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Martin’s CD explores somber themes without being dark
 

Martin’s CD explores somber themes without being dark

By Dean Williams • Contributing Writer Angela Faye Martin’s Anniversary, the follow-up CD to her Mark Linkous produced Pictures From…
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KC and The Sunshine Band hits Harrah’s Cherokee
 

KC and The Sunshine Band hits Harrah’s Cherokee

Keeping disco alive, legendary group KC and The Sunshine Band will be hitting the stage with their wild, funky music…
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Celebrate the end of the World with polka and craft beer
 

Celebrate the end of the World with polka and craft beer

There will be a winter solstice party at from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, at City Lights Café…
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WCU professor releases live-recorded jazz album
 

WCU professor releases live-recorded jazz album

Pavel Wlosok, associate professor of jazz studies in the Western Carolina University School of Music, is releasing a jazz record…
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Steep Canyon Rangers receive Bluegrass Grammy nomination
 

Steep Canyon Rangers receive Bluegrass Grammy nomination

Nationally acclaimed bluegrass sensation Steep Canyon Rangers from Asheville has racked up yet another accolade — and their second Grammy…
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Great Smokies music revived, receives Grammy nomination
 

Great Smokies music revived, receives Grammy nomination

He went east to discover the final frontier. In 1937, Californian Joseph S. Hall was a 30-year-old graduate student. Hired…
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Memories of the lost village of Needmore
 

Memories of the lost village of Needmore

Is there another region in the United States that has had more flourishing towns and villages disappear than the one…
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REI grant used to save Chimney Tops trail in the Smokies
 

REI grant used to save Chimney Tops trail in the Smokies

Recreational Equipment Inc. donated $5,000 to support the Smokies Trails Forever program and helped fund a crew and 106 volunteers…
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New speciality plate looking for support
 

New speciality plate looking for support

Show your support for the Mountain to Sea Trail by being one of the first 300 people to buy a…
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Appalachian Trail ambassadors sought
 

Appalachian Trail ambassadors sought

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy seeks to fill 15 volunteer positions as Appalachian Trail community ambassadors. These ambassadors will support the AT…
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The day the sun stood still
 

The day the sun stood still

Ladies and gentlemen, return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Spaceship Earth will be screeching to a stop at…
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Gear Guide 2012: Blackrock Outdoor Company
 

Gear Guide 2012: Blackrock Outdoor Company

Hammocks by Eagle’s Nest Outfitters — $55 to $80 These hammocks are a great gift for anyone simply looking to…
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Gear Guide 2012: Nantahala Outdoor Center Wesser
 

Gear Guide 2012: Nantahala Outdoor Center Wesser

GoPro Hero3 Camera: Black Edition — $400 If you’re tired of showing boring vacation photographs and videos to friends and…
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Gear Guide 2012: Outdoor 76 Franklin
 

Gear Guide 2012: Outdoor 76 Franklin

Outdoor 76 t-shirts and “828” caps — $22 to $26 If you fish local, hike local or kayak local, then…
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Gear guide 2012: Mast General Store
 

Gear guide 2012: Mast General Store

Sawyer Squeeze Filter — $60 This may be the best, and last water filter, you ever buy. The new filter…
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Holiday gear guide to the rescue: SMN serves up goods bets for the outdoors person on your shopping list
 

Holiday gear guide to the rescue: SMN serves up goods bets for the outdoors person on your shopping list

For outdoors enthusiasts, Christmas brings but fleeting respite from the cold, dark days of winter — with the promise of…
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Bringing out the horror of teen angst
 

Bringing out the horror of teen angst

In recent years, there has been a kind of Swedish literary invasion in America, especially in the horror genre. Perhaps…
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The fiscal cliff is already in our rearview mirror
 

The fiscal cliff is already in our rearview mirror

By Kenn Jacobine • Guest Columnist Washington is full of drama. Americans are constantly being treated to high political suspense.…
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Taking advantage of our unique attributes
 

Taking advantage of our unique attributes

The recently announced plans for a Blueways Trail focusing on the recreational uses of Western North Carolina’s waterways is one…
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Franklin merchants run afoul of festival planning protocols
 

Franklin merchants run afoul of festival planning protocols

Some downtown merchants in Franklin have clashed with town leaders in recent weeks over a perceived lack of support for…
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On the job with Franklin’s Main Street director
 

On the job with Franklin’s Main Street director

Franklin’s Main Street Program has found itself in an uncomfortable spotlight in recent weeks as Franklin merchants have complained that…
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Newspaper says advertising was pulled after critical news coverage
 

Newspaper says advertising was pulled after critical news coverage

A side drama playing out in the downtown Franklin fracas involves an unusual public display of the tension that often…
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Downtown discord prompts call for renewed collaboration
 

Downtown discord prompts call for renewed collaboration

Both sides in a downtown Franklin dispute have pledged to work together after publicly locking horns in recent weeks. “It…
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Despite student pleas, WCU hikes tuition again
 

Despite student pleas, WCU hikes tuition again

Western Carolina University’s Board of Trustees approved an 8 percent increase in tuition next academic year — much to the vexation…
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Professors struggle with increased class sizes
 

Professors struggle with increased class sizes

While Western Carolina University’s budgets have been shrinking in recent years, its class sizes have been growing.
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New dental clinic should bring a smile to WNC
 

New dental clinic should bring a smile to WNC

Citing a statewide shortage of dentists, East Carolina University is opening 10 clinics across North Carolina with the mission of…
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DOT negotiates buyouts  for Haywood interchange
 

DOT negotiates buyouts for Haywood interchange

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is in the middle of buying nearly 40 Haywood County properties that stand in…
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County leaders ponder whether Cashiers could support ABC store
 

County leaders ponder whether Cashiers could support ABC store

A Jackson County resident has taken it upon himself to show county decision-makers that a Cashiers ABC store is a…
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Most Bryson City business owners OK with county financing train improvements
 

Most Bryson City business owners OK with county financing train improvements

Most Everett Street business owners support Swain County’s pending investment in the privately owned Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, but some…
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HCC hopes to finally choose president in January
 

HCC hopes to finally choose president in January

The Haywood Community College Board of Trustees will meet on Dec. 19 to interview eight candidates who hope to be…
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Adopt a pet, hang a stocking at animal shelter
 

Adopt a pet, hang a stocking at animal shelter

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation is holding its “Home for the Holidays” promotion, in which “Youth For Sarge’s” members make Christmas…
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Feds help local students stay in school
 

Feds help local students stay in school

Southwestern Community College has been awarded a nearly $1.3 million grant under the Upward Bound Programs from the U.S. Department…
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Work grant to train poker dealers
 

Work grant to train poker dealers

Southwestern Community College will launch a training program for live game dealers, in conjunction with Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort,…
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WCU earns grant to train family nurses
 

WCU earns grant to train family nurses

Western Carolina University’s School of Nursing is the recipient of nearly $700,000 in federal grant funding to help address a…
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‘Mother Jones’ returns to the stage
 

‘Mother Jones’ returns to the stage

An encore performance of “Mother Jones,” a monologue written by Gary Carden, will be staged at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec.…
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Rediscovering your inner child
 

Rediscovering your inner child

Each day, James Bandy and Clifton Coleman hangout with soldiers, princesses, dinosaurs and aliens. Their domain is Blast From The…
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Toy stores play on: Online shopping, chain stores take a toll on the local toy store scene
 

Toy stores play on: Online shopping, chain stores take a toll on the local toy store scene

If you have it, they will come. That’s the philosophy for the small facet of independent toy stores remaining in…
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Liars Bench hosts Nashville singer/songwriter with local roots
 

Liars Bench hosts Nashville singer/songwriter with local roots

The Liars Bench presents “A Foxfire Christmas with Randy Flack” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, in the Mountain Heritage…
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What’s on tap for December’s Sylva Art Stroll
 

What’s on tap for December’s Sylva Art Stroll

The final downtown Sylva Art Stroll of the year will feature luminaries to light the way at 5 p.m. Friday,…
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‘Rotunda Gallery’ art exhibit comes to historic courthouse
 

‘Rotunda Gallery’ art exhibit comes to historic courthouse

Western North Carolina artist Norma Hendrix will hold an opening exhibit of her work from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.…
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Mural project aimed at renewal
 

Mural project aimed at renewal

A mural project called “On Hallowed Ground” aims to honor the heritage of Dillsboro, showcase artistic talents and lend a…
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The appropriately named 'blue darter'
 

The appropriately named 'blue darter'

When I was a boy my favorite sport was baseball. I was a pitcher. I didn’t have any idea where…
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Little Tennessee heralded for wildlife spotting
 

Little Tennessee heralded for wildlife spotting

The Little Tennessee River in Macon County landed a spot on the N.C. Wildlife Federation’s “top nine” list of spots…
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Is the chestnut making a comeback?
 

Is the chestnut making a comeback?

Volunteers and scientists planted 200 American chestnut seedlings in the Nantahala National Forest that are hopefully blight resistant in efforts…
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Land trust protects entrance to protected area
 

Land trust protects entrance to protected area

In November the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy purchased 89 acres at the southern end of the Yellow Mountain State Natural…
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Over the fiscal cliff – and into the abyss
 

Over the fiscal cliff – and into the abyss

First Mate McConnell: “Cap’n the ship is headed straight for that iceberg and there’s no way we kin stop her…
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Scouting a Smokies Blueway Trail: Recreation abounds, but knowing where and how to tap it can be a mystery
 

Scouting a Smokies Blueway Trail: Recreation abounds, but knowing where and how to tap it can be a mystery

The mountains rising above the valleys have long been the main attraction for tourists planning a trip to Western North…
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The stuff of dreams: Important 20th century poet discovered in new book
 

The stuff of dreams: Important 20th century poet discovered in new book

As the poet Yvan Goll lay in a hospital in Paris dying of leukemia, a continuous line of some of…
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Waynesville brings Christmas downtown with packed performance line-up
 

Waynesville brings Christmas downtown with packed performance line-up

Downtown Waynesville will be hosting “A Night before Christmas” from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. The event…
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Christmas shows take the stage at Smoky Mountain Performing Arts Center
 

Christmas shows take the stage at Smoky Mountain Performing Arts Center

From WWII Christmas memories to an audience sing-along, the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts is bringing a full…
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