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Finding a home for fresh water mussels
Barrels of mussels being bred at the state’s fish hatcheries are awaiting release into the region’s rivers, helping to restore…
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Do not plant Bradford Pear
By Jim Janke We moved here from Chicago, where there are only two seasons: winter and road-under-construction.* By comparison, the…
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Pondering the future of newspapers
Much as I dislike posing the question, here it is: can you imagine a future without newspapers? Would it be…
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Mountain beauty is an asset we all own
To the Editor: We appreciate The Smoky Mountain News coverage on the steep slope issues in Macon County and would…
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Homecoming on the Pigeon River
After decades of paper mill pollution, the Pigeon River is coming back to life — literally. Aquatic biologists embarked on…
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Teaching photography at the old Whittier school
By Josh Mitchell • Staff Writer J.R. vanLienden grew up in a frame shop and used to promise himself he…
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Haywood tourism board debates ‘Smokies’ slogan
Haywood County is having a bit of an identity crisis. The Tourism Development Authority touts the county as a place…
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Bluebirds continue to fascinate
My oh my what a wonderful day Plenty of sunshine in my way Zip-a-dee-doo-dah Zip-a-dee-eh Mr Bluebird’s on my shoulder…
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Guns in parks? Court says not so fast
The ban on guns in national parks will continue to remain in place for the time being, despite a move…
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Job hunt gets harder under double digit unemployment
Sitting in the Job Link site in Sylva looking for jobs on a computer database, Kathleen Codon of Cullowhee hit…
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Swain residents lock and load in wake of escaped murder suspect
Swain County residents are locking their doors and loading their guns after a suspect in a double homicide escaped from…
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Cherokee voters to decide on alcohol sales at casino
After years of grappling with the controversial issue of alcohol sales on tribal land, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians…
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Grants benefit Cherokee arts
Cherokee Preservation Foundation recently awarded 25 new grants totaling nearly $3.2 million. Here are a few targeting the arts: •…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Going to Grandfather Mountain and back
By Izzy Hendershot (age 7) • Notes in italics by Dad We hopped in the car and started off. The…
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Civil suit following toddler’s death blames DSS for failing to intervene
A lawsuit filed against the Haywood County Department of Social Services charging the agency could have prevented the death of…
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Heath Shuler: Too conservative for his party or right on the money?
He was endorsed by the Family Research Council for his pro-life stance and by the NRA for his support of…
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Ghost Town coaster opening faces big hurdles
Ghost Town investors are banking on finally getting the park’s Cliffhanger rollercoaster up and running in order to attract visitors…
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Uncle Fat and Cabbage-head
By Karen Dill The climatic temperaments in the month of March have been likened to gentle lambs or irascible lions.…
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Cause of quarry slide undetermined
Federal investigators with the Mine Safety and Health Administration have still not determined the cause of a slide last week…
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New Sylva town manager brings planning background to the table
The Sylva Town Board on Friday voted 3-2 to hire a new town manager with a background in planning. The…
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Heritage you can taste: Cherokee savor apples of their ancestors
Preserving Cherokee heritage goes beyond baskets, blow guns and pow-wows to the very foods and crops once grown and savored…
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Making friends with an injured crow
According to the current Ornithological Union listing, the appropriate non-scientific name for a crow is “common crow.” How apt! Like…
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Recipes, 3/25/09
Cabbage Rolls Stuffed with Corned Beef with Spicy Creole Sauce • 1 large head green cabbage • 1 small onion,…
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Macon eyes steep slope ordinance
The Macon County Planning Board is in the beginning stages of developing an ordinance that would regulate development on steep…
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Precarious boulder prompts creative action by DOT
There’s a big problem looming over a rural Swain County road — literally — and exactly how to solve it…
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Peace Jam provides unique opportunity for students
By Linda McFarland • Guest Columnist Imagine you are an eighth-grade student intent on learning all you can about social…
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Around here, March madness is a religion
March Madness is upon us, and if you or anyone in your house has ever played basketball or perhaps even…
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Water task force gives a glimpse of the future
Sometimes what at first seems utterly ridiculous turns out to be a foreshadowing. It’s happening with water use in this…
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Frank is always provocative and thought-provoking
Criminal Justice in America by Marshall Frank. AuthorHouse, 2008. 276 pages. In Criminal Injustice in America: Essays by a Career…
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Macon runway likely to clear hurdle of cash shortfall
It appears an $853,000 shortfall facing the Macon County airport runway extension may be covered with additional state and federal…
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Landslide highlights, once again, need for new laws
Another landslide occurred a little over a week ago, this one leaving a home teetering on the edge of a…
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Recapturing the magic of Disney‘s “Beauty and the Beast”
By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer Dressed in flip flops and shorts with an aroma of teen spirit in the…
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A complex legacy
William Dudley Pelley by Scott Beckman. Syracuse University Press. 269 pages. The first time I heard the name William Dudley…
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Hiking every last trail in the Smokies, and then some
By Danny Bernstein For the past year, I’ve kept a trail map of the Smokies and the trusted manual Hiking…
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Airport officials hold private meeting about runway
Local, state and federal officials involved in the controversial Macon County Airport runway extension held a private meeting last week.…
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Basil: king of herbs
By Jim Janke Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is an incredible herb. Essential for tomato sauces, basil has plenty of other…
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Duke Energy, Jackson argue cases in court
Duke Energy and Jackson County appeared in court Monday (March 16) to argue over permits related to the removal of…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Cornell knows birds – and I don’t
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a citizen-science venture conducted under the auspices of Cornell Lab of Ornithology and…
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WCU announces faculty layoffs
Under a budget cut scenario announced last Friday (March 13), 31.75 employees will be laid off from Western Carolina University…
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Uplifted by the flight of birds
Lately, I’ve been writing a lot about birds. I guess I have them on my mind, in part, because the…
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Agencies, departments reeling from county budget cuts
Non-profit agencies and county departments in Haywood County are still reeling from massive budget cuts announced by commissioners last week.…
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Troubled park hopes to get back on feet
The dire state of finances at Maggie Valley Ghost Town in the Sky led the amusement park to file for…
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Jackson ponders solutions to dry wells
A Jackson County task force appointed last fall to develop solutions to water shortages caused by the drought presented its…
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Runway extension faces funding shortfall
The Macon County Airport Authority is short about $853,000 of what it needs to pay for a controversial runway extension,…
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Moonshiner dead in apparent suicide
Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, 62, was found dead of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in a car near his Parrotsville, Tenn., residence,…
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A tax break for one business is not a plan
Before Haywood County commissioners approve a request to cut property taxes on a business that plans to build an $8…
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Digging up John Williams
Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams. New York Review of Books, 1960 reissued 2007. 274 pages. For those of us who…
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Environmental groups poised to win long battle
Following a prolonged debate, the national forest service wants to close a system of four-wheel drive trails in the Tellico…
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Balsam Range’s mountain mantra
By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer Little girls clacked their clogging shoes while families ate hushpuppies and barbecue in anticipation…
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Another landslide jeopardizes Maggie Valley home
A Maggie Valley man alerted Haywood County officials this week of a landslide posing a risk to his home in…
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