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Forging a wise immigration bill
Amnesty? In the immigration controversy that is dividing Congress and the nation, this has become the most misused term in…
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Happy trails: Franklin mountain biker sets his sights on a busy racing season
By Michael Beadle Some people bike for the fun of it. Some people bike to race. For Franklin’s Owen Simpson,…
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The ivory-billed swami predicts
For those not acquainted with the ivory-billed swami, I will give you a bit of history. This is from the…
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Winged migration of a different sort
After getting all the two-leggeds to bed last night I went out to the yard to wrangle the four-leggeds. Dusk…
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Taylor tangled in Abramoff’s web
The recent revelations about Rep. Charles Taylor’s ties to a lobbyist who has confessed to federal bribery charges is a…
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Mixed drinks won’t be good for Sylva
By Jason Kimenker • Guest Columnist What makes Sylva great? The people of rural Sylva, North Carolina are as unique…
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The healing power of slime molds
New research on slime molds at the University of Georgia has generated hope for the millions of Americans affected by…
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Moldies but goodies: Smokies’ slime molds climb the charts in groundbreaking research
When a heavy rain washed into Paul Super’s garage last month, soaking a couple of bags of freshly-purchased mulch in…
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Cherokee on stage: WCU student project depicts Cherokee lore theatrically
Western Carolina University students are filming the last scenes from the Theatre in Education Company’s performance of “Young Cherokee,” concluding…
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Howle’s character, craftsmanship shines through no matter the genre
By Chris Cooper I’ve seen Danielle Howle completely abandon the stage and microphone in the middle of a song and…
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Recommended diversions
Leonard Cohen What can you say about a man in his 70’s who is an international sex symbol in Paris,…
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King’s zombie nation
Yes dear reader, when Stephen King’s dread armies of the mindless begin their apocalyptic trudge through the devastated towns of…
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Candidates weigh in on the North Shore Road
Every four years when a county commissioner election rolls around in Swain County, there’s one question commissioners know they have…
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Growth is on Jackson’s agenda
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer This May 2 voters in Jackson County are faced with choosing a board of…
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Jackson County sheriff’s race reaches full tilt
By Sarah Kucharski The heated race for sheriff in Jackson County is closing in on the May 2 primary date…
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Pro-planning candidate holds ground at forum
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Democratic candidates running for two District 2 seats on the Macon County board of…
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Baseball’s scapegoat
San Francisco Giant outfielder Barry Bonds is the greatest baseball player of this era, and one can make a good…
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Stuck in a stinky situation
Hopefully, any encounter you have with a skunk will be a sighting, not a spraying. Neither my wife nor I…
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Who goes first? Haywood candidates debate county’s role in future growth discussions
Grasping the extent of development sweeping across the Haywood County landscape is not always easy. So Marc Pruett, the county’s…
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Recommended diversions
Back-buying Have you ever noticed that people, for the most part, solidify their tastes — in music, and clothing, and…
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Of Rhyme and Reason: Books to celebrate National Poetry Month
Besides being what T.S. Eliot called “the cruelest month/Breeding lilacs out of the dead land,” April is also National Poetry…
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Bushyhead run puts spotlight on Swain-Cherokee relationship
For the first time in history, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is running for a…
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Enforcement issues cloud zoning debate
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With growth on the forefront of Macon County’s election issues, commissioner candidates have staked…
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Jackson candidates weigh in on education issues
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer They’ve said they want to strengthen the economy. They’ve said they want to help…
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Old-style ‘machine’ a factor in Swain
A slate of challengers running in the Swain County commissioners race are speaking out against what they claim is decades…
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Political factions help define Haywood race
Two well-defined political factions emerged early in the Haywood County commissioners primary and have only grown stronger in the countdown…
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Swain commissioner candidate snapshots
Three candidates are running for Swain County chairman in the Democratic Primary.
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Wild, mysterious and sometimes a bit sly
In the natural world here in the Blue Ridge, there are certain visual images that rivet the attention of human…
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Get ready for the backroom abortionists
Three cheers for crime. If moralists have their way, it will only get worse. How coincidental that within three short…
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Get over the fear and say it: ZONING is GOOD
Note to all candidates seeking office in Western North Carolina, and all their constituents: repeat these words, over and over…
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Rotten to the core
According to recent stories by Knight Ridder news services, the Bush Administration thinks our national parks are too fat. A…
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Don’t touch that fawn
White-tail deer will soon start scouting the fields and forests for hiding places to give birth to their fawns this…
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Tennessee Valley Authority recognizes clean marinas
Five marinas on Fontana Lake have been certified as Clean Marinas in recognition of their efforts to preserve and protect…
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HART opens main stage season with a ‘Miracle’
By Michael Beadle Helen Keller is an unruly child. She eats food with her fingers, drops her silverware on purpose,…
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Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Powerhouse blues prodigy leaves WCU’s Ramsey Center in his wake
First, an admission: I didn’t get to talk to Kenny Wayne Shepherd at all. No interview or anything. Kind of…
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Frank may be gone, but not frugality
Some people say I can be cheap, or at the very least, my priorities are out of whack. They say,…
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Tailgate markets a reminder of something too valuable to lose
Every year when the local tailgate farmers markets begin opening, it’s a good time to ponder just what it means…
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Float trips return to Waynesville
The sight of bobbing caravans of inflatable kayaks floating down Richland Creek through Waynesville will return on Saturday, May 6…
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Mount Sterling — a hikers’ crossroads
Climbing the 80 rickety feet of metal and wood got my adrenaline flowing a bit. Once up there, I found…
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Declare war on incumbents
By Marshall Frank • Columnist Time to send a message to our government leaders. Our democracy is ruled by the…
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The life-long legacy of a few brushmarks
By Lew Garnett Without his ever knowing it, Blaine Richardson was one of my heroes. It was a recent breezy…
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A brand new world
Anyone who hasn’t been to the woods in the last month would swear they’re in a different world. In a…
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Reaching out for the Little T
When Cass and Mary Lou Combs attended a conservation celebration along the shore of the Little Tennessee River in Macon…
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Breaking the code: Merchants hope study provides reliable data about customers
For two and a half years, David Erikson at Twigs and Leaves has offered a monthly drawing for a gift…
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Recommended diversions
Beach Trips My first vacation of any real length is coming up in two weeks’ time. My boyfriend and I…
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Synthesized production undermines Chapman’s talent
By Chris Cooper There’s this thing that can happen when you research an artist for a review. I’m not sure…
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After-hours art stroll creates buzz in downtown Waynesville
By Michael Beadle There’s so much art to see in downtown Waynesville, gallery owners are now offering to keep their…
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A lost soul finds a home
On a spring night in 1929, Mary Seneca Steele escapes from her home in Charleston, taking only her two children…
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Wrighting a winner: Tale of an unusual find wins Jackson writing contest
Local writer Jeanne Nutter, 72, of the Caney Fork Community took first place in the Jackson County Extension and Community…
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Ashe cruises by Cruzan in sheriff race
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In a landslide win, Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe held off challenger and former…
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