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To busk or not? Waynesville ponders street performer  ordinance
 

To busk or not? Waynesville ponders street performer ordinance

Street musicians are becoming a common sight in downtown Waynesville, despite a town policy that bans sidewalk performers from playing…
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Big trucks take heed: no more Jake brakes in Waynesville
 

Big trucks take heed: no more Jake brakes in Waynesville

Waynesville has outlawed the use of noisy engine-compression brakes by big trucks.
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Drug testing par for the course in WNC high schools
 

Drug testing par for the course in WNC high schools

The number of high school students failing random drug tests in Haywood County has remained constant since the school system…
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Police help push new laws through legislature
 

Police help push new laws through legislature

The Waynesville Police Department helped craft and then usher four bills, or some version of them, through the N.C. General…
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Back in the day, many built their own
 

Back in the day, many built their own

When I was a very young boy growing up in Virginia, there was a very old man in our neighborhood…
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Tennis stars to face off in Cashiers
 

Tennis stars to face off in Cashiers

Retired tennis stars Andy Roddick and Jim Courier will play a charity exhibition match, the UCB Mountain Challenge, on Saturday,…
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Regional headwaters protected from development
 

Regional headwaters protected from development

A $3 million federal grant will help protect 8,000 acres of working forestland in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North…
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Little Tennessee gets grant to protect endangered species
 

Little Tennessee gets grant to protect endangered species

A project to help federally-listed aquatic species in Macon County has received $142,500 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.…
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Bridge dedicated to honor whitewater hero
 

Bridge dedicated to honor whitewater hero

Mystic Lands Property Owners Association has dedicated a bridge to honor Rob Kelly, a whitewater rafting guide who saved a…
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Bear cables get a boost
 

Bear cables get a boost

Backpackers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can continue to keep their food and packs out of reach of…
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Canton man to serve time for Max Patch destruction
 

Canton man to serve time for Max Patch destruction

Tyler Pace is expected to report to the U.S. Marshals Service office in Asheville next week to start serving his…
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Once abundant river cane is a dwindling resource
 

Once abundant river cane is a dwindling resource

Ethnobotanist David Cozzo will lead an eco tour on July 30 to the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve to discuss how the…
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Carolina birder video bombed
 

Carolina birder video bombed

Carolina birder Matt Daw from Raleigh was videoing a least bittern last week as it foraged at Bosque Del Apache…
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Jackson Farmer’s market summer sizzle cooking demos
 

Jackson Farmer’s market summer sizzle cooking demos

Chef Jen Pearson of Guadalupe Cafe will be showcasing eggplant in an original recipe during a local foods cooking demo…
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From farm to table
 

From farm to table

Get to know your local farmers and learn some tricks from green thumb masters during the annual Jackson County Farm…
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The hard truth about the Cold War
 

The hard truth about the Cold War

We Americans like to sidle around the truth nowadays, which we do by labeling ourselves relativists. Like Pontius Pilate, we…
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Mountain Momma
 

Mountain Momma

A whirlwind of global cultures, languages, costumes, music and dance has landed in WNC this week. The annual arrival of…
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‘Brigadoon’ comes to HART
 

‘Brigadoon’ comes to HART

Legendary Broadway musical “Brigadoon” runs at 7:30 p.m. July 18-20, 25-27, Aug. 1-3, and at 3 p.m. July 14, 21,…
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Appalachian storytellers, crafts and musicians at folk fest
 

Appalachian storytellers, crafts and musicians at folk fest

The 10th annual Franklin Folk Festival, a “Celebration of Appalachian Heritage,” runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July…
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Voices in the Laurel sings in New Orleans
 

Voices in the Laurel sings in New Orleans

Members of Voices in the Laurel Children’s Choir have just returned from the Crescent City Choral Festival in New Orleans.…
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Mattea brings heart and soul string music to Franklin
 

Mattea brings heart and soul string music to Franklin

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Kathy Mattea will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing…
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Tickets on sale for Miranda Lambert
 

Tickets on sale for Miranda Lambert

Mega-country star Miranda Lambert hits the stage at 9 p.m. Friday, July 19, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.
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This must be the place: Bringing the world to your doorstep
 

This must be the place: Bringing the world to your doorstep

It all started with an email.  Last July, I was at a crossroads. Being a freelance writer for a few years,…
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Expanded Macon runway is a bad idea
 

Expanded Macon runway is a bad idea

To the Editor: An article in a local paper stated that the Macon County Airport Authority met in early July…
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Legislature leading us down to new depths
 

Legislature leading us down to new depths

“Thank you sir, may I have another.” The line by Kevin Bacon from the now-classic film “Animal House” kept popping…
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Tapping into Folkmoot
 

Tapping into Folkmoot

Folkmoot is a Western North Carolina tradition, and this year, the festival is tapping into the growing craft beer industry…
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The countries of Folkmoot USA
 

The countries of Folkmoot USA

Japan: Quichar Paradise The name Quichar Paradise means “Be Happy Anytime.” This performing group is from Tokyo, Japan, but represent dance…
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International festival has become a WNC tradition
 

International festival has become a WNC tradition

Bringing together world culture and Southern Appalachia traditions, Folkmoot USA transcends any and all barriers. Whether it’s language, physical boundaries…
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Behind the wheel  of an ice cream truck
 

Behind the wheel of an ice cream truck

I scream, you scream, Western North Carolina screams for ice cream. 
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Bears from shut-down zoo find new, friendlier habitat
 

Bears from shut-down zoo find new, friendlier habitat

Eleven bears once confined to concrete pits at Chief Saunooke Bear Park in Cherokee have found greener pastures in Texas…
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Neighbors plead their case to  put the brakes on quarry expansion
 

Neighbors plead their case to put the brakes on quarry expansion

Neighbors near a towering rock quarry in Waynesville have voiced concerns over a proposed expansion that could cause excavations to…
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Dental care on wheels draws masses to free clinic in Cullowhee
 

Dental care on wheels draws masses to free clinic in Cullowhee

There was no shortage of work to be done when N.C. Missions of Mercy, a mobile dental camp, came rolling…
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Jackson County to build new emergency ops hub
 

Jackson County to build new emergency ops hub

Jackson County plans to build a $1.6 million state-of-the-art 911 call center and emergency headquarters along U.S. 441 south of…
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Beloved yet bedraggled, Franklin’s downtown gazebo to see major facelift
 

Beloved yet bedraggled, Franklin’s downtown gazebo to see major facelift

The Main Street gazebo in Franklin could soon see a facelift, or, even be replaced with an entirely different structure. 
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Will Forest Hills residents chip in to buy old, overgrown golf course?
 

Will Forest Hills residents chip in to buy old, overgrown golf course?

Presented with a tempting yet expensive offer, the Village of Forest Hills has to choose whether to buy an abandoned…
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Heinzelmannchen Brewery asks TWSA to tweak water and sewer fees
 

Heinzelmannchen Brewery asks TWSA to tweak water and sewer fees

What goes in must come out: that’s the basic premise behind your water and sewer bill. Sewer fees simply mirror…
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Lake Junaluska merger bill off the table indefinitely
 

Lake Junaluska merger bill off the table indefinitely

A state bill that would have merged Lake Junaluska with the town of Waynesville is dead for now.
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HCC won’t recoup construction overages from architect
 

HCC won’t recoup construction overages from architect

Haywood Community College hoped to recoup $80,000 from the architect behind the new Creative Arts building due to design errors…
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Foundation awards $150,000 to childhood development projects
 

Foundation awards $150,000 to childhood development projects

The Community Foundation gave two $75,000 grants to Region A Partnership for Children and Southwestern Child Development Commission. One of…
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Groups creates CD tour of Bethel
 

Groups creates CD tour of Bethel

Bethel Rural Community Organization released its CD of the Cold Mountain Heritage Driving Tour. The CD provides a guided journey…
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Collecting data on Internet connections
 

Collecting data on Internet connections

N.C. Broadband — a part of the N.C. Department of Commerce — is collecting data on the number of Jackson…
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Macon County airport runway expansion in the works once more
 

Macon County airport runway expansion in the works once more

Macon County could once again find itself with a bigger airport runway — this time wider. 
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Frog Level auction house hopping mad over Waynesville sign rules
 

Frog Level auction house hopping mad over Waynesville sign rules

A new fixture made an appearance on the sidewalks of Frog Level last week: a giant green frog waving and…
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Ghost Town gunslinger wounded during staged fight
 

Ghost Town gunslinger wounded during staged fight

State officials are investigating Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park after a piece of shrapnel maimed a longtime, well-known…
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The grand and showy hibiscus
 

The grand and showy hibiscus

I had my first introduction to the showy and curious hibiscus flowers when I was a boy. Rose-of-Sharon was a…
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Kayaker found dead near Shining Rock
 

Kayaker found dead near Shining Rock

The body of a kayaker who was reported missing in the Pisgah National Forest late afternoon July 4 was found…
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‘Headhunters and Toothbrushes’
 

‘Headhunters and Toothbrushes’

Jono Bryant will present a talk called “Headhunters and Toothbrushes” at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at the Macon County…
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Property along parkway in Jackson protected
 

Property along parkway in Jackson protected

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina recently purchased a 31-acre property that adjoins the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the Blue Ridge…
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Learn to use your wide-angle lens
 

Learn to use your wide-angle lens

The Lens Luggers photography club of Western North Carolina is holding a special photography clinic featuring wide angle perspective and…
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