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Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:55

Robbery ring targeting vacation homes busted

Ten suspects have been charged in connection with a rash of property crimes in the Cashiers and Glenville area.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:54

Pigeon Gorge dead spot could be solved soon for AT&T cell customers

A new cell phone tower in the Pigeon River Gorge could mean fewer dropped calls as motorists cruise down Interstate 40.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:54

Swain inmates no help on roadside trash pickup

Swain County commissioners said they have fielded queries lately about why jail inmates aren’t put to work picking up trash along the roadsides or Tuckasegee River, and so in turn they posed that question to Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:52

Lake Junaluska merger with Waynesville sails through Senate

A state bill that would bring Lake Junaluska into Waynesville’s town limits has cleared the N.C. Senate and is now headed for passage in the N.C. House of Representatives. The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center and the 760-home residential…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:52

County commissioners cry foul over state budget proposals

County commissioners across the state are protesting proposed state budget cuts and bills that they say pass the buck and put more burdens on counties.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:51

Cherokee leaders green light second casino near Murphy

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians could open a new $110 million casino in Murphy as early as spring 2015, with a temporary gambling operation up and running on the site in just a year from now.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:48

Trial by dirt

While sunlight, water and good soil may seem a simple enough equation for getting a plant from seed to fruit, like anything it becomes a lot more complicated when people are involved. During the past decade, community gardens have been…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:47

WCU invites student and faculty input on campus master plan

Western Carolina University is open to suggestions — from students, faculty and the general public — as it undergoes a campus-wide planning process that will steer infrastructure at the institution for the coming decade.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:46

Let the tourists return: Smokies’ landslide fixed

Landslide repairs to U.S. 441 through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were completed early this week — reopening the primary tourist corridor through the park nearly a month ahead of schedule.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:38

Empty Bowl: a meal and music with a cause

The Empty Bowl fundraiser will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 26, at The Community Table in Sylva. For a $20 donation to the soup kitchen, you get a handcrafted ceramic bowls by a local potter to…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:37

‘Greening Up the Mountains’ in Sylva

 The 16th annual Greening Up the Mountains street festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in downtown Sylva.  The spring festival is named for the way spring creeps up the mountainsides — a wave of…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:37

Dramatic comedy embraces small town life

Haywood Arts Regional Theater in Waynesville will kick off its 29th main stage season this month with a stage adaptation of the popular series of novels “Welcome to Mitford.” Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. April 19, 20, 26 and…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:36

Mom’s Music Fest returns to Waynesville

The outdoor Mom’s Music Festival will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, in Waynesville, featuring a line-up of bands and activities to celebrate moms. Put on by WOW, the Women of Waynesville, in conjunction with…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:36

Celebrate ‘Record Store Day’ in Sylva

A “Record Store Day Celebration” will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 20, at In Your Ear Music Emporium in Sylva. On this day, independent record stores across the United States collaborate with artists to give the public exclusive releases…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:35

Liars Bench to showcase Carolina Dusk

The Liars Bench presents music group Carolina Dusk at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the Mountain Heritage Center auditorium at Western Carolina University. Performances will also include musician Paul Larussi, storyteller Lloyd Arneach and writer Gary Carden who will…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:34

Carden monologue celebrates early vision of teaching college

Renowned Appalachian writer Gary Carden will perform “Madison,” a monologue about the life of Dr. Robert Lee Madison, at 7 p.m. Friday, April 26, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin. In the 1880s, Madison promoted the idea of a…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:33

Acclaimed Georgia artist featured at The Bascom

The work of Linda Anderson, a prolific artist whose pieces depict her life in rural North Georgia, will be on display from April 20 through July 28, at The Bascom in Highlands.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:31

‘Dead Man Walking’ opera hits Cullowhee

A concert production of “Dead Man Walking” will come to the stage at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:30

WCU Jazz Festival to feature innovative saxophonist, Slovakian drummer

The 2013 Jazz Festival will take place from April 27 and 29 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, featuring jazz classes, concerts and open dress rehearsals.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:29

Mélange puts culinary excellence on display

Haywood County Chamber of Commerce held their annual “Melange of the Mountains” culinary gala at Laurel Ridge Country Club on April 11. Winners included The Waynesville Inn (soup, fowl), Frogs Leap Public House (Culinary Excellence, salad, seafood, dessert), The Gateway…
Wednesday, 17 April 2013 12:28

The luck of the draw

All bets are on in Cherokee. The first major poker tournament held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort has lured crowds of card sharks from the southeast and beyond, surpassing attendance expectations, and even breaking records. The 12-day event, organized…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:45

Serviceberry is recurring harbinger of spring

I have two options when driving back and forth from home to town. One is along a river and the other isn’t. The choice is easy. I always follow the route along the north side of the Tuckaseigee west of…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:40

Sylva climate change protest is lead up to Raleigh lobbying push

In the buildup to a large environmental demonstration in Raleigh, a climate change rally will be held at 11 a.m. April 15 in Sylva at the old courthouse fountain downtown. A Climate Convergence event in Raleigh will be on Earth…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:39

Arboretum to host Mountain Science Expo

When science meets the mountains you get: The Mountain Science Expo. The expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville and feature guided nature walks, live animal programs,…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:36

News from the A.T.

Gotta love that A.T. A program on the importance of the Appalachian Trail and ways to promote and conserve it will be held at noon on Thursday, April 11, at Tartan Hall in Franklin. Local trail activists from the Nantahala…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:33

Springtime cleanup opportunities

In an effort to clean up Scotts Creek in Jackson County, a coordinated workday will be launched by volunteers from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 20.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:32

A.T. license plate money awarded to local trail workers

The Carolina Mountain Club has been awarded $2,200 through the North Carolina Appalachian Trail License Plate Grant Program to help buy safety equipment, rebar and tools for the club’s trail maintenance work along the Appalachian Trail. 
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:29

Big-time lumberjacks saw off in Haywood

Professional and collegiate lumberjacks from around the East will soon converge on Haywood County to compete in a top-notch woodsman competition.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:27

Love was in the air

Love may be a little anthropogenic for toads, but the eons old “urge to merge” was quite prevalent last Sunday (4/7) when we were at Oconee State Park. Oconee State Park in Mountain Rest, S.C., is along U.S. Hwy 11…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:24

Help wanted: Engaged citizens with environmental ethos

Do you consider yourself an environmentalist or an environmental activist? Do you feel frustrated with the way issues dear to you are being handled by local and state decision makers? Instead of sitting on the sidelines and attempting to influence…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:20

Movies, book explore travails of Memphis Three

They were known as the West Memphis Three: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., three teenagers who were accused of murdering three 8-year-old boys in Arkansas in 1993. Their trial was marked by tampered evidence, false testimony and public…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 12:39

Serving up a taste of Appalachia

When Doug Weaver looks around Haywood County, he sees potential.  “We’re on the fence, right in the middle of where it’s almost a scene,” he said. Head chef and co-owner at The Sweet Onion in Waynesville, Weaver is at the…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 12:38

Recent charm offensive will influence Obama legacy

We have been hearing a lot lately about President Barack Obama’s charm offensive. He has been traveling a short distance from the White House to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress, including Republicans. He now seems more interested…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 12:36

Prescription drug industry needs to be reined in

What’s deadlier than a crazed maniac in a kindergarten class with a loaded assault weapon? In the most horrifying massacre in the history of the United States, a few days before Christmas, 20-year-old Adam Lanza walked into a classroom of…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 12:33

Parsing out a majority in Haywood room tax debate proves murky

Without support from the Maggie Valley Lodging Association, a bill to increase the room tax in Haywood County could die in the N.C. General Assembly.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 12:30

Stand and deliver Donald Davis weaned on mountain storytelling

It’s been said that people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death, but for Donald Davis, he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. 
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Sylva faces tough budget choices

Sylva town officials are staring down three unsightly options to balance the upcoming year’s budget: tax increases, budget cuts or both.   None of the choices have much appeal to board members, but it’s understood that something must be done…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Merchants field queries over missing courthouse trees

Main Street merchants are used to answering tourists’ questions: how do you get to the parkway, what’s the best place for dinner, and where are the public restrooms? But lately, Waynesville’s downtown store keepers have also become purveyors of news.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

How the axe fell

Talk of cutting the historic courthouse maples in Waynesville has come and gone during the years. Reasons varied. It was hard to get grass to grow underneath. The trees masked the grandness of the historic courthouse. Heavy equipment parked under…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Jackson tourism board offers tepid yet symbolic support of scenic railroad venture

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority is the latest voice to enter the fray as the county ponders a $700,000 grant to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in exchange for the promise of more tourists.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Bills would reinforce optional student prayer

Religion and public schools have never been a black and white matter anywhere in the U.S., but the shades of grey can be even more complicated in the Bible belt.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

U.S. 441 work nears completion

Repairs to U.S. 441 are nearing completion. A football-field-sized portion of U.S. 441, which runs through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, was completely washed away in January after days of heavy rain resulted in a landslide.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Storied Judaculla Rock gets overdue recognition

Judaculla Rock, a prehistoric gem of the Cherokee and the most heavily inscribed petroglyph in the East, is putting Jackson County on the map.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

River-lust spurs building rebound on Nantahala: Tiny riverside lots pose sewage conundrum

Tom Anderson barely batted an eyelash when he plunked down $300,000 in cash for a tiny lot along the Nantahala eight years ago in the Mystic River development.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

From greenways to ball fields, state cuts could sideline local recreation wish list

Statewide parks and recreation funding is clashing with fiscal austerity in the current state budget process, in a showdown that has environmentalists and local governments bracing for the worst.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

WNC breweries to release collaboration beer ‘Ryeway 74’

All five Western North Carolina microbreweries west of Asheville collaborated on a craft beer that will be simultaneously released at 6 p.m. Friday, April 12, at each establishment. Bear Waters Brewing (Waynesville), Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville), Heinzelmannchen Brewery (Sylva), Nantahala…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Taste of Chocolate fundraiser returns to Maggie Club

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate will be delight partakers in the 14th annual Taste of Chocolate from 6 to 9 p.m. April 20 at the Maggie Valley Club. Bakers from professional, bed and breakfast and amateur categories will be serving up…
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Folk, then jazz, at the Classic Wineseller

The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville will showcase live music from singer-songwriter Ben Wilson at 7 p.m. Friday, April 19, and a jazz dinner featuring Eve Haslam & Satin Steel Jazz at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Songwriters series returns to Balsam

The popular Songwriters in the Round series will return to the Balsam Mountain Inn at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 13, with nationally acclaimed songwriters Casey Kelly, Leslie Ellis and Angela Kaset.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:00

Sarge’s hosts annual pet photo competition

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation’s Annual Pet Photo Contest award ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 13, at Bocelli’s Italian Eatery in Waynesville.
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