Sweet vinegar sounds
 

Sweet vinegar sounds

By Chris Cooper Claiming influences as far apart stylistically as Iron Maiden and Ravi Shankar, Mother Vinegar lean further toward…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Records As in old school phonograph records, not world records or dental records. After collecting thousands of CDs over the…
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Scenes of redemption: Gallery 86 in Waynesville features paintings by Luke Allsbrook
 

Scenes of redemption: Gallery 86 in Waynesville features paintings by Luke Allsbrook

By Michael Beadle Luke Allsbrook has a voice as soothing as his paintings. He explains his craft with the calm…
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The Second Act: ‘Unto These Hills’ opens with a new look that aims to draw big crowds and give a more authentic account of Cherokee history and culture
 

The Second Act: ‘Unto These Hills’ opens with a new look that aims to draw big crowds and give a more authentic account of Cherokee history and culture

By Michael Beadle It’s a story 10,000 years in the making. And now Cherokees and Native Americans from all over…
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Spill the beans
 

Spill the beans

Confession is good for the soul. As any practicing Catholic will tell you, that old tune still plays true. You…
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Elected officials meet to hear tourism complaints
 

Elected officials meet to hear tourism complaints

Elected town and county leaders will be dragged into the Haywood County tourism saga this week. They will be asked…
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Feelin’ festive: Local event planners examine festival trends
 

Feelin’ festive: Local event planners examine festival trends

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer June through October is known as festival season in the mountains, and its no…
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Becoming art smart: The 11th Annual Studio Gallery Open House and Walking Tour in Waynesville gives people a chance to create and learn more about art
 

Becoming art smart: The 11th Annual Studio Gallery Open House and Walking Tour in Waynesville gives people a chance to create and learn more about art

By Michael Beadle Waynesville art gallery owners don’t just want to sell art. They want people to ask lots of…
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Folkmoot photo ops: International festival revamps, ramps up for 2006 season
 

Folkmoot photo ops: International festival revamps, ramps up for 2006 season

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Folkmoot USA, the annual international dance festival with performances held throughout Western North Carolina,…
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Roman Candle’s ‘Wee Hours’ aims for a place in the heart
 

Roman Candle’s ‘Wee Hours’ aims for a place in the heart

By Chris Cooper The best rock album of the year is about to be released. No kidding. My first encounter…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Charles Bukowski So, you don’t like poetry? Well, maybe Charles W. Bukowski will ring your chimes. Talk about ugly? This…
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A Taste of Scotland
 

A Taste of Scotland

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Western North Carolina boasts more people of Scottish descent than Scotland itself — and…
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Amazing language found in a lost novel
 

Amazing language found in a lost novel

Recently, the New York Times set off a hotly contested literary skirmish by naming what their literary staff considered to…
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Buchner’s father/son account wins literary acclaim
 

Buchner’s father/son account wins literary acclaim

Craig Buchner and his father didn’t say much during their weekends in upstate New York checking spigots on sugar maples,…
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Bryson City developing first zoning plan
 

Bryson City developing first zoning plan

An influx of growth has prompted Bryson City leaders to address land-use planning with hopes of drafting the town’s first…
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Farmers increasingly feel forced off their own land
 

Farmers increasingly feel forced off their own land

Butch Deals’ day doesn’t fit the image of the simple farming life. Perched in the air-conditioned cab of a John…
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Geologists nearly finished with Macon landslide study
 

Geologists nearly finished with Macon landslide study

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer N.C. Geological Survey staff hopes to finish its survey of Macon County’s landslide prone…
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Haywood considers wider tourism study
 

Haywood considers wider tourism study

The town of Maggie Valley could be getting more than it bargained for when it called on fellow towns in…
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Hearing heated, but no surprises
 

Hearing heated, but no surprises

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s public hearing regarding the recently released draft environmental assessment…
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Heritage Area program will give out $350,000 in 2006
 

Heritage Area program will give out $350,000 in 2006

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area has announced its 2006 Heritage Grants Program, which will provide and leverage funding for…
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Land for Tomorrow: Will it pass the state legislature?
 

Land for Tomorrow: Will it pass the state legislature?

Land for Tomorrow is a statewide campaign to raise $1 billion in state funds to preserve farmland and forestland, create…
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TDA’s Reece injured in motorcycle accident
 

TDA’s Reece injured in motorcycle accident

Wade Reece, a member of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority and a Maggie Valley businessman, was in a motorcycle…
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Some question Rinehart’s TDA status after move to Asheville
 

Some question Rinehart’s TDA status after move to Asheville

Joetta Rinehart, a member of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority board, recently moved to Asheville, throwing into question her…
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Living inside the box
 

Living inside the box

Five turtle species reside in Western North Carolina: snapping, musk, and painted turtles are primarily found in streams, lakes, and…
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The principle is always important
 

The principle is always important

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,…
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Finding a father while keeping a Dad
 

Finding a father while keeping a Dad

By Marshall Frank Imagine having a fathers of all varieties. Step, biological and adopted? Here’s a story about such a…
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A heated rivarly where everyone’s a winner
 

A heated rivarly where everyone’s a winner

By Eric Larson Where I grew up, you had to choose sides early: You were either a University of Alabama…
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Scared of the Dark?
 

Scared of the Dark?

By Stephanie Wampler • Columnist The dark is a strange creature. It has so many faces. “Dark” is how we…
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Look at TDA structure, and then let’s move on
 

Look at TDA structure, and then let’s move on

After last week’s surprising meeting of the Haywood County Council of Governments regarding the tourism board, perhaps there is finally…
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Only a couple of chances to challange the Cheoah in '06
 

Only a couple of chances to challange the Cheoah in '06

Rafting fans have only two more shots this year at a trip down the Cheoah River, a rugged river in…
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Things that go blink in the night
 

Things that go blink in the night

By Michael Beadle As springtime visitors flock to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to see the phenomenon of synchronous fireflies,…
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The Little River watershed
 

The Little River watershed

Nestled in the northern center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Elkmont was once a thriving logging community that…
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Mitigation demand holds in Supreme Court
 

Mitigation demand holds in Supreme Court

In a 9-0 vote last week, the Supreme Court upheld the right of states to demand mitigation from hydropower companies…
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All together now – flash
 

All together now – flash

Around 2 a.m. the other morning I was walking Maddie, my seven-month-old, around the house trying to convince her that…
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First Tour de Tuck to challenge cyclists
 

First Tour de Tuck to challenge cyclists

A new cycling tradition begins this summer with the debut of the Tour de Tuck Bike Challenge on Saturday, Aug.…
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Soul Infusion’s fifth
 

Soul Infusion’s fifth

By Chris Cooper Late Friday night, after the festivities died down and the crickets had begun a serenade for the…
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A man in full: Cashiers Historical Society, biographers, history experts and fans explore the life and complex times of Wade Hampton III
 

A man in full: Cashiers Historical Society, biographers, history experts and fans explore the life and complex times of Wade Hampton III

By Michael Beadle Growing up in South Carolina, Robert Lathan remembers how just about everything and everyone was named after…
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Mountain Dulcimer Week celebrates an ancient instrument and its role in mountain heritage
 

Mountain Dulcimer Week celebrates an ancient instrument and its role in mountain heritage

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer As a child in Diana Fisher’s music class at Camp Lab School in Cullowhee,…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

The Pool There is a lot to be said for going out into the woods, finding a quiet, isolated stream,…
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Money verses morals
 

Money verses morals

During my senior year of high school, my brother, some friends, and I went to a James Bond film festival.…
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Macon survey
 

Macon survey

The survey in Macon County set out to quantify the value the public places on the landscape. Surveys sought to…
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Bethel survey
 

Bethel survey

The Bethel survey polled a random sample of 273 residents in Bethel via telephone. The Bethel Rural Community Organization sanctioned…
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Haywood appoints second committee to study TDA
 

Haywood appoints second committee to study TDA

A study committee charged with examining the role and structure of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will be formed…
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Franklin hires Main Street coordinator
 

Franklin hires Main Street coordinator

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A month into her new job as Franklin’s Main Street Program Coordinator, Nancy Deeks…
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Pulling the right strings: Lawmakers work to bring home the bacon
 

Pulling the right strings: Lawmakers work to bring home the bacon

It was a big week in the legislative building in Raleigh last week. The House of Representatives would vote on…
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A moment of your time? Lobbyists courting lawmakers take center stage in Raleigh
 

A moment of your time? Lobbyists courting lawmakers take center stage in Raleigh

Editor’s note: Smoky Mountain News reporter Becky Johnson spent two days in Raleigh last week covering local representatives at work…
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How to herd a bill
 

How to herd a bill

Sen. John Snow, D- Murphy, had a whopper of a week last week. He had four bills on the table…
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Sylva slashes funding for downtown group
 

Sylva slashes funding for downtown group

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Faced with a $20,000 budget cut, the Downtown Sylva Association is re-examining its plans…
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Verizon expands DSL service in rural areas
 

Verizon expands DSL service in rural areas

High-speed Internet access has been expanded into several rural areas in the region thanks to a technology investment by Verizon…
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Medicinal uses of black cohosh
 

Medicinal uses of black cohosh

“The first large, successful American business run by a woman was said to be the Lydia E. Pinkham Medical Company,…
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