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WCU, A-B Tech sign admission agreement
Leaders of Western Carolina University and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College met Monday, July 8, to sign a memorandum of understanding…
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Grappling with growth: Waynesville comprehensive plan unveiled
The Town of Waynesville took another big step toward plotting its long-term future with the draft release of an update…
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Better together: FUMC Waynesville welcomes LGBTQ members
The congregation at First United Methodist Church of Waynesville isn’t changing who they are following a controversial vote taken at…
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Vice chief candidates make their case
After more than a decade working together as members of Tribal Council, Alan “B” Ensley and Jim Owle are vying…
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Lightning in a bottle: Greensky Bluegrass captures inspiration at Echo Mountain
Bordering the bustling Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville, you wouldn’t know where Echo Mountain Recording is unless you were told. …
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This must be the place: Ten years later and all I got was this crappy T-shirt
This past Saturday morning, I awoke in the top bunk of an RV in downtown Sylva. I got up and…
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Few surprises on first day of candidate filing
Incumbents wasted little time in declaring their intentions to defend their seats after municipal candidate filing opened at noon today,…
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Why are the mountains so alluring?
Editor’s note: This column first appeared in a July 2004 edition of The Smoky Mountain News. “To myself, mountains are…
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Record-setting wild turkey harvest
Results from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s wild turkey harvest summary show this year’s harvest was the second highest ever…
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Law changes appointment structure for Clean Water board
Gov. Roy Cooper has signed into law a bill that reconstitutes several boards and commissions that the court previously held…
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Science program goes statewide: ecoEXPLORE program for kids now available in N.C. State Parks
A program that’s been getting Western North Carolina kids outside since 2016 is now a statewide offering, with a whirlwind…
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Book examines stark example of racism
On February 12, 1946, just hours after his discharge from the Army, Sergeant Isaac Woodard got into an argument with…
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Independent redistricting is the only answer
As we celebrate Independence Day, it seems an appropriate time to call for an independent commission to address North Carolina’s…
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Climate change is in our children’s hands
Last Friday, as I watched the U.S. women’s soccer team defeat France at the Parc des Princes stadium, I kept…
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Disappointed in new aquarium
To the Editor: I visited the new aquarium in Bryson City on Saturday. I was very disappointed. Volunteers put thousands of…
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Educators are indeed professionals
To the Editor: I’m writing to express my outrage regarding the claim in a letter recently printed in local paper…
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Why Medicaid expansion is not the answer
There’s perhaps been no greater ideological clash in American government over the past century than the extent to which the…
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Rural WNC fights for Medicaid expansion
Only $80 stands between Sylva resident Carrie McBane and affordable health care coverage. If she made $80 less she would…
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Frustrations mount over health care access
Carrie McBane of Sylva was at the end of her rope a year ago. She knew something was wrong and…
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Medicaid: what it is and what it does
There’s a good reason President Lyndon B. Johnson traveled to Independence, Missouri on July 30, 1965, to sign the legislation…
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Chief candidates square off in debate
Principal Chief Richard Sneed and challenger Teresa McCoy will face off at the ballot box this September as Cherokee voters…
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Shining Rock remains shrouded in secrecy
Transparency and accountability have long been concerns at Shining Rock Classical Academy — since before the troubled taxpayer-funded school even…
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Shining Rock hires new head of school
Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a series of stories on Haywood County’s public charter school, Shining Rock Classical…
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Canton board seat will remain open, for now
The three remaining members of the Canton Board of Aldermen/women have decided not to appoint anyone to a board seat…
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Budget standoff hinges on Medicaid expansion
Calling the $24 billion state budget passed by North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature “an astonishing failure,” Gov. Roy Cooper, D-Rocky Mount,…
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Teacher resigns following alleged sexual activity with student
UPDATED 1/24/2020: Following several meetings with the alleged victim and family, the District Attorney's Office declined to file charges in…
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Gerrymandering ruling leaves NC districts in place
A June 27 Supreme Court decision not to get involved with politically gerrymandered congressional districts in Maryland and North Carolina…
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Small-town sequel: Waynesville’s Smoky Mountain Cinema reopens
Standing in the lobby of the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville this past Monday morning, owner Greg Israel is putting…
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This must be the place: Ode to Jeff Austin, ode to the power of music
The hardest part of being a journalist, and especially one whose core focus is music, is seeing those you were…
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Cherokee recognized for leadership in healthcare
In a ceremony held at the Cherokee Indian Hospital today, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was awarded the Redefining…
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Shining Rock hires new head of school
More than seven weeks after a series of grievances were filed against Shining Rock Classical Academy’s interim head of school,…
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Trillium Gap Trail Temporarily Closed Due to Trail Conditions
Trillium Gap Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be temporarily closed through Thursday, July 11, due to…
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The dog’s eating our daughter’s college fund
I think our chihuahua has an eating disorder. He’s a rescue, and since we rescued him, he’s twice the dog…
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Leveraging the best requires better broadband
By Bob Scott • Guest Columnist Those of us fortunate enough to live in communities where natural amenities abound know…
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Impeachment is worth the risks
To the Editor: To impeach or not to impeach, that is the question on the minds of many Americans and…
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Right-wingers spread fake news
To the Editor: FAKE NEWS! While I don’t make a habit of using Trump terms, it’s the best way to…
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Lumberjack ‘family’ to get a home: Construction underway on new HCC timbersports building
After more than 20 years of wood chopping and log sawing and award winning, the Haywood Community College Lumberjacks —…
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Waynesville Judo Club brings home awards
The Waynesville Judo Club recently competed in the South Carolina State Championship, coming away with 11 medals.
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The Naturalist's Corner: Windy City peregrines
My bride and I spent a few days in Chicago last week. She was there for a business seminar and…
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Writing to heal the wounds of war
June 2019 marks the twentieth anniversary of The Smoky Mountain News. At the party celebrating this landmark in the paper’s…
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Public comment open for new voting rules
The N.C. State Board of Elections is seeking public comments through July 12 on proposed rules changes related to the…
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Waynesville chief calls it a career
As a 28-year veteran of the Waynesville Police Department, Captain Brian Beck — soon to be interim chief of police…
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Distillery reform bill could soon advance
A regulatory reform bill intended to bring parity for North Carolina’s distillers with its craft brewers continues to make its…
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State budget coming down to the wire
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has a budget. The N.C. House of Representatives has a budget. The N.C. Senate has…
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Hemp Farm expands operations in Macon
An industrial hemp farm will be expanding its operations into the Macon County Business Development Center after commissioners approved a…
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Recovery community looks for new meeting space
Many have probably passed by the Triangle Club on Miller Street in Waynesville without realizing what it was, but those…
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N.C. Senator, Cherokee chief spar in opposing op-eds
In his first public statement on a bill he cosponsored in March, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., wrote an op-ed published…
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DA declines to prosecute SRCA interim director
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of stories on Haywood County’s public charter school, Shining Rock Classical…
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Shining Rock projects lower enrollment for 2019-20
Shining Rock Classical Academy’s 2019-20 budget, passed by the board on June 19, will shrink slightly, due to lower projected…
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Oconaluftee Job Corps saved from closure
The nine Job Corps CCC centers slated for closure this September, including the Oconaluftee center in Cherokee, will remain open…
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