Two sentenced for drug trafficking in Macon County
 

Two sentenced for drug trafficking in Macon County

Macon County Superior Court recently saw guilty pleas and lengthy prison sentences of two drug trafficking defendants. In unrelated cases,…
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Left to right: Eric Giles, Bryan Carpenter and Robert Holland.
 

Three candidates run for Macon sheriff

Talk briefly about your past experience and why you are the most qualified candidate.
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Mary Ann and her husband Gary Morgan pose after Mary Ann was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Donated photo
 

Economic development agency defunded; longtime director retires, earns state’s highest honor

Mary Ann Morgan was a one-woman show with a shoestring budget for more than 40 years but still, she managed…
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Greensky Bluegrass will play the Salvage Station in Asheville on Oct. 4.
 

Lost out here on the wind: Greensky Bluegrass returns to Asheville

For over 15 years, Michigan-based string act Greensky Bluegrass has been blurring the lines between bluegrass, rock-n-roll and jazz music. Whether…
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University of the streets: With new book, WNC writer chronicles the Baby Beat movement
 

University of the streets: With new book, WNC writer chronicles the Baby Beat movement

At 69, Thomas Rain Crowe feels pretty good, considering. “I’m not looking forward to 70, it’s kind of a psychological…
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Thomas Rain Crowe in his writer’s den on the second floor of his Tuckasegee home in Jackson County.
 

University of the streets

At 69, Thomas Rain Crowe feels pretty good, considering. “I’m not looking forward to 70, it’s kind of a psychological…
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A slow, beautiful tale told through letters
 

A slow, beautiful tale told through letters

English farmwife and mother Tina Hopgood writes to Professor P.V. Glob. The professor had long ago dedicated his book, The…
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From our readers
 

From our readers

Health insurance may disappear under GOP To the Editor: It makes no difference if you support the current administration or…
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 Benton MacKaye Trail Association kiosk. Don Hendershot photo
 

Celebration crashers

My bride and I celebrated our anniversary by ditching the kids and renting a cabin near Blue Ridge, Ga., for…
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WOW releases 2019 charity calendar
 

WOW releases 2019 charity calendar

WOW has produced a semi-nude calendar featuring its own members for seven years and all proceeds go toward the nonprofit’s…
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Nevertheless, she persisted
 

Nevertheless, she persisted

Almost two years ago, I traveled to Iowa with a close friend of mine. We visited her hometown to see…
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The real problem in Haywood’s tax office
 

The real problem in Haywood’s tax office

Haywood County GOP leaders last week took the podium at a public meeting and proceeded to act as shills for…
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Andrew Shepherd runs the Art Loeb Trail at Tennant Mountain.  Steve Reinhold photo
 

Mountains at a running pace

Andrew Shepherd has only been a runner for about two years. But when he took up the hobby, he was…
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MST birthday weekend logs 2,700 miles
 

MST birthday weekend logs 2,700 miles

An initial tally shows that 434 hikers cumulatively covered 2,756 miles of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail during its birthday weekend Sept.…
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Fiscal year 2017-18 performance of the 3 percent fund, provided by the Haywood TDA, shows robust growth.
 

Haywood tourism continues to grow

The fiscal year for Haywood County’s Tourism Development Authority ended June 30, and now that all the data are in,…
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Attorney General Mike McConnell discusses the election ordinance with Tribal Council during an Aug. 27 work session. EBCI image
 

Cherokee widens window 
for election law changes

Tribal Council extended its deadline to complete a slew of amendments to its election ordinance with a unanimous vote during…
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Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts (center) has worked closely with law enforcement, including Haywood Sheriff Greg Christopher and Chief Deputy Jeff Haynes, to implement a pretrial release program.
 

Pretrial release program comes to Western NC

Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, Haywood and Jackson counties will be the first judicial district in the state to pilot a…
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Amid criticism from some constituents, District Attorney Ashley Welch was presented with recognition from the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office for her integrity and cooperation with law enforcement.
 

District Attorney under fire for ‘mishandling’ cases

District Attorney Ashley Welch doesn’t have an opponent in the 2018 election, but an online petition to remove her from…
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Jackson County Schools Superintendent Kim Elliott presents her 2018-19 budget needs to Jackson County commissioners in May. Holly Kays photo
 

Jackson schools see gains and losses in school performance

Jackson County Schools showed mostly level performance over last year with the release of statewide school performance data for 2017-18…
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Bridge over Lake Junaluska now open
 

Bridge over Lake Junaluska now open

The bridge over the Lake Junaluska dam is now open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. All are invited to attend…
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Gavin Brown will serve 24 months of  supervised probation.
 

Waynesville mayor takes plea deal in forgery case

Waynesville attorney Gavin Brown pled guilty Sept. 18 to two felony counts stemming from an incident in which he forged…
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Obamacare navigator  funding eliminated
 

Obamacare navigator funding eliminated

Jan Plummer is the Obamacare Navigator program coordinator at Mountain Projects, but probably not for much longer. Unsurprisingly, after a…
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The planned workforce housing complex would have 60 apartments housed 
in three buildings, in addition to a community clubhouse. Donated graphic
 

Workforce housing coming to Sylva

Work will begin next year on a new apartment complex in Sylva aimed at providing housing rates affordable to working-class…
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Community comes together to offer veterans services
 

Community comes together to offer veterans services

It’s no secret homelessness across the region is a problem, but as in most parts of the country, it’s a…
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The upper parking lot collapsed following heavy rains in May but has now been stabilized. Donated photo
 

Chimney Rock reopens

Chimney Rock State Park is now reopen, complete with a working elevator, after a tough year that included extensive damage…
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National park volunteers receive regional recognition
 

National park volunteers receive regional recognition

Great Smoky Mountains National Park volunteers received regional recognition through the George and Helen Hartzog Awards Program for Outstanding Volunteers…
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Live animal programs offered for schools
 

Live animal programs offered for schools

Schools and other educational organizations in Western North Carolina have the opportunity to bring wildlife education programs to their home…
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Golf tourney a win for charity
 

Golf tourney a win for charity

The Maggie Valley Lions Club raised more than $10,000 for local charities with its 10th annual Golf Tournament and Silent…
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This must be the place: I couldn’t tell where heaven stopped 
and the earth began
 

This must be the place: I couldn’t tell where heaven stopped 
and the earth began

It will mark 1,000 days straight. This past Tuesday, I will have gone for a run 1,000 days in-a-row. “The…
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Woman injured in bear encounter
 

Woman injured in bear encounter

A Swannanoa woman sustained serious, though non-life-threatening, injuries Tuesday, Sept. 18, after an encounter with a black bear. 
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Haywood Schools wants you to help plan future
 

Haywood Schools wants you to help plan future

When Dr. Bill Nolte was promoted to superintendent of Haywood County Schools this past summer, one of the first things…
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Democrat Gayle Woody (left) is running against incumbent Republican Charles Elders to represent District 1 on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. Donated photo/Holly Kays photo
 

Elders and Woody vie for Jackson County Commission seat

Jackson County Commissioner Charles Elders is seeking a fourth term in office this campaign season, but challenger Gayle Woody is hoping election results will instead seat her for a first term. 
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Jordan Smith, of Mainspring Conservation Trust, looks out from the 5,462-foot view atop a Jackson County property slated for conservation. Holly Kays photo
 

A mile-high view: State-level squabble stalls Jackson County conservation project

To call the view stretching out below the 5,462-foot bald “spectacular,” “impressive” or even “jaw-dropping” would be an understatement.  It…
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Man found dead in Smokies after two-day search
 

Man found dead in Smokies after two-day search

A man and a bear are dead following an ill-fated ginseng hunt in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 
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Morel mushroom.
 

Mis-identifying mushrooms is a risky mistake

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Smoky Mountain News in September 2004. The cool and humid forests and…
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God’s broadcasting station — the great outdoors
 

God’s broadcasting station — the great outdoors

When I taught homeschool seminars in Latin, history, and literature in Asheville, I would wait for a cold spell in…
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Formed in London, England, in 1992, Bush continues to be led by singer/guitarist Gavin Rossdale (far right). Neil Krug photo
 

A love so full it could send us all ways: A conversation with Gavin Rossdale

In the mid-1990s, just as the raucous nature of the grunge scene in the United States was hitting its peak,…
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Looking Glass Falls. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

In my life, I’ve loved them all

With the massive rainfall from Tropical Storm Florence on Sunday, my truck carefully navigated its way through deep puddles and…
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SCC grad receives prestigious award
 

SCC grad receives prestigious award

Although Yesenia Navarro grew up with few material possessions, she always believed one catalyst for change was within her grasp…
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Suicide prevention trainer Bob Cummings speaks to a group of about 25 at Folkmoot Sept. 10. Holly Kays photo
 

It’s OK to not be OK: Suicide prevention takes center stage at Folkmoot

Imagine this — you’re atop a hundred-story building, and it’s on fire. As the flames and smoke close in, you…
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Tax cut has not trickled down
 

Tax cut has not trickled down

To the Editor: Today the American economy is strong. The percentage of American unemployed is down, the Dow Jones industrial…
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It is too late for Kavanaugh
 

It is too late for Kavanaugh

By Hannah McLeod • Guest Columnist The vote to approve Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court of…
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Acknowledging differences and embracing brotherhood
 

Acknowledging differences and embracing brotherhood

For many years, I thought of myself as one of Flannery O’Connor’s “Christ-haunted” characters, living my life in a kind…
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Gas prices in Haywood County remained consistent throughout Hurricane Florence. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Florence’s gas gouging passes WNC

While Hurricane Florence spared much of The Smoky Mountain News coverage area when it rolled through the region last week,…
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Haywood detective fired for theft
 

Haywood detective fired for theft

The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has requested the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to conduct a…
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Haywood County Commissioners Kevin Ensley (left to right), Kirk Kirkpatrick, Bill Upton and Brandon Rogers chat before a meeting on Feb. 20, 2017. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Political or not, Haywood tax collector issue won’t go away

More than a year after a contentious public comment session during which the Haywood County Board of Commissioners weighed the…
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WCU chancellor search resumes
 

WCU chancellor search resumes

While the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors has yet to release a revised search process for Western Carolina…
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The design concept for student apartments on the WCU Millennial Campus features a combination of wood, brick and rock on the building exteriors. Donated rendering
 

Housing shuffle planned at WCU

Student housing at Western Carolina University will see a massive shuffle over the coming years as university leadership looks to…
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An undated photo of Lamar Berry appears on the website of his company, International Marketing Systems. Valerie Oberle (right) appears at a meeting of the Maggie Valley Civic Association Sept. 4. Facebook live video
 

Allegations of fraud, failure haunt Ghost Town developer

For months, Valerie Oberle has been the public face of the three-person partnership supposedly taking shape at the long-shuttered Ghost…
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