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Cashiers librarian takes Sylva post
A new director has been hired for the Jackson County library system — Dottie Brunette, currently the head librarian at…
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Franklin carver hatches a unique idea
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The duck egg is just slightly larger than the chicken egg, its shell a…
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Masters of their musical domains
By Chris Cooper Two very different artists and albums, but similar in the pursuit of uniqueness and mastery in their…
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Mélange of the Mountains: Culinary event returns to temp the taste buds March 29
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Culinary connoisseurs will have a chance to sample the skills of a dozen local…
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Recommended diversions
Slam Poetry Poetry need not be lame. Two Tuesdays ago Western Carolina University’s Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions series and Last…
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The rise and rise of the American empire
H.W. Crocker’s Don’t Tread On Me: A 400-Year History of America at War, from Indian Fighting to Terrorist Hunting gives…
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Life in the blogosphere
Go to scoopscott.squarespace.com on the Internet and you enter the world of Macon County resident Bob Scott.
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Closing campus: Job Corps site slated to close
Local leaders and employees of the Oconaluftee Job Corp Center are questioning the motives behind a sudden shutdown of the…
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Director hired for Cherokee art institute
A coordinator has been selected for the visual arts program of the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts (OICA), a joint…
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Federal agencies long ignored needed repairs
The federal government has long been aware of run down buildings at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Center but failed to…
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Hospital board appointments could be litmus test
Many in the community will be watching closely in April when the Haywood County Board of Commissioners appoint three members…
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New Zealand group eyes Blue Ridge Paper
Blue Ridge Paper Products might have found a buyer — a New Zealand-based paper company called The Rank Group that…
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Saying goodbye: Job Corps staff will miss their work
Sinquarious Graham, a 16-year-old Job Corps student from Alabama, was pulling on his coat to go to breakfast at 6:30…
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Waynesville Recreation Center keeps abreast with growth
Jo Glover joined the Waynesville Recreation Center after moving to Haywood County from Alabama in December. She likes the recreation…
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The storied bloodroot
Bloodroot is surely one of most widely admired wildflowers in the eastern United States. Walk now through any rocky, deciduous…
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In truth, boating won’t harm the Chattooga
By Bruce Hare • Guest Columnist I would like to respond to Mr. James Costa’s letter (March 14, The Smoky…
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Another deadline – not a problem
Everywhere I go, I get the same question: “How do you do it? How do you find the time and…
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Granny’s Farm and the boys from Chicago
By Jim Joyce My great- grandparents, on my mother’s side, “Bestafahr” and “Bestamour” (Nelson and Christiana Wurtz) emigrated from Denmark…
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Be a sport, get involved in Senior Games
By Dick and Sandy Michener Are you a serious competitor or a weekend athlete? Are you an accomplished artist or…
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Meal deal shines light on Swain’s dirty politics
It’s not clear what Swain County commissioners are hoping to accomplish by turning over to the District Attorney’s office the…
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Antlers born anew
By Joe Yarkovich Spring is upon us and with the days beginning to lengthen, signs of the season can be…
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Move over harbingers
George Ellison talked about the harbingers of spring in his Feb. 28 column in The Smoky Mountain News. Well those…
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Pristine shmistine says the curmudgeon-naturalist
First let me get this disclaimer out of the way. I am thrilled to hear that Congressman Heath Shuler has…
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Honeybees and hemp: Where did we go wrong?
By Kathleen Lamont I’ve got two cents to add to the honeybee dilemma. There are approximately 20,000 species of bees…
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Rebel Records Roundup, Part 2
By Chris Cooper Rebel Records, that esteemed purveyor of all that is and has been high and lonesome for the…
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The magic of myth: HART opens main stage season with ‘Metamorphoses’
A king named Midas wishes for riches and ends up with a wealth that kills. A singer named Orpheus descends…
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Recommended diversions
Good Friday & Easter Easter, of course, is more than dyed eggs, plastic straw, and strange bunnies.
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WCU reels in Half Frame Film Fest
Western Carolina University will launch the Half Frame Film Festival, a daylong celebration of documentary filmmaking, on Monday, April 9,…
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Stories from the dead
In the small Southern community where she lives, Finch Nobles, the narrator of A Gracious Plenty, easily qualifies as a…
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Brochure highlights militia’s march against Cherokee
A military expedition against Cherokee villages at the onset of the Revolutionary War has been documented with the publication of…
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A how-to crash course in smart growth
Ginny Faust, a professional planning consultant, posed a tough question to members of the Sylva Town Board and planning board…
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Grants aim to preserve and promote Cherokee culture
Cherokee Preservation Foundation has awarded 29 grants totaling $3.6 million during its spring cycle.
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New director wants to grow Swain chamber
Lucretia Stargell, the new director of the Swain County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, said her goals include…
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Planning a new future for Jackson’s business growth
The town of Sylva is embarking on a smart growth plan that could reshape some of the town’s more unsightly…
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River island project raises concerns
The possibility that a 40-acre island in the Little Tennessee River might be developed has sparked outrage among conservationists and…
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Small town success: Retiring DWA Director Ron Huelster talks about his days on Capitol Hill, the scourge of malls, and his vision for small town America
By Michael Beadle When Waynesville Town Manager Lee Galloway meets fellow town managers from across the state, he inevitably hears…
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Swain tourism board faces changes
Swain County commissioners are moving forward with a plan to reshape the county’s tourism board despite some opposition.
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Ash bats and the boys of summer
Some essays get to their point or points right away. Others are discursive, beating around the bush before getting there.…
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Katie Couric can get help from local reporter
By John Armor Who are these people? Katie Couric used to be on the Today Show, then she fell off…
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There’s no acceptable reason not to recycle glass
He’s on record, and we for one will hold him to it: Haywood County’s new solid waste director says anything…
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Beetles being raised to save hemlocks
A new lab has opened at the University of Georgia to raise predator beetles aimed at countering the deadly hemlock…
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Road to Nowhere: Getting dimmer by the day
Those opposed to building a $600 million, 30-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park got welcome news last…
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The Northshore Road: What they say
Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville “As a Swain County native, I have a deep, personal understanding of the issues and emotions…
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New market ignites biofuel expansion
Less than six months after cranking out their first batch of biodiesel, Alan Begley and Sam Gray have sealed the…
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Old roots, new focus for soil and water district
For decades, soil experts like Duane Vanhook have been showing farmers how a crop of winter wheat can recharge soil…
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Service providers: As housing costs escalate, regional hospitality businesses look for ways to cushion the blow for the working class
When the well heeled are in need of a pampered retreat in Western North Carolina, they often look toward the…
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Still on the table
Jackson County planning board meetings likely will get even more interesting as members move on to the nuts and bolts…
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The Tsali legend
Since the mid-1980s, I’ve been researching and writing about events surrounding the Cherokee removal of 1838, especially those pertaining to…
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Cousin Eugene fights the train
By Carl Iobst Ed Stephens of Dillsboro recently had a problem with the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. According to the…
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Some people — all the time
Some people complain all the time, about everything. They complain about the weather, the price of gasoline, their neglectful friends,…
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