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Home for the holidays: Christmas at Broyhill Children’s Home brings happiness to all
 

Home for the holidays: Christmas at Broyhill Children’s Home brings happiness to all

The most wonderful time of the year — it’s a line is engrained in us all. But nobody embraces and…
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Celebrate the New Year!
 

Celebrate the New Year!

Fine dining, jazz for New Year’s Eve There will be a special jazz performance and dinner at 7 p.m. Monday,…
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Ride the rails into 2013
 

Ride the rails into 2013

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad will ring in the New Year with an evening of live music, dancing, dining and…
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Learn how to play the dulcimer
 

Learn how to play the dulcimer

Registration is ongoing for the eighth annual “Dulcimer U Winter Weekend” conference for mountain dulcimer enthusiasts, which will be held…
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Arts council celebrates 35 years, Miller steps down
 

Arts council celebrates 35 years, Miller steps down

Haywood County Arts Council Executive Director Kay Miller is stepping down after nine years on the job.
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A long and winding road
 

A long and winding road

At a McDonald’s in Canton, S.R. “Sha” Shahan sits quietly in one of the corner booths, casually sipping his coffee…
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The source of the sound
 

The source of the sound

It’s the greatest show in town, but the location is a secret. With the tall smokestacks of the Canton paper…
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College kids gum up Jackson County’s economic stats
 

College kids gum up Jackson County’s economic stats

The economic situation seemed to be looking up in Jackson County: unemployment was on a steady decline; the real estate…
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Haywood County economy outpaces its peers
 

Haywood County economy outpaces its peers

Joey Del Bosque scrolled through his appointment book for the week; time slot after time slot was filled, with just…
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Economic indicators show WNC’s pump is primed but still waiting to flow
 

Economic indicators show WNC’s pump is primed but still waiting to flow

More doom and gloom or a light at the end of the tunnel? For five years, the nation has waited…
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Dismal participation in Sylva’s recycling begs the question
 

Dismal participation in Sylva’s recycling begs the question

Since the town of Sylva’s curbside recycling program was reinstated about five years ago, its participation has stagnated, with the…
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So long sweepstakes: Supreme Court upholds state’s authority to regulate gambling
 

So long sweepstakes: Supreme Court upholds state’s authority to regulate gambling

The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled last week that state lawmakers indeed have the power to ban video gambling in…
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Old hospital building needs a new lease on life, but takers are few
 

Old hospital building needs a new lease on life, but takers are few

What to do with a hulking, four-story, run-down, decades-old, now-empty former hospital in Waynesville?
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Confederate flag flap in holding pattern in Haywood
 

Confederate flag flap in holding pattern in Haywood

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners have postponed voting on a controversial flag display policy until after the New Year,…
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Franklin ambulance garage to hold green-go power over nearby stoplight
 

Franklin ambulance garage to hold green-go power over nearby stoplight

Ever wanted a magic button you could press to make the stoplight turn green? Macon County Emergency Medical Services will…
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Billing error for casino IT services translates into $4.1 million refund for tribe
 

Billing error for casino IT services translates into $4.1 million refund for tribe

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was accidentally overbilled $2.7 million for IT service over several years by the company…
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Bryson City radio station fine tunes programming for local AM airwaves
 

Bryson City radio station fine tunes programming for local AM airwaves

Two years after being saved from imminent death in the nick of time, WBHN began broadcasting regularly in Bryson City…
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Compromise forged to save metal truss bridge
 

Compromise forged to save metal truss bridge

Macon County residents hoping to save an old metal truss bridge spanning the Little Tennessee River scored a small win,…
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Arrest comes down in case of missing headstones in Sylva
 

Arrest comes down in case of missing headstones in Sylva

An ongoing investigation into gravestones purchased from Moody’s Funeral Home in Sylva but never delivered to the buyers has resulted…
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Winter mushrooms a welcome find
 

Winter mushrooms a welcome find

Most people who hunt mushrooms do so in late summer and fall when an array of choice edibles are abundant…
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Historic Appalachian Trail shelter gets a lift
 

Historic Appalachian Trail shelter gets a lift

The Nantahala Hiking Club recently renovated an 80-year-old Appalachian Trail shelter about a mile north of Burningtown Gap in Macon…
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Franklin Young Professionals awarded for trash pick-up
 

Franklin Young Professionals awarded for trash pick-up

The Franklin Young Professionals were recently awarded a plaque for their participation in the N.C. Big Sweep river cleanup this…
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Foundation makes year-end push for one donation per mile
 

Foundation makes year-end push for one donation per mile

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has once again launched a year-end fundraising campaign called the 469 Challenge. Inspired by the…
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Project to engage farmers in biofuel industry
 

Project to engage farmers in biofuel industry

A $130,000 grant from The Biofuels Center of North Carolina is providing seed money aimed at developing the clean energy…
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Reintroduce rudolph! (You may need your children to help you read this)
 

Reintroduce rudolph! (You may need your children to help you read this)

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a great wilderness of about a half-million square acres. It has been the…
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WNC lakes join list with mercury warning for fish
 

WNC lakes join list with mercury warning for fish

Two more lakes in the region are now under a fish consumption advisory due to mercury contamination. Unsafe levels of…
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Re-discovering a child’s outlook and a sense of humor
 

Re-discovering a child’s outlook and a sense of humor

Although its publisher marketed Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever as a children’s book, this touching story of a mother’s love…
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Help protect local nonprofits from fiscal cliff fallout

 

Help protect local nonprofits from fiscal cliff fallout


To the Editor: As the executive director of Cherokee Preservation Foundation for the past 10 years, I’ve seen the tremendous…
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Make gun, ammo buyers pay to solve problem
 

Make gun, ammo buyers pay to solve problem

Gary Peebles • Guest Columnist In an entirely predictable way, the Connecticut shootings have touched off another round in the…
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Investment in mental health might provide some answers
 

Investment in mental health might provide some answers

By Bob Scott • Guest Columnist After the killing of 26 children and adults by a young man using a…
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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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