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Land use plan review ‘back on track’
Waynesville leaders vowed to speed up a review of the town’s land use plan after an article in The Smoky…
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That’s me on the couch, counting my blessings
The holidays are upon us, I’m walking almost normal, and I’m ready to sit on the couch and count my…
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Chili’s scouts Waynesville as possible location
Even as one national retailer — Home Depot — is pulling its plans for a Waynesville store, the national restaurant…
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Sustainable travel makes sense
By Cynthia Deale • Western Regional Representative, Center for Sustainable Tourism Editor’s note: This series of green living tips is…
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Macon, Franklin tourism boards take helm during tough climate
Two recently created tourism boards in Macon County met last week to begin discussing how they can make the area…
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DOT meeting should have been advertised
By James McCarthy • Guest Columnist Did the N.C. Department of Transportation hold an illegal meeting on Dec. 4 at…
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For the love of language and song: NC composer and poet laureate intertwine arts
By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer North Carolina’s poet laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer listens to the CD “Alma,” composed by…
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Swanger back in the game with EDC seat
Haywood County Commissioner Mark Swanger is back on the county’s Economic Development Commission five years after he played a critical…
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Holiday transcends economic classes: Family, religion are unifying themes to the season
Charles Phillips of Waynesville may be monetarily poor, but he is rich in the Christmas spirit. Each Christmas Phillips covers…
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Was the night really that silent?
According to old Appalachian tradition, you don’t have to be named Doolittle to hear the animals. You just have to…
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Maggie Valley’s Collins picked again to lead TDA
Lynn Collins, the director of Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, was unanimously appointed as the new director of the Haywood…
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Heritage center welcomes new curator
Trevor Jones, a native of St. Cloud, Minn., is the new curator at the Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University’s…
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Music for the land
Dirt Music by Tim Winton. Scribner and Sons, 2003. 411 pages. Well, dear reader, we are about to discuss a…
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Brought on in crisis, extra ambulance shows it’s mettle
When Haywood Regional Medical Center suspended its care of Medicare and Medicaid patients last February, Jim Pressley realized there was…
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Historic harmony: “Songs From Haywood County”
By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer Providing a historic glimpse into triumph and tragedy of real life in Haywood County over…
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College students squeeze value out of trash
It took a team of Western Carolina University students just 10 days and dozens of discarded plastic bottles to design…
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Sylva domestic violence shelter not to blame in murder
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit filed against a domestic violence shelter by the family of…
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Public land stewardship as economic stimulus
Editor’s Note: The following is testimony delivered by Mark Singleton of Sylva, who is the chairman of the Outdoor Alliance.…
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Life in Hazel Creek: Mountain Discovery Charter School 8th-graders experience life as pre-national park settlers
Editor’s note: The following is series of student-written excerpts from a five-day camping trip taken to the Hazel Creek area…
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Franklin development pushes village-style design
The days of suburban sprawl could be coming to an end as a new type of development — mixed use…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Gun-toting tourist deters smarter than average bear Setting: A campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, nightfall, Jan. 13,…
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Waynesville needs to get going on land use plan update
It’s time for Waynesville to get going on its land use plan review, especially since the economic downturn has slowed…
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School air data suspect, officials say
Officials from Haywood County and the state Division of Air Quality are disputing a recently released report by USA Today…
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WestCare, Haywood hospitals hunt for partner
The boards of Haywood Regional Medical Center and WestCare Health System are officially seeking proposals from three hospital systems that…
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Verizon cell tower violates county ordinance
A cell tower company jumped the gun by building onto its tower without the necessary permits from Haywood County. Verizon…
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Russell’s ‘dog of a book’
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. Random House, 2008. 272 pages. One of the great delights in browsing…
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Auto dealers lament Shuler’s ‘no’ vote on bailout
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, voted against the proposed bailout of the auto industry last week. Gary Tallent, manager of…
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Home Depot scraps Waynesville plans
Home Depot has officially yanked plans to build a store in Waynesville next to the town’s new Super Wal-Mart. The…
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HCC serves up student-grown produce
This spring, the greens served in Haywood Community College’s cafeteria couldn’t have been more local — they were grown just…
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There ain’t no shelter here
There aren’t many options for those without a home in Western North Carolina. Sleeping outside is one, but winter nights…
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Trapping rainwater could solve airport slope problems
Although Jackson County and the Airport Authority prevailed in a lawsuit this month blaming them for slope failure at the…
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Ye Olde Christmas CD roundup ...
By Chris Cooper I guess it’s a kind of Christmas tradition. Every year around this time I go on the…
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No guns, no bikes, and no dogs
By Danny Bernstein • Guest Columnist Our national parks have been assaulted by new rulings in the closing days of…
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Macon may be out of money for K-4 school
There may not be enough money to build a new K-4 school in Macon County because of the economic downturn,…
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Taking a likin’ to the lichen
On a winter walk you will encounter numerous evergreen plants. None is more mysterious or delightful to behold than the…
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Lending a hand
Recently, more than 50 members of the Haywood County community gathered in a church fellowship hall to brainstorm ways to…
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A word with the musicians
Mark W. Winchester (MW) and Milan Miller (MM) answer questions about the collaboration of “Songs From Haywood County.” SMN: How…
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Cherokee petition closes in on alcohol vote
Organizers of a petition drive in Cherokee believe they have enough signatures to force a referendum by voters on whether…
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The economic downturn hits home — hard
The trickle down effect from the national economic downturn is starting to feel more like a flood to agencies in…
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Officials stay away from private DOT meeting, stay within bounds of law
It appears local government officials obeyed the Open Meetings Law when they attended a private N.C. Department of Transportation meeting…
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About Nance Dude
A brief synopsis of “Nance Dude,” which is one of three dramatic monologues in “Land’s End” written by Gary Carden:…
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National parks to lift ban on gun-packing visitors
Visitors could soon be toting loaded, concealed guns in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A long-standing ban on loaded…
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Schools give money back, Big Three ready to take it
As the economic picture gets more and more bleak, the ironies loom larger and larger. Public school systems, community colleges…
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DOT gets earful from public on Southern Loop
Jackson County resident Susan Leveille opposes the construction of a N.C. 107 bypass. “I am very hopeful DOT and all…
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Smokies plate helps Friends help the park
The new specialty license plate for Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, sporting a black bear against a mountain…
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Traffic simulations for 2035 takes leap of faith
As the debate over the Southern Loop rages on, a faceless cadre of number crunchers have been assigned a seemingly…
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Don’t jump up and do anything
With Clayton Cathey On a weekday afternoon the Walker Service Station in Waynesville is busy with a steady stream of…
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Tough times strike dealerships
Scott Rodes’ first job in the automobile industry was 30 years ago washing and selling cars for his grandfather in…
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Swain hunts for inmates to fill overbuilt jail
When 400 people poured in to Swain County’s jail one day in late September, Sheriff Curtis Cochran was thrilled. And…
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Commissioners make extra meetings official
The Macon County commissioners on Monday voted to start having two regularly scheduled meetings a month, rather than just one…
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