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Warren Haynes’ 19th Annual Christmas Jam — mostly
By Chris Cooper Before getting started, let me say that I completely missed Grace Potter’s performance at the Christmas Jam.…
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Maggie Valley gets new police station: It’s the town’s first new public building since incorporation in 1974
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer As captain of the Maggie Valley police department, Jason Moody normally keeps his emotions…
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Gifts that keep giving
Looking for a Christmas present? Western North Carolina is home to many outdoors organizations, conservation groups, outing clubs, nature societies…
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Home again: ‘Emissaries of Peace’ returns to Cherokee after a Smithsonian excursion
After a successful five-month run at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the “Emissaries of Peace: The 1762 Cherokee…
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TWASA waits for capacity expansion go-ahead
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Officials at Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority are waiting for the go-ahead from the…
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Mountain protections gained wide support in 2007
For those of us who have been beating the drum about the need for mountain communities to get serious about…
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A Christmas Day playlist
By Chris Cooper Years ago I read an article in one of the many music and entertainment publications out there…
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Pinnacle Park's future
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Sylva Town Board members are brainstorming for ways to manage Pinnacle Park, 1,100 acres…
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2007: A year for development news
This year marked a turning point across Western North Carolina when it comes to political will and the development industry.
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Blessed be the tin-eared hymn singer
By David Curtis “Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the new born King.”
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Fed OKs $6 million for North Shore Road payment
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer After 64 years, it looks like the battle over the North Shore Road in…
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Hike to Pinnacle Peak
There are two ways to hike to Pinnacle Peak, which is renowned for its 360-degree views from the Plott Balsams.
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The honesty of a cat’s purr opens my eyes
By John Armour We have two cats: Weasel, a grey female calico, and Orion, a male orange and white tabby.…
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A Christmas gift
Citizens of Washington County, hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl and Navy pilots who would have been put in harm’s…
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WCU trustees OK fee increases
Western Carolina University’s board of trustees unanimously approved proposed tuition and fees for the 2008-09 academic year, including increases to…
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Mining company appeals decision; quarry’s future remains uncertain
A Franklin-based mining company has filed an appeal against the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources decision denying…
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A plant’s purpose
There are more than 300,000 plant species in the world. Some are edible, some can be used for their medicinal…
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Recommended diversions
Christmas Eve dinner Not the particular food, per se, but the tradition. In our home it’s Lori’s homemade lasagna, and…
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In WNC, voters showing support for Edwards, Huckabee
By Tom Jensen • Guest Columnist John Edwards and Mike Huckabee are the most popular Presidential candidates in their own…
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Why he rode: Continental cyclist A.J. Rowell returns home to Sylva after nearly 10,000 miles on the road
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer On June 1, 2007, A.J. Rowell left Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and began pedaling a…
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Parkway views from Waynesville overlook protected
A ridgeline tract adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway overlooking Waynesville has been saved from development, thanks to the acquisition…
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When Florida was wild
Crackers in the Glade: Life and Times in the Old Everglades edited Betty Savidge Briggs. University of Georgia Press, 2007.…
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On Cataloochee Wilderness: Project spokesman Frank Singleton talks about fitting into the community and facing possible opposition
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Frank Singleton, the spokesman for the 4,500-acre proposed Cataloochee Wilderness Resort in Haywood County,…
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A little moss, hopefully, is forever
By Stephanie Wampler A thick, green sheet of moss is growing across my roof. When I first noticed it the…
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Rapp tries to round up support for slope development bill
When back-to-back tropical storms hit the mountains with heavy rains in 2004, the saturated soils triggered more than 140 landslides.…
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Cowee group fights to keep school community-owned
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer For more than 60 years, students have been learning at Cowee Elementary School. But…
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Restaurant owners scramble to comply with mandatory recycling law
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Landfills in North Carolina should become a lot emptier due to a new law…
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Hits and misses
The Carolina Field Birders (CFB) conducted their sixth annual Christmas Bird Count this past Saturday (12/29.) The annual CBC count…
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441 corridor planning teaches students about smart growth
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Students at Smokey Mountain Elementary and Cherokee Indian Reservation schools will be learning an…
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What? Me read?
Letters to My Son on the Love of Books by Roberto Coltroneo. Ecco Press, 1998. 151 pages. In the Dec.…
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An engineer’s take on N.C. 107
Walter Kulash, a private traffic engineer, has been advising the Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance on and off for four…
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Remember – every year is a new year
So it’s the New Year. The ball has dropped, the parties are all over, your Kool and the Gang album…
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Recommended diversions
Kinky Boots Start the year off on the right foot with this 2005 Brit flick starring Joel Edgerton as Charlie…
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A few notes on 2007
By Chris Cooper Looking back on the albums and/or shows (be they local, regional or major label offerings) I’ve had…
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HART opens 2008 Studio Season with ‘Demons’
By Michael Beadle A lawyer battling personal demons returns to a small town near Pittsburgh where a sensational crime forces…
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A tough farming year
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer “Overall, it’s been a really tough year for farming,” said Jackson County farmer William…
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2008 will be telling year for Cataloochee resort
The best news about the proposed Cataloochee Wilderness Resort is that it appears that from here on out, there will…
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Cherokee and their bird stories
The second soul, that of physiological life, is located in the liver, and is of primary importance in doctoring and…
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Competing road studies likely for N.C. 107
The next year could play out as a battle of the traffic studies between the Department of Transportation and opponents…
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State says foul on school bond referendum support
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer After investigating the actions of the Macon County School Board for the past two…
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In living colour
Cedar waxwings and American holly are with us year round. The waxwings wander around a lot in extended family groups,…
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An account of Haywood County
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The crowning achievement of Haywood County’s bicentennial celebration is a 600-page, hardcover book that…
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Recycling requirement passes costs on to rightful party
One is a new law that just took effect Jan. 1, and the other is a hoped-for statute that we…
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At the helm: New director aims to complete the Mountains to Sea Trail
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer The Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail hope its first-ever executive director will be able…
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Commissioners take a more aggressive stance in Dillsboro dam fight
Jackson County commissioners are contemplating drastic measures in their fight against Duke Energy to stop the Dillsboro dam from being…
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Parkway rangers work to save hemlocks
With a massive die-off of hemlock trees all but imminent in the mountains, Ranger Chris Ulrey is putting faith in…
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Recommended diversions
Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen This 512-page novel is a fast read that unfolds like a movie, painting a vivid picture…
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Southern Comfort Food
By Michael Beadle Long before the days of microwaves and fast food meals, there was the slow-cooked stew, a Southern…
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‘Rainbows’ plays as Radiohead should
There was an interesting coincidence on July 11, 2006. Thom Yorke released Eraser to mixed reviews, and the same day…
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