Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) speaks on the floor of the North Carolina General Assembly on Feb. 15.
 

It’s party time – Pless again files bill to make Haywood, Madison municipal elections partisan

Despite strong opposition last year, Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) has again filed a bill that if passed would bring partisanship…
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Prescribed burn planned for Graham County
 

Prescribed burn planned for Graham County

A 1,295-acre prescribed burn in the Yellow Creek area of Graham County could take place any time before April 15. 
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Spur Tunnel work to switch lanes
 

Spur Tunnel work to switch lanes

Much of the maintenance on one side of the Spur Tunnel is complete, allowing contractors to begin work on the…
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Wildlife Commission approves rule changes
 

Wildlife Commission approves rule changes

During a business meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission voted to adopt eight proposed rules related to…
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A red maple flower sits on a bed of moss. Adam Bigelow photo
 

Notes from a Plant Nerd: Red Maple Winter

There’s a change in the air every year around this time. A subtle shift in energy. Days start getting longer,…
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The group crosses Kephart Bridge during a previous Classic Hikes outing. Friends of the Smokies photo
 

Hike the classics

The 2022 Classic Hikes of the Smokies Series has begun. 
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Schools – and libraries – should bring communities together
 

Schools – and libraries – should bring communities together

It seems to me that when we talk about the spaces in our community for our children, we should be…
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Transitions are hard on a mom’s heart
 

Transitions are hard on a mom’s heart

I’m the mom to two boys, ages 14 and 11. Both of them are currently on the cusp of a…
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Truckstop traffic is very dangerous
 

Truckstop traffic is very dangerous

To the Editor: I was heartened to see the recent coverage that the Pilot Travel Center off of I-40 on Exit…
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‘Being a Ballerina’ includes powerful life lessons
 

‘Being a Ballerina’ includes powerful life lessons

This year, the women’s basketball team of Christendom College, a small school in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, includes a forward, Catherine…
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Final forest management plan draws mixed reactions from stakeholder groups
 

Final forest management plan draws mixed reactions from stakeholder groups

The Pisgah and Nantahala national forests are now operating under a new management plan, ending an arduous, 11-year process to…
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Franklin High project moves forward
 

Franklin High project moves forward

Progress will continue on the new Franklin High School after a vote by the Macon County Commission to enter into…
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Casey Conard (third from right) has been hired as principal at Tuscola High School. HCS photo
 

Haywood schools announce new leadership

Haywood County Schools has new leaders at several schools after the resignation of the Tuscola High School Principal left a…
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Eric Giles speaks at a candidate forum in 2018 when he ran for Macon County sheriff. File photo
 

Suit against district attorney challenging Giglio order dismissed

A lawsuit filed by a former deputy against District Attorney Ashley Welch and Assistant District Attorney John Hindsman has been entirely…
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Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen (left to right) Chuck Dickson, Julia Freeman, Mayor Gary Caldwell, Jon Feichter and Anthony Sutton plan to in crease transparency with “baby steps.” Town of Waynesville photo
 

All the world’s a stage: Broadcasting meetings a tough call for Waynesville

All the world’s a stage, Shakespeare wrote, and all the men and women merely players. But with the recent uptick…
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A rose by any other name: Waynesville mulls dropping gendered titles for aldermen
 

A rose by any other name: Waynesville mulls dropping gendered titles for aldermen

When is an alderman not an alderman? When that alderman happens to be a woman. 
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Governor Roy Cooper speaks during a visit to the TWSA facility. Governor’s Office photo
 

Cooper visits TWSA, announces funding

Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority received a visit from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper last week as he announced $462.9…
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Brad Waldrop (second from left) was selected as Sylva’s newest commissioner.
 

Sylva selects new town commissioner

The Sylva Board of Commissioners selected Brad Waldrop as its newest member, filling a seat that had been vacant since…
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Cherokee man sentenced to 15 years for child sexual abuse
 

Cherokee man sentenced to 15 years for child sexual abuse

David Green Edwards, 32, of Cherokee, was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release…
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TDA welcomes Kara Addy as Social Media Manager
 

TDA welcomes Kara Addy as Social Media Manager

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority announced the hire of Kara Addy as its new Social Media Manager.
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Waynesville’s elected officials (left to right) aldermen Chuck Dickson and Julia Freeman, Mayor Gary Caldwell and aldermen Jon Feichter and Anthony Sutton, will change the way they’re elected. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Town of Waynesville will pursue staggered terms for aldermen

Waynesville is Haywood County’s only municipal government that elects all of its members at once, but that will likely change…
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Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen has some difficult budgetary decisions to make this year. Town of Waynesville photo
 

Working on Waynesville: Aldermen look to avoid budget crunch

The Town of Waynesville’s municipal expenditures and revenue streams have all come in as expected during the 2022-23 fiscal year,…
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Western Carolina University is seeing a decline in both graduate and undergraduate enrollment. WCU photo
 

Enrollment dips again at WCU

Spring 2023 enrollment at Western Carolina University is down 3.6% compared to the spring semester last year, according to a…
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The Balsam Edge development on Howell Mill Road (center, in yellow) is just behind the Russ Avenue Ingles Market (lower left). Haywood GIS photo
 

Waynesville considers more incentives for affordable housing development

Two years after a nonprofit affordable housing developer was granted incentives by the Town of Waynesville, the project is finally…
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Jake Tallent, a former New Century Scholar and 2014 SCC graduate, spoke to the next generation of New Century Scholars during their induction ceremony on Jan. 30 at Southwestern’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. Donated photo
 

SCC grad inspires latest New Century Scholars

Jake Tallent vividly remembers the impact that the New Century Scholars program had on his life.
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Lyle Lovett. (Michael Wilson photo)
 

‘And we could all together’: A conversation with Lyle Lovett

From humble beginnings as a teenage singer-songwriter in his native Texas to gracing some of the most iconic stages the…
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The Wild Magnolias parade in New Orleans. (Garret K. Woodward photo)
 

This must be the place: ‘Meet me in the city and see everything is so fine’

About 10:30 a.m. last Tuesday, I laced up my running shoes and walked out the front door of the small…
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Waynesville's elected officials (left to right) aldermen Chuck Dickson and Julia Freeman, Mayor Gary Caldwell and aldermen Jon Feichter and Anthony Sutton, will change the way they're elected.
 

Town of Waynesville will pursue staggered terms for aldermen

Waynesville is Haywood County’s only municipal government that elects all of its members at once, but that will likely change…
Read More

Comment

Brad Waldrop (second from left) was selected as Sylva’s newest commissioner.
 

Sylva selects new town commissioner

The Sylva Board of Commissioners selected Brad Waldrop as its newest member today, filling a seat that had been vacant…
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Comment

Soehn selected to lead Friends of the Smokies
 

Soehn selected to lead Friends of the Smokies

Dana Soehn, a 34-year employee of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park who has been part of its management team…
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Antoine Fletcher interviews botanist Joshua Albritton for an episode about sochan. NPS photo
 

Podcasting the park: “Smoky Signal” brings national park science to a new audience

Antoine Fletcher’s love affair with podcasts blossomed back in middle school when he made his first one with his best…
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The AAESP highlights many experiences, like that of the Davis family (photographed here) recreating in the park in the 1950s. Last year, the AAESP collected an oral history from Ron Davis Sr., whose father, William E. Davis Jr., worked as a butler and prepared his employer’s summer cabin in the historic area known as Millionaires Row in Elkmont. Davis’ time in Smokies inspired him to pursue a fruitful career in forestry. NPS photo
 

African American Project lead reflects on 2022, plans for 2023

Who were they? How did they get here? What were their lives like? These are questions that constantly resonate with…
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Elizabeth and George Ellison sit outside their home at lower Lands Creek. Quintin Ellison photo
 

Writer and naturalist George Ellison dies at 81

George Ellison, a writer and naturalist whose home and inspiration was on Lands Creek in Bryson City, died Sunday, Feb.…
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Smokies parking tag program takes effect
 

Smokies parking tag program takes effect

Starting March 1, any vehicle parked in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 10 minutes must display…
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‘We are still here’: Indigenous Walls Project sparks social dialogue
 

‘We are still here’: Indigenous Walls Project sparks social dialogue

The human condition frequently subjects us to the lie that every experience we face daily is also what every other…
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Bourbon Street in New Orleans. (Garret K. Woodward photo)
 

This must be the place: ‘And I thought I’ve seen someone who seemed at last to know the truth’

Hello from Room 1D at the Rathbone Mansion, just a few blocks from the French Quarter in New Orleans. It’s…
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Frozen: A review of ‘The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven’
 

Frozen: A review of ‘The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven’

One way to enjoy winter is to read about someone who lives north of the Arctic Circle. It’s never going…
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Writer and naturalist George Robert Ellison II passed away Sunday, Feb. 19, at the age of 81. Donated photo
 

George Robert Ellison II — Thoreau in a jockstrap

Editor’s note: George Ellison, a renowned naturalist and writer who lived in Bryson City, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 19.…
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It’s time to re-program pop culture’s storyline
 

It’s time to re-program pop culture’s storyline

Pop culture wants to kill us. At the very least, it wants to make us miserable, to ensure that from…
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Pigeon Center rebounds from COVID, carries on mission
 

Pigeon Center rebounds from COVID, carries on mission

Like a lot of Americans, Lyn Forney remembers exactly what she was doing when the whole world shut down.
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Meet the candidates for Wolfetown special election
 

Meet the candidates for Wolfetown special election

On Thursday, March 2, Wolfetown voters will head to the polls for a special election to replace a Tribal Council…
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Several speakers referenced the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” as an example of LGBTQ literature. File photo
 

Residents object to LGBTQ literature at Macon library

A group of Macon County residents and library patrons attended a Feb. 7 library board meeting to air a plethora of…
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Haywood County’s jail expansion project continues to move forward. File photo
 

Haywood jail financing plan pays off

Haywood County commissioners made the right call on jail financing according to County Manager Bryant Morehead, and will proceed with…
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EBCI Holdings LLC has owned Caesars Southern Indiana Casino since August 2021. Laurencio Ronquillo photo
 

Tribe will now receive half of Indiana casino profits

After owning Caesar’s Southern Indiana Casino for a year and a half, EBCI Holdings LLC will increase the share of…
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Scott Knibbs was shot to death in his own home around midnight on April 30, 2018.  Donated photo
 

After two weeks in court, a hung jury leads to mistrial in Knibbs case

There’s some truth to the old cliché that one readily recognizable sound is the ultimate deterrent against a would-be home…
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Comment

Macon starts budget in good financial health
 

Macon starts budget in good financial health

As Macon County looks ahead to fiscal year 2023-24, the county has big decisions to make to address the many…
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Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) offers a tuition reimbursement amendment to the Medicaid expansion bill on Feb. 15.  North Carolina General Assembly photo
 

Medicaid expansion passes house

After years of infighting and obstruction, the North Carolina General Assembly is closer than ever to expanding Medicaid after the…
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Forest management plan now final
 

Forest management plan now final

After 11 years of work, the U.S. Forest Service released the final, revised Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan Feb 17,…
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Folkmoot’s hit education program expands culture and learning in second semester
 

Folkmoot’s hit education program expands culture and learning in second semester

Folkmoot USA has announced the second semester of its “Life Long Learning” education initiative. Conceived and sponsored by Dr. Darryl…
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Comment

The case of Knibbs vs. Momphard was tried in the Asheville Federal Courthouse.
 

Hung jury leads to mistrial in police-involved wrongful death case

After a seven-day trial and several hours of jury deliberations, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North…
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