Fishermen struggle with loss of stream access
 

Fishermen struggle with loss of stream access

Editor’s note: This article was written by Mallory Martin and Carl Kittel of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Martin…
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Bamboo by any other name
 

Bamboo by any other name

Bamboo is the common name applied to a wide and varied group of woody grasses from all around the world.…
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One step at a time
 

One step at a time

When Lisa Ashe signed up for the newly formed Jeff Galloway running group in Jackson County last year, her dream…
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Park considers more elk
 

Park considers more elk

The North Carolina Wildlife Commission is still weighing whether to allow the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to bring more…
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Tags raising money for Friends of the Smokies
 

Tags raising money for Friends of the Smokies

Those sporting the trendy turquoise and pink Great Smoky Mountains National Park license plates on their bumpers raised $181,800 this…
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In full swing: Appalachian banjo player and singer Laura Boosinger shares memories of an old-time mountain swing band in Canton with her latest CD, Let Me Linger.
 

In full swing: Appalachian banjo player and singer Laura Boosinger shares memories of an old-time mountain swing band in Canton with her latest CD, Let Me Linger.

By Michael Beadle Laura Boosinger was a student at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa in the late 1970s when she…
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Tobacco settlement money to help farmers
 

Tobacco settlement money to help farmers

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee was recently awarded a portion of a $200,000 grant from the North Carolina…
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Vocal and instrumental abilities carry through a wide variety of styles
 

Vocal and instrumental abilities carry through a wide variety of styles

By Chris Cooper If you didn’t know already, Jamie Cullum is that kid who was on Pay-Per-View last summer. It…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Christmas shopping Granted it’s four days before Christmas and those of you that haven’t yet gotten your shopping done are…
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Waynesville’s Performing Arts Center suffers damage after pipe breakage
 

Waynesville’s Performing Arts Center suffers damage after pipe breakage

By Michael Beadle The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre will probably have to rebuild its box office and concession stand after…
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Mind those manners
 

Mind those manners

Talk To the Hand #?*!: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home…
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Cashiers plant cuts 80 jobs; some go to Bryson, Canton
 

Cashiers plant cuts 80 jobs; some go to Bryson, Canton

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Approximately 80 workers will be laid off from Cashier’s Consolidated Metco plastics plant beginning…
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New Cherokee Chamber to give voice to business community
 

New Cherokee Chamber to give voice to business community

Cherokee business owners are forming a chamber of commerce that will give the business community a voice in shaping the…
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Damaged greenway section re-opens
 

Damaged greenway section re-opens

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Repairs along a section of trail on the Little Tennessee Greenway in Macon County…
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MAIN seeks support for wireless network in downtown Waynesville
 

MAIN seeks support for wireless network in downtown Waynesville

An effort to install wireless Internet service throughout Downtown Waynesville is making a year-end push for donations.
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McGill’s reputation makes it tough on the little guys
 

McGill’s reputation makes it tough on the little guys

McGill Associates, a large engineering firm in Asheville, gets the lion’s share of government water and sewer contracts in the…
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Nurture your spirit, and the details will take care of themselves
 

Nurture your spirit, and the details will take care of themselves

By Jason Kimenker • Guest Columnist Winter has arrived, and the holiday season is in full swing. Wonderful and warm…
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The little things in life
 

The little things in life

I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s the little things that, in the long run, mean the most in life? That’s a…
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Newspapers in need of iPod moment
 

Newspapers in need of iPod moment

We in the newspaper business are supposed to be having the bejesus scared out of us because of the power…
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Methane gas project at old landfill is all good
 

Methane gas project at old landfill is all good

It’s not always about the money, at least not at first. That’s a point to keep in mind as the…
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Birdigo
 

Birdigo

Brock Hutchins slid out of the front seat of his four-wheel drive and walked a few yards down a snow-crusted…
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Get your birding on a trail near you
 

Get your birding on a trail near you

A North Carolina Birding Trail is under way and could one day could link popular birding sites across the state…
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It’s hornets vs. swans in OLF controversy
 

It’s hornets vs. swans in OLF controversy

One would think swans would probably be a sure bet in such a scenario. After all, they are bigger and…
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At least I got the books
 

At least I got the books

When I heard the screen door slam, I knew she was gone. I made it to the window just in…
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They said it — 2005
 

They said it — 2005

Residents of Western North Carolina confronted many important issues in 2005, whether it was another chapter unfolding in an ongoing…
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James Mooney’s devotion to WNC
 

James Mooney’s devotion to WNC

For 36 years, from the time he launched his career with the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1885 until his…
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Words of warning, words of wisdom
 

Words of warning, words of wisdom

At a time when weather and the environment is making all the news headlines and is rendering hundreds of thousands,…
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Environment in 2005
 

Environment in 2005

Outdoor recreation and the environment go hand in hand. Paddlers like clean rivers, hikers prefer old-growth forests over those that…
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Parks in 2005
 

Parks in 2005

Nature’s lessons A $105,000 grant from North Carolina’s GlaxoSmithKline Foundation to Friends of the Smokies will connect several hundred teachers…
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Outdoor rec
 

Outdoor rec

The world of outdoor recreation had several milestones this year, especially in the whitewater arena.
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Eureka! Dilemma dissolved
 

Eureka! Dilemma dissolved

I can’t understand how imminent ornithologists, in particular, and biologists, scientists and researchers in general have overlooked the obvious truth…
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2005
 

2005

For the past two years the Smoky Mountain News has culled Top 10 Albums of the Year lists from avid…
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Gypsy Bandwagon plays true to the Appalachian tradition
 

Gypsy Bandwagon plays true to the Appalachian tradition

By Joe Hooten Throughout the 1700s, immigrants from European nations began pouring into the 13 colonies with dreams that were…
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Recommended Diversions – Best Albums of 2005 Edition
 

Recommended Diversions – Best Albums of 2005 Edition

1) The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday If lead singer Craig Finn weren’t fronting this band, he’d be writing short stories…
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Hail, hail the gang’s still here
 

Hail, hail the gang’s still here

I’ve recently been seeing lots of posts like these on Carolina Birders’ FaceBook page: “… My pine siskins have departed,…
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AT lay-over, Fontana Dam knighted as official trail town
 

AT lay-over, Fontana Dam knighted as official trail town

Hiker Haze Weekend will welcome the season’s first Appalachian Trail thru-hikers at Fontana Village Resort March 25-26, along with a…
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WNC air quality to be unpacked
 

WNC air quality to be unpacked

The Annual Ozone Season Kickoff will unveil the state of Western North Carolina’s air quality in 2014 with a program…
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Family Nature Summit comes to Lake J
 

Family Nature Summit comes to Lake J

Each year, the Family Nature Summit is held in some part of the country known for its special beauty and…
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Nature for the whole family
 

Nature for the whole family

By Danny Bernstein • Guest columnist When I first thought about taking my granddaughter, Hannah, on an outdoor experience, I looked…
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Nation’s best paddlers to compete at NOC
 

Nation’s best paddlers to compete at NOC

The Nantahala Racing Club’s Whitewater U.S. Open will keep the river churning at Nantahala Outdoor Center March 27-29.
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Prescribed burn planned for Cataloochee
 

Prescribed burn planned for Cataloochee

A 550-acre prescribed burn will start soon near Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Blazing a trail: Work starts on first Bartram Trail addition since the 1990s
 

Blazing a trail: Work starts on first Bartram Trail addition since the 1990s

It’s been nearly 20 years since Burt Kornegay first started looking into land along Hickory Knoll Road in Macon County,…
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Is Sen. Tom Tillis some kind of traitor?
 

Is Sen. Tom Tillis some kind of traitor?

To the Editor: Sen. Tom Tillis, R-N.C., is probably not a traitor, but he surely is an embarrassment to the…
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Waynesville smoking ban just a bad idea
 

Waynesville smoking ban just a bad idea

To the Editor: For years I have promoted downtown. I tell my friends to shop locally, eat at our local…
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It just couldn’t get any better for young Hornets fan
 

It just couldn’t get any better for young Hornets fan

Over the past few months, my 10-year-old son, Jack, has developed an insatiable appetite for all things basketball. We spend…
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Below ‘the line,’ it’s a world unto itself
 

Below ‘the line,’ it’s a world unto itself

I spent a week reading this novel, and each time I laid it down, I expected to find a damp…
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Trademark dispute heats up between local, national breweries
 

Trademark dispute heats up between local, national breweries

Nicole Dexter and Chip Owen haven’t been able to sleep well lately. “I think all I’ve been feeling the last…
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HCC participates in American Craft Council show
 

HCC participates in American Craft Council show

Haywood Community College’s Creative Arts Professional Crafts and Continuing Education departments recently participated in the American Craft Council show March…
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Rash book turned film to make WNC screen debut
 

Rash book turned film to make WNC screen debut

The film adaptation of the Ron Rash novel The World Made Straight will make its Western North Carolina big-screen premiere…
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Diffie brings country hits to Franklin
 

Diffie brings country hits to Franklin

Country star Joe Diffie will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing…
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