Jackson residents blast library exit, demand explanation

Written by
Tuesday, 08/07/2025

Public frustration boiled over at the July 1 Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting, where speaker after speaker condemned the board’s recent decision to withdraw from the Fontana Regional Library system, urged reconsideration and asked for a public statement from commissioners. 

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The Joyful Botanist: Rowan on a mountain

Written by
Wednesday, 04/09/2024

At the higher elevations in the Southern Appalachian Mountains grows a special and sacred tree whose red berries glow in the full sun against a clear blue-sky. Steeped in folklore and traditions brought by European settlers and colonizers, the sight of the rowan tree (Sorbus americanus) must have filled the hearts of Scotch and Irish descendants with nostalgia for home. 

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Partner Content: Appalachian True Heritage Festival Returns to Downtown Waynesville in 2026
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Partner Content: Appalachian True Heritage Festival Returns to Downtown Waynesville in 2026

Two Days of Mountain Culture, Craft, Food, and Live Music – With Exciting New Experiences for 2026

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — The mountains are calling, and the Appalachian True Heritage Festival is answering. Organizers are proud to announce the return of this beloved celebration to the heart of Downtown Waynesville, gathering community members, cultural bearers, artisans, musicians, and storytellers for a two-day immersion in the rich history and living traditions of Western North Carolina. 

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Partner content: Using Your Freezer for Meal Solutions
Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian
Partner content: Using Your Freezer for Meal Solutions

I’ll admit that I am not always the best about using our freezer to its full advantage; but here are some things I do like to keep in the freezer. 

• Cheese pizza — I like to look for sales on good quality cheese pizzas and keep a couple on hand for those nights when we don’t feel like cooking or eating out.  I can quickly top a cheese pizza with vegetables like sliced tomatoes, spinach or even zucchini slices or fresh arugula (once out of the oven).

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Partner Content: Change Your Health, Change Your Life
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Partner Content: Change Your Health, Change Your Life

Ready to take control of your wellness? MountainWise offers the North Carolina Minority Diabetes Prevention Program to help you get ahead of type 2 diabetes. 

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Partner content: Prediabetes: Signs/Symptoms
Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian
Partner content: Prediabetes: Signs/Symptoms

Prediabetes is when your blood sugar is elevated over what is considered normal, but as yet, not high enough to be a diagnosis of diabetes. A HbA1C (glycated hemoglobin) test will indicate Prediabetes if the result is between 5.7 % and 6.4 % (equates to average blood sugars of 117mg/dl-137mg/dl).

Even before a blood test, you may notice some issues which may indicate prediabetes: 

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