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Recommended diversions
Well, let’s just consider this a collection of things I would NOT recommend. But maybe reading this will constitute a…
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Today’s writing smacks of sameness
The 1920s were a golden age for American fiction and poetry. F. Scott Fizgerald helped give the decade its name…
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Clean and renewable, biodiesel takes off in WNC
When Greg Kidd saw his odometer hit 250,000 miles last spring, he knew he would reluctantly be catapulted into the…
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Ghost Town has a deluge of job applicants
When Ghost Town in the Sky recently held auditions to fill its entertainment needs, about 40 potential cowboys competed for…
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Jackson planners consider open space for new developments
Developers in Jackson County could be asked to designate 25 percent of new developments as conserved open space under a…
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Reasons for closing Jobs Corps still unclear
Three weeks after federal officials rolled into town and abruptly shut down the Oconaluftee Jobs Corps Center in Swain County,…
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Legality of Job Corps votes questioned
When Mike Clampitt was making get out the vote calls during his campaign for Swain County commissioner last fall, he…
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Let’s stop the hypocrisy
Thank goodness for Don Imus. After 25 years of gutteral lyrics in the name of entertainment, none of which was…
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I know just what you’re thinking ...
Call me a little superstitious, but I defend my right to harbor a few fears. That’s why, after breaking my…
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WNC is at the forefront of the green revolution
The expansion announced last week by Smoky Mountain Biofuels and Mountain Energy will help place Western North Carolina at the…
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Franklin trail network to offer new rides for bikers
For years, Jack Lansford and his mountain biking buddies in Franklin would have to load up their bikes and hit…
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Navy still at war with NC
You have to admire the tenacity of America’s armed forces. We can all take pride in the heroism, courage and…
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Nature Center unveiled: Balsam Mountain Preserve opens Southern Appalachian exhibit to the public
Walking into the new nature center at the Balsam Mountain Preserve in Jackson County is like walking into a replica…
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Carving his niche: Dennis Ruane’s career flows like his artwork
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Sitting at a workbench in the back of his gallery on Main Street in…
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Todd Snider looks at life, Nashville with a songwriter’s eye view
By Chris Cooper See, the primary difference between Todd Snider and Ryan Adams is that Snider didn’t get so caught…
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Recommended diversions
Guests of the Ayatollah and Kite Runner Trying to understand the Middle East? Here are two books — one non-fiction…
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Heir to the King
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. William Morrow, 2007. 376 pages Although both the publisher and the author of Heart-Shaped Box…
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Adding it up
A traffic study was conducted to assess the traffic impacts of a new Super Wal-Mart and Home Depot complex coming…
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Crowded field seek seats in Cherokee
Seven people have plunked down the necessary $500 filing fee required to campaign for principal chief of the Eastern Band…
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What the new road will look like
About $1.5 million in roadwork is planned to accommodate the increased traffic on South Main Street and Hyatt Creek Roads…
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Haywood commissioners still split on Mountain Projects deal
Haywood County commissioners continue to disagree on what kind of deal to give Mountain Projects on a tract of county…
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What should a new library look like?
The Sylva library is favorite destination for Kim Mathis and her four children. There’s just one problem. “The library has…
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Despite delays, Macon SCC campus almost ready
Southwestern Community College officials anticipate holding classes this fall at a new satellite campus in Macon County, more than a…
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Traffic footprint of Super Wal-Mart could reach far and wide
Brace yourself, West Waynesville: a new Super Wal-Mart and Home Depot complex due to open next summer will bring an…
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Guyot’s Smokies
Paul Fink and Myron H. Avery were two of the foremost explorers of the Southern Appalachians — especially the Great…
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Recommended diversions
National Poetry Month In honor of National Poetry Month this April, here are some recommendations for poetry lovers and those…
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Livingroom predators
Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. National Geographic, 2006. 176 pages. Four years ago, my family…
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Access management
Access management deploys numerous design techniques to reduce congestion on clogged roads, five-lane drags being the primary candidate.
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Deteriorating perception of HRMC a focus of interviews
The rift between Haywood Regional Medical Center administration and the medical community needs to be repaired, and public confidence in…
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Law provides few protections for Indian mounds
When it comes right down to it, the good will of private landowners is often what stands between saving Indian…
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Nurses need more support, applicants say
One of the top issues that emerged during county commissioner interviews of hospital board applicants last week was the need…
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Shuler touts Heritage Area funding
Representative Heath Shuler announced Monday that the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area has been allocated a federal appropriation of $748,955…
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Leaders, citizens demand input as road plan progresses
After a two-year lull, debate over a controversial expressway through Jackson County known as the Southern Loop could soon re-emerge.
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Tribe helps preserve Cowee Mound in Macon
As a child growing up in Oklahoma, Tom Belt often heard that there were reasons a group of Cherokee had…
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Bartram’s early accounts of Cowee
The preservation of the Cowee mound and village site alongside the Little Tennessee River in Macon County is truly significant…
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Media blew it at Virginia Tech
The same popular culture that some have alleged to produce yet another mass murderer wasted no time in trying to…
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Haywood nurses frustrated by changes
Editor’s note: A group of nurses who work at the Haywood Regional Medical Center Emergency Room recently contacted The Smoky…
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No time for sentimentality
By Dawn Gilchrist Young “ ... and all day I turn over my own best thoughts, each one as…
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Two Poems by Zora Walker
The Man in the Pickup Truck You may be a man who drives a cadillac and lives in a big…
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West Waynesville roadwork needs to be designed well
Imagine how this scenario could work, if it was a reality: a state Department of Transportation in lockstep with the…
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Man of Stihl: HCC student to compete at national collegiate timber sports championship in July
By Michael Beadle Jay Blackburn never figured he’d be competing against the best axe-chopping, saw-cutting athletes in the country when…
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Navy’s top 10 reasons for choosing Site C
The Navy has decided that a site in Washington and Beaufort counties in eastern North Carolina, about three to five…
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Putting the “mock” in Democracy: Capitol Steps troupe brings political laughs to WCU
By Michael Beadle Along with death and taxes, one of the most predictable things in life seems to be political…
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Laying down the Lawson
By Chris Cooper Fusing soaring gospel harmony with finely tuned bluegrass firepower, Doyle Lawson has forged an easily recognizable and…
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Let’s dance: Boy Scout group honors Cherokee traditions
Bill Dyar has long been interested in Native American dances. When he was 15 years old, he formed his first…
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Grant-Lee Phillips scores two in a year
By Chris Cooper First, if you don’t already know (I sure as heck didn’t) fire up Google and read about…
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Recommended diversions
“The Sopranos” Down now to the last five episodes before creator David Chase closes down the series for good, the…
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Southern Comfort
Cornbread Nation 2 by Lolis Eric Elie. The University of North Carolina Press, 2007. In the last 50 years, home…
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Nantahala developer, paddlers at odds – again
Updated 1/22/20: The lawsuits between Mystic Lands landowners and developer Ami Shinitzky have since been resolved. Progess had been made…
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Affordable housing on the plateau
Each weekend, Carol Austin figures out what meals her family is going to eat during the upcoming workweek. She shops…
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