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The Oak Tree and the Great Dumpling Debate
By Karen Dill The ancient oak tree is bare. It stands majestic in the yard of our old two-story farmhouse.…
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Drama about the founder of Methodism to premiere at WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center
What happens when a smart, talented young man desires to serve God, but is mostly driven by his fear of…
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Power struggle
Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell. Saint Martins Press, 1998. 397 pages Several years ago, when I was reading everything…
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Fatal disease for deer and elk detected in neighboring state
Chronic wasting disease, a deadly disease that affects deer, elk and other hoofed animals, has been detected in white-tailed deer…
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AT license plates fund mini trail grants
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy will hand out mini-grants for projects in the region that benefit the long-distance hiking trail. Grants…
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The Naturalist's Corner
The good; the bad and the ugly The good Ben Morrison, compiler of the Wilmot, Ohio, Christmas Bird Count, contacted…
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A taste of Appalachian poetry
This past weekend was given over to reorganizing the books in my home library. In the process, I relocated a…
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Haywood Waterways applauds water guardians
Haywood Waterways Association recently gave out 2009 stewardship awards to several people and organizations that have worked to protect and…
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Childcare openings fall far short of demand in Macon
Macon County Chairman Ronnie Beale knew the county had a problem when two young working mothers contacted him directly following…
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Sun power supplies a path to simplicity
Lydia Aydlett first moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina during the height of the back-to-the-land movement, and it’s…
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Quick facts
• The mill is operating within state pollution limits on most counts. The current permit allows a variance in two…
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Back to the old homestead
Sometimes you have to go away to come home again. Way up Coweeta Gap in south Macon County is a…
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SCC’s Cecil Groves to retire at end of year
Cecil Groves, president of Southwestern Community College since 1997, informed the board of trustees and college faculty and staff that…
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Jackson County board race to meter voter confidence
Jackson The Jackson County board consists of four commissioners and one chairman. This year, the two commissioner seats and chairman…
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Finances likely to dominate Haywood commissioner race
Haywood The Haywood County board has five commissioner seats. Three seats are up for election this year. A party primary…
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Dillsboro, WCU move forward with marketing relationship
Leaders of the town of Dillsboro and members of Western Carolina University’s faculty unveiled the framework for an ongoing partnership…
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Emotions run high at hearing on paper mill pollution
Two contrasting images of the Pigeon River emerged at a public hearing on a controversial new water pollution permit for…
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Road to Nowhere crusade over at last
A defining moment in the decades-long debate over the North Shore Road will play out in Swain County this week.…
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Two wide-open seats will define Swain race
Swain The Swain County board has four commissioner seats and one chairman. All five seats are up for election every…
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Where ideology meets environmental reality
The term “off-the-grid” means living in a self-sufficient manner without the services of a public utility. Wikipedia estimates that in…
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Court ruling bars county endorsement of Christian prayer
County commissioners in Western North Carolina face a fork in the road after a federal judge in Forsyth County made…
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All three incumbents to run again in Macon
Macon The Macon County board has four commissioners and one chairman. This year, the seats of two commissioners and the…
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Fur clumps, scratches and other musings on store cat Kea
By Chris Cooper Kea was a filthy, grease-covered little miscreant when she was found by In Your Ear Music Emporium…
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A cold winter’s hike reminds me of the value of wild places
Back in early January, I found myself waking early to pack for a day-long excursion into the backwoods of Chunky…
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Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival lands in Haywood
There’ll be a movie for every taste at the third annual Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival this year. The festival’s…
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Fitzgerald comes to life in Asheville
The Fitzgerald Ruse by Mark De Castrique. Poisoned Pen Press, 2009. 250 pages. Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and magazines like…
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The Naturalist's Corner
On the road to recovery Friends of the Western North Carolina Nature Center unveils its New Winter Speaker Series on…
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Simple signs of the evergreen
You can almost smell the word “evergreen.” The word is at once one of the most aptly descriptive and highly…
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Ski, Worship and Grow with your friends and MYP at Lake Junaluska
Get ready to hit the slopes and participate in meaningful worship at Lake Junaluska’s Ministries with Young People (MYP) annual…
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Small-time theft by travel agent a big-time violation of trust
William Maney, owner of Fantasy Travel in Sylva, allegedly defrauded an elderly woman from Franklin out of $7,000 last year…
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Macon comprehensive plan stutters as work begins
Comprehensive planning is supposed to be, well, comprehensive. But as Macon County leaders are finding out, it’s not that easy…
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Life on the rock
Workers on the rockslide slope are laboring around the clock. There’s a day crew and a night crew, ranging from…
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Family farm builds Brasstown Beef brand
It’s a slogan even the slickest New York ad firm couldn’t top if it tried: “Real Beef. Raised Right. Around…
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Waynesville producer wins national award
Producer, editor and videographer John Kenyon of Waynesville has been selected to receive the Award of Excellence in the slide…
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Public art to celebrate Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Waynesville Public Art Commission recently issued a Call for Artists for its fourth public art project. The proposed art…
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A new rockslide on I-40 over the weekend may take up to three weeks to clear
Another rockslide struck along the already closed section of Interstate 40 over the weekend. The new slide is nothing like…
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Historic Cherokee letterpress carries exciting potential for new art
The newest addition to Southwestern Community College’s Oconaluftee Institute of Cultural Arts holds a piece of Cherokee history. OICA will…
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Jackson finally folds in long feud with Duke
The seven-year battle between Jackson County commissioners and Duke Energy has come to a close. After losing a critical court…
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Chinese teacher adapts and thrives in Swain County
After making the journey to Western North Carolina from China, Niu Jun discovered Bryson City was nothing like she imagined.…
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Harrah’s Cherokee Casino building for big future
With the rest of the region’s construction economy at a standstill, Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino is in the midst…
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How to fix a mountainside
In the first days following the rockslide on Interstate 40 last October, Jody Kuhne had the unenviable job of rappelling…
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Balsam Mountain Preserve foreclosure now official
Balsam Mountain Preserve, a mega-development in Jackson County, was sold to the highest bidder on the courthouse steps Monday (Jan.…
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Struggling cattle farmers await new auction house
If all goes according to plan, a new regional livestock market will open in Canton by late May to more…
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All about tea
Editor’s Note: Since January is National Tea Month, The Smoky Mountain News talked to some of the tea connoisseurs in…
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Not for the faint of heart
The highly technical and extremely dangerous work to stabilize the rockslide is being carried out by Janod, a Canadian company.…
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It’s a bum deal ... I resent the hell out of it
By Joe Cowan • Guest Columnist Editor’s note: Jackson County Commissioner Joe Cowan made the following comments following a vote…
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A different take on a legend
The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. Saint Martin’s Press, 1997. I was probably 10 years old when I discovered King…
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Virtual fieldtrip brings park into classrooms
Three Cherokee Middle School students starred in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park live field broadcast via the web to…
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The Naturalist's Corner
And the dam - came tumblin’ tumblin’ The Dillsboro Dam story is as twisted and convoluted as the Tuck itself.…
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Davis was a poetic nature writer
The professional career of biologist Millard C. (“Bill”) Davis — who was born in 1930 in Utica, N.Y., and now…
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