New outpatient center to make health care more accessible
 

New outpatient center to make health care more accessible

MedWest Health System is breaking ground on a new outpatient services center  at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 11, on…
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Cuts target childhood development during critical early years
 

Cuts target childhood development during critical early years

When SmartStart, an early childhood education program, was launched in 1993, it was hailed nationally as a model for reaching…
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Macon’s steep slope debate mired in details
 

Macon’s steep slope debate mired in details

In a somewhat surreal meeting last week of Macon County’s planning board, progress on developing regulations for steep slopes were…
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Travel app coming soon to steer tourists through western counties
 

Travel app coming soon to steer tourists through western counties

Linda Harbuck doesn’t own a smart-phone herself, but that doesn’t stop the veteran Macon County tourism official from understanding and…
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River rats test homespun engineering in the Tuck Derby
 

River rats test homespun engineering in the Tuck Derby

It is not by swiftness, nor by strength and valor, that races are gained and battles won, but by sheer…
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Primary election showdown arrives in Cherokee
 

Primary election showdown arrives in Cherokee

In Cherokee this week, tribal elections are edging ever closer, with a primary scheduled for Thursday that will whittle the…
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Shuler left with Republican-leaning district after new maps slice liberal Asheville out of WNC
 

Shuler left with Republican-leaning district after new maps slice liberal Asheville out of WNC

Democrats are crying foul over new Congressional district lines that with seemingly surgical precision slice the City of Asheville, a…
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‘I feel their pain’: Keeping pools in working order costs small towns big bucks
 

‘I feel their pain’: Keeping pools in working order costs small towns big bucks

Canton was one of the first towns in Western North Carolina to sport a swimming pool, something made possible thanks…
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Canton could get hosed by pool woes
 

Canton could get hosed by pool woes

The Canton swimming pool is on its last leg and without a major investment of $750,000 to $1 million, the…
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Popularity has its pitfalls
 

Popularity has its pitfalls

In the do-you-remember, they-were-right-after-all category, the enormous popularity of Jackson County’s new library has meant finding parking at the renovated…
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Cowboy preacher delivers maverick graduation speech
 

Cowboy preacher delivers maverick graduation speech

Graduation ceremonies are, by their nature, boring. The bookend of an educational phase is supposed to be a solemn occasion,…
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Renowned food author speaks on Southern cuisine
 

Renowned food author speaks on Southern cuisine

Blue Ridge Books will host Rick McDaniel, the author of An Irresistible History of Southern Food: Four Centuries of Black-Eyed…
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Experience the beauty of Mountains in Bloom
 

Experience the beauty of Mountains in Bloom

The Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival will be held July 7 through 10 in Highlands. From 10 a.m. to 2…
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Dulcimer week comes to WCU
 

Dulcimer week comes to WCU

Musicians Larry and Elaine Conger will host the 12th annual Mountain Dulcimer Week, to be held Sunday, July 17, through…
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Former Beach Boy brings summer music
 

Former Beach Boy brings summer music

Al Jardine and his Endless Summer Band will fill the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts with summer music…
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Grammy winner Laurie Lewis to perform
 

Grammy winner Laurie Lewis to perform

On Saturday, July 9, Grammy-award winner Laurie Lewis will give an after-dinner performance at Cataloochee Ranch. Lewis is an acclaimed…
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Library hosts guitarist Pete Friedman
 

Library hosts guitarist Pete Friedman

Pete Friedman will bring his music to the Jackson County Public Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, with…
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‘Liars Bench’ takes show to WCU July 7
 

‘Liars Bench’ takes show to WCU July 7

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will host and sponsor a free performance of The Liars Bench, a Southern Appalachian…
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Massage festival planned at WCU
 

Massage festival planned at WCU

The World Massage Festival will hold its 6th annual festival from July 14 to 17 at Western Carolina University. The…
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Movie club to screen Amish Grace
 

Movie club to screen Amish Grace

The Groovy Movie Club will show the film “Amish Grace” at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 8. A mostly organic…
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Singer, storyteller starts off folk festival
 

Singer, storyteller starts off folk festival

Tim Lynch will lead off the 2011 Franklin Folk Festival at 9 a.m. on July 16 at the downtown gazebo…
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Classic cars come out in Highlands
 

Classic cars come out in Highlands

The Highlands Motoring Festival is scheduled for July 15 to 17, in downtown Highlands. The festival will begin at 6:30…
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Artisans gather at art and crafts show
 

Artisans gather at art and crafts show

The Mountain Artisans Summertime Art & Crafts Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 2…
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Woodworker demonstrates traditional techniques
 

Woodworker demonstrates traditional techniques

Brian Bartel, a local artisan who has spent the last 14 years developing his technique in woodworking with hand tools,…
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A gypsy at HART
 

A gypsy at HART

This summer in Waynesville, it’s an unconventional rags-to-riches tale that will light up the Haywood Arts Regional Theater mainstage with…
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Fox sightings increasing in populated areas
 

Fox sightings increasing in populated areas

Witnessing a wild fox is not necessarily a cause for alarm, nor are all foxes rabid or dangerous, according to…
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Talk to explore growth and what it means for the mountains
 

Talk to explore growth and what it means for the mountains

A talk titled “The Southern Blue Ridge at this Moment in History” will discuss growth in the mountains and its…
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No fishing license needed on July Fourth
 

No fishing license needed on July Fourth

This upcoming July 4 is a “free fishing day” in North Carolina. Everyone — residents and nonresidents — can fish…
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An elk viewing for seniors
 

An elk viewing for seniors

A trip for seniors, age 50 and above, to see the elk in Cataloochee Valley will be offered on July…
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Swim, bike, run in Haywood triathlon
 

Swim, bike, run in Haywood triathlon

The MedWest-Haywood Triathlon has returned this year with a new summertime date, attracting seasoned triathletes looking for a challenge as…
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Cherokee Moonlight 5K
 

Cherokee Moonlight 5K

The Cherokee Runners Moonlight 5K and Fun Run will be held on July 4 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. The…
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Capture summer’s bounty with canning how-to
 

Capture summer’s bounty with canning how-to

Learn the basics of canning through workshops offered by the Jackson County N.C. Cooperative Extension Service during the month of…
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SCC mechanics students get cooking
 

SCC mechanics students get cooking

When you walk into an automotive shop you don’t expect to see men in crisp white lab coats and surgical…
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Mountain Wildlife Daze
 

Mountain Wildlife Daze

The eighth annual Mountain Wildlife Days is scheduled for July 15 and 16 at the Sapphire Valley Community Center. The…
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Learn about the environment and have fun, too
 

Learn about the environment and have fun, too

A weeklong Environmental Camp for ages 10 to 15 offers a full lineup of hands-on nature exploration and fieldtrips. The…
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Loss of regulators means fewer inspections, say environmentalists
 

Loss of regulators means fewer inspections, say environmentalists

Environmental advocates are troubled by major budget cuts and the loss of staff for the Department of Environment and Natural…
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By air, by land  and by water: General Assembly rolls back environmental protections
 

By air, by land and by water: General Assembly rolls back environmental protections

Back in January, a group of environmental advocates gathered for after-work beers at Craggie Brewery in Asheville where they heard…
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Plant life distinct to the southern Blue Ridge
 

Plant life distinct to the southern Blue Ridge

The elevations of the southern Blue Ridge province above 4,000 feet can be thought of as a peninsula of northern…
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Perry’s Water Garden nurtures love of water plants
 

Perry’s Water Garden nurtures love of water plants

Most of the business being done at Perry’s Water Garden these days is selling plants through the wholesale market. But…
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Roads all about money, power and ethics
 

Roads all about money, power and ethics

To the Editor: The patronage politics of roads, money, power, and ethics in North Carolina is a strange creature. Individual…
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Safety is primary concern for SCC
 

Safety is primary concern for SCC

To the Editor: It is with astonishment that I have been following the flurry of recent articles in the newspapers…
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GOP-led legislature did some good work
 

GOP-led legislature did some good work

To the Editor, We North Carolinians are very fortunate people. Our Republican majority state legislature had the courage to make…
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What does Harvard know about milk, anyway?
 

What does Harvard know about milk, anyway?

You’ve probably seen the ads. Some famous face sports a white “milk mustache” and encourages you to drink more milk.…
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Swain DSS director fired, lodges appeal
 

Swain DSS director fired, lodges appeal

Tammy Cagle, once the leader of the Swain County Department of Social Services, has been given the ax by the…
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Everyone up for election in Franklin pledges to run again
 

Everyone up for election in Franklin pledges to run again

When Sam Greenwood retired as Macon County’s manager and almost immediately accepted the same position for the town of Franklin…
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Hotel a tombstone for WNC’s once booming real estate industry
 

Hotel a tombstone for WNC’s once booming real estate industry

When construction on the lofty Clarion Inn started in 2008, the town of Sylva thought it was finally going to…
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Sylva police packed in like sardines
 

Sylva police packed in like sardines

Just stepping inside the Sylva Police Department gives a person an immediate understanding of why Chief Davis Woodard is pushing…
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Roof on high school library suffers more storm damage
 

Roof on high school library suffers more storm damage

For the second time in as many months, strong winds ripped part of the roof off the school library, known…
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Sylva’s appointed aldermen must run for real this fall
 

Sylva’s appointed aldermen must run for real this fall

Easing congestion on N.C. 107 and general economic development issues look to shape the context of Sylva’s upcoming municipal elections.…
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Founder of Cherokee court system reflects on storied legal career
 

Founder of Cherokee court system reflects on storied legal career

Seventy-six years ago, Harry Martin decided he wanted to become a lawyer. He was 15, and knew little to nothing…
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