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Tremont receives gift from Lawson Family Foundation
 

Tremont receives gift from Lawson Family Foundation

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont has been awarded $25,000 from Lawson Family Foundation to support their efforts to connect…
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Summer brings a diversity of plant life to the park. File photo
 

Volunteers needed 
to help track seasonal changes of trees 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is currently recruiting local volunteers to ‘Adopt-A-Plot’ and track the seasonal change of trees, also…
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The Chinese balloon soars over downtown Waynesville Saturday, Feb. 4. Scott McLeod photo
 

Up Moses Creek: Look up!

The day dawned clear, and I was standing on the ridge behind our house looking west and waiting for the…
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Dale Holland with the United States Forest Service (left) and Bud Talley of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office at the scene of the cocaine ghost airplane in September 1985. Photo courtesy of Bob Scott
 

Planes, drugs and bears, oh my! Hollywood film has WNC connections

Who would have thought a true story with a link to Clay and Macon counties would arguably be the most…
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The Wyeth-Ayerst facility in Rouses Point, New York. (Rouses Point Historical Society photo)
 

This must be the place: Ode to Canton, ode to Small Town America

On Aug. 10, 2012, I took on my first assignment for The Smoky Mountain News. It was the “Papertown” album…
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Books vs. the winter blues — and books win
 

Books vs. the winter blues — and books win

It’s another one of those unremarkable winter afternoons when the outside temp is identical to the inside of my refrigerator,…
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The Pactiv-Evergreen paper mill in Canton has announced that it will close in the second quarter of this year, a move that will eliminate about 1,000 full-time jobs and affect untold hundreds of part-time and contract workers. Max Cooper photo
 

The mill’s legacy looms large over Haywood

“The mill.” In Canton, as in hundreds of other towns across America, that was the only description needed to describe…
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When your child blossoms, all is good in the world
 

When your child blossoms, all is good in the world

The earliest expressions of our daughter’s deep and abiding affection for cute, fragile creatures were frightening and very nearly catastrophic.…
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Allie Custer (left) draws a vial of blood from pregnant patient Ana. Ana planned to deliver at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven photo
 

Five years later, residents still mourn the loss of Angel Medical Center’s maternity unit

Before the sun rises on a Tuesday morning in December, Amelia Cline smooches her partner goodbye and heads out the…
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Mike Parker. Donated photo
 

Parker wins special 
election in Cherokee

During a special election Thursday, March 2, Wolfetown and Big Y voters chose Mike Parker to fill the Eastern Band…
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Jackson applies for medication-assisted treatment grant
 

Jackson applies for medication-assisted treatment grant

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has applied for a grant to fund a Medication Assisted Treatment program in the county’s…
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Transitioning from Medicaid to marketplace coverage in 2023
 

Transitioning from Medicaid to marketplace coverage in 2023

The process of termination (unwinding) of Medicaid coverage for those enrolled in the program because of the Covid Public Health…
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Schools support calendar flexibility
 

Schools support calendar flexibility

School boards across Western North Carolina are signing resolutions in support of flexibility and local control when it comes to…
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A mill worker carries out his duties. Donated photo
 

Area manufacturers, colleges could help laid-off mill workers write their next chapter 


When the Pactiv-Evergreen packaging plant in Canton closes this spring, 1,000 people who thought they’d secured steady work to last…
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The Southern Porch in downtown Canton is a popular dining spot for mill workers, local residents and tourists alike. John Cayton photo
 

‘We’re still here’: Canton businesses, residents react to mill closure

It’s 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Southern Porch restaurant in the heart of downtown Canton. Less than 24 hours ago,…
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Since at least 1908, there’s been a paper mill at the heart of Canton. File photo
 

Canton mill’s closing means uncertainty for county, region

In less than three months, Pactiv-Evergreen’s Canton mill will cease operations after more than a century of serving as the…
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The sun sets on Pactiv-Evergreen's Canton mill as its closing is announced to workers on the evening of March 6.
 

Canton mill will close by summer

After more than a century of serving as the cultural, economic and geographical center of the tiny Haywood County town…
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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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