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Haywood soda company aims to change palettes
 

Haywood soda company aims to change palettes

Haywood County just got a little sweeter. Specializing in “handcrafted, locally produced, artisan beverages,” Waynesville Soda Jerks is a new…
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Landslide forces family into unsettled lifestyle
 

Landslide forces family into unsettled lifestyle

For more than a month, 25-year-old Slyenia Rhein and her three children lived in a single hotel room with her…
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Long time street cleaner replaced by work crew
 

Long time street cleaner replaced by work crew

Foot traffic undeniably brings dollars to Waynesville’s downtown businesses. But what the passerby also brings is trash.
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NASA helps geologists try to understand WNC landslides
 

NASA helps geologists try to understand WNC landslides

Mitigating the deadly and damaging effects of mountain landslides might be as simple as understanding them.
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Mountain Momma
 

Mountain Momma

Count my daughter among the millions of kids whose first word was “doggy.” For a several-week stretch, “doggy” was also…
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Dog show trots into Waynesville
 

Dog show trots into Waynesville

Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association, an area AKC Kennel Club, will host an American Kennel Club all breed dog show…
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New discoveries in Kephart presentation
 

New discoveries in Kephart presentation

A panel discussion will present recent discoveries and observations relating to legendary Western North Carolina figure Horace Kephart at 7…
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Beer and barbecue in Bryson
 

Beer and barbecue in Bryson

A BBQ & Brews Dinner Train will depart at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad…
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Pow Wow festival in Cherokee
 

Pow Wow festival in Cherokee

The 38th annual Cherokee Pow Wow Festival is June 14-16 at the Acqouni Expo Center (Old Cherokee High School).
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Alt-country, Americana and bluegrass in Balsam
 

Alt-country, Americana and bluegrass in Balsam

Kim Richey, Irene Kelley and Thomm Jutz will bring an adventurous musical spirit to the Songwriters in the Round series…
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Bluegrass royalty to converge at Cherokee campground
 

Bluegrass royalty to converge at Cherokee campground

The Cherokee Bluegrass Festival will run from June 13-15 at the Happy Holiday RV Village in Cherokee.
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Appalachian storyteller to play Haywood library
 

Appalachian storyteller to play Haywood library

Storyteller/singer-songwriter Dusk Weaver performs at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 16, at the Waynesville Public Library. Weaver is an upbeat entertainer…
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Stecoah arts center receives grant
 

Stecoah arts center receives grant

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership has announced an award of $10,000 to the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

I had never seen the color green like that before. Touching down at the Shannon Airport in southwest Ireland, the…
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Finding your roots in Appalachia
 

Finding your roots in Appalachia

Ronan MacGregor didn’t know where he came from. He knew he was of Scottish decent, but that was about it.…
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Smoky Mountain Living magazine seeks reader photos
 

Smoky Mountain Living magazine seeks reader photos

Smoky Mountain Living prominently features images from across the southern Appalachians in each edition. Photo essays adhere to the issue’s…
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Wi-Fi part of regional wireless initiative
 

Wi-Fi part of regional wireless initiative

A new 8.5-mile fiber optic cable linking government buildings in Waynesville has recently been installed.
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Now what will the wagging tongues talk about?
 

Now what will the wagging tongues talk about?

Jack Cox and Kayden Zollinger (soon to be Cox, pending paperwork) are proud — and relieved — to announce the…
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Moratorium will preserve building industry, not destroy it
 

Moratorium will preserve building industry, not destroy it

The Jackson County commissioners should move forward with their temporary subdivision moratorium, notwithstanding all the concerns that have been raised…
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The day Uncle Curtis’ rabbits did the town
 

The day Uncle Curtis’ rabbits did the town

By Carl Iobst Well if this don’t beat all. Over in eastern Germany where lederhosen, apple strudel, and skinheads are…
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N.C. side of Smokies goes biodiesel
 

N.C. side of Smokies goes biodiesel

About two dozen diesel vehicles used by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina side of the…
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LTLT preserves 850 acres in Cherokee County
 

LTLT preserves 850 acres in Cherokee County

A cattle farm in Cherokee County known as Ridgefield Farm has been preserved for future generations thanks to a conservation…
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Allons au Bayou Noire
 

Allons au Bayou Noire

I guess the real Bayou Noire would be in Houma or Sulphur or somewhere else across Acadiana, where the slow…
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One acre at a time: Paul Carlson helps set the standard among WNC land trusts
 

One acre at a time: Paul Carlson helps set the standard among WNC land trusts

By Michael Beadle Paul Carlson has plenty of maps to show you. There are maps with stars. Color-coded maps of…
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Smokies National Park conducts 530-acre prescribed burn
 

Smokies National Park conducts 530-acre prescribed burn

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park conducted a prescribed burn on a 530-acre tract of forest in the Cataloochee Valley…
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Dial-A-Story: Marianna Black library revives popular kids’ program
 

Dial-A-Story: Marianna Black library revives popular kids’ program

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Christine Tyndall’s voice hits a high note as she reads from the Maurice Sendak…
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The Broken West nails vintage pop —  in all the right ways
 

The Broken West nails vintage pop — in all the right ways

It’s the tambourine that gives it away. Those insistent eighth notes from the piano during the chorus, the sparkly harmonies…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Nature Deficit Disorder Sometimes, you read an interview and it hits home, hard. Last month’s issue of The Sun, a…
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Thankfully, some books are short
 

Thankfully, some books are short

Ludie’s Life by Cynthia Rylant. Harcourt Children's Books, 2006. 128 pages. Sometimes bad things come in small packages.
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River group considers car removal from Tuck
 

River group considers car removal from Tuck

A fledgling effort now under way could lead to the cleanup of junked cars lining the banks of the Tuckasegee…
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Easley urges legislature to fix Medicaid woes
 

Easley urges legislature to fix Medicaid woes

For years, county leaders have been lobbying law makers in Raleigh to stop packing off a portion of Medicaid costs…
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Emotions build in run-up to moratorium hearing
 

Emotions build in run-up to moratorium hearing

Frenzy surrounding a proposed moratorium on new subdivisions in Jackson County reached a fever pitch in the run-up to a…
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Project will track growing number of lots
 

Project will track growing number of lots

As Western North Carolina wrestles with growth issues, a project is under way to track where and how large mountain…
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This time, neighbors want Wal-Mart’s drawing power
 

This time, neighbors want Wal-Mart’s drawing power

With Wal-Mart’s future in Franklin in limbo, business owners near the existing big-box store continue to worry they’ll lose the…
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Downtown Waynesville wi-fi to go live by April
 

Downtown Waynesville wi-fi to go live by April

Since Suzanne Gernandt opened Textures in downtown Waynesville three years ago, she’s noticed one question in particular has been on…
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WCU launches ambitious $40 million campaign
 

WCU launches ambitious $40 million campaign

Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo has officially launched the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s 118-year history,…
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Chapin channels something powerful in The Calling
 

Chapin channels something powerful in The Calling

In 1992 Mary Chapin Carpenter released Come On, Come On, and though it’s a little hazy as to how I…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Battlestar Galactica Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a Battlestar fanatic. A few weekends ago, my wife and I glued ourselves…
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Y’all come back
 

Y’all come back

By Michael Beadle The annual foot-stompin’, hand-clappin’, kick-up-your-heels music-and-dance show known as the Summit Country and Western Show at Tuscola…
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A debut reminiscent of other stirring westerns
 

A debut reminiscent of other stirring westerns

Back in the 15th century, when Europe underwent a remarkable surge in creativity, the word “Renaissance” (meaning “rebirth”) was frequently…
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Plan to buy building with room tax hike meets opposition
 

Plan to buy building with room tax hike meets opposition

A push to move the Swain County Chamber of Commerce into a vacant bank building is meeting resistance from some…
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Crowded, contentious hearing remains civil
 

Crowded, contentious hearing remains civil

More than 1,300 people crowded into the public hearing last week over a proposed moratorium on new subdivisions in Jackson…
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Fontana library system has deep roots
 

Fontana library system has deep roots

The six libraries in Macon, Jackson and Swain counties are part of the Fontana Regional Library system, headquartered at Marianna…
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Moratorium debate reveals deep rift in Jackson
 

Moratorium debate reveals deep rift in Jackson

The debate over a proposed moratorium on new subdivisions in Jackson County is divided into two main camps: those who…
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New Macon library to become Fontana system’s showcase
 

New Macon library to become Fontana system’s showcase

It’s no small task moving a library.
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Improving the science of development
 

Improving the science of development

When Bob Brannon saw a newspaper announcement last spring seeking developers to participate in a pilot mapping project, he already…
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Accounts of a horned serpent
 

Accounts of a horned serpent

I have on more than one occasion written about Uktenas, the giant horned serpents modeled on timber rattlesnakes that appear…
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Easley’s budget goes wrong way on lottery
 

Easley’s budget goes wrong way on lottery

Gov. Mike Easley’s proposed budget would decrease the portion of lottery proceeds going to education — before legislators have a…
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Tax policy can help save rural land
 

Tax policy can help save rural land

By Susan Ervin • Guest Columnist The recent tax revaluations in Macon County have many people worried — not just…
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Fire on the mountain
 

Fire on the mountain

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A forest fire burned nearly 40 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park…
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