Swain settlement money part of Trump’s budget
 

Swain settlement money part of Trump’s budget

President Donald Trump’s proposed budget calls on Congress to fund the overdue remaining balance of $39.2 million owed to Swain…
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Improvements planned for Monteith Gap
 

Improvements planned for Monteith Gap

The N.C. Department of Transportation is planning a $1.7 million improvement project on Monteith Gap Road in Cullowhee following passage…
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SCC lead cleanup cost reaches $500,000
 

SCC lead cleanup cost reaches $500,000

Jackson County will spend an additional $254,000 to clean up lead contamination and plan for sound abatement at the Southwestern…
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Miller admonished before Haywood commissioners
 

Miller admonished before Haywood commissioners

Local government watchdog Monroe Miller is well known to many in county government circles; he attends most Haywood County Board…
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Election signs pepper the roundabout at Acquoni Road in Cherokee during the 2017 Tribal Council election season. Holly Kays photo
 

Cherokee leaders chart path forward following discovery of elections failures

A two-hour work session last week on alleged ballot tampering and security lapses during Cherokee’s 2017 elections yielded arguably more…
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Evergreen Foundation provided $118,000 toward an expansion project at The Balsam Center in Waynesville.
 

Nonprofits offer support, funding to mental health

The mental health system in North Carolina can use all the help it can get as it struggles with cuts…
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NARCAN nasal spray has been made more readily available to law enforcement and emergency responders to fight the opioid epidemic.
 

Legislators respond to mental health shortfalls

As The Smoky Mountain News wraps up an ongoing series on the state of mental health in North Carolina, state…
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Pollution-reducing investments made by Evergreen Packaging in Canton will earn them a small tax break. File photo
 

Evergreen gets economic incentives from Haywood

Although recent economic development efforts by Haywood County, including a highly anticipated partnership with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce,…
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Candidates sign up to run for office
 

Candidates sign up to run for office

Candidates have until 5 p.m. today, Feb. 28, to sign up to run for office.
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Welch seeks second term as 30th Judicial DA
 

Welch seeks second term as 30th Judicial DA

Ashley Welch, the first female District Attorney for the 30th Judicial District, is seeking a second term — and is…
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Globe-trotting evangelist Billy Graham dies at 99
 

Globe-trotting evangelist Billy Graham dies at 99

By Dale Neal • Special to The Smoky Mountain News Evangelist Billy Graham — a spiritual guide to generations of American…
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Arrest made in SunTrust Bank robbery
 

Arrest made in SunTrust Bank robbery

Waynesville Police Officers responded to the SunTrust Bank in downtown on Feb. 13 when it was reported a robbery had…
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Many ways down the mountain: Adaptive ski program opens doors at Cataloochee
 

Many ways down the mountain: Adaptive ski program opens doors at Cataloochee

The sky is a flawless, cloudless blue over Cataloochee Ski Area as Mark Brogan, 37, suits up for a morning…
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New trail complete near Asheville
 

New trail complete near Asheville

A new trail in the budding Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Trail loop has been completed, getting the system one step…
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Plunge prizes announced
 

Plunge prizes announced

Incentives aplenty await those who sign on to join The Plunge in support of environmental education 11:30 a.m. to 2…
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Running for a reason
 

Running for a reason

An upcoming attempt at the 70-mile Georgia Death Race could mean a boost in assistance for Southwestern Community College students…
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The eagles have landed
 

The eagles have landed

The eagles’ neighbors have known for months, observant birders and other Lake Junaluska regulars have either known or suspected, and…
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A tribute to the Lord of Scaly Mountain
 

A tribute to the Lord of Scaly Mountain

While it is difficult to write objectively yet critically about someone whom you know personally or about a book whose…
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Cartoon, Feb. 14, 2018
 

Cartoon, Feb. 14, 2018

By Will Studenc
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Breathing in the good
 

Breathing in the good

My life is starting to even out. And while I’m happy about this, a peaceful, comfortable life doesn’t offer as…
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Let’s fix Confederate Monument issue
 

Let’s fix Confederate Monument issue

The Jackson County, North Carolina Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) wishes to communicate…
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Vote Phillip Price in Democratic primary
 

Vote Phillip Price in Democratic primary

To the Editor: I appreciated Cory Vaillancort’s story “Unseating Mark Meadows” describing the candidates running against the now-millionnaire incumbent representing…
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Military parade is just a bad idea
 

Military parade is just a bad idea

To the Editor: Have we lost our sanity? A military parade is an unconscionable waste of national resources, particularly galling…
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Time to rid Duke of its monopoly
 

Time to rid Duke of its monopoly

To the Editor: When I think about the purpose of industry, it is that our children would have good lives.…
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Rep. Clampitt needs to listen to constituents
 

Rep. Clampitt needs to listen to constituents

To the Editor: First, I want to thank Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, for holding this latest town hall meeting.…
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Meadows talks out of both sides of his mouth
 

Meadows talks out of both sides of his mouth

To the Editor: Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, seems to be having a bout of selective amnesia instead of working for…
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A life in coaching: WCU’s Hunter earns career 700th win
 

A life in coaching: WCU’s Hunter earns career 700th win

By Todd Vinyard • Special to The Smoky Mountain News Western Carolina University head basketball coach Larry Hunter’s team had beaten…
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A photo from the Veriti report shows an investigator demonstrating how easily some of the “secure” ballot boxes can be accessed. Donated photo
 

Ballot tampering alleged in Cherokee

An audit investigating Birdtown’s disputed 2017 Tribal Council race has concluded that ballot tampering is the likely culprit, with alleged…
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Haywood County Schools administrators (left to right) Superintendent Dr. Anne Garrett, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte, Human Resource Director Jason Heinz and Board Attorney Pat Smathers prepare for a board meeting Feb. 12. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Haywood School Board corrects Open Meetings Law violation

A week’s worth of wintry weather in mid-January resulted in the cancellation of meetings by both the Haywood County School…
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Medicaid reform is coming
 

Medicaid reform is coming

Major changes are coming to North Carolina’s Medicaid program, and the regional organizations that manage those dollars for behavioral health…
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Nonprofits to utilize Charity Tracker
 

Nonprofits to utilize Charity Tracker

Charitable giving for nonprofits and churches in Haywood County is about to become much more efficient thanks to the implementation…
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Mission looking for new location for MAMA
 

Mission looking for new location for MAMA

After rumblings and rumors around town, Mission Health confirmed it is actively looking for a new location for MAMA II,…
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Pat Kaemmerling, chair of the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees and co-chair of the search committee, walks into the Feb. 5 community forum with some of her fellow search committee members. Holly Kays photo
 

WCU community voices priorities for chancellor search

An enthusiastic friend of students. A die-hard fan of all things Catamount. An efficient administrator, effective political advocate, willing traveler…
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Calendar flexibility eludes WNC schools
 

Calendar flexibility eludes WNC schools

North Carolina is a huge state with tremendous climactic, economic and geographic diversity, but after a wicked bout of weird…
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Candidates sign up to run for office
 

Candidates sign up to run for office

With the sign-up period now underway, candidate are throwing their names in the hat to run for various local and…
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Left: Exhibit D-4 as presented by HCGOP Vice Chair Debbie King, who is suing members of the Haywood Republican Alliance over unauthorized use of her likeness. Right: HCGOP Vice Chair Debbie King (left) and Chairman Ken Henson depicted as 1970s pop duo Sonny & Cher on a button at the center of a lawsuit by King. Donated photo
 

Haywood GOP officer sues over mocking memes

Sticks and stones may break some bones, but according to a lawsuit filed by one local politico, the memes can…
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Area residents attend a planning workshop to begin envisioning what the future looks like for the small mountain community of Cashiers.
 

Visioning Cashiers’ future: Planning process kicks off for mountain community

An effort to envision the future of Cashiers is now underway as work begins to create a small area plan…
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Video gaming parlor nudged out of Waynesville digs
 

Video gaming parlor nudged out of Waynesville digs

A controversial video gaming parlor that opened on Dellwood City Road last summer will cease operations and remove all signage…
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Rising guitar prodigy Marcus King was recently photographed by Sandlin Gaither. The Marcus King Band will be playing Asheville Feb. 16-17.
 

Soul insight: A conversation with Marcus King

You find yourself frozen. Watching and listening to The Marcus King Band onstage, your feet are stuck to the floor,…
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This must be the place: ‘I ain’t getting rich now but I’m gettin’ more than by’
 

This must be the place: ‘I ain’t getting rich now but I’m gettin’ more than by’

The solidarity was evident. Sitting onstage this past Monday at Nantahala Brewing in Bryson City, I conducted another episode of…
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New Yancys album strikes a chord
 

New Yancys album strikes a chord

A southern gothic love triangle set in the age of Trump? Or maybe J.D. Vance’s bestseller Hillbilly Elegy as a…
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Plant ‘vouchers’ preserve fruiting sprigs of various native plants and record information such as location found and date of fruiting. Holly Kays photos
 

A diverse portfolio: Seed bank works to protect genes of WNC plants

It’s been just about 10 years since the day Joe-Ann McCoy, then living in Iowa and working as the national…
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Three tons of trash removed in litter pickup
 

Three tons of trash removed in litter pickup

A trash cleanup on upper Scotts Creek in Sylva Saturday, Jan. 27, yielded more than 3.5 tons of trash hauled…
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N.C. grants Atlantic Coast Pipeline permit
 

N.C. grants Atlantic Coast Pipeline permit

A North Carolina permit granted to the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline last week — given together with the establishment of…
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The property contains a diversity of plant life. SAHC photo
 

Conservation easement added at Sandy Mush

A new conservation easement in Boyd Cove will protect 88 acres adjacent to thousands of already-protected acres in the Newfound…
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Haywood Waterways recognizes water champions
 

Haywood Waterways recognizes water champions

Five “Water Champions” were recognized for their work to protect water quality in Haywood County during Haywood Waterways Association’s annual…
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One of the Smokies’ finest poets
 

One of the Smokies’ finest poets

Editor’s note: This Back Then column by George Ellison first appeared in the Feb. 15, 2012, edition of The Smoky Mountain…
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Grief and redemption in the wilds of Wyoming
 

Grief and redemption in the wilds of Wyoming

I fled him down the nights and down the days; I fled him down the arches of the years; I…
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Meadows protects Trump instead of our democracy
 

Meadows protects Trump instead of our democracy

To the Editor: Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, and some of his fellow Republican representatives may just have become a danger…
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Electoral College idea just won’t solve problem
 

Electoral College idea just won’t solve problem

To the Editor: That was a clever rebuttal (Jan. 24) from Samuel Edwards to my column on why North Carolina…
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