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Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:34

Donation will go to Smokies priorities

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park was recently awarded $2,000 from Sustainability for Generations to Come, a Western North Carolina organization formed to support conservation efforts in the mountain region.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:30

Farmers get a helping hand with diversification grants

28 Western North Carolina farmers received nearly $150,000 total in grants to help diversify their farm businesses. The money was awarded by WNC AgOptions grant program, which is funded through the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. Most of the awards…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:30

Fees proposed for forest service recreation sites

The U.S. Forest Service may increase, or begin charging, fees at seven recreation sites within the national forests in North Carolina. The Sliding Rock Recreation Area, within the Pisgah National Forest and three shooting ranges in the Nantahala National Forest…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:27

Hops finds a home in WNC soil and economy

A free program on “The Business of Growing Hops” will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at Haywood Community College.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:26

The Rainbow to Nowhere?

What happens when you finally get to the end of the rainbow and there’s no gold in the pot? Perusing The Smoky Mountain News the other day, I ran across Becky Johnson’s piece about the $52 million dollar cash settlement,…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:20

Dark skies — and the stars that go with them — slowly disappearing

Although the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a protected expanse of land, all types of contamination — from air pollution to mercury contamination — manage to creep in. One of the more unusual suspects, but probably the most apparent,…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:14

Jackson County asks towns to dissolve economic development commission

Before a crowded room of town officials this week, Jackson County Commissioner Jack Debnam announced, in so many words, what many already knew: the county’s economic development committee in its previous form was dead and never coming back.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:12

State torn on driver’s licenses for children of illegal immigrants

It’s a right of passage for teens, the Holy Grail of high school, an iconic symbol of young adulthood freedom — that tiny piece of plastic called a driver’s license.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:10

Paddlers hit the river in wake of torrential downpours

The recurring deluge of heavy rains has brought paddlers out of hibernation and onto Western North Carolina rivers over the past few weeks.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:08

HCC plans Entrepreneurship Week activities

Haywood Community College will celebrate National Entrepreneurship Week Feb. 16-23 with a week-long schedule of events. The events will allow HCC to highlight the college’s strengths in the areas of entrepreneurship, sustainability and creativity. The following events are planned: •…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:07

Cherokee bear zoo fined and suspended over violations

Federal regulators temporarily suspended operations at Cherokee bear zoo and fined its owners $5,000 for repeated animal welfare violations.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:03

Batter up: Macon weighs costs and benefits of proposed recreation complex

A Macon County commissioner, who prides himself on fiscal conservatism, has been staking out his positions lately. After questioning the virtue of pay raises for Macon County workers two weeks ago, Commissioner Ron Haven has turned his attention to another…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:02

Sylva teacher wins statewide teaching award

Deanne Oppermann, a chemistry instructor at Southwestern Community College in Sylva, is the recipient of the R.J. Reynolds Excellence in Teaching Award for 2012-2013 by the North Carolina Community College System. Oppermann is known at SCC for embracing multiple teaching…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 14:01

Blue Ridge Heritage signage to make its debut

Ten years after the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area won federal designation, themed signs tying together 65 attractions throughout the mountains will finally be installed this year.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 13:57

Cherokee leaders make their case for a indoor adventure park

A $93 million family adventure park in Cherokee would likely turn a profit during its first year of operation, according to early projections from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ finance department.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

More money allocated to help the hungry in Jackson

Increased demand for Meals on Wheels services and daily meals for low-income seniors in Jackson County have led to a budget shortfall for the programs.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Angel Medical eyes adjacent town property for memorial garden

Whether it’s a new dad catching a breather after his wife’s marathon labor or a grief-stricken daughter who just watched her mother slip away in her arms, overwhelmed hospital visitors sometimes need to escape.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Quaint new lampposts now grace Frog Level sidewalks

Nightlife in Waynesville’s downtown Frog Level district is brighter thanks to the addition of new lampposts along its two main streets.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Tourism branding to create slogan for Jackson County

The newly formed Jackson County Tourism Development Authority voted last week to enter into a $50,000 contract with a nationally renowned branding and marketing company out of Virginia.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Haywood Public Transit on the move

Haywood Public Transit will hold a ribbon cutting for a new transit shelter at 1 p.m. Feb. 12, in Clyde. Haywood Public Transit offers free rides to anyone in the county, and the central location of the new transit facility…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Haywood Democrats won’t consider Republican for sheriff replacement

One of three candidates vying to be Haywood County’s next sheriff was eliminated from the competition in a preliminary round last week.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Roughest, Toughest Brawl takes the ring in Haywood

Amateur boxers will square off at the Haywood County Fairgrounds to vie in the Roughest and Toughest Brawl this weekend, pitting off-the-street fighters against each other for a chance to win $600 in each of the three weight classes. There…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Merger input sought in countdown to decision

Waynesville residents will get their first chance to weigh in on the possibility of adding Lake Junaluska to the town limits with two public hearings this month.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Mom-owned business takes monogramming to a new level

Customers have asked Katie Seymour to monogram just about everything — from the typical towels or cloth purses to the completely abstruse car mats or sports bras.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Gripped by history: A one-woman mission to trace Waynesville’s early roots takes on a life of its own

Lately, it seems Ann Melton was born in the wrong century. During the past two years, Melton has spent more time living in the late 1800s — the days when boarding houses and hitching posts lined Waynesville’s Main Street, when…
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Stecoah Valley bluegrass series tickets on sale

Season tickets are now on sale for the “2013 Appalachian Evening Concert Series” in at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center outside Robbinsville.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Want to learn to do pottery?

There will be a variety of pottery classes offered at Pincu Pottery in Bryson City.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Guitar virtuoso hits WCU stage

Guitarist Frank Vignola will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00

Innovation through tradition

Rhiannon Giddens is an old soul, but one that embraces modernity. Vocalist/fiddler of renowned Americana string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Giddens is a jack-of-all-trades in not only her instrumentation but also her exploration of the history and evolution of…
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Schwartz discusses impacts of Catholicism on four British writers

A country which has accepted the mantle of “empire,’ however inimical that mantle may be to its professed destiny; a country which sells itself off to its competitors, which elevates cheap goods for consumers at the expense of its own…
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Recommended diversions

Wislawa Szymborska One of the best poets I’ve read in quite a while, this Polish Nobel Laureate has a wonderful collection, Poems New and Collected, which includes some of her best work over the past half century. She turns a…
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

The guiltiest of guilty pleasures

By Chris Cooper OK, yes, it’s a widely held opinion that the Reagan years doled out its fair share of really, really awful music, clothes and other cultural oddities. Geometrically impossible haircuts, weirdo shoulder pads, ridiculously pointy, paint splattered guitars…
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Bryson City seeks citizen input in land-use plan

Want to build anything you want in a downtown location that receives a ton of visitors each summer? Then Bryson City, with its total lack of rules governing development, is just the place for you.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Consultant recommends Jackson library site

Where to put a new Jackson County library is no closer to a resolution following a $20,000 study by a consultant intended to lay the groundwork for building a library.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

County OKs $3 million for immediate HCC needs

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood Community College is finally on track to receive some much needed funding after county commissioners announced plans this week to allocate $3 million to the school.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Haywood bids for recreation tract in Jonathan Creek

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood County officials are jumping at the chance to purchase 22 acres of land for recreational space that will help make the county’s master recreation plan a reality.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Haywood leaders voice support for test farm

The region might be at risk of losing an important agricultural research station in Haywood County if a proposed state cost-cutting measure goes through.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Macon planning efforts gaining momentum

Susan Ervin has served on Macon County’s Planning Board for so long she can’t actually remember how many years it’s been.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Momentum building for wisely guiding WNC’s rapid growth

Blessed are the planners, for in their hands rest the fate of these mountains.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Another day, and it’s off to the races

7:37 a.m. — Snatched out of sleep by the ceaseless opening and closing of drawers. Goodness, woman, what can there be in those drawers? I turn over and groan dramatically, and she laughs without sympathy. A long night grading papers…
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Afterschool programs still looking for respect

By Chris Lowe • Guest columnist “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education,” said Albert Einstein. Einstein is credited with several accomplishments, some of which you may be familiar with and not know exactly what they mean to…
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Weed or wildflower?

The status of a given plant as either a “noxious weed” or a “lovely wildflower” is pretty much a matter determined in the mind’s eye of the beholder. Several weeks ago, in a column headed “Persecution of the Dandelion,” I…
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Victim’s family sues REACH for negligence

REACH of Jackson County, a non-profit that aids victims of domestic violence, is being sued by the family of a woman shot and killed at a domestic violence shelter last September by her deranged husband.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Green energy

Over the next few weeks in The Naturalist’s Corner, I’m going to be exploring different aspects of the alternative and green energy movement.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

New shelter graces Wayah Bald

After Ann McDuff was struck and killed while riding her bicycle in February 2003, her husband, Larry, spearheaded a money-raising effort to build a shelter in her memory along the Appalachian Trail.
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 00:00

Soy ... the rest of the story

By Kathleen Lamont Soy is found in all kinds of foods we eat today, but do you know what’s in soy?
Wednesday, 13 June 2007 00:00

Western counties to share land-use ideas

County commissioners, planners and planning board members from the state’s seven westernmost counties will meet this month in a first-of-its-kind attempt to discuss land management on a regional level.
Wednesday, 13 June 2007 00:00

Feudin’ banjos and writin’ laws

By John Armour At the end of every week I take stock of what’s happened. Rare are the weeks which have actual bookends — something that was sublime, and something that was ridiculous. This was one of those weeks. I…
Wednesday, 13 June 2007 00:00

Research farms will benefit from more efficient system

We want the state Agricultural Research Station in Waynesville to remain open, but the Senate budget proposal that attempts to weed out duplication and conduct agricultural research more efficiently isn’t such a bad idea.
Wednesday, 13 June 2007 00:00

How do we really support the troops?

This is about war, but only from a distance. When I read about deaths in Iraq or Afghanistan, it mostly seems a world away. On the rare occasion it gets personal, I can’t help but be reminded that war, particularly…
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