Champion and Blue Ridge Paper timeline
 

Champion and Blue Ridge Paper timeline

1893 — The town of Pigeon River is reincorporated by the N.C. General Assembly as Canton, N.C.
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Neighbors surprised by Dayco development
 

Neighbors surprised by Dayco development

Brenda Fowler’s customers usually keep her posted of the latest news and gossip when they stop in at her produce…
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Pathways gives awards to mark signing of ADA
 

Pathways gives awards to mark signing of ADA

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Pathways for the Future Center for Independent Living and the Jackson County Department on…
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The Smokies back then
 

The Smokies back then

Scott Weidensaul, who lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania, is one of my favorite nature writers. His Mountains of the…
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Developers haven’t earned a break from the rules
 

Developers haven’t earned a break from the rules

They didn’t show up. That alone signals, or maybe “symbolizes” is the proper word, a shift in citizen attitudes that…
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Alcohol vote reveals changing attitudes, new demographics
 

Alcohol vote reveals changing attitudes, new demographics

Ho-hum. Franklin voters approved the sale of mixed drinks and beer in a vote held last week. Few were surprised…
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Land trusts launch 50,000-acre conservation campaign
 

Land trusts launch 50,000-acre conservation campaign

The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently awarded $25,000 to a group of 13 land conservation organizations working collectively…
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Ebony, ivory and ... chocolate
 

Ebony, ivory and ... chocolate

When world-renowned pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski comes to the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville this weekend, audiences will get a good…
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Knight rolls with the punches
 

Knight rolls with the punches

By Chris Cooper It’s pretty rough going for the characters in Chris Knight’s songwriting. There’s booze, violence and regret lurking…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Hands on the wheel For less than $20, you can buy a decent hands-free earset for your cellular phone. I’m…
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Three dark gems
 

Three dark gems

Almost a decade ago, I wrote an unabashed rave review of Howard Bahr’s The Black Flower (1997), a darkly beautiful…
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Appearance commission holds its own
 

Appearance commission holds its own

“You can do better.” That was the message last week from Waynesville town leaders to developers of a Super Wal-Mart,…
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Haywood Extension receives Pigeon River Fund grant
 

Haywood Extension receives Pigeon River Fund grant

The Haywood County center of the NC Cooperative Extension Service has received a $15,000 grant from the Pigeon River Fund.…
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Keeping downtown alive: Revitalization organizations debate how to best improve downtown communities, as Sylva refocuses following a major spending cut
 

Keeping downtown alive: Revitalization organizations debate how to best improve downtown communities, as Sylva refocuses following a major spending cut

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With a quick trip on Main Street in downtown Sylva, it’s easy enough to…
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Maggie Valley Country Club’s transformation moves along
 

Maggie Valley Country Club’s transformation moves along

As part of its transformation to an upscale club and resort, the new Maggie Valley Club is in the midst…
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Sylva mulls over creating ETJ
 

Sylva mulls over creating ETJ

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Residents from Jackson County’s Allen’s Branch community said they didn’t know exactly what Sylva…
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A legacy of lookers
 

A legacy of lookers

From time to time, I like to reflect upon the plant hunters, botanists and horticulturalists that first entered these mountains…
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Somebody get that cow a pizza
 

Somebody get that cow a pizza

Driving down Russ Avenue on yet another scorching day, I saw a couple of girls out in front of the…
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Meds vs Medicare
 

Meds vs Medicare

Louis Garnett • Guest Columnist This wasn’t my doctor’s office; it was the vendor exhibit hall at a symposium on…
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Elk population on the rise
 

Elk population on the rise

The elk herd in Cataloochee Valley added at least eight babies to its ranks this summer, giving the herd a…
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WCU professor leads Elwha project
 

WCU professor leads Elwha project

Thanks to a National Science Foundation grant-funded project led by a Western Carolina University professor, 25 young people from Washington’s…
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Beak tweaking or evolution
 

Beak tweaking or evolution

One of the tenets of the theory of evolution is a phenomenon known as character displacement. Character displacement states, in…
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Peregrine falcons make a tenuous comeback
 

Peregrine falcons make a tenuous comeback

Peregrine falcons, a recovering endangered species, once again nested successfully this spring on Whiteside Mountain in Highlands.
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First-Ever Tour de Tuck to challenge cyclists
 

First-Ever Tour de Tuck to challenge cyclists

Cyclists will be testing their legs and lungs on the roads of Western North Carolina later this month in the…
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The Moonlight shines again: Maggie lights up with Moonlight Race
 

The Moonlight shines again: Maggie lights up with Moonlight Race

Checking email has gotten a lot more exciting for Wendy Johnson lately. As the organizer for the 28th Annual Maggie…
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Monarch migration
 

Monarch migration

The king of insect migration – King Billy – will soon be gliding its way to Mexico by the millions.…
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Remarkable talent shines in Rosser’s latest
 

Remarkable talent shines in Rosser’s latest

By Chris Cooper Man, I don’t want to start off with the whole “He’s done it again!” thing. You know,…
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HCC Film and Video students finish film by one of their own
 

HCC Film and Video students finish film by one of their own

Students in Haywood Community College’s Film and Video Production Technology Program just finished an original film written by one of…
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Documentary to look at past century of Canton’s history
 

Documentary to look at past century of Canton’s history

Canton’s 100th Labor Day Celebration will feature three showings of a 30-minute documentary about the town’s history at 7:30 p.m.…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Storytelling The term “storytelling” has been acquired by a diverse number of creative folks from musicians (the late Harry Chapin,…
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TrueBlueGrass: 24th annual Cherokee Bluegrass Festival draws on traditional roots
 

TrueBlueGrass: 24th annual Cherokee Bluegrass Festival draws on traditional roots

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer For the past 24 years, crowds have gathered at Happy Holiday Campground in Cherokee…
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Captives and Captivations
 

Captives and Captivations

Narratives of confinement have long held a fascination for readers. From Saint Paul’s account of his imprisonment to modern stories…
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Blue Ridge shows profit
 

Blue Ridge shows profit

By Michael Beadle Profits are up for Blue Ridge Paper Products nearly two years after devastating floods washed through the…
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Community appeals to Jackson commissioners
 

Community appeals to Jackson commissioners

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Members of a grassroots citizens group rallying against a proposal to build a rock…
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Ghost Town comes to life
 

Ghost Town comes to life

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Once more, for the last time — Ghost Town has sold. The announcement came…
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Loan obtained for Waynesville fire station
 

Loan obtained for Waynesville fire station

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., has helped Waynesville obtain a loan of $2 million to construct its new fire station.
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New neighbors: Change is moving into Jackson County’s Tuckasegee community
 

New neighbors: Change is moving into Jackson County’s Tuckasegee community

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About half way between Sylva and Cashiers on N.C. 107, between Jackson County’s Caney…
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Sylva set to expand planning district
 

Sylva set to expand planning district

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Sylva Town Board members are expected to move forward with plans to make the…
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The turkey’s role in Cherokee culture
 

The turkey’s role in Cherokee culture

The come back of the wild turkey in the southern mountains in recent years is one of the notable success…
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The time has come to lift Cuban embargo
 

The time has come to lift Cuban embargo

This is about political ignorance, ignorance highlighted by the recent news about Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s apparently serious illness.
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A little surer, a little more lost
 

A little surer, a little more lost

I can’t help feeling, just slightly, like we cheated. You be the judge. The table had been set on our…
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Unified voices calling for a better big box
 

Unified voices calling for a better big box

When Waynesville leaders met earlier this month to discuss the site plan and variance requests for the proposed big-box development…
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Strange happenings in music today
 

Strange happenings in music today

By Chris Cooper Here are a few things about “modern” rock and pop that I’ve found interesting (in a morbid…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

“Scoop” The world’s been in need of a good Woody Allen film and this murder-mystery/comedy fabulously fills the void. As…
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Betrayed, rejection and self-destruction
 

Betrayed, rejection and self-destruction

15 years ago, Donna Tautt’s The Secret History managed to acquire an amazing following among university students in the United…
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$5 million upgrade planned prior to May 2007 opening
 

$5 million upgrade planned prior to May 2007 opening

As the new owners of Ghost Town in the Sky pondered whether the dated mountaintop amusement park was a good…
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Cotton selected as Haywood manager
 

Cotton selected as Haywood manager

David B. Cotton of Seven Lakes has been named Haywood County manager
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Grant allows Sylva to conserve Fisher Creek
 

Grant allows Sylva to conserve Fisher Creek

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Clean…
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From military campaign to political campaign
 

From military campaign to political campaign

If politics makes strange bedfellows, then surely Rutherford Trace offers some curious pillow talk in the legislative halls of Raleigh…
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