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The Naturalist's Corner
Slogging through the watershed It was dark, 39 degrees and a steady light drizzle when I walked from the house…
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Is this the change you waited for?
By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist In the election of 2008 many Americans aspired for hope and change when Barack…
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Keeping commissioner on hospital board lends accountability
The joint board that will run the eventual Haywood Regional Medical Center-WestCare affiliation needs to have a sitting Haywood County…
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Three seek two seats on Maggie Valley board
The Town of Maggie Valley has a town board with four aldermen/alderwomen and a mayor with voting power. Each official…
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Drill mimics real disaster, right down to tunnel collapse
A drill simulating the collapse of a tunnel on Interstate 40 in Haywood County tested and prepared the full gamut…
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Whimsical tales defy explanation
Willful Creatures Stories by Aimee Bender. Doubleday & Company, 2005. 208 pages Recently, Garrison Keilor mentioned a new writer, Aimee…
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Tales from the trail
Jennifer Pharr Davis, the female record-holder for the fastest thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, spoke to a large crowd in…
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WCU raises $50 million for endowment
Western Carolina University last week announced that the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in university history has netted a grand total…
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Fishermen to hear report on mercury and walleye
Fish biologists will discuss mercury contamination in fish in mountain lakes at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the…
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Unfinished hotel mars Sylva landscape
The fate of an unfinished Clarion Inn in Sylva is up in the air after a bank foreclosed on the…
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Most make extra effort to hear public
As Haywood County commissioners grapple with a surge in this public input at their meetings, largely from the same crowd…
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Election guaranteed to bring new leadership in Dillsboro
This November, the Town of Dillsboro will elect all five members of its town board, along with a new mayor…
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Corridor K brings anywhere America right here to WNC
By Brent Martin • Guest Columnist When President John F. Kennedy formed a federal-state committee in 1963 known as the…
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Haywood again looks at old Wal-Mart for DSS building
Haywood County commissioners are once again considering the abandoned Wal-Mart shell for a new Department of Social Services building. The…
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Haywood says state shirking responsibility
Haywood County commissioner sent a strong message to Raleigh this week, chastising state government for not stepping in to help…
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The need for speed AT record-setter enjoys simplicity of fast, solo hiking
Jennifer Pharr Davis says she never set out be a speed hiker. When she first hiked the entire Appalachian Trail…
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Maggie hopefuls say tourists and locals important
If there’s a buzz word for Maggie Valley’s town board elections this year, it’s “balance.” Alderwoman Saralyn Price said she…
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Sylva ColorFest showcases work of regional artists
Downtown Sylva will host ColorFest: Art of the Blue Ridge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 24. The event…
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Robust citizen input vexes public officials
Johnnie Cure said she never expected to become a local celebrity when she started speaking up during the public comment…
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A great observer of the Smokies
Arthur Stupka (1905-1999) was the first naturalist in the National Park Service in the eastern United States. That was at…
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Marc Pruett earns praise from all sides for his work
When Haywood County commissioners convened this week to discuss the fate of the county’s erosion control program, they were met…
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Woodsmen’s Team finishes in first place at meet
The Haywood Community College Woodsmen’s Team finished first in the 2009 John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet and Forest Festival…
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NOC to hold fly-fishing tournament with a twist
The Nantahala Outdoor Center will hold its first ever fly-fishing competition Oct. 17 and 18 on the Nantahala River in…
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Obama haters showing their true colors
His harshest critics delight in daring you to characterize their frothing hatred — and there is no other word for…
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The mystery of Judaculla Rock
Located in a field in the rural Caney Fork community of Jackson County is Judaculla Rock, a soapstone boulder covered…
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Fly-fishing duo takes top spot in local tournament
By Julie Ball As a teenager, Josh Stephens worked summers as a rafting guide on the Nantahala River. He’d watch…
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Cherokee immersion school aims to save language
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians praised the new Kituwah Language Academy for the cultural renaissance that’s now unfolding within…
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In the running
The Town of Franklin has a town board with six aldermen/alderwomen and a mayor who votes only to break ties.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
The leaves, they are a’ changing It seems like colors popped on the mountains almost overnight last Thursday or Friday.…
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Oconaluftee Institute chooses Queen as program coordinator
Joel Queen has been named the new program coordinator and instructor at the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts in Cherokee.…
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Public art and community involvement
When Wayne Trapp made his proposal to the WPAC last April, he suggested that rather then depict actual countries in…
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A memoir about misguided parents
Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones. William Morrow, 2009. 284 pages Memoirs by children of famous people…
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Photographer George Schober returns to Gallery 86 with collection of nature photography
The Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 will host the exhibit, “Natural Perspectives,” featuring the photographic work of Vietnam veteran…
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BMP’s problems not apparent
At first glance, it is hard to see why Balsam Mountain Preserve has been unable to satisfy the lenders behind…
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Swain auditor warns that drastic measures needed
An auditor for Swain County had a clear-cut message to pass on to commissioners this week: make drastic cutbacks in…
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Saving Judaculla Rock: Preservation work begins on local artifact
By Julia Merchant • Contributing writer Priceless artifacts often end up tucked safely away behind the protective glass cases of…
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Downtown Waynesville prepares for a new arrival
The Waynesville Public Art Commission will celebrate the installation of “Celebrating Folkmoot,” their third commissioned public art piece, on Nov.…
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Treadway, Reidmiller run unopposed
This year’s elections in Bryson City will be a cinch for Alderwoman Stephanie Treadway and Alderman Tom Reidmiller. Both are…
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Most like plans for Russ Avenue makeover
A proposed redesign of Russ Avenue, the main commercial thoroughfare in Waynesville, received strong public support among those who attended…
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Waynesville welcomes Apple Harvest Festival
The 21st annual Haywood County Apple Harvest Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 17,…
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Kephart’s fast friendship with the Barnetts
I have nothing to add to Gary Carden’s perceptive review of Horace Kephart’s posthumous novel Smoky Mountain Magic (Great Smoky…
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New and improved appraisal method aims to better calibrate property values
An analysis of property values in Haywood County aims to reduce disparities between the value listed on the county’s tax…
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Amid tough times, DSS director denied raise
After much deliberation, Swain County commissioners voted 3-2 against an $8,800 pay raise for the Department of Social Services director…
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Collins, Scott battle for mayor’s post in Franklin
Tensions are rife as Franklin Alderman Bob Scott and Mayor Joe Collins butt heads over the prize of a mayor…
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One of area’s first mega developments in trouble
Balsam Mountain Preserve, a mega development on 4,400 acres in Jackson County, has defaulted on the terms of a $19.8…
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New plan aims to corral chaotic thoroughfare
A plan to redesign Russ Avenue would dramatically alter the appearance and traffic flow along the frenzied main commercial artery…
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Maggie pins hopes on director to turn corner on festival grounds
The Town of Maggie Valley is moving closer toward hiring a festival director to market its struggling festival grounds. Aldermen…
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Libraries see increased usage as recession lingers
Local libraries report that more people are streaming through their doors as a direct result of the recession. Area residents…
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Angel Medical continues to stand alone
While neighboring hospitals count down the days until an affiliation is finalized, Angel Medical Center in Franklin continues to stand…
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Angel CEO says hospital investing in its future
When Tim Hubbs stepped down as the CEO of Drake Software, a Franklin firm that writes accounting software, he thought…
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