Homeless in Haywood for the holidays
 

Homeless in Haywood for the holidays

I don’t really want to go into the domestic circumstances that led up to it, but even though I had…
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Beyond words: WCU community overflows with gratitude for Belcher’s leadership
 

Beyond words: WCU community overflows with gratitude for Belcher’s leadership

Business as usual was a difficult thing to achieve at the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees meeting Friday, Dec.…
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Art of Music Festival gets boost from tourism agency
 

Art of Music Festival gets boost from tourism agency

Balsam Range will be beefing up its annual Art of Music Festival next year thanks to a $35,000 grant from…
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TDA makes funding decisions for Haywood zip codes
 

TDA makes funding decisions for Haywood zip codes

After receiving recommendations from the 1 percent subcommittees, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has made final decisions on which…
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Term ends for TDA chairman
 

Term ends for TDA chairman

After leading the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority through what will likely become four of the most formative years in…
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Ramsey Center  to get new skin
 

Ramsey Center to get new skin

The black glass Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center is an iconic structure on the Western Carolina University campus, but…
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Looking beyond headlines to where news originates
 

Looking beyond headlines to where news originates

Every once in a great while, I come away from a book like some near-sighted fourth-grader who has just put…
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All American Made: A conversation with Margo Price
 

All American Made: A conversation with Margo Price

Catch her if you can. In the last two or so years, the name “Margo Price” has overtaken brightly lit…
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This must be the place: ‘I been a workin’ man dang near all my life…’
 

This must be the place: ‘I been a workin’ man dang near all my life…’

“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing. As opposed to those that are just…
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Regional Artist Project Grantees announced
 

Regional Artist Project Grantees announced

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), administrator of this year’s Regional Artist Project Grant (RAPG), is pleased to announce grantees…
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Vision for ‘Art of Music Festival’ is attainable
 

Vision for ‘Art of Music Festival’ is attainable

“It’s exciting to think about what Haywood County could be. The desire is there.” — Buddy Melton, fiddler/singer, Balsam Range…
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Remembering the quieter, essential aspects of a life
 

Remembering the quieter, essential aspects of a life

The day of my stepfather’s celebration of life service was a brisk, sunny Saturday morning, as good a day as…
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Consciences and consequences
 

Consciences and consequences

Devin Patrick Kelley, a 26-year-old Texan, killed 26 people before apparently taking his own life on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017,…
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Senate budget harms children
 

Senate budget harms children

To the Editor: I recently received a personal assurance from Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, that the CHIP/Health Choice program upon…
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Tax bill is payback to wealthy donors
 

Tax bill is payback to wealthy donors

To the Editor: Make no mistake about it. The so-called tax reform is first and foremost a payback to the…
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Keeping ash in the Smokies: Land managers, conservation groups work to protect ash from invasive pest
 

Keeping ash in the Smokies: Land managers, conservation groups work to protect ash from invasive pest

At some point roughly 20 years ago, a shipment from Asia arrived in the United States with a passel of…
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Hiker finishes fundraising Mountains-to-Sea hike
 

Hiker finishes fundraising Mountains-to-Sea hike

Record-breaking hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis completed her 1,175-mile adventure on the Mountains-to-Sea trail Saturday, Nov. 18, just in time for…
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Tremont gets $20,000
 

Tremont gets $20,000

A $20,000 donation to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont from Brookfield Renewable will give low-income kids in the…
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Forest restoration partnership wins award
 

Forest restoration partnership wins award

A multi-year effort to restore forest landscapes in the Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest has won the…
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Dry-cleaning cleanup program celebrates 20 years of success
 

Dry-cleaning cleanup program celebrates 20 years of success

North Carolina’s Dry-Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act Program has hit its 20th anniversary, and since that time the program has handled…
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Fires Creek purchase completed
 

Fires Creek purchase completed

After raising more than half a million dollars to protect 50 pristine acres in the Fires Creek watershed, Mainspring Conservation…
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Rehabilitation almost done at Clingmans Dome
 

Rehabilitation almost done at Clingmans Dome

Clingmans Dome Tower reopened from a closure for rehabilitation work on Wednesday, Nov. 15, but access will be short-lived —…
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Blue jays arouse mixed feelings among humans
 

Blue jays arouse mixed feelings among humans

Everyone knows what a blue jay looks and sounds like in a general sort of way. Their incandescent blue plumage…
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Plott hounds hold unique place in WNC history
 

Plott hounds hold unique place in WNC history

I had my first encounter with a prize-winning Plott hound several years ago when I was hosting a Liars Bench…
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New book chronicles African American history in WNC
 

New book chronicles African American history in WNC

An oral history project documenting African American history in the far western reaches of North Carolina is now a book,…
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Every Day is Veterans Day at the Pigeon Center
 

Every Day is Veterans Day at the Pigeon Center

Although honoring veterans each Nov. 11 is a substantial gesture by the grateful citizens of this country, a new program…
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Season of Light celebration comes to Pigeon Center
 

Season of Light celebration comes to Pigeon Center

The Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center will host an inclusive holiday celebration complete with music, snacks and desserts from 5…
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Lake Junaluska decorates for Christmas
 

Lake Junaluska decorates for Christmas

A crew of more than 50 volunteers from the community decorated Lake Junaluska for the holiday season, including the Rose…
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Bridge across Lake Junaluska Dam could reopen in 2018
 

Bridge across Lake Junaluska Dam could reopen in 2018

Ka-chunk, ka-chunk … Ka-chunk, ka-chunk…. For over a century the sound of wheels on wood have greeted residents of and…
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Jackson ponders pool repairs
 

Jackson ponders pool repairs

The Sylva pool saw $100,000 in repairs before opening this summer, but more work is on the way to get…
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Shooting range sound spurs complaint
 

Shooting range sound spurs complaint

Located behind the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority treatment plant off North River Road, Southwestern Community College’s shooting range is…
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Jackson commissioners OK 185-foot radio tower
 

Jackson commissioners OK 185-foot radio tower

A unanimous vote from the Jackson County commissioners will allow construction of a 185-foot radio tower in Cullowhee to move…
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Sarge’s photo contest
 

Sarge’s photo contest

Sarge’s Pet Photo Contest is back and it’s a holiday theme. Enter printed photos of your pets in costume or…
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This must be the place: Pass the gravy, and the memories
 

This must be the place: Pass the gravy, and the memories

It was right around the second beer when I began to settle in. The warm sunshine and lingering foliage of…
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Cancer battle causes WCU chancellor to step down
 

Cancer battle causes WCU chancellor to step down

After battling brain cancer since April 2016, Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher announced Nov. 27 that his treatment…
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Exodus of Venus: Elizabeth Cook swings through WNC
 

Exodus of Venus: Elizabeth Cook swings through WNC

Don’t fuck with Elizabeth Cook. In a city like Nashville, where your artistic integrity and credibility can be bought and…
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Bryson gets fishy: Fly-fishing museum prepares for expansion
 

Bryson gets fishy: Fly-fishing museum prepares for expansion

In its two years of existence, the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians has shown a willingness to travel.…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Missing the point
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Missing the point

I received a few emails after the story of Brent Martin’s departure as Southern Appalachian Regional Director of the Wilderness…
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Cataloochee Ski Area opens
 

Cataloochee Ski Area opens

After 18 hours of snowmaking, Cataloochee Ski Area opened for the winter on Monday, Nov. 20.
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Mainspring will clean up polluted oil company site
 

Mainspring will clean up polluted oil company site

Ongoing efforts to revitalize the Franklin River District gained momentum this week when Mainspring Conservation Trust purchased a polluted site…
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Work begins to rebuild the roof at Wayah Tower
 

Work begins to rebuild the roof at Wayah Tower

Reconstruction has begun to replace the wooden roof of the historic Wayah Bald Fire Tower, which burned up in the…
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Parkside conservation purchase will protect the Smokies
 

Parkside conservation purchase will protect the Smokies

Conservation of 147 acres at Stevens Creek, a quiet cove on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park…
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Nature center lands grant for science outreach
 

Nature center lands grant for science outreach

A $3,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation will help the Highlands Nature Center support its robust school outreach program.
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Dogs must be leashed at Bent Creek
 

Dogs must be leashed at Bent Creek

Unleashed dogs have become a safety issue in the Bent Creek Area of the Pisgah National Forest, prompting the U.S.…
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Thanks to the librarian who ordered this book
 

Thanks to the librarian who ordered this book

How did this happen? I treasure my local public library for its friendly staff, its vibrant programs for my grandchildren,…
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Tax bill details just who’s pulling the strings
 

Tax bill details just who’s pulling the strings

In a book on the nature of state legislatures, the journalist Frank Trippett coined the term “true constituency” to explain…
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Winners and losers in the tax bill
 

Winners and losers in the tax bill

To the Editor: Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis stand poised to vote for the current Republican tax bill in…
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A new kind of Thanksgiving
 

A new kind of Thanksgiving

Holidays are all fun and games until death and divorce happen. Then they become an aching headache, if a person…
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Come Saturday, remember: local, local, local
 

Come Saturday, remember: local, local, local

I don’t like following crowds and have a naturally occurring cynicism of trends. That said, there’s one holiday promotional movement…
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Trio of Haywood efforts to bolster economic development
 

Trio of Haywood efforts to bolster economic development

Three complementary actions taken by the Haywood County Board of County Commissioners Nov. 20 show that despite changing conditions in…
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