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Presentation of Carden plays to benefit library fund
Two plays crafted by Sylva writer Gary Carden will be presented at Western Carolina University in March to benefit the…
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Macon Airport runway extension faces more questions
Macon County Airport Authority members are confident their application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving forward, but…
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EPA takes aim at Canton paper mill
A water pollution permit for the Canton paper mill has come under fire by the Environmental Protection Agency. The pollution…
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The calm of a winter’s night
It’s Saturday night as I write this .... going on toward midnight. I read the thermometer mounted outside the kitchen…
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Rickman Store celebrates 85 years
A community-wide open house celebration featuring a full day of entertainment and cultural events will mark the 85th anniversary of…
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DOT plans ahead to stave off slides
Rather than continuing a reactive approach to rockslides on Interstate 40, the DOT is making a widespread effort to prevent…
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Evergreen’s fate is important to WNC
Mix a strong environmental ethos, economic realism and strong community pride all together in the same brain (mine, in this…
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Delays in rock slide cleanup push back I-40 opening
Harsh winter weather has delayed the reopening of Interstate 40 until late April, according to the North Carolina Department of…
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Family hopes elder abuse case will help future victims
The conviction of former Jackson County employee Marc Hawk on elder abuse charges last month closed the book on a…
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Tapping the power of the sun
Progress Energy customers can now claim a fraction of their power comes from the sun. A new solar farm is…
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Swain County moratorium could stop Duke substation
Swain County has entered the fight over Duke Energy’s proposed electrical substation that would mar views in a rural farming…
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Budget cuts put fairgrounds in a bind, forcing county back to the table
With a large loan payment looming and not enough money to pay it, the fairgrounds turned to Haywood commissioners this…
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Beating bugs the natural way
It all started with a stranger’s death. At the time, Carl Hughes was working as a construction supervisor for the…
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Sylva may be stuck with cell tower
The Sylva Town Board opposes the construction of a 195-foot-high cellular communications tower on the main commercial drag of N.C.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
ake J eagle Not a winter has passed in the last four years or so that a bald eagle —…
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Cherokee outfitter store to offer premium guide service
Cherokee’s trout streams have earned their reputation as the crown jewel of North Carolina’s trophy waters, and now the area…
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Vertigo Jazz Project celebrates second release
Vertigo Jazz Project will drop their second full-length studio album on March 12 at Emerald Lounge in Asheville. VJP’s new…
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Landowner dismayed N.C. 107 bridge widening will claim archaeology site
A Cherokee archaeological site spanning from at least 6,000 years ago to the 18th century stands in the way of…
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County reluctant to foot the bill for Maggie landslide clean up costs
Haywood County commissioners are reluctant to hand over taxpayer money to stabilize the latest landslide in Maggie Valley — even…
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Bringing home the brew
Zach Phillips and Mike Valente graduated from Western Carolina University just in time to enter the worst job market in…
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Jackson County schools hope for no more job cuts
On Monday evening, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners met with leaders from Jackson County Schools to talk about next…
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Grassroots effort aims to make Jackson County greenest
What if the driveway to the county’s administration building were lined with blueberries? It was January, and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin and…
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HCC comes out on top in Recycle Mania
Haywood Community College shot to the top in a nationwide recycling competition by doing little more than what it already…
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Taking readers down a deep spiral
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Penguin Books, 2005. 487 pagesLet’s begin with a marvelous story —…
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I-40 opens at last
Interstate 40, closed since October due to a massive rockslide, reopened with little fanfare on Sunday evening. For the people…
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Haywood schools, HCC struggle to meet needs as revenues plummet
With Haywood County’s revenues down by 4 percent, schools are looking at another year of disappointing budget allocations at the…
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Enrollment audit a slow, uneasy process for Cherokee
In a 2002 referendum, the members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted to authorize an audit of the…
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Key candidates missing at Swain forum
Swain County citizens might have been more thrilled about a candidate forum that was held Thursday, April 22, than the…
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Admiration, maybe, but no love for the boar
Numerous non-native plants have been introduced into the southern mountains during the last century or so. Many are now classified…
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X marks the spot
I turned 35 years old on Tax Day. I’ve been stuck with that birth date from the beginning and have…
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WCU students teach business owners to use social media
When John Miele, co-owner of the Golden Carp, left a social media class recently taught by Western Carolina University students,…
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NOC’s Great Outpost
Nantahala Outdoor Center is positioned to become a major player in the outdoors scene on the Tennessee side of the…
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Ambitious development going nowhere
All visible signs of the grandiose megadevelopment known as Cataloochee Wilderness Resorts have vanished from public view in Haywood County.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
A little spring cleaning It was a busy weekend and there’s a busy weekend coming up, so I’m going to…
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A hub for all things outdoors
For the outdoors lover, stepping into NOC’s Great Outpost in Gatlinburg is like being a kid in a candy shop.…
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Rallying around a historic tree
Against all odds, a 250-year-old scarlet oak tree still stands on N.C. 110 south of Canton, despite being struck by…
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A huge pile of good intentions
Haywood County Solid Waste Director Stephen King did not spend his interview with The Smoky Mountain News sitting at an…
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A 21st Century Strategy for America’s Great Outdoors
By Mark Singleton • Guest Columnist Even in times of crisis, we’re called to take the long view to preserve…
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Alcohol banned at recreation sites
The US. Forest Service has banned alcohol use at 11 recreation sites in the Nantahala National Forest. The sites include:…
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Kephart’s persona was well crafted
Our consideration of “books and all things related” continues with a look at an instance when a well-known author (and…
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N.C. 47th Senate
North Carolina’s 47th District Senate seat represents Haywood, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell, Avery and McDowell counties. Republican voters will choose between…
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Jackson Sheriff’s race reveals rift in county
The Jackson County Sheriff’s race is hot and getting hotter. While a controversial pay raise and allegations of questionable financial…
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Candidates weigh in
Democrats Donnie Dixon: “I can’t rightfully say he’s done a bad job. It could reflect the commissioners’ doings...I have nothing…
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Evergreen Foundation needs to be reined in
It is past time someone looked closely at just what is going on with the Evergreen Foundation, because apparently those…
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Sylva board elects to pay music licensing
With Sylva’s annual street festival Greening Up the Mountains right around the corner, town commissioners had a somewhat unusual decision…
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Ghost Town charts course to walk away from debt
A primary owner of Ghost Town in the Sky wants to buy the amusement park out of bankruptcy. But there’s…
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Three open judge seats leads to crowded field of hopefuls
While a hotly contested judge’s race is dominating the water cooler gossip in lawyers’ offices, the average voter likely has…
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N.C. 50th Senate
The 50th Senate seat represents Jackson, Macon, Swain, Clay, Graham, and Cherokee counties, along with a portion of Haywood. Republican…
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Swain manager’s decision-making under fire as campaign heats up
In the lead-up to the primary elections on May 4, criticism of the current administration is stewing underground in Swain…
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Jackson EDC debate is over, again
Anyone who thought the discussion over the Jackson County Economic Development Commission’s missing audits was over when the board closed…
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