Scott Ainslie performing on March 17 at the Boone-Withers House in Waynesville. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

Hard times, come again no more: An evening with Scott Ainslie

Literally and figuratively, the idea of “listening” is somewhat of a lost art in our digital world. When a voice…
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Ellen Cherry and Andrew Grimm at the Twin Maples Farmhouse. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

This must be the place: There’s a reason you should care, seriously

Sitting in a chair on a front lawn late Sunday afternoon, the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, a…
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Annie and David Colquitt.
 

The Swag changes hands

David and Annie Colquitt of Knoxville, Tennessee, are purchasing The Swag, a popular mountain retreat near Waynesville.
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Brunch Bill hearing planned for Jackson
 

Brunch Bill hearing planned for Jackson

A public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 19, will give Jackson County residents a chance to weigh in on…
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Too often, we ignore the calls for help
 

Too often, we ignore the calls for help

Doing nothing to enhance school safety is not an option. Thoughtful gun control measures would be helpful and are one…
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Maintaining a nostalgia for unique main streets
 

Maintaining a nostalgia for unique main streets

Recently, I spent time in the tri-cities of Rutherford County, N.C. Spindale, Forest City and Rutherfordton make up this trifecta…
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The U.S. has become an oligarchy
 

The U.S. has become an oligarchy

By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist Do politicians read their mail? It depends. A recent New Yorker article on Christopher…
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Books that help bridge the political divide
 

Books that help bridge the political divide

Time for spring-cleaning.  The basement apartment in which I live could use a deep cleaning: dusting, washing, vacuuming. It’s tidy…
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Scholarships available for outdoor camp
 

Scholarships available for outdoor camp

More than $25,000 in scholarships is available for kids interested in attending Youth for Christ Outdoor Mission Camp in Maggie…
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Solar project finished in the Smokies
 

Solar project finished in the Smokies

Completion of a solar energy project in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will result…
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A table full of thru-hikers smiles during the inaugural Chow Down in 2015. Donated photo
 

Trail town chow down: Franklin A.T. season launches with hiker meal

When Sharon Van Horn organized the first-ever Thru-Hiker Chow Down in Franklin, she and her husband Bill were pretty fresh…
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The Sneed cabin in Daisy Town is one of those slated for preservation. NPS photo
 

Work crews return to Elkmont

Rehabilitation work in the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has started up again, with work crews…
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One of the Lake Junaluska eagles dining on yellow perch. Don Hendershot photo
 

Fingers still crossed

Status of the Lake Junaluska eagles remains a mystery, but I still have my fingers crossed for a successful nesting…
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‘Mothers and Daughters,’ photograph in the collection of Andy Lett.
 

New pictorial book on Cherokee released

Images of America: Cherokee, Anna Fariello’s new pictorial history book, will be presented during a special event at 6:30 p.m.…
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‘Let the freaks take back the night…’
 

‘Let the freaks take back the night…’

The further you meander down the road of life, the more you come to realize just how haphazardly bumpy and…
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Haywood County Tax Collector Mike Matthews (left) will face a fellow Republican in the May 8 Primary Election. Andrew ‘Tubby’ Ferguson (right) says there’s room for improvement in the county tax collector’s office. Donated photos
 

Passion, politics intertwine for Haywood tax collector candidates

Outside the Haywood County Justice Center in downtown Waynesville, Haywood County Tax Collector Mike Matthews stands with a slim manila…
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Blitz Estridge holds up a sign expressing his plight during a Feb. 19 Jackson County Commissioners meeting. Holly Kays photo
 

Relocation project leaves contractors unpaid

Months after work wrapped up to relocate Caney Fork General Store in Jackson County, multiple subcontractors who worked on the…
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Officials considering armed volunteers for schools
 

Officials considering armed volunteers for schools

Columbine, Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas — those names ring out like the bullets that once flew through their hallways, stark…
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High school students in Haywood will walk out Wednesday
 

High school students in Haywood will walk out Wednesday

Right about the time this newspaper hits the stands on Wednesday, March 14, students at Haywood County’s two public high…
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Beloved Man leaves behind lasting legacy
 

Beloved Man leaves behind lasting legacy

Jeremiah “Jerry” Wolfe, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Beloved Man, passed away Monday at the age of 93. 
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Drug crisis unit vote delayed in Cherokee
 

Drug crisis unit vote delayed in Cherokee

Plans to build a crisis stabilization unit in Cherokee for people battling addictions stalled this month when Tribal Council, for…
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Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and his attorney David Sawyer discuss Jerry Lowery’s candidate challenge with the two members of the board of elections. Jessi Stone photo
 

State, local boards of elections still in limbo

Gov. Roy Cooper’s legal battle challenging the Session Law 2017-6 — passed by a Republican-majority legislature — is having local ramifications…
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No decision on Duke Energy rate hike for WNC
 

No decision on Duke Energy rate hike for WNC

The North Carolina Public Utilities Commission has not yet ruled on a rate increase request for Duke Energy customers in…
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Small increase in Haywood schools budget
 

Small increase in Haywood schools budget

Haywood County’s high-performing public schools will see a small budget increase for the FY 2018-19 school year, but at the…
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Despite threats to funding, ARC soldiers on
 

Despite threats to funding, ARC soldiers on

The $100,000 grant to Haywood Community College from the Appalachian Regional Commission wasn’t the first made by the ARC in…
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Opportunities for entrepreneurs in advanced manufacturing will soon arrive on Industrial Park Drive. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Maker space movement comes to Haywood

The type of traditional manufacturing that put many small towns on the map and provided a decent living to generations…
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TWSA struggles with open meetings laws
 

TWSA struggles with open meetings laws

When the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority held its annual meeting Tuesday, March 6, no members of the media were…
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Sylva’s Creekside Oyster House to expand
 

Sylva’s Creekside Oyster House to expand

Sylva’s Creekside Oyster House and Grill will soon upgrade to a new building following the Tuckseigee Water and Sewer Authority’s…
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Franklin resident Tamara Zwinak is collecting signatures in hopes of appearing on the November ballot. Donated photo
 

Unaffiliated candidate mounts congressional bid

The five men — three Democrats, a Republican and a Libertarian — hoping to unseat Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows…
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This parking lot, known as the North Baseball Lot, is WCU’s preferred site to construct its first parking deck. WCU photo
 

Parking decks planned for Western Carolina

Parking decks could come to Western Carolina University sooner rather than later following the Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote to…
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‘Your everlasting summer. You can see it fading fast’
 

‘Your everlasting summer. You can see it fading fast’

Half the battle is just getting out of the house and on the road. Whenever we travel, we all understand…
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Psychologists, counselors and nurses will make schools safer
 

Psychologists, counselors and nurses will make schools safer

By Virginia Jicha • Guest Columnist I was in the process of writing about the need for school nurses when the…
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Time to take back the NRA
 

Time to take back the NRA

To the Editor: I would like to add some additional comments to Martin Dyckman’s guest column in the Feb. 21…
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Our senators are bought and paid for
 

Our senators are bought and paid for

To the Editor: Our state’s senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, have consistently opposed event he most modest form of…
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Liberals have lost touch with reality
 

Liberals have lost touch with reality

To the Editor: In reference to a recent article I read in The Smoky Mountain News, maybe if you took…
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Horrific twister is catalyst for insightful novel
 

Horrific twister is catalyst for insightful novel

It was April 5, 1936, Palm Sunday, about nine o’clock in the evening. People were tidying up their kitchens, strolling…
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Matt Kirby is now running about 40 miles a week in preparation for the 72-mile Georgia Death Race March 31. Donated photo
 

One mile at a time: Long-distance run will raise money for SCC students in need

The first time Matt Kirby attempted the 72-mile Georgia Death Race, he almost didn’t finish.  “I had a friend who…
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Wildlife Commission votes on management changes
 

Wildlife Commission votes on management changes

A proposal to add two weeks to the bear-hunting season in North Carolina’s Mountain Bear Management Unit didn’t pass muster…
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Hiker found dead near Waterrock Knob
 

Hiker found dead near Waterrock Knob

A missing person search along the Blue Ridge Parkway last weekend ended when Jackson County emergency responders found the body…
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Environmental ed groups win cash
 

Environmental ed groups win cash

Three area organizations landed a collective $6,000 to support youth environmental education following an online voting contest hosted by Diamond…
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Pier under construction at Lake Junaluska
 

Pier under construction at Lake Junaluska

A new meditation pier that will extend more than 40 feet into the water and seat eight people is under…
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The woodcock — secretive, rotund and acrobatic
 

The woodcock — secretive, rotund and acrobatic

While walking stream banks or low-lying wetlands, you have perhaps had the memorable experience of flushing a woodcock — that…
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Wayne Coyne, lead singer of Flaming Lips. George Salisbury photo
 

The gold in the mountain of our madness: A conversation with Wayne Coyne

For the last 35 years, the Flaming Lips have gone from a fringe rock act in Oklahoma to a highly-sought-after…
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This must be the place: ‘Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again’
 

This must be the place: ‘Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again’

When you’re young — full of confusion about the ways and means of a “stable adulthood,” amid a hazy sense…
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Cherokee to open first brewery
 

Cherokee to open first brewery

In keeping with the long tradition of women within indigenous cultures crafting fermented beverages, Seven Clans Brewing is born. 
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Finding civility in a polarized society
 

Finding civility in a polarized society

Globalization has made our big world seem much smaller, but it’s also pushed us farther away from one another.  Instead…
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Abraham Jam (top), a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim musicians, performs at the Interfaith Peace Conference. Part of the Interfaith Peace Conference included a field trip to the Islamic Center in Asheville to attend a service (below). Lake Junaluska photo
 

Speakers call on interfaith work for social justice

Christian Perspective The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman hadn’t even started his talk from the Christian perspective, and already there wasn’t…
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Conference attendees had time to discuss issues during break out sessions.
 

Participants take home renewed faith

It’s easy to grow weary in a world that is deeply divided and when efforts to reach out to the…
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Meadows’ bill to reimburse counties with federal land
 

Meadows’ bill to reimburse counties with federal land

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., introduced legislation to supplement counties that have expended local taxes on…
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David and Susan Belcher (seated) watch the live broadcast launching Lead the Way in the A.K. Hinds University Center, surrounded by members of the Catamount Nation. Holly Kays photo
 

Leading the Way: WCU celebrates $5 million gift; aims for $60 million by 2019

Excitement and purple attire filled the second floor of A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University March 1 as…
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