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All hands on deck: New program trains hiking club members to assist SAR missions
When Chad Seger was reported missing on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, the Haywood County Rescue Squad’s Wilderness Search and Rescue…
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Haywood boarder takes fourth at X Games
Waynesville native Zeb Powell, 22, narrowly missed a medal at the X Games in Aspen Jan. 21, coming in fourth…
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Become a Devils Courthouse Rover
A new volunteer program aiming to educate visitors to Devils Courthouse on the Blue Ridge Parkway and share information about…
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Time to apply for summer camp jobs
It’s hiring season for summer camp counselors, with applications now open to work at day camps in Cashiers and Waynesville.
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A book from after the apocalypse
Manon Steffan Ros is a Welsh author of more than 40 books, writes in the Welsh language and has only…
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What lesson does censorship teach our children?
When I learned of the removal of the book “Dear Martin” from an English II class at Tuscola High School,…
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Birthdays, cardinals and roller skating
My older son turned 13 on Jan. 19, and my younger son turned 10 on Jan. 20. They are both…
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Pulling book was a mistake
To the Editor: I, too, deplore young people’s use of “foul language,” but hearing or reading it would not have…
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Omicron brings fewer deaths, more hospitalizations than previous variants
After case counts soared to unprecedentedly high levels throughout the month of January, the Omicron wave of COVID-19 appears to…
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Sylva considers creating social districts
After a bill allowing cities and counties to create their own social districts passed through the general assembly last September,…
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WCU enrollment dips
Enrollment at Western Carolina University is the lowest it’s been for any spring semester since 2018, according to student census…
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Canton begins to explore rebuilding flood-damaged facilities
In addition to the devastating loss of life and tremendous damage to private property, Tropical Storm Fred caused millions in…
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In advance of midterms, Republicans fight for the soul of the party
With President Joe Biden’s disapproval ratings through the roof and a recent spate of setbacks in the Senate, Republicans appear…
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Canton may try vehicle tax again
Four years after the Town of Canton made an unsuccessful push to impose a vehicle tax to fund much-needed road…
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Cherokee man sentenced in child sex abuse case
Cherokee resident Forrest Cole Stamper, 28, will spend four years in federal prison after pleading guilty in federal court to…
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Missing persons cases aren’t always what they seem
Every so often — about 20 times a year — Western North Carolina’s social media networks flare up with impassioned…
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Author responds to Tuscola pulling ‘Dear Martin’
After Haywood County Schools administration pulled “Dear Martin” from a 10th grade English II class , The Smoky Mountain News…
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Grant could bring new life to historic Waynesville springhouse
Today, almost nothing remains of Waynesville’s majestic old Victorian-era hotel — except for some faded photographs and sepia-toned memories that…
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All this everything: Brock Butler of Perpetual Groove
It is said that a cat has nine lives. If so, then singer-songwriter Brock Butler may just be half-feline.
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This must be the place: It’s a Monday, it’s so mundane, what exciting things will happen today?
Just east of Hot Springs, I pulled off U.S. 70 and turned into the small, muddy parking lot. Emerging from…
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Black History Month gets underway at WCU
CULLOWHEE – A series of activities, exhibits and events are planned at Western Carolina University in recognition of February as…
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Cawthorn sues N.C. Board of Elections over attempt to disqualify him
On Monday, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who serves in the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district, filed…
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Macon Animal Services offers adoption special for dogs
Due to overcrowding, Macon County Animal Services has implemented an Adoption Special. The adoption fee for dogs, 6 months and…
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WCU history project is helping inform a whale documentary
When Vicki Szabo, associate professor of history, finished her 2008 book on medieval whaling, she quipped in the acknowledgements she…
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WNC students benefit from strong partnerships
The Southwestern Commission is working with partners around the region to help alleviate some of the challenges associated with broadband…
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WCU historian, class watch developing Russia-Ukraine crisis
CULLOWHEE – David Dorondo, an associate professor of history at Western Carolina University, is watching the escalating tension between Ukraine…
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COVID-Infected Workers Force Mission to Redeploy Dwindling Staff, Postpone Surgeries
By PETER H. LEWIS, Asheville Watchdog Staggered by COVID-19 infections, both among incoming patients and its own healthcare staff, Mission…
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Wild ducks test positive for avian flu
After a wild duck shot in Hyde County Dec. 30 tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, agencies…
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Balance of bear country: Wildlife Commission takes input on future of WNC bear sanctuaries
Nearly 40 people weighed in on a controversial proposal to allow bear hunting in three mountain sanctuary areas during a…
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Forest Service releases revised management plan
A decade after it first reached out to stakeholders for the project, the U.S. Forest Service has released its revised…
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Macon rep joins ag and natural resource committee
Rep. Karl Gillespie, who represents Macon, Graham, Cherokee and Clay counties in the N.C. House of Representatives, has joined the…
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Police need more resources to succeed
Make no mistake, it would be a stretch to say a partnership between Western Carolina University and the town of…
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Truth, not lies, will keep us free
To the Editor: If we really seek the truth, we go to primary sources — those who originate an idea, policy,…
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Clampitt can’t have it both ways
To the Editor: Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, in The Smoky Mountain News addressed his membership in the Oath Keepers.
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No to sanctuary bear hunting
To the Editor: The Bear Education and Resource (B.E.A.R.) Task Force stands in opposition to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission…
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Fight indoctrination with truth, integrity
To the Editor: We are being inundated with the phrase, “Educate Don’t Indoctrinate.” It is now on billboards and in…
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End in sight for long-running Haywood landfill debacle
Work to remediate a leaky, gassy mound just northeast of Waynesville that has been nothing but an expensive headache for…
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Haywood reboots economic development arm
Unaffordable housing, a lack of broadband infrastructure, a staggeringly low unemployment rate and a relatively high number of job openings…
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Growing pains: region reckons with development
Western North Carolina is growing, there’s no doubt about it. And as it does, there are bound to be growing…
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Broadband a vital factor in Jackson’s growth
Broadband will be an important part of any and all future growth in Jackson County. Now, reliable Wi-Fi is free…
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Cherokee ramps up housing efforts
In response to a deepening housing crisis and a growing casino enterprise in need of workers, the Eastern Band of…
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Development in Swain driven by tourism
Development for Swain County often looks much different than other counties, mostly because Swain has such a limited amount of…
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Retailers move into Franklin
Despite the pandemic, the town of Franklin has seen an influx of new retailers in the last year.
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Jackson municipal grants approved
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners has approved three municipal grants for the towns of Sylva, Webster and Dillsboro.
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‘Dear Martin’ pulled from Tuscola class
Students at Tuscola High School will no longer be able to read “Dear Martin,” (Crown Publishing Group, 2017) after administration…
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Pisgah Bears unlikely to play on home turf this fall
There’s a 1% chance football will be played at Pisgah Memorial Stadium come fall. That is according to an estimation…
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Show me somethin’ I can’t sell: A conversation with John R. Miller
Hailing from the rural panhandle of West Virginia, singer-songwriter John R. Miller is one of the most fascinating and captivating…
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This must be the place: I dreamt that you were Joan-of Arc and I was Don Quixote
Right at the line of Graham and Swain counties, along a stretch of N.C. 28, is the entrance to the…
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