashes

Before Cormac McCarthy’s nameless father and son have ventured more than a few yards down The Road, we realize that…
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Haywood County school board race
 

Haywood County school board race

There are four seats up for election on the Haywood County school board this November. The county is divided into…
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Health care costs remain important issue for voters
 

Health care costs remain important issue for voters

From behind the prescription counter at Village Pharmacy in Waynesville, Jim Winfree has a bird’s eye view of rising drug…
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What role should the federal government play in helping to make health care more affordable for low- and middle-income Americans?
 

What role should the federal government play in helping to make health care more affordable for low- and middle-income Americans?

Heath Shuler: America is truly facing a health care crisis. Over 46 million Americans are currently living without health insurance…
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Planning ahead a critical first step in escaping abuse
 

Planning ahead a critical first step in escaping abuse

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer If you or someone you know is thinking about leaving an abusive relationship, there…
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The landscapes of our lives
 

The landscapes of our lives

By Michael Beadle Shafts of sun pierce through a misty forest. A thick river of fog rolls through ancient mountains.…
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Raging rockabilly courtesy of Big Sandy  and his Fly Rite Boys
 

Raging rockabilly courtesy of Big Sandy and his Fly Rite Boys

By Chris Cooper “Timeless” is one of those words tossed around a lot in reference to music. Everybody wants to…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Book By Book Michael Dirda, a reviewer for The Washington Post Book World and winner of a Pulitzer Prize for…
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Sifting through the stack
 

Sifting through the stack

For many people, autumn means more than colorful leaves and blue, crisp days. For them fall is, like spring, a…
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An open letter to Sylva
 

An open letter to Sylva

Most of us in the course of a week find a reason to go to downtown Sylva. We may go…
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Candidates evenly split on North Shore Road
 

Candidates evenly split on North Shore Road

Some voters in Swain County consider the North Shore Road a litmus test for candidates in the county commissioners race…
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Case management key issue in DA’s race
 

Case management key issue in DA’s race

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The race for District Attorney is garnering what some may say is an unusual…
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Differences are obvious, say Haire, Carpenter
 

Differences are obvious, say Haire, Carpenter

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The candidates for the District 119 House race describe themselves as polar opposites.
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How do you stand on the North Shore Road issue?
 

How do you stand on the North Shore Road issue?

Charles Taylor: The federal government should live up to its 60-year-old commitment to Swain County residents and complete the North…
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What is the North Shore Road?
 

What is the North Shore Road?

The North Shore Road is proposed to go through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Bryson City to Tennessee…
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The road ends here
 

The road ends here

If Congressman Charles Taylor is defeated in two weeks, it could spell the end of plans to build a road…
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Swain challengers question spending
 

Swain challengers question spending

All five seats on the Swain County Board of Commissioners are up for election this year. The winners will serve…
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Ancient animals of the Blue Ridge
 

Ancient animals of the Blue Ridge

Names of places throughout the Blue Ridge country pay tribute to the familiar wildlife of the region: Bear Wallow Stand…
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Optimisim reigns at Blue Ridge
 

Optimisim reigns at Blue Ridge

The ups and downs across a graph that tell of a business’ profits and losses may not be very interesting,…
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Finding ways to help the innocent
 

Finding ways to help the innocent

Over the last two decades, the number of drug-affected infants has been growing. It is estimated that as many as…
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A survival guide for direct-to-consumer ads
 

A survival guide for direct-to-consumer ads

By Mark Jaben In the 1970s, a book written about a doctor’s internship experience, The House of God, reached near…
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Using development to save mountain farms
 

Using development to save mountain farms

Not too long ago there occurred an unlikely meeting of the minds. Sylva developer John Beckman and Whittier farmer William…
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Recesses in nature: Bryson City group sets up new caving club
 

Recesses in nature: Bryson City group sets up new caving club

By Michael Beadle There are still dark corners in this world yet to be explored.
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Winter means waterfowl at Lake Junaluska
 

Winter means waterfowl at Lake Junaluska

Anyone who follows the Naturalist’s Corner knows that I have devoted much ink to the birds one might encounter at…
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Keith Presnell
 

Keith Presnell

1. What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list? Jobs, to make sure we have infrastructure…
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Joe Sam Queen
 

Joe Sam Queen

What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list?
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Three commission seats up for grabs in Macon
 

Three commission seats up for grabs in Macon

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Macon County’s three Democratic commissioners are facing a challenge from three Republican contenders in…
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Voters need to look closely at the Good Governance Legion
 

Voters need to look closely at the Good Governance Legion

By Lee Shelton As the Nov. 7 election date approaches, the “Good Governance Legion” is, again, “banging their noise makers”…
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Smith thrills in his new dark suspense
 

Smith thrills in his new dark suspense

“The Ruins does for Mexican vacations what Jaws did for New England beaches.” — Stephen King The Ruins by Scott…
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The value of endorsements
 

The value of endorsements

Come Nov. 7, voters will choose candidates based on many different factors. In almost all cases, those choices will be…
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Mixed allegiances make Haywood race especially difficult to call
 

Mixed allegiances make Haywood race especially difficult to call

The scene at Haywood County commissioner meetings today is quite different from that four years ago. In the year prior…
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