Carl Sandburg in 1955.
 

Sandburg’s words are needed now more than ever

When my mom was living, she owned a tour company called Southern Comfort Tours. She opened the business in her…
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We need CLEAN Medicaid Expansion
 

We need CLEAN Medicaid Expansion

To the Editor: When it comes to health insurance, North Carolina has the sixth largest uninsured population in the nation.…
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Cat Museum will promote Jackson County
 

Cat Museum will promote Jackson County

To the Editor: I am opening The American Museum of the House Cat at a new location in April. I…
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Comment

Video series celebrates wetlands
 

Video series celebrates wetlands

The Dogwood Alliance released a new video series on wetlands for World Wetlands Day, which was Feb. 2. 
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An elk lets out a bugle. Visit N.C. Smokies photo
 

Elk fest coming to Maggie: Event will celebrate elk, wildlife and the outdoors

A new extravaganza will prance into the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds this year — the Smoky Mountain Elk Fest, an…
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Comment

Wildfire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
 

Pigeon Forge recognized for wildfire risk reduction

The city of Pigeon Forge is gaining national attention for its work to safeguard the community against wildfires, having recently…
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The Naturalist's Corner: How can somethingthat doesn’t exist be declared extinct?
 

The Naturalist's Corner: How can somethingthat doesn’t exist be declared extinct?

I believe it was around Jan. 22 of this year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar…
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Comment

A worthwhile book on raising children
 

A worthwhile book on raising children

Much is made these days of “snowflakes,” slang for some of our young people. One online source defines snowflakes as…
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Comment

Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, 2014: P. Bradley Ulrich (trumpet), Zsolt Szabo (trombone), Mike Schallock (tuba), David Ginn (trumpet) and Travis Bennett (horn).
 

Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet celebrates 25 years

The Sylva-based Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet will present a concert celebrating 25 years of music, travel and fun together on…
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This must be the place: Call it living the dream, call it kicking the ladder
 

This must be the place: Call it living the dream, call it kicking the ladder

Why does it seem we’re all so unhappy these days?  Is it that we’re just more aware of our emotions…
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Comment

Haywood schools again ask for calendar flexibility
 

Haywood schools again ask for calendar flexibility

North Carolina’s rigid school calendar law has been in place since 2004, but over the past few weeks, a pair…
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More than 200 apartments are currently planned for this 41-acre parcel off Hyatt Creek Road. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Cherokee artifacts at Plott Creek? Maybe so, maybe not

During the protracted approval process of a proposed development that would bring around 200 new apartments to a 41-acre parcel…
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Comment

HCC president announces her retirement
 

HCC president announces her retirement

Haywood Community College President Dr. Barbara Parker announced her intent to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2019, at the college board…
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Comment

Budget talks get underway in Macon
 

Budget talks get underway in Macon

It’s likely to be another tough budget year as Macon County commissioners are faced with a growing list of capital…
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Comment

The team of nonprofit and government partners behind the conservation project celebrates Tribal Council’s approval of funding outside the council house Feb. 7. The team includes (from left) Mainspring Deputy Director Ben Laseter, Mainspring Land Conservation Manager Jordan Smith, the tribe’s supervisory biologist Mike Lavoie, Pinnacle Park Foundation Chairman J.K. Coward, EBCI Secretary of Operations Jeremy Hyatt, The Conservation Fund N.C. Director Bill Holman and EBCI Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources Joey Owle. Holly Kays photo
 

Tribe votes for Plott Balsam conservation

An effort to conserve 912 acres along the Plott Balsam ridge in Jackson County cleared the final hurdle of a…
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Déjà vu: N.C. 107 planners struggle to find solutions to road dilemma
 

Déjà vu: N.C. 107 planners struggle to find solutions to road dilemma

After taking input from the more than 100 people who attended a Jan. 14 public forum and carefully combing their…
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Comment

Records shed light on Jackson jail death
 

Records shed light on Jackson jail death

While unanswered questions remain in the recent death of 49-year-old Franklin resident Melissa Middleton Rice, which occurred on Jan. 18…
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‘She just slipped through our fingers’
 

‘She just slipped through our fingers’

Editor's note: some names in this story have been changed to honor a request from the family of the deceased. At…
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A North Carolina native, Jane Hipps grew up on a farm. Donated photo
 

Woman from the west, for the west: Hipps remembered for her passion, commitment

On the campaign trail, Jane Hipps of Waynesville was often called the “woman from the west, for the west.” With…
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Comment

Robert Dylan Thomas
 

Sylva man arrested following stabbing

A Sylva man has been charged with assault after Jackson County deputies responded to a Feb. 7 call and found…
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Comment

Threat prompts Canton Middle evacuation
 

Threat prompts Canton Middle evacuation

Haywood County Schools officials at Canton Middle School learned that a threatening message (bomb threat) was written on a restroom…
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Comment

HCC president announces her retirement
 

HCC president announces her retirement

Haywood Community College President Dr. Barbara Parker announced her intent to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2019, at the college board…
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Comment

Columns and newspapers can change views
 

Columns and newspapers can change views

By John Hood • Guest Columnist I have written a syndicated column on politics and public policy for North Carolina…
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Finally, my wife is living the dream
 

Finally, my wife is living the dream

When Tammy and I met almost exactly 15 years ago, there were a few adjustments we had to make, like…
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Comment

Will our democracy survive this test?
 

Will our democracy survive this test?

To the Editor: Safe roads. Safe airports. Safe air travel. Clean water. Clean air. Safe streets. Consumer protection. Safe waste…
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Comment

Meadows is leader of obstruction, shutdown
 

Meadows is leader of obstruction, shutdown

To the Editor: The “Meadows stands for national security” letter written by Ted Carr clearly linked the word “resist” with…
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Comment

Singer-songwriter Chris Minick at his home in Waynesville. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

Outside the bounds of time: Longtime WNC songwriter releases debut album

Tucked up along a hillside overlooking Richland Creek and the Frog Level district of Waynesville is a cozy bungalow.  The…
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Don’t you know that God is Pooh Bear?
 

Don’t you know that God is Pooh Bear?

Standing in front of the ancient waterfall, I watched the lagoon sparkle like some long-lost stash of emeralds and sapphires.…
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Comment

Falling in love with a writer
 

Falling in love with a writer

Valentine’s Day is almost here, and I have fallen in love. Again. Three years ago, Nina George entranced me with…
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Junaluska’s story as told through historians
 

Junaluska’s story as told through historians

Editor’s note: This column first appeared in a February 2002 edition of The Smoky Mountain News. Every reader of this column…
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Comment

N.C. efforts aid Texas turkey population
 

N.C. efforts aid Texas turkey population

A trap-and-release effort based in North Carolina is helping to boost wild turkey populations in Texas. 
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Comment

Water champions honored
 

Water champions honored

Three water champions were recognized for their work to improve Haywood County’s rivers, streams and reservoirs during 2018 at Haywood…
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Comment

Disaster payments go out to farmers
 

Disaster payments go out to farmers

The federal government shutdown created some delays in getting applications processed for the Agriculture Disaster Relief Program of 2018, but…
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Comment

Many Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust properties are located in the Cashiers Valley. Donated photo
 

Land trust celebrates 100 properties conserved

Conservation of six new places last year brought Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust to a landmark total of 100 conservation projects completed,…
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Comment

Brothers Parker (from left), Walker and Tucker stand with one of the seed stock cattle bred at Guy Brothers Farms. Guy Brothers Farms photo
 

‘Effort like they’ve never had to give’: Farmers get older and fewer, but hope remains for ag’s future

Zac Guy grew up on the back of a tractor.  His father worked in sales and his mother was a…
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Macon County Commissioner Ronnie Beale speaks at the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ legislative priorities conference. Chris Baucom/NCACC photo
 

Macon leaders attend legislative goals conference

Macon County Commissioners Jim Tate and Ronnie Beale and County Manager Derek Roland recently joined voting delegates from counties throughout…
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Comment

Cherokee approves early gaming disbursements for housing
 

Cherokee approves early gaming disbursements for housing

Young Cherokee tribal members could soon be able to use their gaming allocations to pay for housing following a unanimous…
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Comment

Major new Haywood schools facility proposed
 

Major new Haywood schools facility proposed

It’s $13 million now, or $40 million later, according to a presentation by Haywood Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bill Nolte…
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Comment

Fresh eyes, fresh ideas: Haywood budget process begins
 

Fresh eyes, fresh ideas: Haywood budget process begins

It’s not Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead’s first budget, but it is his first budget in Haywood County. 
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Comment

Dogwood Health Trust now in operation
 

Dogwood Health Trust now in operation

With the completion of Mission Health System’s sale of assets to HCA Healthcare, Dogwood Health Trust is now officially operating…
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Comment

Destri Leger, Jackson County Coordinator for Center for Domestic Peace (right) and Victim Advocate Ruby Lawrence talk about CDP’s transition into a standalone agency. Jessi Stone photo
 

Domestic violence organization forming in Jackson

Seven years have passed since REACH of Jackson County suddenly shut down operations due to financial issues, leaving the county…
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Comment

A pair of chairs sits empty in a small homeless encampment in Haywood County. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Face to face: Local homeless remain elusive

Huddled together in the dark near an old wood stove beneath an elaborate rigging of tarps and tents on a…
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Comment

Meth, not bear attack, caused death in park, autopsy says
 

Meth, not bear attack, caused death in park, autopsy says

An autopsy recently completed on a man who died in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September determined that…
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Comment

HCA completes purchase of Mission Health
 

HCA completes purchase of Mission Health

HCA Healthcare, a leading healthcare provider with 185 hospitals and approximately 1,800 sites of care in 21 states and the…
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Comment

The tide is turning on marijuana
 

The tide is turning on marijuana

The libertarian in me believes in the “live and let live” mantra, which when it comes to legalizing pot means…
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Comment

First the boots, then the heavy lifting
 

First the boots, then the heavy lifting

“It is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own…
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Comment

Rational conclusion: shutdown was all Trump
 

Rational conclusion: shutdown was all Trump

To the Editor: In last week’s guest opinion column, Isaac Herrin invited us to think rationally about the government shutdown and…
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Comment

We need the wall for our security
 

We need the wall for our security

To the Editor: Cannot the “Resisters of the Wall” and Democrats who suggest we don’t need a wall because it’s…
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Comment

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