Volunteers pound in live stakes along a riverbank.
 

Help restore Allens Creek

Help make Allens Creek healthier with a stream improvement project noon to 4 p.m. March 29-30, and possibly Friday, March…
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The Get Right Band are (from left) Silas Durocher, Jesse Gentry and J.C. Mears. The group will play Asheville on April 7. Donated photo
 

‘Hell yes, refresh’: The Get Right Band release ‘iTopia’

With its latest concept album, “iTopia,” Asheville-based indie-rockers The Get Right Band have offered up food for thought on where…
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Steep Canyon Rangers at Suwannee Spring Reunion. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

This must be the place: 'Same ol' moon, same ol' sun, same ol' race that we've always run’

Hello from the backstage area at the Suwannee Spring Reunion music festival in Live Oak, Florida. It’s hot and humid.…
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Reading, reviews, and self-remonstrance
 

Reading, reviews, and self-remonstrance

Maybe it’s the mixed-up weather. The warmer temperatures have delivered a sort of raucous springtime mood, though Whatever the cause,…
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What this old house remembers
 

What this old house remembers

I live in an old farmhouse that is literally falling apart. Each spring, clouds of termites rise in the bathroom…
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Serendipity during the Lenten season
 

Serendipity during the Lenten season

This year for Lent I took on a challenge instead of giving up something. I challenged myself to communicate more…
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Dr. Stephen Loyd delivers the keynote address Thursday, March 23. Holly Kays photo
 

Building second chances: Conference explores impact of trauma on tribal workforce — and how to help

When Katelynn Ledford McCoy stood in front of her Cherokee High School classmates in June 2009, the class valedictorian was…
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A speaker holds up a book containing LGBTQ content during public comment at a March 14 Macon County Commission meeting. Bob Scott photo
 

Macon residents, commissioner float withdrawing from Fontana Regional Library

What started as a group of citizens concerned about certain LGBTQ books in the Macon County Library has turned into…
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Prosecutors seek enhanced sentence for Moody as second defendant pleads guilty
 

Prosecutors seek enhanced sentence for Moody as second defendant pleads guilty

Darris Moody’s failure to appear for a federal court hearing back in October could come back to haunt her, as…
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Mountain Housing Opportunities’ longtime leader announces retirement
 

Mountain Housing Opportunities’ longtime leader announces retirement

Scott Dedman, President and Executive Director of Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO), announced his plan to retire in August of this…
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Not so fast — Medicaid expansion contingent on state budget passing
 

Not so fast — Medicaid expansion contingent on state budget passing

While some elected officials and media outlets are going to great lengths to celebrate Gov. Roy Cooper’s signing of the…
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EBCI Housing Secretary Edwin Taylor addresses Tribal Council March 2. EBCI photo
 

Cherokee buys out business lease for housing development

In a divided vote Thursday, March 2, the Cherokee Tribal Council appropriated $275,000 to buy out the lease of a…
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Jenny Holland (right) and Dr. Don Tomas, SCC President, hold the Order of the Long Leaf Pine that was awarded posthumously to Lambert Wilson.
 

Order of Long Leaf Pine awarded posthumously to former SCC Trustee Chair

On Friday, March 10, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine was presented posthumously in honor of Lambert Wilson to…
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Jonathan Crompton. File photo
 

Tuscola High School announces new coach

Tuscola High School has found a new head football coach in former NFL quarterback Jonathan Crompton.
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County approves half of Sylva’s municipal grant application
 

County approves half of Sylva’s municipal grant application

After pressing the brakes on Sylva’s municipal grant application, county commissioners have decided to approve a portion of the grant,…
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For some workers at Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill, the last day of work could come as early as June 9. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Government, union prepare for impact of mill closing

The initial shock of Pactiv Evergreen’s announcement that its Canton paper mill would soon cease operations hasn’t quite worn off for…
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Pactiv Evergreen has received 11 notices of violation from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality since May 2021. File photo
 

Mill receives water quality violation

Pactiv Evergreen has received a notice of violation from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality after a water quality measurement…
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Debra Bechtel will serve as Jackson County’s interim county attorney beginning April 1. Teague Campbell photo
 

New attorney selected for Jackson County

Jackson County is losing long-time county attorney Heather Baker, but it has already selected a new attorney to serve as…
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Main Street in Sylva. File photo
 

Sylva aims to expand role of Main Street director

Sylva taxpayers may be looking at a one-cent tax increase in the coming 2023-24 fiscal year. In return for that…
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Sam Pattillo has been on the job for over month now, and while he said there’s a steep learning curve, he also feels like he’s settling into the new gig. Donated photo
 

Pattillo settles into new role as Bryson City town manager

Sam Pattillo has been in leadership roles for some time now, but his latest move to become Bryson City’s town…
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Ricard Nazario-Colón was the university’s first ever chief diversity officer. Donated photo
 

WCU’s first chief diversity officer accepts new position

Ricardo Nazario-Colón, Western Carolina University’s inaugural chief diversity officer, has been appointed by the State University of New York’s Board…
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Big changes coming for Waynesville’s governing board
 

Big changes coming for Waynesville’s governing board

The Town of Waynesville’s municipal governing board has taken steps to modernize its operations by proposing amendments to its charter…
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In April of 2018, author David Brill and Park Librarian and Archivist Mike Aday were near the end of a long hike on the Old Settlers Trail when Aday fell while crossing a rain-swollen stream, fracturing his tibia. In the ensuing hours, both men got to experience a SAR operation first-hand. Here we see Aday being lifted onto a backboard to transport him off trail and to the road where an ambulance waited. Photo by David Brill.
 

Word from the Smokies: Training Essential to Park’s Search and Rescue

On a mid-September morning, 14 men and women gather at an abandoned quarry off U.S. 441 a mile or so…
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Canton's government, still operating out of a temporary building after flooding in 2021, is tightening up its budget.
 

Canton’s government ponders austerity measures

Administrators from the Town of Canton’s various departments met with Mayor Zeb Smathers and members of the town board March…
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The presence of a devastating invasive moth has been detected in Haywood County.
 

Moth brawl: A little moth is causing big problems in Cruso

Last week, more than a hundred people turned up to an informational meeting about a North Carolina Department of Agriculture…
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11 Female-Driven Businesses in Downtown Canton, N.C.
 

11 Female-Driven Businesses in Downtown Canton, N.C.

It’s been a little over two weeks since Pactiv Evergreen Packaging made the announcement to close early this summer, and…
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Where Two Worlds Touch
 

Where Two Worlds Touch

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble contributor | One Saturday morning my parents called me and my sister down to the kitchen…
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Ava & Arden
 

Ava & Arden

By Stefanee Sherman • Rumble Contributor | Ava & Arden is a small, women-owned boutique on Main Street in Waynesville. The…
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Asparagus Stuffed Chicken
 

Asparagus Stuffed Chicken

By Stefanee Sherman • Rumble Contributor | This recipe is another favorite in our house for a couple of reasons. One…
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Personal Finance: What I Wish I’d Known in My 20s
 

Personal Finance: What I Wish I’d Known in My 20s

Recently, I was asked what types of personal finance advice I would give to a woman in her twenties. In…
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N.C. mussel listed as threatened
 

N.C. mussel listed as threatened

A mussel found in Western North Carolina will be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act following a decision…
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The polyphemus moth caterpillar is one of more than 1,000 species of caterpillar supported by oak trees, a keystone tree species. There is no other plant genus that comes close to that number; tulip trees, by comparison, support only 21 species of caterpillar. So, it’s important to choose keystone species to plant on your property in order to positively affect the biodiversity crisis. Bob Peterson photo
 

Word from the Smokies: Discover Life in America presents conservation author on Earth Day

Doug Tallamy had been teaching at the University of Delaware for a quarter of a century when he had an…
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Nicole Harris shows off some Chinese privet plants she pulled up at Island Park on Feb. 10, 2021. MountainTrue photo
 

Invasive species workday planned in Bryson City

Help root out invasive species from Island Park in Bryson City 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, March 29. 
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Shuttle companies will offer rides to Smokies trailheads
 

Shuttle companies will offer rides to Smokies trailheads

Six shuttle companies will offer rides to and from popular trailheads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this year,…
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The new Rock Gap Shelter stands ready to welcome backpackers. NHC photo
 

Rock Gap Shelter replacement complete

Visitors to the Nantahala Ranger District have a new Appalachian Trail Shelter to visit thanks to months of work from…
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Brian Turner. Donated photo
 

Former state rep named new Audubon N.C. policy director

Brian Turner, a four-term member of the N.C. House of Representatives who left office in January, will serve as the…
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Regional rock act Billingsley will play Asheville on March 26. (Donated photo)
 

Something better: Billingsley to headline Salvage Station

In the sacred realm that is rock-n-roll music, the formation of the power trio remains iconic. On paper, it’s a…
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Graham Swamp Trail, Florida. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

This must be the place: ‘Sweetness, innocence gone away, how I miss them good old days’

Hello from Lemon Street on the outskirts of downtown St. Augustine, Florida. It’s about 62 degrees and sunny. Slight breeze.…
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A prayer circle forms during a vigil held for workers in Canton on March 9.
 

Pactiv Evergreen will begin to mail out WARN notices tomorrow

A March 21 letter from the general manager of Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton and Waynesville operations, John McCarthy, says the company…
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Canton to host 5K Saturday; proceeds to go toward all-abilities playground equipment
 

Canton to host 5K Saturday; proceeds to go toward all-abilities playground equipment

The Luc Gibson Foundation and the Town of Canton are hosting the Inaugural Cerebral Palsy 5K this Saturday, March 25…
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The earth speaks; hopefully, we’re listening
 

The earth speaks; hopefully, we’re listening

Somehow in the last couple years scanning the stacks and shelves of our local library and indie bookstore, I missed…
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When they come for the librarians …
 

When they come for the librarians …

As Americans, we’re banning a lot of books these days, perhaps 1,650 in the past year, censoring others, and coming…
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Country has been victimized by Trump
 

Country has been victimized by Trump

To the Editor: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is…
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Snorkeling the mountains: New Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail will show off WNC’s vibrant streams
 

Snorkeling the mountains: New Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail will show off WNC’s vibrant streams

For most people, the word “snorkeling” conjures images of blue Caribbean waters, pink coral reefs and a rainbow of tropical…
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Lynda Bennett faces federal sentencing in June
 

Lynda Bennett faces federal sentencing in June

Haywood County Republican and real estate agent Lynda Bennett will be sentenced in federal court on June 20 after accepting…
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Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) remains adamant that rural areas need more medical care providers. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Without tuition reimbursement amendment, Pless won’t vote for Senate’s Medicaid expansion bill

The North Carolina General Assembly is one step closer to approving Medicaid expansion after the bill passed out of the…
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Haywood commissioners reject lone jail construction bid
 

Haywood commissioners reject lone jail construction bid

Haywood County still needs its proposed $21.5 million jail expansion, but an unexpectedly high bid from the lone construction bidder…
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Max Cooper photo
 

Help for mill workers

The economic impact of Pactiv Evergreen’s decision to close the Canton paper mill will be substantial. It is estimated that…
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Changes have come to the United Steelworkers local in Canton.
 

Union at center of mill closing placed under administratorship

The union that represents most workers at Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton mill has been placed under control of its Pittsburgh-based international…
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The hulking mill complex in the center of Canton isn’t the only piece of property owned by Pactiv Evergreen. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Real (estate) problems: Concerns emerge over what Pactiv Evergreen might leave behind

The 185-acre paper mill at the heart of Canton is the most visible sign of Pactiv Evergreen’s corporate presence in…
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