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Katrina refugee wades into the fray against Duke
As Jackson County leaders continue their fight against Duke Energy, an unassuming local lawyer that few have heard of has…
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An unfortunate object of affection
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has long been synonymous with black bears. From the first automobile tourists to today’s…
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Carolina Mountain Club challenges hikers to seek views from the top
By Peter Barr • Guest writer The Carolina Mountain Club is challenging hikers to seek out some of Western North…
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Swain backs down from hardline stance with Bryson City Fire Department
Swain County will continue contracting with the Bryson City Fire Department to provide county fire service, despite threatening to cut…
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Sunburst: Fantasy and Reality
By Karen Dill Sunburst. The word evokes a magical image. Yet, in my childhood community of Bethel, Sunburst was simply…
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Value-added products up the ante for homegrown goodness
Across Western North Carolina, an increasing number of people are discovering new and creative ways to use the bounty of…
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Tour retraces Haywood County history
By Ellen Cirino • Special To The Smoky Mountain News The fifth Cold Mountain Heritage Tour, a self-driving tour to…
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WCU braces for housing crunch in face of growth, construction delays
Come the start of fall semester, some Western Carolina University freshmen could find themselves residing in unusual living quarters. A…
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Maggie festival embraces all things trout
Maggie Valley will celebrate the trout heritage of the Smoky Mountain region with its annual Trout Festival, held from 9…
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Out like trout
Anybody who knows any thing about Western North Carolina is aware of the bountiful rivers and stream waters that paint…
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Casino donates money to national park non-profit
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino has donated $10,000 to Friends of the Smokies in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Great…
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NC Utility Commission OK with dam seizure
Jackson County appears to be on firm footing in its quest to seize the Dillsboro dam from Duke Energy as…
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Swain budget cuts target Sheriff’s office
Swain County commissioners have opted to target one department rather than spreading out county budget cuts among all county employees.…
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Tensions escalate between commissioners, audience
A member of the public was escorted from a Haywood County commissioners meeting Monday (June 15) by a deputy after…
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More than 1,000 purebreds vie for top honors at inaugural dog show
Haywood County became the Westminster of Western North Carolina this past weekend as more than 1,000 dogs and their owners…
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Craft Revival Project receives funding from Cherokee foundation
The Cherokee Preservation Foundation recently awarded $87,700 to Western Carolina University’s Craft Revival Project to continue the university’s Cherokee crafts…
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They’re here, with beer
The beer business has exploded on the scene in Western North Carolina in the past several years, with Asheville alone…
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Haywood erosion enforcement shot down in court
Landowners have won a lawsuit against Haywood County claiming they were victims of overbearing enforcement of erosion control laws. Judge…
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Northerners in our southern climes
Elevations above 4,000 feet in the Blue Ridge Province can be thought of as a peninsula of northern terrain extending…
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Bardo declines nomination
Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo will not be among the pool of candidates being considered for president of the…
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Swain given option to rescind property reval
Swain County will be able to rescind its latest property revaluation — which caused property values to increase by an…
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Garden records
By Jim Webb Don’t you wish you kept good records? I sure do. Those Elvis Presley 45’s, purchased the first…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Birds of a feather Yep, they’ll be flocking June 25 at 10 a.m. at the North Carolina Arboretum, 100 Frederick…
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Terms of Duke’s offer made public
The terms of Duke Energy’s counter-offer to Jackson County and the town of Franklin in exchange for dropping their opposition…
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Woman turns passion into beneficial career
When Suzanne Wilson’s job was eliminated last December, she quickly found a new career, one that would allow her to…
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Families sacrifice land for creation of the park
Gudger Palmer has never forgotten the fond memories of growing up in Cataloochee Valley. At 100 years old, one memory…
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Macon budget avoids tax increase, layoffs
If you’re a county commissioner in Western North Carolina, it’s hard not to feel envious of Macon County’s budget. While…
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Haywood passes budget that includes tax hike
After months of struggling to solve a $7 million budget shortfall, Haywood County commissioners voted 3 to 2 Monday night…
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Duke begins prepping for dam removal
Despite the looming threat by Jackson County to win control of the Dillsboro Dam using eminent domain, Duke Energy announced…
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Education cuts deal harsh blow to public schools
By John Sanderson • Guest Columnist It was great to learn recently about the effort the Haywood County Schools Foundation…
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Culture and history to take rightful place in new visitor center
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held this week for a new visitor center at the main North Carolina entrance to the…
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Snippets from a poet’s life
Fall of Frost by Brian Hall. Penguin Group, 2008. 352 pages Since his death in 1963, Robert Frost has come…
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Jackson uses eminent domain to take dam
Jackson County played the ultimate trump card in the drawn-out fight against Duke Energy over the Dillsboro dam this week.…
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Recreating the past with nostalgic
Remembering Henderson County by Louise Bailey. History Press, 2005. 144 pages. In Louise Bailey’s Remembering Henderson County, the author recreates…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Goodbye to a native son A light has dimmed in the universe. It was a light that shone with gracious…
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Caught in the spider’s alluring web
Spiders are one of the most interesting — and sometimes disconcerting — critters to observe. Especially fascinating, to me, are…
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Haywood commissioners exhaust search for budget cuts, tax increase looms
A proposed tax increase that Haywood residents have fought hard against could likely be avoided if residents would just pay…
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Commissioners' viewpoints
Chairman Brian McMahan “I believe that river belongs to the people of the United States of America. That’s our river.…
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Frequently asked questions
Why does Duke want to tear down the dam? Dam removal is tied to the larger issue of mitigation for…
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Former Mountaineer publisher puts together Aleutian book
Photographer Ken Wilson of Waynesville recently published his first book, The Aleutian Islands of Alaska, Living on the Edge. The…
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Cherokee casino to be dry no more
When Beverly Easton came to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino for the first time and realized there was no drinking, she wondered…
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A race against time
While it’s hard to imagine as one gazes at the vast wilderness of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more…
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Jackson takes on Duke Energy
Jackson County’s decision to take the Dillsboro dam through eminent domain is a bold next step in the relicensing saga…
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Parents turn out to support Swain principal
A group of nearly 45 parents and friends came out to show their support for embattled Swain County West Elementary…
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Ghost Town CEO preaches cohesive marketing
Ghost Town CEO Steve Shiver told players in the Haywood County tourism community they need to pull together if they…
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Tribe votes in favor of lease agreement with Wal-Mart
At long last, Wal-Mart will be coming to Cherokee. A move to bring a 120,000-square-foot superstore to the Eastern Band…
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Doing the public’s business in the open
By Avram Friedman Receiving public input is not a discretionary part of the decision-making process for elected public officials in…
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Save the kids – and me – from the madness
When people say that Jim Carrey can’t act and that his movies are terrible, I always point to “The Truman…
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Artists’ renderings of Smokies benefit National Park
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The misty mountaintops and bubbling creeks of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have…
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