Missed chance for civics lesson
 

Missed chance for civics lesson

To the Editor: I am a product of Haywood County Schools and have two now-grown daughters who were educated in…
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Vote Phillip Price into Congress
 

Vote Phillip Price into Congress

To the Editor: We, as North Carolinians, have entered an era of restrictive practices centered around limiting our ability to…
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Civic engagement should be encouraged
 

Civic engagement should be encouraged

To the Editor: On March 12, 2018, at the Haywood County School Board meeting, Dr. Bill Nolte, interim superintendent, spoke…
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Database boosts plant research in Toxaway
 

Database boosts plant research in Toxaway

The Southern Highlands Reserve has launched a digital database to advance its ability to research native plants from its perch…
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Gnarcissist sunglasses are designed to be high-quality and durable while staying cheap enough to be replaceable. Donated photo
 

‘Enjoy yourself’: WNC duo runs with outdoors-inspired sunglasses brand

For Nick Provost and Peter Moyle, co-owners of the startup outdoors brand Gnarcissist Gear, it all started with granola bars…
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Cory McCall (left) and Rob Gasbarro. Donated photo
 

Outdoor 76 to join Motion Makers in Cherokee

Franklin-based outfitter Outdoor 76 has announced that it will open a second store, joining Motion Makers Bicycle Shop at a…
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Volunteers carry full bags of trash after participating in a previous Tuck River Cleanup. WCU photo
 

Clean up the Tuck

The nation’s largest single-day effort to remove trash from a river will return to Western Carolina University with the 34th…
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John Bartram’s home circa 1729. Don Hendershot photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Puc Puggy’s digs

One of Western North Carolina’s most celebrated visitors acquired his love of — and curiosity about — nature at his…
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Where local and global meet
 

Where local and global meet

Do I have one for you! Elaine Neil Orr’s Swimming Between Worlds was recommended to me by Wayne Caldwell and…
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Ol’ Dirty Bathtub is (from left) Brad Boulet (mandolin), Neil Lippard (guitar), Jerad Davis (guitar), Carter Giegerich (dobro) and Adam Bigelow (standup bass). Brindley Faile photo
 

Halfway where: Ol’ Dirty Bathtub releases debut album

What started out simply as a creative outlet has now taken on a life of its own. Based out of…
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Charles Kuralt.
 

This must be the place: Every soul has a story, every story has a face

You can’t help but smile. Watching old clips of “On The Road” with Charles Kuralt, you find yourself in a…
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New Haywood Arts director
 

New Haywood Arts director

The Haywood County Arts Council Board of Directors unanimously elected Leigh Forrester as the new executive director. She will assume…
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TWSA debates policy changes in Cashiers
 

TWSA debates policy changes in Cashiers

As planning proceeds for a new sewer treatment plant in Cashiers, the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority will soon be…
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Members of the community opposed to Sunday morning alcohol sales applaud following public comment from one of the many anti-alcohol speakers who spoke during a public hearing March 19. Holly Kays photo
 

Jackson to hold second Brunch Bill hearing

A second public hearing on whether to allow Sunday morning alcohol sales in Jackson County will be held at 5:30…
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Sylva forecasts a tight budget year
 

Sylva forecasts a tight budget year

Two years after the Sylva town board enacted a 42 percent increase in the city’s property tax rate, budget time…
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Cherokee Tribal Council Member Tommye Saunooke (above) moved to ban all non-Cherokee media from council Chambers. File photo
 

Tribal transparency on shaky ground after media ban

Allegations made by a member of Cherokee Tribal Council against a Smoky Mountain News reporter have resulted in a ban…
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Collette Coggins, co-owner of 7 Clans Brewing, defends her business before the Tribal Council. Cherokee Council House image
 

Brewery controversy prompts tribe to examine naming rules

After a contentious three-hour back-and-forth that followed an already full day at the Cherokee Council House, the Cherokee Tribal Council…
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Cochran shakes hands with his supporters after the board of elections dismissed the candidate challenge against him. Jessi Stone photo
 

Challenge against Swain sheriff dismissed

The packed Swain County courtroom broke into thunderous applause as the newly seated board of elections unanimously dismissed a candidate…
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Phillip Wight, a candidate for Haywood County commissioner, has caught some flack for his campaign signs that read, ‘Vote for the Wight Guy.’ Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Red, Wight and blue: campaign signs cause a stir

A spate of unusual campaign signs began popping up in Maggie Valley about a week ago and although the message…
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Down Home NC holds a rally at the Haywood County Historic Courthouse. Donated photo
 

Report: minorities, poor in N.C. blame Trump, Congress

A recent report published by nonprofit advocacy group Down Home North Carolina says that changing demographics and their accompanying shifts…
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Left to right: Hunter Plemmons, Jim Moore and Eddie West. Donated photos
 

Primary election will determine next Haywood Clerk of Court

While some Haywood County voters will head to the polls May 8 asking themselves who they’re going to vote for,…
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NRA grants help local students learn safety
 

NRA grants help local students learn safety

Recent efforts to enhance student safety by placing armed volunteers in the nation’s schools have resulted in predictable blowback from…
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An artist’s rendering of what low-income housing might look like at the old Haywood hospital. Donated photo
 

Historic Hospital project inches forward

The next chapter in the saga of the historic Haywood Hospital is about to be written, but in the choose-your-own-adventure…
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Franklin considers options for alcohol at events
 

Franklin considers options for alcohol at events

A music and beer festival planned for April 20 in downtown Franklin has hit a roadblock since a town ordinance…
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Lake Junaluska to begin restoring bridge over dam
 

Lake Junaluska to begin restoring bridge over dam

Lake Junaluska has received a certificate of approval from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality authorizing construction activity to…
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Sweet Birch Catkins. Donated photo
 

Birch stills were once plentiful in the mountains

Throughout spring the pendent catkins of sweet birch (Betula lenta) will be dangling gracefully in the wind in rich woodland…
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Rocky Branch Lake provides 6,400 Waynesville customers with high-quality drinking water. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Walking Waynesville’s watershed: Hike offers rare glimpse into unspoiled area

Of all the rugged places in Western North Carolina, one of the most pristine and unique is also one of…
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Bear activity prompts warning in Panthertown
 

Bear activity prompts warning in Panthertown

An increase in serious bear encounters in Panthertown Valley has led the U.S. Forest Service to recommend that backcountry campers…
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Haywood Community College’s campus arboretum has been growing for 50 years. Donated photo
 

HCC named Tree Campus USA

Haywood Community College was recently named a 2017 Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, commemorating this accomplishment by…
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If you’re going through hell: a book and some thoughts
 

If you’re going through hell: a book and some thoughts

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill By hell, I mean neither a trivial bad-hair day nor that…
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‘What took you so damn long, Joyce?’
 

‘What took you so damn long, Joyce?’

It was the shortest funeral service I’ll likely ever attend. And though there were tears and somber conversations, there were…
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The best reason of all to play
 

The best reason of all to play

It’s one of those late March days that can’t make up its mind whether winter is really over or might…
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WLOS corporate line tough to swallow
 

WLOS corporate line tough to swallow

To the Editor: This letter is director to Julie Fries, news director for Channel 13 WLOS, and to Joe Fishleigh,…
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The left has reached a new low
 

The left has reached a new low

To the Editor: Week after week I read the opinions and dissertations from the left. It seems that those of…
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Co-chair of the WNC Green Party Camille McCarthy says the party’s worked hard to get on the ballot. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Greens make the grade: Ballot access boosts third parties

This fall, voters in North Carolina will be treated to a new choice at the polls come election day. 
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Can Canton’s Colonial come back?
 

Can Canton’s Colonial come back?

Many Fridays a small group of longtime Canton residents meet up informally at the town’s historical museum on Park Street…
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Supreme Court issues opinion in impeachment case
 

Supreme Court issues opinion in impeachment case

Nine months after arguments concluded in a dispute over the process used to impeach then-Principal Chief Patrick Lambert, the Cherokee…
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Renovated Labyrinth at Lake Junaluska
 

Renovated Labyrinth at Lake Junaluska

The outdoor labyrinth at Lake Junaluska has long been a place where people go to seek spiritual renewal. Recent renovations…
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Tribal members crowd the Cherokee Central Schools auditorium during a Grand Council held April 18, 2017. Holly Kays photo
 

Impeachment issue returns to Cherokee courts

While nearly a year has passed since former Principal Chief Patrick Lambert was removed from office, a court hearing March…
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Brent McMahan (left) and Doug Farmer.
 

Jackson sheriff candidates vie for win in Republican primary

Jackson County Sheriff Chip Hall may be running unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary, but two Republican candidates are competing…
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Swain County Commission chairman candidates lay out their views on whether to build a new library or renovate the existing facility. File photo
 

Bushyhead challenges Carson for chairman seat

After serving as chairman of the Swain County Board of Commissioners for two terms, incumbent Phillip Carson will be challenged…
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Comment

New principal at Smoky Mountain
 

New principal at Smoky Mountain

The Jackson County Public Schools Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Elliott, Superintendent announced Evelyn Graning as the new…
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Waynesville approves incentive package for unnamed business
 

Waynesville approves incentive package for unnamed business

Haywood County is suddenly a hot commodity for property developers; recent news of a proposed hotel in Maggie Valley was…
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The Green Energy Park’s glass blowing workshop is just one of the opportunities it offers artisans. File photo
 

Green Energy Park plan in development

A plan to re-imagine the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro as a campus for creativity, learning and animal…
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Junaluska Elementary School students work together to package meals for Rise Against Hunger. Jessi Stone photos
 

Rise Against Hunger: Junaluska Elementary students help feed the hungry

Random Act of Kindness Week at Junaluska Elementary School culminated on Friday when students and community volunteers gathered in the…
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Legendary singer-songwriter Art Garfunkel will perform in Asheville on April 5.
 

The Art of Garfunkel: Musical, pop culture icon to play WNC

In conversation, Art Garfunkel is as poignant and whimsical as his music. The strong, heartfelt emotion behind his thoughts and…
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Roadside in South Carolina. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

This must be the place: I know I'll see you again in the long run

Somewhere around central South Carolina my mind began to drift. 
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Schools have become political battlegrounds
 

Schools have become political battlegrounds

By John deVille • Guest Columnist Given all the challenges and unwarranted criticism those of us who work in public…
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Kudzu-covered landscapes like this are a common sight in the South. Donated photo
 

From enemy to ally: Kudzu Camp seeks to overturn misconceptions

It was 1983 when Avram Friedman first rolled into Sylva, driving the repurposed school bus that was home for him,…
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Reporter Holly Kays holds up her freshly dug kudzu root. Donated photo
 

Hunting for kudzu

Even as I parked my car at the bottom of a steep and weedy hill that Friday morning, I wasn’t…
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