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Twenty questions
Jackson County commissioners have called for a public hearing on a proposed moratorium on new subdivision development while the planning…
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Development industry opposes subdivision moratorium
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A group of about 20 angry Realtors and developers showed up uninvited at a…
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Haywood organizations honored for their environmental efforts
The Commission for a Clean County has announced the first place and honorable mention winners of its 2006 Haywood County…
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New golf course owner promises major upgrades
Following several years of decline and neglect, Smoky Mountain Golf Course in Whittier has been wrested away from its out-of-state…
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Broadway comes to Cullowhee
By Michael Beadle He’s been a Beast. An alien bounty hunter. A Rum Tum Tugger and Inspector Javert. And now…
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Mountain Heart serves up musical surprise
By Chris Cooper To say that Mountain Heart isn’t exactly your “average” bluegrass band is more than a slight understatement.…
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The Fine Art of Being Wrong (sort of...)
I spend a considerable amount of time being disappointed by music. It’s sad, because I also happen to love music,…
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Locked away
Coventry by Joseph Bathanti. Novello Festival Press, 2006. 261 pages. When 30-year-old Calvin Gaddy finds himself working as a guard…
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Election controversy plagues Swain
When Commissioner Glenn Jones pulled into the Stillhouse Branch trailer park in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Swain County…
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Ghost Town deal with state should expedite May opening
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The owner of Ghost Town in the Sky and the North Carolina Department of…
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Haywood leaders say tax hike a possibility to meet needs
Haywood County commissioners suggested they could be amenable to a slight property tax increase this year if there is something…
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Opponents lining up to challenge Chief Hicks
Even before filing opens March 1, four candidates have emerged to challenge Principal Chief Michell Hicks for the top leadership…
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Plug pulled on downtown Sylva taxing district
The Downtown Sylva Association has dropped the idea of a special downtown property tax due to a lack of support…
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Swain seats new planning board
One Swain County resident expressed concern last week that developers and speculators will rush to break ground on mountainside subdivisions…
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Old remedies for the toothache
As noted previously in several Back Then columns, the Cherokees and later on the white settlers here in the Blue…
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Ask not what your county can do for you
Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their county. Ask not…
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Common goal is the same – a thriving downtown
Downtown Sylva is a special place. The events of the last couple of months only reinforce that fact, and so…
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Tribe, unlike Google and others, isn’t asking for a handout
By David Redman • Guest Columnist There is absolutely no doubt about the economic impact the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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The realities of being green
The Western Carolina Forest Sustainability Initiative (WCFSI) under the direction of Pete Bates, associate professor of Natural Resources Management at…
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On the mark: Cullowhee base-camp raises profile in wilderness emergency training
Landmark Learning, a Cullowhee-based wilderness training center for the outdoor industry, has forged a new partnership with the National Outdoor…
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First of the Floppy Disc: Almond School
I wrote first by hand and then with a manual typewriter. Starting about 1990, I moved “up” to a Tandy…
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Outdoor gear store in Franklin celebrates expansion
Franklin’s downtown outdoor gear store just got bigger.
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Canoe series starts this weekend in the gorge
June kicks off the first of a three-part event at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, near Bryson City, called the Canoe…
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Eat to support the Blue Ridge Parkway
Eateries in Western North Carolina have agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation…
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Learn to co-exist with mountain black bears
Mountain visitors and residents can learn more about their black bear neighbors at an upcoming seminar. A program called “Understanding…
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Predator birds come to Waynesville
Get ready for live talons, Waynesville. Doris Mager, better known as “The Eagle Lady,” will appear with her birds of…
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Book details the fall and the rise of elk in the East
A new book has been published detailing the story of the grand, four-legged keepers of the Great Smoky Mountains Park:…
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From slaughterhouse to garden sanctuary
The Macon County Master Gardener Association is hosting an open house from 1 until 4 p.m. June 15 at the…
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Like a good neighbor
The folks in the mountains of Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee share more than a common boundary, they share…
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Great Smoky Mountains Association looks back
The Great Smoky Mountains Association has turned 60 years old, and although it has changed during the years, its mission…
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Bridging the gap between young, old
With each passing day, the first-person accounts of what life was like in the Smokies before Google, iTunes or even…
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Morgan conjures the past with a poet skill
Robert Morgan has a rare and cunning gift: he can sift through the detritus of the past, pluck objects and…
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Cutting courthouse trees was a disgrace
To the Editor: I have returned to Waynesville for the summer. I drove past the courthouse and could not believe…
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Rep. Meadows becomes Tea Party poster boy
To the Editor: Rep. Mark Meadows would like us to think of him as a “moderate or centrist Republican” (SMN,…
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Let’s stop the senseless civilian deaths
To the Editor: At this Memorial Day time of year, we not only honor veterans but also mourn the recent tragic loss…
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GOP leadership wasting money, time and more
To the Editor: The 2013 legislation coming out of Raleigh is bad enough to cause sleepless nights and worried man…
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GOP ‘progress’ takes this state backwards
To the Editor: Recently I saw Ralph Laughter, chairman of Macon County’s “Me Party.” We talked about his letter to…
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Pay on, Jackson residents, pay on
To the Editor: It is true I have been accused of being a negative person concerning a few of the…
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Wilderness Society had key role in Hall Mountain
To the Editor: Thank you for your coverage of the historic return of Hall Mountain to the Cherokees (www.smokymountainnews.com/outdoors/item/10467). While the…
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Even in tight times, libraries deserve priority funding
By Doug Woodward • Guest Columnist What entity in our community serves the needs of every one of our citizens, whether…
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Waynesville proposes to hold line on taxes, hike water rates and licensing fees
Waynesville officials are looking under a different couch cushion for additional revenue after losing income from sweepstakes operations and its…
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A good year to work for Macon: New pay plan includes salary hikes for everyone
Nearly two months after a majority of Macon County commissioners approved a slew of salary raises for all county employees,…
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Police targeted by sweepstakes industry suits
For law enforcement, video gambling is like a bad case of poison ivy that keeps cropping back up all over…
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Some downtown Sylva leaders oppose church move
A church is looking to bring a little more religion to downtown Sylva, but some local business owners, as well…
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Swain revaluation bumps values up 16.5 percent
Four years after Swain County leaders trashed a skewed property reassessment, the county has completed a new revaluation.
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Sylva dips into reserves to avoid tax hike
Sylva town leaders have chosen not to raise taxes next year and instead delay town expenditures, save money where they…
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Weaker planning regulations discussed June 17
Jackson County commissioners will discuss two sets of proposed planning regulations at an upcoming workshop at 2 p.m. on June…
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Balsam Lake high and dry as tourist season hits full stride
Repairs to the dam at Balsam Lake in the Nantahala National Forest have been delayed because of high creek levels,…
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County leaders to kick start discussions on Cullowhee planning district
The effort to introduce zoning laws in Cullowhee is being taken up by Jackson County Commissioners at an upcoming workshop…
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From the backyard to your table
The “Buy Haywood” initiative is a work-in-progress example of how local businesses benefit by connecting with each other.
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