Oasis Shriners celebration coming to Maggie Valley
 

Oasis Shriners celebration coming to Maggie Valley

The Oasis Shriners will be taking over Maggie Valley next weekend as they hold their Spring Ceremonial at the festival…
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A new bistro opens in Dillsboro
 

A new bistro opens in Dillsboro

By Katie Reeder • SMN intern A taste of Greece arrived in Dillsboro last week with the opening of Coach’s.
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Fire tax approved for southern Jackson County
 

Fire tax approved for southern Jackson County

Mark Jones has never voted for a tax increase before, but the Jackson County Commissioner joined the rest of the…
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Cullowhee planning standards passed
 

Cullowhee planning standards passed

It’s official: Cullowhee now has zoning standards.
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Jackson to contract audit of permitting department
 

Jackson to contract audit of permitting department

Jackson County Commissioners were upset to discover last week that no one’s been enforcing the county’s mountain and hillside development…
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One tote at a time: Waynesville woman takes aim at human trafficking — by selling tote bags
 

One tote at a time: Waynesville woman takes aim at human trafficking — by selling tote bags

Two short years ago, Fay Grant was living on the other side of the country, a professional music editor for…
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Taking the good with the bad
 

Taking the good with the bad

Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick remembers many Haywood County budget hearings in which the public was absent from the process, but that…
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Epp’s Springs were once Bryson City’s calling card
 

Epp’s Springs were once Bryson City’s calling card

A friend of mine who is a veteran backcountry explorer in the Smokies sent a recent email to me and…
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Raptor presentation coming to Highlands
 

Raptor presentation coming to Highlands

One of the Southeast’s premier raptor presentations, “Wings to Soar,” will bring birds of prey to the old gym of…
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Carnivorous plants exhibit opens at Arboretum
 

Carnivorous plants exhibit opens at Arboretum

The fascinating and complex world of carnivorous plants is the subject of the newest exhibit at the N.C. Arboretum in…
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Soil Exhibit in Bryson City
 

Soil Exhibit in Bryson City

The Swain Soil and Water Conservation District is in the process of creating a mobile, walk-through exhibit focusing on soil…
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Important tracts preserved by SAHC
 

Important tracts preserved by SAHC

Two tracts of land with headwater streams have been placed in conservation easements with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. The…
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Rain barrels for sale by HWA
 

Rain barrels for sale by HWA

Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood Cooperative Extension Service have 55-gallon rain barrels for sale.
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WCU researchers making their mark
 

WCU researchers making their mark

Scientific work by professors and students at Western Carolina University is earning recognition and winning research money. The Cullowhee campus,…
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Soil harkens back to the Southern gothic tradition
 

Soil harkens back to the Southern gothic tradition

Some 30 years ago, I saw a disturbing film entitled “Koyaanisqatsi.” The title comes from a Hopi word meaning “unbalanced life.”…
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Madam, you are indeed a thief
 

Madam, you are indeed a thief

To the Editor: My family and I were enjoying a meal at a local buffet restaurant (on Mothers Day 10…
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Thanks to Waynesville town employees
 

Thanks to Waynesville town employees

To the Editor: The Waynesville Public Art Commission would specifically like to thank Waynesville town employees Dave Foster, Daryl Hannah,…
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Fast track legislation a threat to democracy
 

Fast track legislation a threat to democracy

To the Editor: Fast Track legislation that was prepared in secret by some 600 lobbyists of the largest transnational corporations…
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Exotic pests a continuing threat to our mountains
 

Exotic pests a continuing threat to our mountains

By Jason Love • Guest Columnist I am writing on behalf of the Western North Carolina Public Lands Council, an advisory…
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Out of the headlines, but not out of the woods
 

Out of the headlines, but not out of the woods

The rioting in Baltimore has settled down and we haven’t heard much out of Ferguson, Missouri, recently. The uproar and…
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Swain schools asks county to cover capital needs
 

Swain schools asks county to cover capital needs

Swain County schools are requesting an additional $250,000 from the county commissioners to cover some much-needed building maintenance projects at…
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Planning board gets new member
 

Planning board gets new member

The Jackson County Planning Board will have a new face at the table with the appointment of Bonnie Claxton, a…
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No one enforcing mountain building rules in Jackson
 

No one enforcing mountain building rules in Jackson

Jackson County planning and code enforcement staff will be pouring through two years’ worth of building permits and retroactively inspecting…
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Franklin approves policy to allow promotional banners
 

Franklin approves policy to allow promotional banners

Event promoters may soon be able to advertise by hanging a banner across Main Street in Franklin. The Franklin board…
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WNC Hospice House gets closer to goal
 

WNC Hospice House gets closer to goal

The Hospice House Foundation of WNC is in the midst of a major fundraising campaign to construct and operate a…
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Jackson pursuing staff attorney hire
 

Jackson pursuing staff attorney hire

Commissioners in Jackson County are moving forward with a plan to scrap their policy of contracting legal services with a…
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Waynesville bans smoking on sidewalks
 

Waynesville bans smoking on sidewalks

Smoking will soon be banned on sidewalks in Waynesville. Town aldermen voted unanimously last week to ban smoking on all…
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For the better: Haywood Pathways resident reflects on what’s behind and what he hopes is ahead
 

For the better: Haywood Pathways resident reflects on what’s behind and what he hopes is ahead

Calvin Mann can’t make it far across the campus of Haywood Pathways Center without bumping into a friend.
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Getting the Pathways Center off the ground
 

Getting the Pathways Center off the ground

Participation at the Haywood Pathways Center in Waynesville has been holding pretty steady ever since it opened in late 2014,…
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The soul of a soup kitchen
 

The soul of a soup kitchen

Spend a few hours on the streets in Frog Level, and the heartwarming stories flow like water.
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Adding to the problem
 

Adding to the problem

Theoretically, a new homeless shelter that opened across town in Hazelwood last fall should have made things better for Frog…
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When worlds collide: Vexed by loitering homeless, Frog Level merchants beg for help combatting soup kitchen’s overflow
 

When worlds collide: Vexed by loitering homeless, Frog Level merchants beg for help combatting soup kitchen’s overflow

Teri Siewert picked up a pink Hello Kitty alarm clock by the cord and dragged it out from under the…
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NAACP chapters prep public for voter ID hearing in Sylva
 

NAACP chapters prep public for voter ID hearing in Sylva

Local NAACP chapters in Haywood and Jackson counties are holding workshops to educate the public on North Carolina’s new voter…
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Haywood proposes 2.5-cent tax hike to pay for employee raises
 

Haywood proposes 2.5-cent tax hike to pay for employee raises

Haywood County commissioners say a property tax increase is needed to dig the county out of a recession-era backlog.
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Library to screen ‘First Language’
 

Library to screen ‘First Language’

A screening of the documentary “First Language: The Race to Save Cherokee” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at the Jackson…
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Leno to hit Harrah’s stage
 

Leno to hit Harrah’s stage

Comedy legend Jay Leno will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at Harrah’s Cherokee.
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Cashiers Blues, Brew & BBQ festival
 

Cashiers Blues, Brew & BBQ festival

The Blues, Brew and BBQ festival will be from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at the Village Green…
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Lonesome River Band, Mountain Faith in Franklin
 

Lonesome River Band, Mountain Faith in Franklin

Acclaimed bluegrass groups Lonesome River Band and Mountain Faith will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at the Smoky…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

They are my brothers. Well, in terms of genetics, they technically aren’t. But, when it comes to heart and soul,…
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From the street to the stage — Productive Paranoia
 

From the street to the stage — Productive Paranoia

Turning the corner at Church and Main streets in downtown Waynesville, I saw them out of the corner of my…
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Avian adventures
 

Avian adventures

What better way to spring into the season than chasing migrants across Western North Carolina? I was with the Franklin…
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Creek clean-up day scheduled in Haywood
 

Creek clean-up day scheduled in Haywood

First Maggie Valley Creek clean is May 30 The inaugural Maggie Valley Community Creek Clean will take place at 10…
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Extention office seeks gardens for tour
 

Extention office seeks gardens for tour

The Haywood County Cooperative Extension Service is seeking gardens to include in its 2016 Haywood County Garden Tour. Anyone who…
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Merrell Adventure race is family-friendly
 

Merrell Adventure race is family-friendly

The Merrell Adventure 5K Dash and 1K Fun Run will be held Saturday, May 23, along the Nantahala River near…
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Conservation groups plan river float trip
 

Conservation groups plan river float trip

A float trip down the Little Tennessee River on May 16 is being sponsored by two land conservation organizations, the…
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Ducks on the Tuck helps New Century Scholars
 

Ducks on the Tuck helps New Century Scholars

Why adopt a tiny rubber duck that’ll soon be floating down the Tuckasegee River in Swain County?
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Cast away: Cherokee man finds competitive success with the fly rod
 

Cast away: Cherokee man finds competitive success with the fly rod

When Michael Bradley first picked up a fly rod in 2011, he wasn’t looking for anything more than a relaxing…
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A place where home is an elusive ideal
 

A place where home is an elusive ideal

In the last decade, British authorities uncovered evidence of massive sexual abuse and human trafficking in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Two…
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The mystery of U.S. foreign aid
 

The mystery of U.S. foreign aid

To the Editor: One of the great mysteries of government in America is how and why we give over $50…
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If you’re not ‘of the beach,’ it’s just a nice place to visit
 

If you’re not ‘of the beach,’ it’s just a nice place to visit

Even though she’s an Indiana girl who had only seen the ocean once before we met, there is something about…
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