The best reason of all to play
 

The best reason of all to play

It’s one of those late March days that can’t make up its mind whether winter is really over or might…
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WLOS corporate line tough to swallow
 

WLOS corporate line tough to swallow

To the Editor: This letter is director to Julie Fries, news director for Channel 13 WLOS, and to Joe Fishleigh,…
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The left has reached a new low
 

The left has reached a new low

To the Editor: Week after week I read the opinions and dissertations from the left. It seems that those of…
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Co-chair of the WNC Green Party Camille McCarthy says the party’s worked hard to get on the ballot. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Greens make the grade: Ballot access boosts third parties

This fall, voters in North Carolina will be treated to a new choice at the polls come election day. 
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Can Canton’s Colonial come back?
 

Can Canton’s Colonial come back?

Many Fridays a small group of longtime Canton residents meet up informally at the town’s historical museum on Park Street…
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Supreme Court issues opinion in impeachment case
 

Supreme Court issues opinion in impeachment case

Nine months after arguments concluded in a dispute over the process used to impeach then-Principal Chief Patrick Lambert, the Cherokee…
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Renovated Labyrinth at Lake Junaluska
 

Renovated Labyrinth at Lake Junaluska

The outdoor labyrinth at Lake Junaluska has long been a place where people go to seek spiritual renewal. Recent renovations…
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Tribal members crowd the Cherokee Central Schools auditorium during a Grand Council held April 18, 2017. Holly Kays photo
 

Impeachment issue returns to Cherokee courts

While nearly a year has passed since former Principal Chief Patrick Lambert was removed from office, a court hearing March…
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Brent McMahan (left) and Doug Farmer.
 

Jackson sheriff candidates vie for win in Republican primary

Jackson County Sheriff Chip Hall may be running unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary, but two Republican candidates are competing…
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Swain County Commission chairman candidates lay out their views on whether to build a new library or renovate the existing facility. File photo
 

Bushyhead challenges Carson for chairman seat

After serving as chairman of the Swain County Board of Commissioners for two terms, incumbent Phillip Carson will be challenged…
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New principal at Smoky Mountain
 

New principal at Smoky Mountain

The Jackson County Public Schools Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Elliott, Superintendent announced Evelyn Graning as the new…
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Waynesville approves incentive package for unnamed business
 

Waynesville approves incentive package for unnamed business

Haywood County is suddenly a hot commodity for property developers; recent news of a proposed hotel in Maggie Valley was…
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The Green Energy Park’s glass blowing workshop is just one of the opportunities it offers artisans. File photo
 

Green Energy Park plan in development

A plan to re-imagine the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro as a campus for creativity, learning and animal…
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Junaluska Elementary School students work together to package meals for Rise Against Hunger. Jessi Stone photos
 

Rise Against Hunger: Junaluska Elementary students help feed the hungry

Random Act of Kindness Week at Junaluska Elementary School culminated on Friday when students and community volunteers gathered in the…
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Legendary singer-songwriter Art Garfunkel will perform in Asheville on April 5.
 

The Art of Garfunkel: Musical, pop culture icon to play WNC

In conversation, Art Garfunkel is as poignant and whimsical as his music. The strong, heartfelt emotion behind his thoughts and…
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Roadside in South Carolina. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

This must be the place: I know I'll see you again in the long run

Somewhere around central South Carolina my mind began to drift. 
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Schools have become political battlegrounds
 

Schools have become political battlegrounds

By John deVille • Guest Columnist Given all the challenges and unwarranted criticism those of us who work in public…
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Kudzu-covered landscapes like this are a common sight in the South. Donated photo
 

From enemy to ally: Kudzu Camp seeks to overturn misconceptions

It was 1983 when Avram Friedman first rolled into Sylva, driving the repurposed school bus that was home for him,…
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Reporter Holly Kays holds up her freshly dug kudzu root. Donated photo
 

Hunting for kudzu

Even as I parked my car at the bottom of a steep and weedy hill that Friday morning, I wasn’t…
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Trout waters to reopen
 

Trout waters to reopen

Hatchery-supported trout waters will open once more at 7 a.m. Saturday, April 7. 
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Bicycle shop coming to Cherokee
 

Bicycle shop coming to Cherokee

The success of Cherokee’s 10.5-mile Fire Mountain Trail System has spurred Motion Makers Bicycle Shop to open a new location…
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Database boosts plant research on Toxaway Mountain
 

Database boosts plant research on Toxaway Mountain

The Southern Highlands Reserve has launched a digital database to advance its ability to research native plants from its perch…
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First place finisher Canyon Woodward hurries to descend the trail. Donated photo
 

Runners brave the Assault on BlackRock

This year’s Assault on BlackRock drew 105 runners and brought in more than $4,000 for the Jackson County Shop with…
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Tree swallow at Lake Junaluska. Don Hendershot photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Spring has sprung

It doesn’t take a calendar to know spring is here. Spring is surely in the air but it’s also in…
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Maybe we’ll never know just what women want
 

Maybe we’ll never know just what women want

“What do women want?” Sigmund Freud’s famous question crosses the lips of most men at one time or another. Goaded…
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Student protestors deserve gratitude
 

Student protestors deserve gratitude

I’ve always admired those who speak out, those who have opinions and feel compelled to share them.
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Making new memories during Easter week
 

Making new memories during Easter week

Growing up, we had a little blue and white camper at Ocean Lakes Campground in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. It…
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Leaders need to do more to stop carnage
 

Leaders need to do more to stop carnage

By Stephen Wall • Guest Columnist I was disappointed to read Interim Superintendent Bill Nolte's post on the Haywood County…
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And the children shall lead
 

And the children shall lead

To the Editor: In the wake of school shootings and #NeverAgain, school administrators are faced with the issue of how…
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Haywood Christian Academy will close on the former Old Cavalry Road Baptist Church property May 31. Haywood GIS photo
 

Haywood Christian Academy gets room to grow

Next fall, students at Haywood Christian Academy will all attend classes together in a new building that brings the two…
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Former Haywood manager rehired to lead HHS
 

Former Haywood manager rehired to lead HHS

Many people were surprised by the sudden resignation of Ira Dove from his position as Haywood County manager last October,…
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Swain County High School Principal Mark Sale (from left) Sheriff Curtis Cochran and Assistant District Attorney Jason Arnold speak to students about the seriousness of making threats at school. Jessi Stone photo
 

School threats continue in mass shooting aftermath

School systems in Western North Carolina continue to deal with a multitude of threats in the aftermath of the mass…
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Canton hires new police chief
 

Canton hires new police chief

The town of Canton has hired Robert “Shawn” Gaddis as its new chief of police effective March 31. 
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Agencies make child predator arrests
 

Agencies make child predator arrests

Over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday weekend, local, tribal, state and federal law enforcement agencies conducted an operation that was…
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Cherokee bail bondsman pleads guilty in sexual extortion case
 

Cherokee bail bondsman pleads guilty in sexual extortion case

A bail bondsman who the FBI accused of accepting sexual favors in lieu of monetary repayments pleaded guilty to one…
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TWSA votes down expanded allocation rental
 

TWSA votes down expanded allocation rental

A proposal to extend the allocation rental option to all Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority users hit a dead end…
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Members of BicycleHaywoodNC and residents of Haywood Pathways roll through the parking lot March 17. Pathways photo
 

Haywood Pathways on a roll

Haywood County’s only homeless shelter — and one of the very few in North Carolina west of Asheville — continues…
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Mission Health could become for-profit system
 

Mission Health could become for-profit system

Mission Health, the largest health care provider in Western North Carolina, could soon become a for-profit health care system if…
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The warm glow of a 1970s-era Panasonic portable radio (top) may have dimmed for most, but the future of terrestrial radio still appears bright. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Loud and clear: Local radio rejuvenated

In almost every living American resides at least one sepia-toned memory embellished with song — that perpetual score to a…
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Swain elections staff prepares for May 8 primary without sitting board
 

Swain elections staff prepares for May 8 primary without sitting board

The Swain County candidate challenge against Sheriff Curtis Cochran is at a standstill until a new Swain County Board of…
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Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and his supporters make their way into a packed Board of Elections Office for a preliminary hearing on the candidate challenge. Jessi Stone photo
 

Swain sheriff responds to candidate challenge

Even though the Swain County Board of Elections can’t proceed with hearing a candidate challenge filed against Sheriff Curtis Cochran,…
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The $30 million R-5000 road project resulted in a 0.7-mile road connecting N.C. 107 and N.C. 116 alongside Southwestern Community College’s campus. A Shot Above WNC photo
 

SCC sues DOT, construction company over damaged building

Southwestern Community College is seeking compensation for damage to the Balsam Center building that it believes resulted from the R-5000…
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Tony Kushner. Joan Marcus photo
 

In his own words: Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Academy Award nominee Tony Kushner

Smoky Mountain News: When you look at American society today, what do you see? Tony Kushner: Oh, my god. [Laughs].…
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Tailgate talks with Verlon Thompson. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

This must be the place: ‘And live the way I said I would, but somehow never did…’

As I awoke in my hammock, I could see the branches and leaves swaying above, sprinkling small bits of the…
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Winthrop University Associate head basketball coach Mark Prosser speaks at a March 27 press conference in Cullowhee
 

WCU names Mark Prosser new men's basketball coach

When storied Western Carolina University men’s basketball coach Larry Hunter recently announced his retirement after notching his 700th career win,…
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Mission Health negotiating to join for-profit company
 

Mission Health negotiating to join for-profit company

Mission Health's Board of Directors today announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to enter into exclusive…
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Old-time dentistry just plain hurt
 

Old-time dentistry just plain hurt

Old-time dentistry as practiced here in the Smokies region wasn’t pretty. All of the descriptions I have found make it…
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Western Carolina University senior Brittany Timpson shows an inquisitive group of elementary students in the Watershed Moments program a macro invertebrate. Inset, below: Liam Tormey has been an avid participant in the program.
 

The sediment spotter: Fifth-grade science project spurs real-world change

While elementary, junior high and high school students from across the region offered a plethora of good ideas during last…
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Smokies starts spring openings
 

Smokies starts spring openings

Spring is coming to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with many seasonally closed facilities reopening for warmer weather.
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Volunteers remove 8 tons of trash from Lake Junaluska
 

Volunteers remove 8 tons of trash from Lake Junaluska

More than 100 volunteers congregated at Lake Junaluska for Lake Cleanup Day Saturday, March 10, removing more than 8 tons…
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