Heinzelmannchen debuts Merry Gnome Christmas Ale
 

Heinzelmannchen debuts Merry Gnome Christmas Ale

In the tradition of his German heritage, brewmeister Dieter Kuhn of Heinzelmannchen Brewery has crafted a specialty beer for the…
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Polar Express now departing from Bryson City
 

Polar Express now departing from Bryson City

The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad’s version of The Polar Express™ will continue running through Dec. 24. The round-trip excursion comes…
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Wide spectrum of music slated for Balsam Mountain Inn’s New Year’s Eve celebration
 

Wide spectrum of music slated for Balsam Mountain Inn’s New Year’s Eve celebration

A two-time Grammy-nominated songwriter and a Grammy winning singer will host a New Year’s Eve show at the Balsam Mountain…
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Rush of Fools take the stage at Lake Junaluska INFUSE 2011
 

Rush of Fools take the stage at Lake Junaluska INFUSE 2011

Rush of Fools, a Birmingham-based Christian band, will perform at Lake Junaluska New Year’s Ministries with Young People (MYP) INFUSE…
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RTCAR: Enabling artisans to preserve tradition
 

RTCAR: Enabling artisans to preserve tradition

In the storefront of Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, shelves and tables are laden with handmade baskets that shimmer dully…
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Noticing the little things of winter
 

Noticing the little things of winter

Editor’s note: George Ellison, like many in the mountains, was snowed in and unable to get an internet connection. This…
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Cataloochee group raises more than $10,000 for chestnut restoration projects
 

Cataloochee group raises more than $10,000 for chestnut restoration projects

A local group has raised more than $10,000 to support local, state and national efforts to bring back that mighty…
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Houck Medford steps down from Foundation
 

Houck Medford steps down from Foundation

Dr. Carolyn Ward of Asheville was recently named as head of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Ward replaces Dr. Houck…
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Casada takes home writing awards
 

Casada takes home writing awards

A Swain County native now living in South Carolina has won several writing awards from the South Carolina Outdoor Press…
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Smokies fish expert, Steve Moore, earns national recognition
 

Smokies fish expert, Steve Moore, earns national recognition

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Supervisory Fisheries Biologist Steve Moore was recently recognized with two national awards for his leadership…
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Cataloochee collects coats, food for the needy
 

Cataloochee collects coats, food for the needy

Cataloochee Ski Area continued a long tradition of holiday giving to the local community recently with its 9th Annual Can-U-Ski…
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Foothills ‘missing link’ set for 2015 completion
 

Foothills ‘missing link’ set for 2015 completion

The so-called “Missing Link” of the Foothills Parkway in east Tennessee is now scheduled for completion by 2015. Officials with…
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The Naturalist's Corner: A heartfelt thanks to the Stanbacks
 

The Naturalist's Corner: A heartfelt thanks to the Stanbacks

I received an email last week from Ida Phillips, communications director for Audubon North Carolina, announcing that Lea Island, a…
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Mixing business with birding
 

Mixing business with birding

A recent program brought together business owners and outdoor enthusiasts who shared a common desire — to promote birding while also…
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Swain library to hold meeting for teenagers
 

Swain library to hold meeting for teenagers

The teen friends of the library meeting will be held at the Marianna Black Library at 3:30 on Thursday, Dec.…
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A dark story about death, love and loss
 

A dark story about death, love and loss

Dear readers, if you decide to purchase this amazing novel, please consider the following advice: forget George Romero and the…
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WCU professors publish historical Cherokee writings
 

WCU professors publish historical Cherokee writings

Three professors from Western Carolina University who co-edited a work of collected historical writings about the Cherokee will sign copies…
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Marianna Black invites musicians to jam Dec. 16
 

Marianna Black invites musicians to jam Dec. 16

The Marianna Black Library will hold its next community jam from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16. Anyone with a…
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Oak Ridge Boys to perform in Franklin
 

Oak Ridge Boys to perform in Franklin

The renowned Oak Ridge Boys will play at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the Smoky Mountain…
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Smoky Mountain Brass to join chorus in concert
 

Smoky Mountain Brass to join chorus in concert

The Western Carolina Community Chorus will be joined by The Smoky Mountain Brass and Friends for a gala concert at…
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WCU sponsors dulcimer workshop at Junaluska
 

WCU sponsors dulcimer workshop at Junaluska

The sixth annual Mountain Dulcimer Winter Weekend, sponsored by Western Carolina University, will be held Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 6-9,…
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Day camps planned for snow days
 

Day camps planned for snow days

The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will plan to offer a day camp for children in grades 1 through 5…
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Auditions for ‘You Know’ planned for Dec. 19
 

Auditions for ‘You Know’ planned for Dec. 19

The Highlands-Cashiers Players are holding audtions from 3 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 19 and from 5 to 6:30 p.m.…
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Christmas family movies at Marianna Black
 

Christmas family movies at Marianna Black

During the month of December the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will continue to show family Christmas favorites.  The…
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Balsam Range to play Canton’s Colonial Dec. 17
 

Balsam Range to play Canton’s Colonial Dec. 17

Balsam Range will perform a concert with Tony Rice and Bobby Hicks at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the…
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Library contest to feature Lego® creations
 

Library contest to feature Lego® creations

The Haywood County Public Library will hold its first ever Lego® construction contest at 9 a.m. on Jan. 29 Youth…
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Sparking newfound interest in poetry: Inaugural Haywood Poetry Out Loud District Competition puts prose in the mainstream for local students
 

Sparking newfound interest in poetry: Inaugural Haywood Poetry Out Loud District Competition puts prose in the mainstream for local students

In a crowded high-school classroom last Friday, under bright fluorescent lights, a little over 50 people crammed into hard, plastic…
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Bitter cold makes routine memorable
 

Bitter cold makes routine memorable

Sunday, 6 a.m.: Get out of bed, stagger downstairs and start grinding coffee beans. What’s that white sheen through the…
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New regulations are a compromise
 

New regulations are a compromise

Editor’s note: This letter was written by Waynesville’s planning director in response to Mary Lamb’s letter above. Dear Ms. Lamb…
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Residents need time to review zoning changes
 

Residents need time to review zoning changes

To the Editor: Like so many other young couples, my husband and I felt so blessed when he landed a…
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Jackson’s new leaders have room for improvement
 

Jackson’s new leaders have room for improvement

A bit of a stumble out of the gate can be forgiven among newcomers in any endeavor, but that stumble…
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Sylva “back street” plans moving forward: Grant application due Feb. 10
 

Sylva “back street” plans moving forward: Grant application due Feb. 10

Three years ago, Holly Hooper and sister Heather Menacof had saved enough money to invest in new windows for the…
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Jackson County library taking shape
 

Jackson County library taking shape

The completion date for Jackson County’s new library is just three months away, but the likelihood the project really will…
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WCU, Forest Hills continue hammering out Town Center concept
 

WCU, Forest Hills continue hammering out Town Center concept

Looming budget cuts to the state’s higher education system won’t interfere with Western Carolina University’s goal of creating a town…
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Q&A with Jackson-Swain Extension Director
 

Q&A with Jackson-Swain Extension Director

Robert “Rob” Hawk, a Whittier resident and the former community resource development agent in this region for the N.C. Cooperative…
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Commissioners to hold public hearings Dec. 20
 

Commissioners to hold public hearings Dec. 20

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners will hold two public hearings at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20, in the…
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Burrell recovering after fracturing vertebrae
 

Burrell recovering after fracturing vertebrae

Conrad Burrell, a member of the state’s Board of Transportation and chairman of Southwestern Community College’s board of trustees, underwent…
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Macon planning board uproar subsides
 

Macon planning board uproar subsides

Planning board members in Macon County this week voted against a plan that would have seen their group expand from…
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A changing of the guard at Lake Junaluska: Methodist center with deep Haywood roots works to re-invent itself
 

A changing of the guard at Lake Junaluska: Methodist center with deep Haywood roots works to re-invent itself

Almost a century after its inception, Lake Junaluska Assembly is still a pillar of Haywood County’s heritage, an organic, integral…
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Maggie Valley tries ‘flowery’ marketing idea
 

Maggie Valley tries ‘flowery’ marketing idea

Maggie Valley is in the midst of a makeover. The town is taking steps to spruce itself up, modernize and,…
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Jackson Paper host party for local school children
 

Jackson Paper host party for local school children

Jackson Paper Manufacturing hosted more than 45 local elementary students and their families at the company’s Christmas for Kids party…
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Lomo owners sell to Atlanta entrepreneur
 

Lomo owners sell to Atlanta entrepreneur

The inside of Waynesville’s 44 Church Street does not, today, bustle with life, warmth and the scintillating scent of food…
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SMN obtains draft agreement between WCU, Forest Hills
 

SMN obtains draft agreement between WCU, Forest Hills

A draft agreement between Western Carolina University and the Village of Forest Hills calls for a referendum on mixed drinks,…
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Images etched in memory for a lifetime
 

Images etched in memory for a lifetime

I am fascinated by those images from the natural world that remain with us for a lifetime — almost as…
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Popular Maggie Moonlight Race returns in 2011
 

Popular Maggie Moonlight Race returns in 2011

The Maggie Valley Moonlight Race will return in 2011, once again enticing runners from near and far to lace up…
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35th annual “Festival of Christmas Past”
 

35th annual “Festival of Christmas Past”

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will hold the 35th annual Festival of Christmas Past celebration from 9 a.m. to 4…
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Support your local farms this winter
 

Support your local farms this winter

Harvests of sweet corn, tomatoes, and other produce wrapped up weeks ago, but Haywood County farmers still have plenty to…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Goose dilemma
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Goose dilemma

A spin around Lake Junaluska the other day (12/2) turned up another unusual winter visitor plus highlighted the foibles and…
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Cataloochee’s 50th season off to a great white start
 

Cataloochee’s 50th season off to a great white start

Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley is off to another strong start to its season. “We’ve been open since Nov.…
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Cataloochee Ski Patrol: Keeping you safe on the slope
 

Cataloochee Ski Patrol: Keeping you safe on the slope

The Cataloochee Ski Patrol began in 1961 as a group of friends who enjoyed skiing at the new Cataloochee Ski…
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