In search of the sound: The best albums of 2019
 

In search of the sound: The best albums of 2019

Picking your favorite albums of any given year is a wholeheartedly subjective endeavor. You’re drawn to what immediately captures your…
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2019: What just happened?
 

2019: What just happened?

As we ring in the New Year, The Smoky Mountain News likes to look back and reflect on the last…
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Gerry, the Magical Gerrymandering Lizard. Cory Vaillancourt photo illustration
 

Fake News Freakout!!!!!! Four

By Cory Vaillancourt • Fake News Editor | It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That’s right, it’s time…
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Commissioner Gayle Woody talks with Jackson County Republican Party Vice Chairman Ralph Slaughter following the Dec. 12 meeting. Nate Hadley photo
 

Cashiers rep fails to attend local meeting

The Jackson County Commissioners traveled to Cashiers for their Dec. 12 meeting, but Commissioner Mickey Luker — who was elected…
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David Grace.
 

Nocturnal Brewing offers fine ales in Hayesville

For a place that was dry just a decade ago, Clay County is now home to one of the finest…
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I-26 just west of Asheville.
 

This must be the place: There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars

Give or take, it’s about 1,010 miles from Waynesville, North Carolina (my current home) to Plattsburgh, New York (my hometown).…
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SCC’s NPS law enforcement program graduates 17
 

SCC’s NPS law enforcement program graduates 17

Pledging their utmost dedication and respect to this nation’s natural resources, 17 graduates from Southwestern Community College’s National Park Service…
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National forests announce seasonal road closures
 

National forests announce seasonal road closures

Seasonal closures in the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests will begin on Jan. 2. Planned opening dates may change depending…
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A Smokies staff member treats a hemlock tree to protect it from the hemlock wooly adelgid. NPS photo
 

National parks battle invasion

The National Park Service is embarking on a system-wide effort to crack down on invasive animal species following the conclusion…
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Haw Orchard Ridge rises high as seen from the Appalachian Trail. Travis Bordley photo
 

Conservation purchase will protect birds, A.T. views

A 51-acre conservation purchase in the Highlands of Roan will protect a prominent ridge near the Appalachian Trail. 
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WCU recognized as ‘green college’
 

WCU recognized as ‘green college’

For the ninth year running, Western Carolina University has made The Princeton Review’s list of North America’s most environmentally responsible…
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I like the long nights winter brings to weary souls rest reflect then spring Don Hendershot photo
 

Hello solstice my old friend

The official time of the 2019 winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is 11:19 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday,…
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The story of a Beat original
 

The story of a Beat original

Once upon a time there was a poet named Bob Kaufman. He hadn’t spoken in anything resembling normal language in…
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Because one day they aren’t there
 

Because one day they aren’t there

The hardest thing to get used to is the stillness. The quiet. The absolute absence of any movement at all.…
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National parks should not depend on fees
 

National parks should not depend on fees

By Mark Jamison • Guest Columnist | In Democracy’s Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy, the political philosopher…
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How much longer can we tolerate Trump?
 

How much longer can we tolerate Trump?

To the Editor: Only a few short years ago Americans criticized Russian leaders for their overt political philosophy: “The end…
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Car seat education will save lives
 

Car seat education will save lives

To the Editor: Five years ago, shortly after partnering with the Sheriff’s Office to begin a Safe Kids coalition in…
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Thanks for reporting on animal cruelty
 

Thanks for reporting on animal cruelty

To the Editor: Thank you for reporting on the recent animal cruelty case in Haywood County. The suffering of so…
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Generosity Feeds Haywood: Volunteers package 11,000 meals for homeless students
 

Generosity Feeds Haywood: Volunteers package 11,000 meals for homeless students

It was a sight to behold — more than 200 volunteers of all ages coming together on a cold Saturday morning…
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One of three Haywood County little free pantries is located in front of Our Place Inn, in Maggie Valley. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Little free pantry ‘fills in the cracks’

You may be familiar with the concept of the “little free library” — those small outdoor cabinets stuffed with donated…
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SCC’s new Health Sciences building on track
 

SCC’s new Health Sciences building on track

Southwestern Community College’s new $21 million Health Sciences Building is starting to take shape on the west side of the…
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A Vecinos worker spends some down time playing with a child of one of the farmworkers. Holly Kays photo
 

Nantahala foundation awards grants

The Nantahala Health Foundation has announced its initial grants awarded to local organizations in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon and…
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Graduate student Constance Owl (left) and Cherokee language speaker Tom Belt                go over translations from the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, which was published from about 1828 to 1834. WCU photo
 

WCU student working to translate Cherokee language from native newspaper

Constance Owl’s master’s degree thesis is more than a means to a graduate degree in American history. It’s a portal…
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A counter-protester pulls his pickup truck into a rally held in Sylva Dec. 17 calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Isabel Couture photo
 

Sylva police investigating impeachment protest incident

The Sylva Police Department is looking into an incident that occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 17, during a protest downtown that…
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Jackson discusses solutions to slow internet
 

Jackson discusses solutions to slow internet

Sylva was named the nation’s slowest city for internet in a recent report from internet service comparison website www.highspeedinternet.com, and…
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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
 

Animal shelter funding approved in Jackson

Funding for a new animal shelter in Jackson County has been approved following a Dec. 17 vote to OK $5.39…
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Jackson approves $700,000 for new voting machines
 

Jackson approves $700,000 for new voting machines

After more than three years of anticipating the expenditure, Jackson County has allocated funds to replace its recently decertified voting…
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WNC congressmen oppose Trump impeachment
 

WNC congressmen oppose Trump impeachment

For just the third time in American history members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve articles of…
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Candidate filing period ends with a bang
 

Candidate filing period ends with a bang

A flurry of last-minute sign-ups means that 2020 will likely be a lively election season in Western North Carolina and…
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Rep. Mark Meadows announces retirement, 18 seek his seat
 

Rep. Mark Meadows announces retirement, 18 seek his seat

Santa Claus was especially good to Western North Carolina Democrats this year, delivering from his sack one big item on…
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Meadows hasn't yet revealed his plans for the future.
 

Rep. Meadows retires from congress

As first reported by Politico earlier this morning, Western North Carolina’s four-term Republican congressman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, will not…
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Phillip Price
 

Price won’t run in NC-11, endorses fellow Democrat

  UPDATED Dec. 19: Hours after this story was posted, Rep. Meadows announced he wouldn't seek reelection to the seat…
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Time to face reality regarding the Smokies
 

Time to face reality regarding the Smokies

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park — for all its grandeur — is facing serious challenges, and it’s going to…
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Downsizing Christmas, meaningful memories
 

Downsizing Christmas, meaningful memories

It seems a lot of folks are downsizing Christmas this year, me included. My reasoning is specific to my life…
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Make America great by dumping Trump
 

Make America great by dumping Trump

To the Editor: George Washington led Americans in the Revolutionary War defeating a tyrant, King George III, and giving birth…
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Children in poverty face many challenges
 

Children in poverty face many challenges

To the Editor: Did you know that 44.1 percent of children are living in poor or low-income homes in Jackson…
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FSA election winners announced in Haywood
 

FSA election winners announced in Haywood

William “Danny” Hyatt of Waynesville has been elected to represent his local administrative area during the Farm Service Agency’s recent…
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Little Green Mountain rises from the base of Panthertown Valley. Thomas Mabry photo
 

Panthertown chosen for Leave No Trace awareness program

Panthertown Valley’s popularity is increasing, and advocates for the backcountry area — located near Cashiers in the Nantahala National Forest…
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Alan Sumeriski. NPS photo
 

Smokies facility chief wins regional honor

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to the winner of this year’s Facility Manager of the Year for…
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Sue Wasserman. Donated photo
 

Burnsville woman wins national park writing residency

Sue Wasserman of Burnsville has been chosen as the winner of the second annual Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency, funded by…
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Last-minute holiday ideas for the literary
 

Last-minute holiday ideas for the literary

You’re down to the wire. It’s only a few days until Christmas, and you have yet to get that book…
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Studies show correlation between PTSD and substance abuse
 

Studies show correlation between PTSD and substance abuse

By Taylor Sexton • Special to SMN | Emma Jordan lives in Hatteras, North Carolina, where she spends her days working hard,…
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Taylor Sexton at five years old, found happiness in dogs despite the trauma she was going through at the time.
 

Running through life with PTSD

By Taylor Sexton • Contributing writer | I was 5 years old when I watched my father’s fist fly into the wall…
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Macon inmate captured after fleeing custody
 

Macon inmate captured after fleeing custody

Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland told commissioners last week that he tries his best not to ask for more money…
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Macon amends contract for jail medical services
 

Macon amends contract for jail medical services

Macon County commissioners approved two amended contracts that will hopefully keep costs down at the detention center. 
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Macon County Commissioner Ronnie Beale (far left) presents a painting to Miles Gregory (center) in honor of his 25 years of service as the chairman of the Macon County Airport Authority. Screenshot
 

Airport authority chairman retires after 25 years

Macon County commissioners recently recognized Miles Gregory for his many years of service to the county, including his 25 years…
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Two plead guilty to trafficking
 

Two plead guilty to trafficking

Samantha Casey Green, 27, of Franklin, entered a guilty plea to one count of trafficking opiates as a result of…
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Gilchrist named Regional Teacher of the Year
 

Gilchrist named Regional Teacher of the Year

Jackson County Public Schools announced that Dawn Gilchrist has been selected as the Western Region Teacher of the Year. 
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SCC celebrates new class of grads
 

SCC celebrates new class of grads

Dressed in a royal blue cap and gown, with a glowing Christmas tree behind her and a smile from ear…
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Candidate signups continue in WNC
 

Candidate signups continue in WNC

There will be a primary election for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners District 3 seat following Susan Bogardus’ decision…
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