Life in the blogosphere
 

Life in the blogosphere

Go to scoopscott.squarespace.com on the Internet and you enter the world of Macon County resident Bob Scott.
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Closing campus: Job Corps site slated to close
 

Closing campus: Job Corps site slated to close

Local leaders and employees of the Oconaluftee Job Corp Center are questioning the motives behind a sudden shutdown of the…
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Director hired for Cherokee art institute
 

Director hired for Cherokee art institute

A coordinator has been selected for the visual arts program of the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts (OICA), a joint…
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Federal agencies long ignored needed repairs
 

Federal agencies long ignored needed repairs

The federal government has long been aware of run down buildings at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Center but failed to…
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Hospital board appointments could be litmus test
 

Hospital board appointments could be litmus test

Many in the community will be watching closely in April when the Haywood County Board of Commissioners appoint three members…
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New Zealand group eyes Blue Ridge Paper
 

New Zealand group eyes Blue Ridge Paper

Blue Ridge Paper Products might have found a buyer — a New Zealand-based paper company called The Rank Group that…
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Saying goodbye: Job Corps staff will miss their work
 

Saying goodbye: Job Corps staff will miss their work

Sinquarious Graham, a 16-year-old Job Corps student from Alabama, was pulling on his coat to go to breakfast at 6:30…
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Waynesville Recreation Center keeps abreast with growth
 

Waynesville Recreation Center keeps abreast with growth

Jo Glover joined the Waynesville Recreation Center after moving to Haywood County from Alabama in December. She likes the recreation…
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The storied bloodroot
 

The storied bloodroot

Bloodroot is surely one of most widely admired wildflowers in the eastern United States. Walk now through any rocky, deciduous…
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In truth, boating won’t harm the Chattooga
 

In truth, boating won’t harm the Chattooga

By Bruce Hare • Guest Columnist I would like to respond to Mr. James Costa’s letter (March 14, The Smoky…
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Another deadline – not a problem
 

Another deadline – not a problem

Everywhere I go, I get the same question: “How do you do it? How do you find the time and…
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Granny’s Farm and the boys from Chicago
 

Granny’s Farm and the boys from Chicago

By Jim Joyce My great- grandparents, on my mother’s side, “Bestafahr” and “Bestamour” (Nelson and Christiana Wurtz) emigrated from Denmark…
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Be a sport, get involved in Senior Games
 

Be a sport, get involved in Senior Games

By Dick and Sandy Michener Are you a serious competitor or a weekend athlete? Are you an accomplished artist or…
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Meal deal shines light on Swain’s dirty politics
 

Meal deal shines light on Swain’s dirty politics

It’s not clear what Swain County commissioners are hoping to accomplish by turning over to the District Attorney’s office the…
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Antlers born anew
 

Antlers born anew

By Joe Yarkovich Spring is upon us and with the days beginning to lengthen, signs of the season can be…
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Move over harbingers
 

Move over harbingers

George Ellison talked about the harbingers of spring in his Feb. 28 column in The Smoky Mountain News. Well those…
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Pristine shmistine says the curmudgeon-naturalist
 

Pristine shmistine says the curmudgeon-naturalist

First let me get this disclaimer out of the way. I am thrilled to hear that Congressman Heath Shuler has…
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Honeybees and hemp: Where did we go wrong?
 

Honeybees and hemp: Where did we go wrong?

By Kathleen Lamont I’ve got two cents to add to the honeybee dilemma. There are approximately 20,000 species of bees…
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Rebel Records Roundup, Part 2
 

Rebel Records Roundup, Part 2

By Chris Cooper Rebel Records, that esteemed purveyor of all that is and has been high and lonesome for the…
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The magic of myth: HART opens main stage season with ‘Metamorphoses’
 

The magic of myth: HART opens main stage season with ‘Metamorphoses’

A king named Midas wishes for riches and ends up with a wealth that kills. A singer named Orpheus descends…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Good Friday & Easter Easter, of course, is more than dyed eggs, plastic straw, and strange bunnies.
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WCU reels in Half Frame Film Fest
 

WCU reels in Half Frame Film Fest

Western Carolina University will launch the Half Frame Film Festival, a daylong celebration of documentary filmmaking, on Monday, April 9,…
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Stories from the dead
 

Stories from the dead

In the small Southern community where she lives, Finch Nobles, the narrator of A Gracious Plenty, easily qualifies as a…
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Brochure highlights militia’s march against Cherokee
 

Brochure highlights militia’s march against Cherokee

A military expedition against Cherokee villages at the onset of the Revolutionary War has been documented with the publication of…
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A how-to crash course in smart growth
 

A how-to crash course in smart growth

Ginny Faust, a professional planning consultant, posed a tough question to members of the Sylva Town Board and planning board…
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Grants aim to preserve and promote Cherokee culture
 

Grants aim to preserve and promote Cherokee culture

Cherokee Preservation Foundation has awarded 29 grants totaling $3.6 million during its spring cycle.
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New director wants to grow Swain chamber
 

New director wants to grow Swain chamber

Lucretia Stargell, the new director of the Swain County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, said her goals include…
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Planning a new future for Jackson’s business growth
 

Planning a new future for Jackson’s business growth

The town of Sylva is embarking on a smart growth plan that could reshape some of the town’s more unsightly…
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River island project raises concerns
 

River island project raises concerns

The possibility that a 40-acre island in the Little Tennessee River might be developed has sparked outrage among conservationists and…
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Small town success: Retiring DWA Director Ron Huelster talks about his days on Capitol Hill, the scourge of malls, and his vision for small town America
 

Small town success: Retiring DWA Director Ron Huelster talks about his days on Capitol Hill, the scourge of malls, and his vision for small town America

By Michael Beadle When Waynesville Town Manager Lee Galloway meets fellow town managers from across the state, he inevitably hears…
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Swain tourism board faces changes
 

Swain tourism board faces changes

Swain County commissioners are moving forward with a plan to reshape the county’s tourism board despite some opposition.
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Ash bats and the boys of summer
 

Ash bats and the boys of summer

Some essays get to their point or points right away. Others are discursive, beating around the bush before getting there.…
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Katie Couric can get help from local reporter
 

Katie Couric can get help from local reporter

By John Armor Who are these people? Katie Couric used to be on the Today Show, then she fell off…
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There’s no acceptable reason not to recycle glass
 

There’s no acceptable reason not to recycle glass

He’s on record, and we for one will hold him to it: Haywood County’s new solid waste director says anything…
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Beetles being raised to save hemlocks
 

Beetles being raised to save hemlocks

A new lab has opened at the University of Georgia to raise predator beetles aimed at countering the deadly hemlock…
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Road to Nowhere: Getting dimmer by the day
 

Road to Nowhere: Getting dimmer by the day

Those opposed to building a $600 million, 30-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park got welcome news last…
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The Northshore Road: What they say
 

The Northshore Road: What they say

Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville “As a Swain County native, I have a deep, personal understanding of the issues and emotions…
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New market ignites biofuel expansion
 

New market ignites biofuel expansion

Less than six months after cranking out their first batch of biodiesel, Alan Begley and Sam Gray have sealed the…
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Old roots, new focus for soil and water district
 

Old roots, new focus for soil and water district

For decades, soil experts like Duane Vanhook have been showing farmers how a crop of winter wheat can recharge soil…
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Service providers: As housing costs escalate, regional hospitality businesses look for ways to cushion the blow for the working class
 

Service providers: As housing costs escalate, regional hospitality businesses look for ways to cushion the blow for the working class

When the well heeled are in need of a pampered retreat in Western North Carolina, they often look toward the…
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Still on the table
 

Still on the table

Jackson County planning board meetings likely will get even more interesting as members move on to the nuts and bolts…
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The Tsali legend
 

The Tsali legend

Since the mid-1980s, I’ve been researching and writing about events surrounding the Cherokee removal of 1838, especially those pertaining to…
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Cousin Eugene fights the train
 

Cousin Eugene fights the train

By Carl Iobst Ed Stephens of Dillsboro recently had a problem with the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. According to the…
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Some people — all the time
 

Some people — all the time

Some people complain all the time, about everything. They complain about the weather, the price of gasoline, their neglectful friends,…
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Landing jobs should be part of the mix
 

Landing jobs should be part of the mix

By Becky Anderson This is the time for members of the 2007 North Carolina General Assembly to follow their hearts…
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May the North Shore Road rest in peace
 

May the North Shore Road rest in peace

Swain County native Heath Shuler is doing his home county a favor by putting together a powerful congressional coalition to…
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Hiking to build a better world
 

Hiking to build a better world

By Michael Beadle Jon Brown and Scott Cochran want to help a small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina rebuild after…
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Judge strikes blow for property rights advocates
 

Judge strikes blow for property rights advocates

A federal judge in San Francisco told the Bush administration on March 30 that it didn’t have the right to…
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Figuratively speaking
 

Figuratively speaking

By Sarah Kucharski Entering figurative sculptor Wesley Wofford’s studio one is struck by the sheer size of his works.
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Cowboy Junkies reflect on the family dynamic
 

Cowboy Junkies reflect on the family dynamic

The Cowboy Junkies have this thing that only they can do, and as easy as it is to recognize that…
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