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Hikes explores pocket of old-growth forest
 

Hikes explores pocket of old-growth forest

A guided hike involving some off-trail bushwhacking to a little-known stand of old growth forest in Graham County will be…
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Share your favorite swimming holes
 

Share your favorite swimming holes

Don’t be greedy and keep your favorite swimming hole for yourself. A regional environmental organization is developing a new guide…
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Arbor Day plantings planned for Island Park
 

Arbor Day plantings planned for Island Park

An Arbor Day flower planting will be from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 20, at Island Park in…
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Tour de Cashiers bike ride off and pedaling
 

Tour de Cashiers bike ride off and pedaling

Riders are gearing up for this year’s Tour de Cashiers coming on Saturday, May 4. The route will feature stunning…
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Poacher gets jail time for killing bear cub
 

Poacher gets jail time for killing bear cub

A Robbinsville man was sentenced to five months in prison last week for killing an black bear cub in Nantahala…
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Earth Day rant
 

Earth Day rant

Earth Day 2013 is Monday, April 22. The first official “Earth Day” occurred in 1970 and environmentalists celebrated. Environmental lawyer…
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Sharpening their skills: HCC lands spot on the national lumberjack scene
 

Sharpening their skills: HCC lands spot on the national lumberjack scene

Dana Dowdy raised a razor-sharp axe above her head, let it hover a moment and then slammed into her competition…
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History of Cherokee War is top notch
 

History of Cherokee War is top notch

We Americans sometimes forget how new we are to the history of the world. Here in Western North Carolina, for…
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Presnell not interested in freedom of religion
 

Presnell not interested in freedom of religion

To the Editor:  I was horrified to learn that my representative in the N.C. House, Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, co-sponsored…
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Drive a hard bargain with railroad
 

Drive a hard bargain with railroad

To the Editor: I’d like to ask the Jackson County Commissioners why, in the midst of high unemployment and a…
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Rep. Presnell violates oath of office
 

Rep. Presnell violates oath of office

To the Editor: There are conflicting lights in which to view the co-sponsorship by Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, of the…
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Legislators should support Haywood room tax hike
 

Legislators should support Haywood room tax hike

The room tax hike being sought by Haywood leaders needs to pass and deserves the support of the legislative delegation…
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Students to share ideas at Discovery Forum
 

Students to share ideas at Discovery Forum

Western Carolina University will host its inaugural Discovery Forum, an event designed to encourage students to share innovative ideas for…
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Haywood County prepares for 30th annual Senior Games
 

Haywood County prepares for 30th annual Senior Games

Seniors around the region are gearing up for Senior Games during the month of May. In Haywood County, registration will…
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Homelessness to Hope: a campaign to improve teen support services
 

Homelessness to Hope: a campaign to improve teen support services

Barium Springs, a nonprofit that serves troubled youth, is hosting its first Giving Them Hope Breakfast at 8:30 April 25…
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Social worker charged in cover-up agrees to talk as part of plea bargain
 

Social worker charged in cover-up agrees to talk as part of plea bargain

A Swain County social worker pleaded guilty in court this week to doctoring and fabricating records two years ago following…
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Keeping it real: Waynesville ponders historic district guidelines
 

Keeping it real: Waynesville ponders historic district guidelines

The town of Waynesville has hired a consultant to help create mandatory design standards for buildings in historic districts.
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Macon forges ahead with $1.1 million ballpark
 

Macon forges ahead with $1.1 million ballpark

Macon County commissioners narrowly voted last week to buy a 50-acre tract for $550,000 to create a sprawling baseball and…
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Building freedom through mobility
 

Building freedom through mobility

It was a moment that forever stuck with Don Schoendorfer. While on vacation in Morocco several years ago, the southern…
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Emergency action plans layout game plan well before disaster strikes
 

Emergency action plans layout game plan well before disaster strikes

What if a tornado ripped through Western North Carolina? What if a tanker hauling dangerous chemicals overturned on Interstate 40?…
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Macon County pledges suite of raises all around
 

Macon County pledges suite of raises all around

Macon County government employees will have a fatter paycheck now, thanks to a new pay plan approved last week by…
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Robbery ring targeting vacation homes busted
 

Robbery ring targeting vacation homes busted

Ten suspects have been charged in connection with a rash of property crimes in the Cashiers and Glenville area.
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Pigeon Gorge dead spot could be solved soon for AT&T cell customers
 

Pigeon Gorge dead spot could be solved soon for AT&T cell customers

A new cell phone tower in the Pigeon River Gorge could mean fewer dropped calls as motorists cruise down Interstate…
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Swain inmates no help on roadside trash pickup
 

Swain inmates no help on roadside trash pickup

Swain County commissioners said they have fielded queries lately about why jail inmates aren’t put to work picking up trash…
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Lake Junaluska merger with Waynesville sails through Senate
 

Lake Junaluska merger with Waynesville sails through Senate

A state bill that would bring Lake Junaluska into Waynesville’s town limits has cleared the N.C. Senate and is now…
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County commissioners cry foul over state budget proposals
 

County commissioners cry foul over state budget proposals

County commissioners across the state are protesting proposed state budget cuts and bills that they say pass the buck and…
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Cherokee leaders green light second casino near Murphy
 

Cherokee leaders green light second casino near Murphy

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians could open a new $110 million casino in Murphy as early as spring 2015,…
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Trial by dirt
 

Trial by dirt

While sunlight, water and good soil may seem a simple enough equation for getting a plant from seed to fruit,…
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WCU invites student and faculty input on campus master plan
 

WCU invites student and faculty input on campus master plan

Western Carolina University is open to suggestions — from students, faculty and the general public — as it undergoes a…
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Let the tourists return: Smokies’ landslide fixed
 

Let the tourists return: Smokies’ landslide fixed

Landslide repairs to U.S. 441 through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were completed early this week — reopening the…
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Empty Bowl: a meal and music with a cause
 

Empty Bowl: a meal and music with a cause

The Empty Bowl fundraiser will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 26, at The Community Table in…
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‘Greening Up the Mountains’ in Sylva
 

‘Greening Up the Mountains’ in Sylva

 The 16th annual Greening Up the Mountains street festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 27,…
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Dramatic comedy embraces small town life
 

Dramatic comedy embraces small town life

Haywood Arts Regional Theater in Waynesville will kick off its 29th main stage season this month with a stage adaptation…
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Mom’s Music Fest returns to Waynesville
 

Mom’s Music Fest returns to Waynesville

The outdoor Mom’s Music Festival will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, in Waynesville, featuring…
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Celebrate ‘Record Store Day’ in Sylva
 

Celebrate ‘Record Store Day’ in Sylva

A “Record Store Day Celebration” will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 20, at In Your Ear Music Emporium in…
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Liars Bench to showcase Carolina Dusk
 

Liars Bench to showcase Carolina Dusk

The Liars Bench presents music group Carolina Dusk at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the Mountain Heritage Center auditorium…
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Carden monologue celebrates early vision of teaching college
 

Carden monologue celebrates early vision of teaching college

Renowned Appalachian writer Gary Carden will perform “Madison,” a monologue about the life of Dr. Robert Lee Madison, at 7…
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Acclaimed Georgia artist featured at The Bascom
 

Acclaimed Georgia artist featured at The Bascom

The work of Linda Anderson, a prolific artist whose pieces depict her life in rural North Georgia, will be on…
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‘Dead Man Walking’ opera hits Cullowhee
 

‘Dead Man Walking’ opera hits Cullowhee

A concert production of “Dead Man Walking” will come to the stage at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in the…
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WCU Jazz Festival to feature innovative saxophonist, Slovakian drummer
 

WCU Jazz Festival to feature innovative saxophonist, Slovakian drummer

The 2013 Jazz Festival will take place from April 27 and 29 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, featuring jazz…
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Mélange puts culinary excellence on display
 

Mélange puts culinary excellence on display

Haywood County Chamber of Commerce held their annual “Melange of the Mountains” culinary gala at Laurel Ridge Country Club on…
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The luck of the draw
 

The luck of the draw

All bets are on in Cherokee. The first major poker tournament held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort has lured…
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Serviceberry is recurring harbinger of spring
 

Serviceberry is recurring harbinger of spring

I have two options when driving back and forth from home to town. One is along a river and the…
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Sylva climate change protest is lead up to Raleigh lobbying push
 

Sylva climate change protest is lead up to Raleigh lobbying push

In the buildup to a large environmental demonstration in Raleigh, a climate change rally will be held at 11 a.m.…
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Arboretum to host Mountain Science Expo
 

Arboretum to host Mountain Science Expo

When science meets the mountains you get: The Mountain Science Expo. The expo will take place from 10 a.m. to…
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News from the A.T.
 

News from the A.T.

Gotta love that A.T. A program on the importance of the Appalachian Trail and ways to promote and conserve it…
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Springtime cleanup opportunities
 

Springtime cleanup opportunities

In an effort to clean up Scotts Creek in Jackson County, a coordinated workday will be launched by volunteers from…
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A.T. license plate money awarded to local trail workers
 

A.T. license plate money awarded to local trail workers

The Carolina Mountain Club has been awarded $2,200 through the North Carolina Appalachian Trail License Plate Grant Program to help…
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Big-time lumberjacks saw off in Haywood
 

Big-time lumberjacks saw off in Haywood

Professional and collegiate lumberjacks from around the East will soon converge on Haywood County to compete in a top-notch woodsman…
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Love was in the air
 

Love was in the air

Love may be a little anthropogenic for toads, but the eons old “urge to merge” was quite prevalent last Sunday…
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