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Canton’s fight to keep Camp Hope takes a new turn
 

Canton’s fight to keep Camp Hope takes a new turn

Canton leaders are pondering how much time and money to invest in an abandoned summer camp and mountain property left…
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Schools weigh cost of increased safety
 

Schools weigh cost of increased safety

Officer Michael Harrison has confiscated everything from buck knives and Airsoft pistols from students at Swain High — but never…
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Veteran apartment proposed in Canton
 

Veteran apartment proposed in Canton

An empty eyesore in Canton’s downtown could get a new lease on life. The former Jackson’s Appliance store, at the…
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Headwaters now BearWaters after trademark tangle
 

Headwaters now BearWaters after trademark tangle

Beer had been flowing from the taps of Headwaters Brewing Company in Waynesville for just a few months when the…
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DSS says faith-based aid groups help fill in gaps
 

DSS says faith-based aid groups help fill in gaps

As government aid shrinks and church groups step up to fill the void, the thin and sometimes fuzzy line between…
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Looking out on a busy day in Bryson City
 

Looking out on a busy day in Bryson City

For some, graveyards are morbid places. When I was a boy, I never liked to pass by or walk through…
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Global warming series aims to inspire change
 

Global warming series aims to inspire change

A six-week discussion course on climate change called “Global Warming: Changing Course” is being put on by the Western North…
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Lake Junaluska a top spot for winter birding
 

Lake Junaluska a top spot for winter birding

The Highlands Plateau chapter of the Audubon Society will go birding at Lake Junaluska on Monday, Jan. 21, to mark…
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Haywood Waterways to launch endowment fundraising campaign
 

Haywood Waterways to launch endowment fundraising campaign

The Haywood Waterways Association has named their endowment fund the “Joetta Rinehart Endowment Fund” in honor of one of the…
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Deputy superintendent retires from GSMNP
 

Deputy superintendent retires from GSMNP

Kevin FitzGerald, deputy superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 2006, retired this month after 34 years with…
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Freeze your icicle off at winter bike race
 

Freeze your icicle off at winter bike race

Riders are invited to compete and spectators are invited to watch at the Icycle Mountain Bike Race at Fontana Village…
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Devil’s Courthouse logging proposal criticized by environmental groups
 

Devil’s Courthouse logging proposal criticized by environmental groups

Proposed logging below Devil’s Courthouse in the Pisgah National Forest is being widely decried among outdoor recreation groups and environmental…
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Up in flames?
 

Up in flames?

I sit this morning being bathed in luxurious rain. The kind of life-affirming, life-giving rain the Smokies are noted for.…
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Saving Shuckstack: Age, weather and vandalism take their toll on Smokies’ firetower
 

Saving Shuckstack: Age, weather and vandalism take their toll on Smokies’ firetower

Its bolts are rusting, floor planks are rotting, and its windowpanes shattered. The roof is pocked with holes that let…
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An America divided by class
 

An America divided by class

For the past 80 years more and more Americans have linked themselves economically to the machinations of the federal government.…
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WCU events to commemorate legacy of Martin Luther King
 

WCU events to commemorate legacy of Martin Luther King

Western Carolina University will be hosting a week of events from Jan. 21 to 26 celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.
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One-man comedy show at HART in January
 

One-man comedy show at HART in January

The comedy “21A” will be hitting the stage at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18-19 and 3 p.m. Jan. 20 in the…
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Folk duo comes to Sylva
 

Folk duo comes to Sylva

Bryson City husband/wife singer-songwriters Liz and AJ Nance will be performing at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, and Friday, Feb.…
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All friends were strangers at one time
 

All friends were strangers at one time

John Driskell Hopkins was driving in his truck when it struck him. It was a song. Radiating from his satellite…
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Loosening development regulations a bad idea
 

Loosening development regulations a bad idea

To the Editor: I am adamantly opposed to the rescinding or changing of the current steep slope and mountain-top ordinances…
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Something strange is haunting our dreams
 

Something strange is haunting our dreams

The teenage cashier at the grocery store is conversing with a customer. “That’s right,” she says. “The only thing that…
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Are the ‘possums adapting to headlight glare
 

Are the ‘possums adapting to headlight glare

Where have all the opossums gone? People worry about cerulean warblers and frogs and honeybees and ash trees and hemlocks…
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New soil and water expert named
 

New soil and water expert named

Waynesville native John Ottinger has been named District Conservationist for the Haywood and Madison counties Soil and Water Conservation District.
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Food cables help backpackers ward off bears
 

Food cables help backpackers ward off bears

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has provided $800 from its specialty license plate funds to help secure backpackers’ food from bears…
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A closer look
 

A closer look

Only you can apply the brakes to slow down the Courthouse Timber Sale and get everyone to take a closer…
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Carrying the torch through history
 

Carrying the torch through history

It’s all started with a phone call. A lifelong thirst for adventure led Ronald R. Cooper to a love of…
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Half-price sale at Friends of the Library bookstore in Sylva
 

Half-price sale at Friends of the Library bookstore in Sylva

A half-price book sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19 and from noon to…
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Uncompromising, dark and a worthwhile read
 

Uncompromising, dark and a worthwhile read

A couple of years ago, I blundered into something called “The Bottom Dog Appalachian Writers Series.” Published in Ohio, this…
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Marijuana in national forests is out of control
 

Marijuana in national forests is out of control

To the Editor: Since the mid 1990s, Mexican criminals have been growing marijuana in our national forests. In recent years…
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Let’s do the hard work on mental illness
 

Let’s do the hard work on mental illness

To the Editor: Almost everyone has an opinion about how to combat violent, mass killing. My hope is that we…
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Our state's priorities have gone askew
 

Our state's priorities have gone askew

The swearing in of new Gov. Pat McCrory this past weekend brought to mind a conversation at a recent holiday…
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Changing the rules: Jackson re-writing development standards amid new economic realities
 

Changing the rules: Jackson re-writing development standards amid new economic realities

By Becky Johnson & Andrew Kasper • Staff Writers For two years now, Jackson County’s planning board has systematically combed…
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Haywood welcomes off-site veterans’ health services
 

Haywood welcomes off-site veterans’ health services

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will establish a local field office in Haywood County where veterans who are new…
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Help-wanted: new top lawman for Haywood County
 

Help-wanted: new top lawman for Haywood County

Those vying to be the next sheriff of Haywood County have until 2 p.m. Jan. 17 to get their applications…
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WCU settles wrongful death suit with football player’s family
 

WCU settles wrongful death suit with football player’s family

Western Carolina University has agreed to a $600,000 out-of-court settlment in a civil suit brought by the family of Ja’Quayvin…
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Canton to bid farewell to long-time town anchor
 

Canton to bid farewell to long-time town anchor

Canton Town Manager Al Matthews has announced his impending retirement, and while his last day won’t be for months yet,…
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Cherokee breaks new ground with fines for domestic violence
 

Cherokee breaks new ground with fines for domestic violence

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is hitting domestic violence abusers in their pocketbooks. People convicted of domestic violence-related charges…
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Sweepstakes parlor closings leave some winners, some losers
 

Sweepstakes parlor closings leave some winners, some losers

Carol Anthony sat at in the back corner of a sweepstakes parlor in Maggie Valley one afternoon last week, getting…
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Acclaimed songwriter brings guitar, harmonic folk to Waynesville’s Wineseller
 

Acclaimed songwriter brings guitar, harmonic folk to Waynesville’s Wineseller

Singer/songwriter Ben Wilson will be featured at the Friday Night Live music series from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday,…
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Christian comedian/songwriter hits Franklin
 

Christian comedian/songwriter hits Franklin

Renowned performer Tim Hawkins will be taking the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at the Smoky Mountain Center…
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‘80s rock takes the stage in Cherokee with STYX
 

‘80s rock takes the stage in Cherokee with STYX

Legendary rock group STYX will be performing at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. Tommy Shaw,…
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WNC group releases electropop album
 

WNC group releases electropop album

Electropop trio Stereospread, based in Waynesville, is releasing their highly-anticipated first album, The Heart & the Thief, this month.
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Artist showcase
 

Artist showcase

An opening reception for “Ball Mason Jar Art” by Brent Martin will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11,…
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Remembering the dream: Haywood celebrates Martin Luther King’s message with weekend of speeches, prayers and march
 

Remembering the dream: Haywood celebrates Martin Luther King’s message with weekend of speeches, prayers and march

Haywood County Rev. Lamont Foster still remembers the day he learned what it meant to be black. It was the…
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Indian words add color to our language
 

Indian words add color to our language

Tuckaseigee, Oconaluftee, Heintooga, Wayah, Cullasaja, Hiwassee, Coweeta, Stecoah, Steestachee, Skeenah, Nantahala, Aquone, Katuwah, and on and on. Our place names…
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Local food on the rise
 

Local food on the rise

Last year was a promising year for local food production and farm education in WNC, according to the Appalachian Sustainable…
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Contest captures state’s natural beauty
 

Contest captures state’s natural beauty

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has announced the winners of the eighth annual Wildlife in North Carolina magazine outdoor photo…
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Friends, feathers and fellowship
 

Friends, feathers and fellowship

Friday, Dec. 28, was the date of the eleventh annual Balsam Christmas Bird Count (CBC) — 11 dates but 10…
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Forests and water could be doomed in 2060
 

Forests and water could be doomed in 2060

A comprehensive U.S. Forest Service report released last month examines how expanding populations, increased urbanization, and changing land-use patterns could…
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Restored Lodge offers retreats, rustic  getaway in the Nantahala National Forest
 

Restored Lodge offers retreats, rustic getaway in the Nantahala National Forest

Nestled deep in the mountains between Sylva and Cashiers, the scenic U.S. Forest Service Balsam Lodge is celebrating its 30th…
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