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Petition effort seeks Tribal Council term limits
A petition drive is underway in Cherokee aiming to place term limits on Tribal Council members and give tribal members…
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Books always make a thoughtful gift
You’re stuck. It’s your boss’ birthday, your nephew’s graduation from high school, your cousin’s promotion at work, and you need…
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Monteith leaves a lasting legacy in Swain
It was July or August of 1999, best I remember, and the Swain County Commissioners at that time were meeting…
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From beauty pageants to soccer fields
It’s not my proudest accolade, but I spent a significant portion of my childhood in a pageant dress. The doctors…
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Enjoy the articles by Chris Cox
To the Editor: I sure enjoy the opinion columns by Chris Cox in The Smoky Mountain News. I enjoy reading…
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You just can’t fix stupid
To the Editor: First off, no anonymous person here. My name is Sandy Sanders. I read Chris Cox column a…
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We all need to speak up
To the Editor: Does opening your email or Facebook feed or nightly news programs make your blood pressure go up?…
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Departing Trump’s alternate universe
To the Editor: As a journalist and former member of the working press, I continue to be appalled and frankly…
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Dawg days of bluegrass: David Grisman picks on WNC
He’s the common denominator. When you look back at the career of iconic bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman, you’re diving deep…
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This must be the place: We won, but what’s the real prize?
Once they announce your name, you stand up and move towards the bright lights. Meandering around a sardine can ballroom…
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Increased need prompts change in shelter management
Correction: In the March 1 issue, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported that Jackson Neighbors in Need requested funding from…
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Increased need prompts change in shelter management
Correction: In the March 1 issue, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported that Jackson Neighbors in Need requested funding from…
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New apartment complex received in Sylva
A 48-unit apartment complex could be built along Savannah Road in Sylva if town commissioners give the green light at…
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Perhaps school board has learned a lesson
Since it is, after all, the Haywood County School Board, I can only hope they’ve learned a lesson. Last week…
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Trump’s rise has some similarities to Hitler
To the Editor: Among the many sources available to explain current events in Washington is an excellent recent book that…
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Trump tweets himself back into the muck
As near as I can tell, the readers of this newspaper are pretty evenly divided on whether I should continue…
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River park would boost visitation, tax revenues
Kelly Custer has been a lifelong lover of the outdoors, from playing sports as a kid to mountaineering adventures in…
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N.C. Arboretum upgrades facilities, increases parking fee
The N.C. Arboretum in Asheville recently completed several upgrades to its facilities, including conversion to LED lights in all indoor…
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Blue Ridge Breakaway off for 2017
The Blue Ridge Breakaway, which would have celebrated its eighth year in August, has been canceled for this year with…
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Polar plunge raises $30,000 education
The 2017 Polar Plunge Benefit-t-t-ting Kids in the Creek and Environmental Education surpassed its goal to raise $30,600 this year,…
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‘Doc’ Bennett was truly a man of the mountains
I have files in my computer containing articles I’ve forgotten that I wrote until, by chance, I run across them…
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Through the fingertips, echoes the history
“You know, history becomes personal,” Reggie Harris said to a silent auditorium last Sunday afternoon. “These are our stories, and…
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This must be the place: I remember you, the one in the dusty photos
It came out of the blue. Sunday morning. My smart phone dinged next to my bed. I groaned, rolled over…
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Portrait of WCU’s Belcher unveiled
A future addition to Western Carolina University’s gallery of presidential portraits was recently unveiled for the first time as the…
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Burke’s writing shines in The Jealous Kind
In The Jealous Kind (Simon and Schuster, 2016, 400 pages, $27.99), novelist James Lee Burke drops his readers into Houston,…
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WNC communities help redesign their five-lane highways
Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover in the coming years that could reshape the fabric…
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Over and out: a Southern Loop retrospective
With a redesign of N.C. 107 officially in the works, the controversial Southern Loop appears to be toast.
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A windshield tour of the new 107
Years in the making, design options for a new N.C. 107 in Sylva were recently unveiled by the North Carolina…
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Death of the five lane, birth of the boulevard
Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover, reshaping the fabric of these communities for decades to…
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DOT spares part of Walnut Street, for now
A message sent by opponents of the Russ Avenue widening project’s Walnut Street segment appears to have been received loud…
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Canton businesses rebound from crash
A lot is going right in Canton these days, but a driver going left — right into a downtown building…
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Economic diversification continues in Canton
Canton is the archetype of a small southern mill village: the river running through it helps churn the gears of…
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Early college is Haywood’s ‘hidden gem’
A collaborative program designed to help students overcome the familial, financial and social obstructions of attending college lacks room to…
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Cherokee impeachment efforts will continue
Some tribal members are saying their rights were violated after three pieces of legislation that would curtail impeachment proceedings against…
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Calvary Street lots to become Waynesville park
A new park in Waynesville’s Pigeon Street community can finally move forward thanks to an agreement reached between Haywood County…
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Possible shots fired near Haywood school
At approximately 11:40 a.m., Haywood County Schools Superintendent Anne Garrett received a call from the Haywood Community Learning Center in…
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Cherokee council overturns impeachment veto
Tribal Council will proceed with its efforts to impeach Principal Chief Patrick Lambert following votes to overturn Lambert’s veto of…
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Let’s keep a little separation between God and politics
He’s a respected member of the community, a physician, and we ran into each other unexpectedly. “I really have to…
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For me, there is real joy in solitude
My favorite time of day is quiet time. Every morning before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, before…
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Time to solve problems
To the Editor: Obviously, the GOP has won control of government for a brief while. The use of such language…
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The big lie about immigration
To the Editor: Everyone wants to feel safe. We want to protect our lives, our property and our jobs. When…
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Let’s just get people back to work
To the Editor: People do not appear to understand how important it is that Obamacare be repealed with no replacement.…
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Rep. Mark Meadows has gone missing
To the Editor: As a constituent of Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, I am disappointed that he did not use this…
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How the mountain towns died
To the Editor: Once there was once a busy, thriving community nestled in beautiful mountains that surrounded the town on…
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Protecting privacy in two steps
To the Editor: North Carolina state Sen. Jim Davis, Franklin, in a recent newspaper interview indicated he opposes the repeal…
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In rural Scotland, lessons on the power of books
Readers of this column know I am a sucker for books about books. Novels like The Little Paris Bookshop, collections…
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The race is on: Police investigate Pinnacle trail spiking as Assault on Blackrock sees record registration
News spread fast last week after the Sylva Police Department removed more than 50 spikes from hiking trails at Pinnacle…
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Prescribed burns planned for national forests
Over the next few months, prescribed burns will be conducted on all four of North Carolina’s national forests.
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Grant dollars will help WNC farms grow
A total of $201,000 has been awarded to 35 farm businesses in Western North Carolina as part of this year’s…
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Drought increases in Western N.C.
Drought is creeping back into the area, with the number of counties designated as experiencing severe drought growing from four…
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