Archived (28944)
Children categories
The public weighs in Jackson residents speak out on proposed development regulations
A procession of impassioned speakers pleaded with Jackson County commissioners to slow the rapid pace of development on mountainsides during…
Read More
REACH funding called into question by commissioners
A non-profit that helps abused women escape domestic violence could be facing a budget cut by Jackson County commissioners this…
Read More
Study puts values on working easements
A recent study in the Bethel Community revealed that “working land conservation easements” would be valued as high as $7,900…
Read More
Blue Ridge workers hopeful after buyout
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer In the end, the acquisition of Blue Ridge Paper Products by the New Zealand-based…
Read More
Chief’s race pits incumbent against gaming official
A tight race could be in store for the two candidates vying for principal chief of the Eastern Band of…
Read More
Dam Break: Scale of disaster leaves community reeling
A dam broke on an irrigation pond at Balsam Mountain Preserve in Jackson County two weeks ago unleashing hundreds of…
Read More
Franklin studies upgrades to 1950s zoning laws
Unlike most town and county governments in Western North Carolina, Franklin’s elected leaders had the foresight more than five decades…
Read More
Gauging the fallout: Opinions vary on effect of Jackson’s proposed development rules
As Chuck Bennett rang up a sale at his electrical supply store in Cashiers, he showed no fear of the…
Read More
Ghost Town’s economic ripple has hopes high
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer It appears that the re-opening of Ghost Town in the Sky on Memorial Day…
Read More
A great look, but too expensive
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Architects last week unveiled plans for a new three-level building that will house the…
Read More
Parking downtown: Tickets cause controversy in Waynesville
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Parking for free Public parking for as long as you want in downtown Waynesville:
Read More
Rash of private dams altering WNC landscape
The damming of creeks and streams by private developments is on the rise in Western North Carolina — so much…
Read More
Beware the leaves of three
If you like native Appalachian plants that are variable and adaptive, have interesting natural histories with abundant associations in both…
Read More
Some gifts are always keepers
Kayden is doing her very best not to tell me about the preparations she and mom and Jack have made…
Read More
Shuler shows that he will vote his conscience
Those who supported Heath Shuler’s bid to represent this region in Congress probably did not believe the detractors who spent…
Read More
Donors honored for conservation easements
The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust honored those that donated land and conservation agreements in 2006 at a recent celebration.
Read More
Electric vehicles
Most people tend to think of electric (EVs) and hybrid (HEVs) vehicles in the same sphere, but the two are…
Read More
How ‘bout the trout?
By Michael Beadle Fishing for something fun to do this weekend? Head downstream to the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds for the…
Read More
The rhythm method weekend
By Chris Cooper It’s been a year at least since I did a live show review, and it’s likely that…
Read More
Recommended diversions
Traveling Wilburys Re-release On June 12 the Traveling Wilburys re-released the supergroup’s two albums along with (depending on whether you…
Read More
Literature deprived
Certain genres of literature fare better when critically judged by the standards of that particular genre rather than by any…
Read More
Women to watch
By Chris Cooper In the mid 90’s it would’ve been nearly impossible to write about “new to the scene” female…
Read More
Recommended diversions
A Man, A Can, A Plan My youngest son and I have gotten a kick out of using this cookbook…
Read More
A clean miss
Gun Show Nation: Gun Culture and American Democracy by Joan Burbick. New Press, 2007. 288 pages. While teaching Latin at…
Read More
Bryson City touted as third best ‘Outdoor Town’ in America
Bryson City’s tourism leaders have long touted this Swain County town as the Outdoor Adventure Capital of the Great Smoky…
Read More
Unrealized dreams: Much heralded 1999 agreement fails to deliver for workers
When Howard Taylor heard what workers at Blue Ridge Paper Products were being offered as part of a pending buyout…
Read More
Rise in dog bites sparks concerns
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Walking his dog in a Waynesville neighborhood one summer evening several weeks ago, fear…
Read More
The mysterious art of dowsing
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Searching for the term “dowsing” on the Internet will bring up all kinds of…
Read More
New life for an old Sylva graveyard
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer After decades of neglect, an overgrown hill in Jackson County holding the remains of…
Read More
Whittier golf course to re-open
Following months of course reconstruction, Smoky Mountain Country Club in Whittier will re-open 9 holes of golf this weekend.
Read More
The elusive hellbender
Have you ever noticed that once you start thinking about something or someone you haven’t seen in awhile, it’s not…
Read More
Bar fight in the Blue Ridge – the battle for the 11th District
By John Armour You’d think that what happens in Western North Carolina, in the 11th Congressional District, isn’t very important…
Read More
Waynesville building fits well with downtown
A government building for a mountain town that looks like it belongs in the mountains? Funny how that is going…
Read More
Bush goes south of the border for popularity
By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist Concerned Americans await the concluding acts of the political drama the president and his…
Read More
We can’t stop the changes
Some have charged that the true, underlying sentiment among those who support stringent development regulations in Jackson County — and…
Read More
Life too often revolves around the minutiae
By Stephanie Wampler Stuff. Life is all about the stuff, isn’t it? We have stuff to amuse us, educate us,…
Read More
Working triple time in Jackson County
By Nancy Geiger • Guest Columnist My daughter, Brittany, is staying at Western Caroina Univesity this summer. The hotel she…
Read More
Chattooga at the crossroads
A recurring debate between camps in the Chattooga River controversy is how many paddlers would actually come to the river.…
Read More
The hype on hybrids
Editor’s note: Naturalist Don Hendershot is writing a series of columns exploring the use of alternative energy and fuels. …
Read More
The hardest tree in North America
I wrote a tribute to the black locust tree some time back. It’s time to take another look. This time…
Read More
Hiking club rolls out two new trail challenges
To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the Carolina Mountain Club Challenge committee has added two new hiking challenges this year to…
Read More
Sign-up for behind-the-scenes look at the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is beginning a new program that allows nearby residents, business people, teachers and community…
Read More
Conservancy adds on to protected Roan Mountain lands
A 601-acre tract in Avery County near Roan Mountain has been purchased and conserved by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.…
Read More
Arrrggghh – a wintry mix
Limeade, tequila and cointreau is not a wintry mix — that is a margarita; something you may resort to when…
Read More
National A.T. gathering making the trek to Cullowhee this summer
A large Appalachian Trail gathering is coming to Western Carolina University this summer, and local trail clubs hosting the week-long…
Read More
150 and counting: WCU grad student research helps get a handle on impacts of mounting numbers of elk
By Jill Ingram • Guest writer, WCU public affairs office Covering long distances in and around Cataloochee Valley, a Western…
Read More
Kerouac still matters, though the perspective has shifted
Of all the Beat writers of the 1940s and 1950s — Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, John Clellon Holmes, Gary Snyder,…
Read More
We need to keep track of all firearms
To the Editor: I miss Martin Luther King. His enlightened reason and fervent advocating for equal rights is sorely missed.…
Read More
Timber harvest at Devil’s Courthouse a good idea
To the Editor: Nature abhors a vacuum. Mother Nature assures change. Organisms are constantly adapting, changing, improving, evolving. Understand-ing life…
Read More
Last issue of SMN painted a vivid picture
To the Editor: How incredibly serendipitous that your newspaper of Jan. 23 should headline the flooding and landslides that occurred…
Read More