Mercy Urgent Care opens in Waynesville
 

Mercy Urgent Care opens in Waynesville

Mercy Urgent Care will open its newest facility in Waynesville in early 2020. 
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Haywood commissioners hear opioid update
 

Haywood commissioners hear opioid update

It appears that some progress is being made in the fight against drug addiction in Haywood County, but a recent…
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State releases 2020 economic tier rankings
 

State releases 2020 economic tier rankings

The North Carolina Department of Commerce released the county tier designations for 2020 this week. The designations, which are mandated…
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Owned by the Sylva First Baptist Church on the other side of Landis Street, the parking lot offers easy access to the downtown area. Lilly Knoepp photo
 

Sylva reaches temporary parking agreement with Baptist church

The quarter-acre parking lot on the corner of Main and Landis streets in Sylva is officially town parking following a…
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New hires to speed child custody cases in Cherokee
 

New hires to speed child custody cases in Cherokee

Tribal Council voted unanimously last month to expand the tribe’s roster of attorneys in hopes of moving child custody cases…
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Pretrial program nears end of pilot year
 

Pretrial program nears end of pilot year

Haywood and Jackson counties have been participating in an important pilot program this year in hopes of creating a more…
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Laura Jean Koval gives a presentation about the issues within the criminal justice system and how it’s impacting people in Macon County. Screenshot
 

Sisters form Pretrial Justice Project of Macon County

Dawn Todd manages a humane society in Franklin. With a full plate at work, she isn’t someone who would usually…
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Members of Down Home North Carolina await the provisional vote tally at the Jackson County Board of Elections Nov. 15. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Not so super? Out-of-state money influences small-town elections

Super PACs are starting to make a big-time impact on small-town Western North Carolina politics, and not everyone thinks that’s…
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Michele Presnell and Mark Pless.
 

Presnell out, Pless steps up as filing period begins

If you think seems a bit early for candidates to be filing for the 2020 elections, you’re right — a…
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Moe Davis.
 

New maps and a new candidate in N.C.’s 11th Congressional District

After months and years of litigation, a Wake County court decided Dec. 2 that North Carolina could proceed with the…
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Arnold Hill.
 

Arnold Hill releases new album, offers holiday shows

Amid the plethora of talented bluegrass, Americana and string acts in Western North Carolina, the idea of a rock trio…
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This must be the place: And what it all comes down to, is that everything’s gonna be fine
 

This must be the place: And what it all comes down to, is that everything’s gonna be fine

My eyelids fluttered open and it took me a couple moments to realize that I was in my apartment and…
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Rep. Presnell won’t seek reelection
 

Rep. Presnell won’t seek reelection

After four terms in the N.C. House of Representatives, incumbent Rep. Michele Presnell (R-Burnsville) announced earlier today that she would…
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Photo by Craig Adderley from Pexels
 

Celebrating family, longevity and all that’s possible

Lillie is my dad’s big sister. He’s been gone for nineteen years — from a heart attack, in bed, while…
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Politics too often beats our morality
 

Politics too often beats our morality

The past few weeks have demonstrated the dark direction the United States is taking in foreign policy. Our country declared…
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Do us a favor, Meadows: retire
 

Do us a favor, Meadows: retire

To the Editor: Our NC 11th Dist. Rep. Mark Meadows suggested that he is bored with his job when he stated…
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Facts learned from impeachment hearings
 

Facts learned from impeachment hearings

To the Editor: Those of us who watched the impeachment inquiry testimony and some of the factual news reports afterward…
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Between coyotes and gray wolves in size, red wolves measure about 26 inches at the shoulder and weigh between 50 and 80 pounds. Monty Sloan photo
 

Rallying around the red wolf: Haywood man works to save N.C.’s native wolf

Christopher Lile, 23, was just months away from graduating to begin a career in wildlife conservation when he first learned…
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Endangered bog turtle. Donated photo
 

Project proposed to aid bog turtle

A plan to cut down encroaching trees and shrubs in the White Oak Bottoms bog near Standing Indian Campground in…
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Committee advances conservation bills
 

Committee advances conservation bills

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted on Nov. 19 to advance two key conservation bills. 
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These common backyard feeders apparently have a lot to say. Don Hendershot photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: The A, B, C and Ds of chickadees

All birders, backyard feeders and most other people know chickadees. These small, noisy, gregarious black and gray fluff balls are…
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Learning to listen: A review of Chris Arnade’s Dignity
 

Learning to listen: A review of Chris Arnade’s Dignity

Back in the mid-1970s, I was working as a receiving clerk at the Old Corner Bookstore in Boston. I was…
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Andrew Wyatt and Garret.
 

This must be the place: Often I have thoughts and dreams, lying silent on my tongue

With the recent “10-year challenge” on Facebook — where folks compare photos of themselves from 2009, as a way to…
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‘Fall at Fines Creek’ by Kelley Jakelis.
 

Haywood Arts calendar now available

The Haywood County Arts Council has announced the eight local photographers who have been selected for publication in the 2020…
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Sister Sadie.
 

Since I laid my burden down

In just seven years together, the members of Sister Sadie have risen into the upper echelon of the modern bluegrass…
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A group of Haywood County educators participate in an activity during a recent staff development training offered by the Haywood NAACP Chapter. Jessi Stone photo
 

Haywood NAACP hosts diversity training day for educators

A new kind of professional development training session hosted by the Haywood County Chapter of the NAACP left local educators…
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Flames rise from Cold Mountain. USFS photo
 

Rain quells Cold Mountain Fire at 200 acres

A fire in the Shining Rock Wilderness Area burned about 200 acres last week after a 911 call at 3…
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CJ Deering, a peer support specialist inside the Haywood County Detention Center, reads a letter from a former inmate now serving a prison sentence. Jessi Stone photo
 

Peer support inside jail helps inmates have hope

CJ Deering sat at her desk inside the Haywood County Detention Center when she got a surprise phone call from…
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The Haywood County Detention Center has a maximum capacity of 149, and Sheriff Greg Christopher recently told commissioners an expansion will be needed in the near future. File photo
 

Haywood jail reaches capacity

Haywood County commissioners may have to start seriously considering expanding the detention center now that the average daily inmate population…
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Jackson County’s upcoming Stuff the Bus fundraiser aims to collect food, cash and hygiene products for students in need. JCPS photo
 

Student homelessness high in WNC

For most kids, this is the season of anticipation, a magical time of year marked by stuffed turkeys, Christmas cookies,…
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Opportunity knocks: Western takes on ‘Bama
 

Opportunity knocks: Western takes on ‘Bama

For nearly all of its 128-year history, the University of Alabama’s football program has been synonymous with gridiron excellence. Thousands…
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Cold Mountain fire grows, rain predicted
 

Cold Mountain fire grows, rain predicted

The Cold Mountain Fire is still burning in Haywood County, with a helicopter flight measuring it at approximately 126 acres…
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Fire at Cold Mountain exceeds 100 acres
 

Fire at Cold Mountain exceeds 100 acres

A wildfire near Cold Mountain in Haywood County was reported at 3 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, and as of…
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Interstate 40 reopens in Pigeon River Gorge
 

Interstate 40 reopens in Pigeon River Gorge

Westbound drivers are once again good to go through the Pigeon River Gorge on Interstate 40.
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Horse Cove is worth a visit
 

Horse Cove is worth a visit

Editor’s note: This column first appeared in a November 2003 edition of The Smoky Mountain News. Horse Cove is one…
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MountainTrue award winners
 

MountainTrue award winners

MountainTrue is recognizing six people for their work to preserve Western North Carolina’s natural heritage through its annual awards. 
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A group of Tennessee fifth-graders walks through the woods. David Bryant photo
 

Learning in the real world: Smokies outdoor education center turns 50, plans expansion

As it nears the end of its 50th anniversary year, the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont has its eyes…
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Retired Haywood Community College forestry instructor John Palmer (right) received the 2019 EcoForesters Root Cause Lifetime Achievement Award, with Aimee Tomcho of the Audubon Society (left) winning the Sustainable Use of Forest Products Award and landowners Linda and Ellis Fincher receiving the EcoForester of the Year Award. Donated photo
 

Lifetime achievement award honors former HCC instructor

Retired Haywood Community College forestry instructor John Palmer has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement award in the annual EcoForesters’…
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The sky deck is a prime spot for night sky viewing. PARI photo
 

Space camp programs announced

The recently released summer camp schedule for The Learning Center at PARI includes two residential camp programs, each offering the…
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Jim Goddard (center) is presented with a plaque recognizing his accomplishments from Park Superintendent Cassius Cash and Backcountry Specialist Christine Hoyer. NPS photo
 

Smokies volunteer earns regional recognition

Jim Goddard, a volunteer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has received the National Park Service Southeast Regional Hartzog…
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Specializing in an array of specialized skin remedies, Green Orchid’s flagship product is its wide-array of homemade soaps. (photos: Garret K. Woodward)
 

Finding the beauty within: Green Orchid Soap

Tucked in the depths of Wall Street in Waynesville, the Green Orchid Soap Co. is meant to be found by…
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This must be the place: No fear or shame in the dignity of your experience, language and knowledge
 

This must be the place: No fear or shame in the dignity of your experience, language and knowledge

When I was a kid, my parents would talk to anybody. Literally anybody. Though my little sister was somewhat embarrassed…
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Passionate about print: a review of A Literate South
 

Passionate about print: a review of A Literate South

For many years, most of us who read histories and biographies about America between 1800 and 1865 assumed the seat…
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It’s all about the journey
 

It’s all about the journey

It’s called Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine, and it’s become part of our family. Let me explain. At almost 60 years…
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A winding plot to a published children’s book
 

A winding plot to a published children’s book

Tattoos often follow times of darkness or transition. When my mom’s cancer got to a point of no return, I…
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Budget vote was for my district
 

Budget vote was for my district

To the Editor: In response to Kevin Brock’s letter to the editor regarding my vote on the North Carolina budget…
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Regional honors to Haywood communities
 

Regional honors to Haywood communities

Haywood County took home top three honors and prestigious Calico Cat award for 2019. The WNC Honors Awards is built…
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Western North Carolina’s children are increasingly poor and hungry
 

Western North Carolina’s children are increasingly poor and hungry

For most, childhood is a time of growth, learning and stability nurtured by fertile environmental and economic conditions that ultimately…
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