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Fri05242013

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Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:27

Obamacare will drag down health care

To the Editor: Recently, after a serious falling accident, I experienced medical treatment from our local health care system at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital and at Asheville’s Mission Hospital. Doctors and nurses at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital saved my life and I spent 10…
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:24

Downtown Sylva needs some help

To the Editor: Tourism, tourism and tourism are the three most important words to line the struggling businessmen’s pockets and the county tax collector coffers. One must ask, who were the folks in Dillsboro responsible for tar and feathering plus running…
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:20

By chance, by sea, bye bye

By John Beckman • Columnist Thirty-five years ago, I moved into my first dorm room and this small-town lad had high hopes of the excitement and new people he would meet at this big university hundred of miles from his…
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:18

Cherokee entertains idea of bear sanctuary

Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has postponed any action that would ban bear zoos from the reservation for good. A few tribal members called on Tribal Council last week to revoke the business licenses for any…
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:14

Conviction in toddler’s death just ‘one step’ on the families’ road to justice

A woman was sent to jail for nine years this week for her role in the death of toddler who likely succumbed to hypothermia on the floor of a single-wide trailer one bitterly cold night in Swain County two years…
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:12

Clear sailing ahead for Haywood room tax hike

If anyone opposes an increase in Haywood County’s overnight lodging tax, they did not make their enmity known at Monday’s board of commissioners meeting.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:08

Last week in Maggie: meeting melee, man banned from town hall and legal threats volleyed

A heated argument and near fight between two Maggie Valley residents — one of whom is banned from town hall — disrupted the town’s board of aldermen meeting last Tuesday.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:07

New logo captures essence of Haywood Chamber

The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce debuted a new logo this week, showing off more than a year of work to craft a design that represents the business organization’s role in the county.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:04

Rescinded grant miffs downtown Sylva property owner

After spending $200,000 to build a new parking lot shared by five downtown Sylva businesses, the property owner lost a state grant she was initially promised to help with the cost.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 14:01

Counties hammered with requests for more school resource officers

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office made a pitch to commissioners this week for four additional sheriff’s deputies to be placed in four of the county’s elementary schools — Fairview, Cullowhee Valley, Scotts Creek and Smokey Mountain Elementary.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 13:58

From rap lyrics to bathroom graffiti, schools get tough on threats from students

In a new state of high alert, schools face tough choices when confronted by a threat from a student: is it a precursor to real violence or simply the empty words of imprudent children?
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 13:39

Jackson salutes its new flag

Jackson County is no longer a banner-less government. County commissioners selected an official county flag this week from a pool of a dozen designs submitted by high school, community college and university students. The chosen design is by Southwestern Community…
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 13:37

Sparring or fighting? Swain high schoolers suspended for unsanctioned “fight club”

Swain County School administrators began an internal investigation Friday after videos surfaced of a “fight club” among ninth grade boys in the gym locker room at Swain County High School.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 13:35

So long, courthouse maples

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners voted to cut down the stately maples trees that grace the grounds of the historic courthouse on Main Street in Waynesville this week, citing concerns that the trees are on their last leg.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 13:33

New defibrillators carry big price tag in Macon

Macon County emergency vehicles will soon be equipped with new state-of-the-art cardiac defibrillators. Commissioners voted 3 to 2 this week to spend nearly $400,000 on 12 pieces of the live saving equipment. One will be placed in each of the…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 14:09

In celebration of spring, dead leaves, and an ornery epitaph

About once a year or less, I work up the nerve to publish poems in this space. Head for cover. It’s that time of the year again.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 14:04

Wild game on the grill at wildlife club dinner

The Wildlife Club at Haywood Community College is hosting a wild game dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, at the Haywood County Fairgrounds. There will also be a wild animal calling competition for both game and non-game species. There…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 14:02

Parkway chief to retire

Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis has announced that he will retire on April 1 after 41 years in the National Park Service. During his eight years at the Parkway, he faced continuous budget cuts, which reduced the number of full-time employees…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 14:01

Cataloochee road closed due to wash out

The gravel road leading into Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was washed out by recent heavy rains and has been closed just past Palmer Chapel.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 14:00

Vandals hit park with paint and profanity

Vandals hit an area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park known as “the Sinks” — a popular roadside waterfall located on Little River Road on the Tennessee side of the park. They spray painted pictures and profanity along the…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:57

Great count in your backyard

Of course, you’re no longer confined to your backyard like you were back in 1997 when the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) launched. Sixteen years later and the GBBC is going global. Anyone around the world with Internet access can…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:56

More trail talk…

A regional trails map showing hiking trails, greenways, public lands, rivers and other outdoor recreation landmarks in the seven western counties has recently been completed by the Southwestern Commission — marking one of the first such publications for Western North…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:52

Trail triage? Tough choices ahead as forest service weighs 1,600 miles in trail plan

For the past year, the National Forest Service has been taking inventory, collecting public input and meeting with outdoor interest groups to wrangle its expansive web of nearly 1,600 miles of trail in the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests into…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:39

To be (born) or not to be

Since reading Ben Wattenberg’s The Birth Dearth 25 years ago, the subject of demography has fascinated me. This past week I finished Jonathan Last’s What To Expect When No One’s Expecting: America’s Coming Demographic Disaster (ISBN 978-1-59403-641-5, $23.99), a look…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:38

All Cherokee bear zoos should be shut down

To the Editor: It’s about time that the USDA finally suspended operations at Chief Saunooke’s antiquated concrete pit in Cherokee. Now is the time for Chief Michell Hicks and tribal council members to make this permanent. Anyone who continues to…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:37

Lake J property owners need more information

To the Editor: The article about the upcoming decision regarding possible annexation of Lake Junaluska by Waynesville in the Feb. 6 issue of The Smoky Mountain News included a statement that “... Lake Junaluska property owners have had ample opportunity…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:36

Gov. McCrory needs to put up or shut up

To the Editor: Thanks for standing up to the governor in your column about our state universities (“Majoring in philosophy? More power to you,” SMN, Feb. 6). Even those of us who earned technical degrees appreciate our universities as more…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:34

This diplomacy stuff just isn’t that hard

By Stephanie Wampler • Guest Columnist Well, it seems that John Kerry is our new secretary of state, ready to take on all the problems of the world. Up until recently, I would have been fine with that, but I…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Two Waynesville sweepstake parlors charged as industry guns for a court fight

A Waynesville sweepstakes operator was charged with a criminal misdemeanor last weekend when she refused to shut down her machines, considered a form of illegal gambling under state law.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Haywood wants to hike tourist tax to fund ballparks

Haywood County tourism leaders want to increase the tax on overnight lodging to fund special tourism-related capital projects, including a Jonathan Creek sports complex — a proposal that seems to have traction with county commissioners as well.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Brewery trademark battle may have bittersweet ending

Two breweries that nearly found themselves pitted against each other in a trademark lawsuit may soon make amends in the spirit of brotherly beermaker love, but also out of mutual gain.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Swain County hits the jackpot with Golden LEAF grants

Swain County could receive as much as $2 million in , one-time grant funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation for community betterment projects.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Cherokee ups the ante for early landslide repairs to Smokies road

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the National Park Service are offering up to a $500,000 incentive for early completion of landslide repairs to U.S. 441 through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — indicating both entities’ concerns about the…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

WCU hastens Millennial build-out

In an effort to speed development of its Millennial Campus, Western Carolina University plans to lease the 344-acre tract to a nonprofit endowment — streamlining regulations and eliminating some of red tape the institution must otherwise cut through as a…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Growth prompts call for Cullowhee land-use plan

Cullowhee community members have been making their case for nearly a year now that this pseudo-college town needs land-use planning to guide the growth that’s come knocking.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

River park could catapult Old Cullowhee revitalization

Champions of Cullowhee revitalization are chipping away at a lofty plan to create a vibrant college downtown centered on the banks of the Tuckasegee River in Old Cullowhee.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Waynesville resident celebrates life after transplant

Life Share of the Carolina’s and a local organ donation recipient are hosting a Transplant Party to celebrate the lives saved through organ donation from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 16, at Main Street Perks in downtown Waynesville. Waynesville…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Stellar lumberjack team carves out a niche at HCC

Haywood Community College leaders are collecting donations to give its lumberjack club a facility worthy of its prestige.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

A mixed bag of home building signals hope for 2013

It may still be too soon to declare an economic rebound, but recent construction data may point toward a housing sector comeback led by high-end, new home building in Jackson County.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

HCC unveils new Professional Arts and Crafts center

With her hands fluttering like a hummingbird, Dana Claire loops skeins of colored yarn around a large pegboard. Claire has been interested in fiber crafts her entire life and now, in her retirement years, has she decided to pursue her…
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Exhibit focusing on artists as critics, curators and writers

The Fine Art Museum will host a “Third Thursday” reception for a new exhibit, “Critology,” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, at Western Carolina University.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

Mardis Gras king and queen contest raises funds for Haywood School Foundation

The fundraising race is on among several business and civic leaders in Haywood County who are competing for the title of Mardis Gras King and Queen in the annual Haywood County Schools Foundation benefit.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

‘Rashomon’ brings Japanese tale and sword fighting to stage

Stage and screen students from Western Carolina University will perform the classic drama “Rashomon” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, through Saturday, Feb. 23, in the Hoey Auditorium.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 00:00

HART greets Valentine’s Day with marriage musical

The Broadway Musical “I Do, I Do” is coming to the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 and 16, and 3 p.m. Feb. 17.
Wednesday, 23 May 2007 00:00

It’s all, really, about the tadpoles

The kids are doing their best to amuse themselves there at the water’s edge, but they are past restless. Something needs to happen, and sometimes when you’re fishing, not much does. “Dad, can we skip rocks yet?” Dylan wants to…
Wednesday, 23 May 2007 00:00

Ushering in a new era in Maggie Valley

A whole lot of residents and business owners are excited — and that’s putting it mildly — about Ghost Town’s May 25 re-opening. It’s probably the most anticipated business event in years in Haywood County, and there’s good reason to…
Wednesday, 23 May 2007 00:00

The lamentable loss of Appalachian yard junk

By Brent Martin The most popular subject of conversation in mountain communities today deals with the hollows and ridge tops of Appalachia being filled to capacity with gated and mysterious wealth.
Wednesday, 23 May 2007 00:00

Trail head earns accolades

Who is he: Tobias Miller, who lives near Sylva, was honored this month as the 2006 employee of the year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Miller is the trails foreman for the North Carolina side of the park.…
Wednesday, 23 May 2007 00:00

From dogwood to blackberry winter

Frost warnings and advisories across the Blue Ridge tonight (May 18) officially announce this year’s “blackberry winter.” It is coming about six weeks after “dogwood winter” and will be a much more gentle reminder of Ma Nature’s cold side. The…
Wednesday, 23 May 2007 00:00

Tag helps nonprofit reach $1 million mark

Motorists sporting Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park license plates have helped the organization top the $1 million fund-raising mark since the inception of the specialty license plates in 1999.
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