SMN buried an important story
 

SMN buried an important story

To the Editor: In the September 4 issue of The Smoky Mountain News I was happy to see that WCU,…
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Corporate socialism rewards the rich
 

Corporate socialism rewards the rich

To the Editor: A Republican acquaintance who won’t vote for her party’s candidate for president recently said, “But I don’t…
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America, get your C.R.A.P. together
 

America, get your C.R.A.P. together

To the Editor: My grandmother Evelyn was a stickler for just a couple of things. She was fortunate that her…
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Wall a monument to damaged democracy
 

Wall a monument to damaged democracy

To the Editor: I am sickened by the thought of diverting yet another $18.4 billion for a border wall. That’s…
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Thanks to ongoing conservation efforts, many of the peaks and mountainsides surrounding Maggie Valley are conserved. Val Keefer photo
 

Conserving for clean water: Project protects 710 acres in Maggie, with 1,350 more to come

Conservation leaders from across the state and nation gathered in Maggie Valley earlier this month to dedicate a land protection…
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Virginia Parkway section closed indefinitely
 

Virginia Parkway section closed indefinitely

A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Virginia portion that has been closed since September will continue to be closed…
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Environmental analysis complete for national forest’s Buck Project 
 

Environmental analysis complete for national forest’s Buck Project 

The U.S. Forest Service has completed an environmental analysis for the Buck Project on the Nantahala National Forest’s Tusquitee Ranger…
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A webcam image shows a frosty view from Newfound Gap. NPS photo
 

Webcams give round-the-clock Smokies views

Webcams recently installed at Newfound Gap and Clingmans Dome will give visitors nearly real-time access to weather conditions and views…
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Elementary school students get an up-close look during a Highlands Nature Center outreach program. Donated photo
 

Nature center lands grant for school outreach

A $4,500 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation is helping the Highlands Nature Center support its school outreach program. 
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Delayed Harvest waters to close for trout fishing
 

Delayed Harvest waters to close for trout fishing

Delayed Harvest Trout Waters regulations will go into effect in 20 Western North Carolina counties on Tuesday, Oct. 1. 
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Daniel Alexander Lawson. Donated photo
 

Family Heirlooms return to the Smokies

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently received a priceless donation of Cades Cove artifacts to the museum collections when…
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Ways of escape: Backlash and Game of Snipers
 

Ways of escape: Backlash and Game of Snipers

A recent review was of Abbi Waxman’s The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, a romantic comedy with sweet and wry…
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Barred owl. Peter K. Burian photo
 

Cherokee had high regard for owls

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in September 2002 in The Smoky Mountain News The ancient Cherokees were astute observers…
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A look at health and fitness in WNC
 

A look at health and fitness in WNC

The Smoky Mountain News’ annual Living Well special section aims to give readers a broad view of the many different…
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Western Carolina University event ‘walks the walk’ on opioid crisis
 

Western Carolina University event ‘walks the walk’ on opioid crisis

It’s been said time and time again after forums, panels and public meetings held in communities across the country over…
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The new animal shelter (shown in blue) will replace the existing facility on Airport Road and be built on the site of the current Green Energy Park office. McMillan Pazdan Smith rendering
 

Early plans for animal shelter presented

Plans are progressing for a new animal shelter in Jackson County, the first new construction to be completed in the…
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UNC-Charlotte shooter sentenced
 

UNC-Charlotte shooter sentenced

The man who opened fire in an UNC-Charlotte campus classroom, killing Waynesville native Riley Howell, will now spend the rest…
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Capt. Claud “Paw” Messer was brought to Lake Junaluska Sunday via fire truck. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Local firefighter killed in the line of duty

A volunteer firefighter who died while responding to a call was laid to rest on Sunday, after a procession made…
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Greg Wozniak appears in a 2009 photograph published in The Saratogan following his selection as chief ranger of Saratoga National Historical Park in New York, previous to his tenure on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Photo courtesy The Saratogan
 

Board of Inquiry recommends removing ranger’s commission

A Blue Ridge Parkway law enforcement supervisor who admitted to using illegal substances still retains his position as head ranger…
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Marcus King. (photo: Sandlin Gaither)
 

Where I’m going I’ll be seeing you: A conversation with Marcus King

At 23, guitarist Marcus King has quickly transitioned from a prodigy into a bonafide legend on the electric six-string.  Crisscrossing…
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Marcus King. (photo: Sandlin Gaither)
 

This must be the place: Their music being born of love, children danced night and day

This past weekend at Kickin’ It On The Creek marked my 20th music festival in the last 27 weeks.
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Dr. Shelley White will assume her new role as president of Haywood Community College on Jan. 1, 2020. HCC photo
 

New president named at Haywood Community College

After more than six months spent searching, the Haywood Community College Board of Trustees announced on Sept. 19 that it…
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That urge just won’t go away
 

That urge just won’t go away

Every so often, she gets that feeling again. When she does, she scoots a little closer and begins tracing invisible…
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To reduce overdose deaths, start in the local jail
 

To reduce overdose deaths, start in the local jail

By Albert M. Kopak • Guest Columnist You may have a story about Peter, while someone down the road has…
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‘Blessed be the critics of newspapers’
 

‘Blessed be the critics of newspapers’

To the Editor: Western North Carolina’s answer to Jim Acosta — Smoky Mountain News Editor Scott McLeod in his last…
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Time for Meadows to retire
 

Time for Meadows to retire

To the Editor: Since North Carolina’s 11th Dist. Representative Mark Meadows, R, took office in 2013, 93,000 and counting US citizens…
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The Apollo 16 crew captured this Earthrise with a handheld Hasselblad camera during the second revolution of the moon. NASA photo
 

To the moon and back: Astronaut discusses the Space Age’s past and future at WCU

There are a few moments in history that every American alive at the time remembers in crisp detail. The assassination…
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Outdoor economy efforts wins WCU award nomination
 

Outdoor economy efforts wins WCU award nomination

An outdoor economy initiative at Western Carolina University has been selected as a finalist in the University Economic Development Association’s…
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Sharon Taylor. Donated photo
 

Taylor to retire from Mainspring

After 18 years with Mainspring Conservation Trust and five years as its leader, Sharon Fouts Taylor will retire on Feb.…
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Flooding from Hurricane Florence. wikimedia commons photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Climate change brings more challenges

WNC Climate Action Coalition’s screening of David Weintraub’s new documentary “Guardians of our Troubled Waters” is both a history lesson…
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Humor, mystery and a wonderful menagerie of characters
 

Humor, mystery and a wonderful menagerie of characters

Although migrations have become a significant and controversial aspect of our current history, there is another annual migration that has…
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“Deliverance” villain Cowboy Coward is not what he seems
 

“Deliverance” villain Cowboy Coward is not what he seems

The last of Fred and Moody Parker Coward’s nine children, Herbert “Cowboy” Coward, was born in rural Haywood County in…
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Angel, Cowboy’s pet squirrel, attends church with him regularly. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

The softer side of Cowboy Coward

While Haywood County native Herbert “Cowboy” Coward may be best known for his spine-tingling performance as a toothless mountain man…
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Cherokee to crack down on fake Native goods
 

Cherokee to crack down on fake Native goods

Passing off mass-produced tchotchkes as authentic Native American crafts could soon be illegal in Cherokee following Tribal Council’s unanimous vote…
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Haywood Commissioners decry cuts to mental health funding
 

Haywood Commissioners decry cuts to mental health funding

The need for mental health, substance use disorder and intellectual/developmental disabilities resources in North Carolina is growing, but funding is…
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Cashiers Community Fund Awards Grants Totaling $141,000
 

Cashiers Community Fund Awards Grants Totaling $141,000

The Cashiers Community Fund has awarded $141,000 in grants to nonprofits serving Cashiers and the surrounding region. 
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A Shot Above photo
 

Shining Rock fails to properly notice meeting — again

Taxpayer-funded Shining Rock Classical Academy’s attempt to address its long history of public transparency law violations got off to an…
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Enrollment at WCU has been on the upswing over the past decade, but that growth is expected to moderate given demographic trends. WCU photo
 

UNC strategizes for sustained enrollment

It’s no secret that Western Carolina University is a growing community, with enrollment topping 12,000 for the first time this…
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Boarding school moves into part of Folkmoot Center
 

Boarding school moves into part of Folkmoot Center

Waynesville arts and cultural organization Folkmoot has reached an agreement with the Academy at SOAR, a longtime boarding school in…
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BRH to open new clinic in Swain County
 

BRH to open new clinic in Swain County

Blue Ridge Health (BRH) has been awarded a $650,000 New Access Point grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration…
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Planning to begin on proposed Haywood Schools facility
 

Planning to begin on proposed Haywood Schools facility

Haywood County has taken its first formal step forward in pursuit of a proposed $13 million, 40,000-square-foot central administration facility…
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Teresa Cheek voices her disapproval of the N.C. 107 plans to town commissioners. Holly Kays photo
 

Shape of N.C. 107 plans set, DOT says

The time to tweak plans for Sylva’s controversial N.C. 107 project is past, residents were told during a well-attended town…
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New housing planned for Sylva
 

New housing planned for Sylva

Five families could find themselves in a brand new home in Sylva if a planned endeavor by Mountain Projects comes…
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Next year, voters in Haywood County and across the state could see new machines at their polling places. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

New voting machines demonstrated in Haywood

Election officials from across the region gathered in Haywood County last week to be among the first to witness public…
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G. Love. (photo: Kaelan Barowsky)
 

Free from society’s handpicked hypocrisy: A conversation with G. Love

For the better part of the last three decades, G. Love (aka: Garrett Dutton) and his band Special Sauce have…
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Bill Monroe at the Grand Ole Opry. (photo: Courtesy of PBS)
 

This must be the place: Hear that lonesome whippoorwill, he sounds too blue to fly

I’ve been feeling some overwhelming gratitude this week during the premiere and continued rollout of Ken Burns’ 16.5-hour PBS documentary…
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Lockdown lifted at SCC
 

Lockdown lifted at SCC

A lockdown at Southwestern Community College’s Jackson County campus has been lifted after law enforcement determined that students who reported…
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Ethically speaking, this can be a tough job
 

Ethically speaking, this can be a tough job

Remember those old movies where submarines find themselves navigating through an underwater minefield, sometimes relying on skill to avoid what…
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Coming full circle on an adventure
 

Coming full circle on an adventure

As a kid, I took the Blue Ridge Mountains for granted. They were always there in the background, but I…
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What’s peace got to do with it?
 

What’s peace got to do with it?

By Marsha Lee Baker • Guest Columnist Somewhere, sometime, and in some way, each of us thinks about peace. We…
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