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Following the gleam: Gilchrist named Regional Teacher of the Year
Something Dawn Gilchrist’s father-in-law, a retired Methodist minister, once said has stuck with her throughout her career as an educator…
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Tribal Council passes term limits for casino board members
After nearly an hour of debate, Tribal Council voted unanimously last week to place term limits on members of the…
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Regional hospitals look back on 2019 growth
Western North Carolina hospitals under the Duke LifePoint umbrella are celebrating several milestones in making communities healthier as a new…
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Sylva planning board gets two new members
The Town of Sylva has two new members on its planning board following a pair of unanimous votes from town…
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Search for new Waynesville police chief nears end
Almost seven months after the retirement of its longtime police chief, the Town of Waynesville is getting closer to naming…
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Waynesville homelessness task force takes shape
Despite the urgency of the area’s homelessness problem and the cacophony of citizens clamoring for a task force to begin…
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Cherokee angles for Virginia casino project
Casino gaming is under serious discussion in the Virginia legislature this year, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is…
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Pisgah teacher under investigation resigns
A Pisgah High School teacher who had been under investigation by Haywood County Schools since late last year is no…
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State superintendent candidates sound off
As Primary Election season sets in, a number of statewide races will have voters making some serious decisions at the…
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Gathering of the souls: Beloved Sylva restaurant closes doors
Last Thursday evening, three days of celebration commenced within the walls of Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro on the…
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This must be the place: Sunlight wakes me just to say let’s go to sleep now
The moment the song came onto my stereo, I was immediately transported to a time and a place somewhat foggy…
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Duke Energy asks for rate increase
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, filed an application with the North Carolina Utilities Commission Sept. 30, 2019, requesting authority to increase…
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Lake Junaluska to draw down water levels
Lake Junaluska to draw down water levelsLake Junaluska has opened its dam to draw down the lake. The lake drawdown,…
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Hunting, fishing and trapping license changes take effect
Several changes to hunting, inland fishing and trapping licenses structures and fees went into effect with the start of the…
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Land trusts surpass land conservation goal
Eight area land trusts protected a collective 8,598 acres in 2019, equivalent to 13.43 square miles, bringing the total protected…
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The Naturalist's Corner: CBC vagaries
This year’s Balsam Christmas Bird Count was record setting — but maybe not in a good way. The 63 species…
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Petrea to leave Waynesville Parks and Rec
Tim Petrea, program supervisor for the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department since 2013, will be leaving North Carolina for a…
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Swain tourism authority requests aquarium expansion
The Swain County Tourism Development Authority has approached the county about expanding the Appalachian Rivers Aquarium that just opened its…
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Bog protected in Burke County
A 17-acre bog in Burke County is now protected for consesrvation folowing a Dec. 16 purchase by the Foothills Conservancy…
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Settlement reached in coal ash case
Duke Energy will move forward with excavating nearly 80 million tons of coal ash at sites in North Carolina following…
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Beating back the January Blues
Ugh. The skies are gray, the wind’s a knife, the dank cold crawls into your very bones, and spring seems…
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Grave consequences to follow assassination
The assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Suleimani is the latest in a string of incoherent, dangerous foreign policy decisions…
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Coffee grounds for breakfast no more
I’m not that big on New Year’s resolutions, but one thing I do want to do in 2020 is practice…
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Bumper stickers can divide us
To the Editor: On a recent ride into town, I found myself behind a car with a bumper sticker that…
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Four more years for Trump
To the Editor: Recently, a prolific contributor of letters to editors asked how much longer we could stand to have…
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Only slightly mad: A conversation with David Bromberg
David Bromberg doesn’t have time to wax poetic about life. But, more so he doesn’t have time to talk about…
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Trend in party registration could sink Democrats
Only twice since 1972 has the state of North Carolina supported a Democratic candidate for president. But if a years-long…
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House approves bill to grant Cherokee land in Tennessee
For the second year running, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would return 76 culturally significant…
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Jackson County to purchase fire training trailer
Fire education in Jackson County will soon get a leg up following county commissioners’ vote Dec. 17 to appropriate $169,434…
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Tribe continues recovery from cyber attack
Update: In a Dec. 14, 2023, opinion, the Cherokee Supreme Court vacated a lower court's conviction of Benjamin Cody Long…
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2A or not 2A? Counties mull gun sanctuary resolutions
The vigorous debate over the necessity of “Second Amendment sanctuary” resolutions has finally begun to trickle into North Carolina, and…
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Court: No ID at NC polls in 2020
Although voters approved a 2018 ballot measure requiring photo identification at North Carolina polls, voters won’t have to produce IDs…
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Cherokee chief testifies against Lumbee recognition
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is the only federally recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina, but that could…
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‘Mountain Murders’ podcast celebrates one year
There’s just something so mysterious about Southern crime stories. Small towns with big characters and dark family secrets. People taking…
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Deaths, possibly from flu, shock Haywood County
A pair of deaths from what’s being called a “flu-like illness” rocked Haywood County last week, underscoring the importance both…
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No cop impersonator located in Haywood
The search for the driver of a silver/grey Dodge Charger with white strobe lights who allegedly held a woman at…
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Sylva festival gets regional recognition
Southeast Tourism Society has named the Hook, Line and Drinker Festival in Sylva one of the STS Top 20 Events…
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Soul Infusion’s ‘Last Stand’
After some 18 years in business, there will be a special closing celebration for Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro…
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This must be the place: Life being what it is
Stepping out of my truck, I stretched my legs and proceeded to throw on my running clothes. It was nearing…
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Sixty snuck up and smacked me
I just turned the big 6-0. Sixty. What the hell? I’ve been reading essays on reaching this point in life,…
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Twelve commandments for the New Year
When I was a little girl, my dad would make huge snack trays on New Year’s Eve and pour sparkling…
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Trump’s mental health issues a problem
To the Editor: Mr. Waldrop, as always, nails the truth to the sticking-place in his last letter to The Smoky…
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The year in quotes
It’s often been said that there’s wisdom to be found in the rhythms of nature, and that’s certainly true. But…
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Land added to Haywood’s Parkway section
The Blue Ridge Parkway is now 53.3 acres bigger thanks to the Conservation Trust for North Carolina’s recent donation of…
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Kudzu co-op opens online store
The Asheville-based cooperative Kudzu Culture has launched an online store offering locally harvested kudzu products.
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Start planning the gardens now
Editor’s note: This column first appeared in a January 2006 edition of The Smoky Mountain News. | Have you started making…
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Memoir of illness full of gallantry and wit
“It was crazy. The surgeon told me the tumor was the size of a pear, which is scary but also…
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This must be the place: Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road
It was around midnight when I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line. With Maryland now in the rearview mirror, I pushed into…
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