Will turnout turn around?
 

Will turnout turn around?

Thunder, lightning, fog and torrential downpours on an off-year municipal Election Day in Haywood County’s smallest municipalities doesn’t bode well…
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Election Day is here
 

Election Day is here

Polls are open across the state and across Western North Carolina for balloting in this year’s municipal election cycle, which…
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EDC director Clasby announces retirement
 

EDC director Clasby announces retirement

After a career spanning more than 14 years as the executive director of Haywood County’s Economic Development Council, Mark Clasby…
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Welcome to a rising tide of young candidates
 

Welcome to a rising tide of young candidates

Local politics in Western North Carolina have long been dominated by the good ole boys. But like they say about…
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They’ve been dancing the whole time
 

They’ve been dancing the whole time

The first time I met my stepfather I threatened to beat him up. My brother and I were both in…
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Brewing success: Two WNC craft breweries win national medals
 

Brewing success: Two WNC craft breweries win national medals

With sunshine spilling into the taproom of Currahee Brewing Company in Franklin one recent afternoon, brewmaster Taylor Yates is all…
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New Sylva brewery opens
 

New Sylva brewery opens

With its grand opening last Friday, Balsam Falls Brewing Company becomes the third business of its kind in Sylva.
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This must be the place: ‘Take me out to the ball game…’
 

This must be the place: ‘Take me out to the ball game…’

My first love. Baseball. The quintessential American pastime. The thing of which childhood dreams are made. The playing grounds of…
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Local World War II vet honored
 

Local World War II vet honored

Paul Willis, 96, a World War II veteran from Canton, was awarded the French Legion of Honor by the French…
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Book of poetry has a disturbing beauty
 

Book of poetry has a disturbing beauty

If the saying “timing is everything” is true, then John Lane’s new collection of poems by Mercer University Press is…
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Catalyst for adventure: Field school instructors reflect on three decades in the Smokies
 

Catalyst for adventure: Field school instructors reflect on three decades in the Smokies

The Smoky Mountain Field School was only a couple years old when Joel Zachary came on as an instructor in…
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WNC paddler enters hall of fame
 

WNC paddler enters hall of fame

Paddling legend Bunny Johns was inducted into the International Whitewater Hall of Fame this fall for her sport-changing facilitation of…
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WCU biologist wins international award
 

WCU biologist wins international award

Highlands Biological Station Director James Costa recently traveled to London to receive the silver Alfred Russel Wallace medal recognizing his…
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Highlands Biological serves as living laboratory
 

Highlands Biological serves as living laboratory

A dozen students studying everything from mountaintop forests to river basins are currently living at the Highlands Biological Station, enrolled…
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The quandary that is book shelving
 

The quandary that is book shelving

The books have once again piled up in stacks up to three feet high in many corners of the house.…
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Time, place, manner: free speech at center of Confederate flag proposal
 

Time, place, manner: free speech at center of Confederate flag proposal

The South’s oldest Labor Day parade birthed a controversy this year that the parade’s founders probably didn’t foresee, but the…
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Leading by example: WCU chancellor, wife give $1.23 million for scholarships, reflect on Catamount identity
 

Leading by example: WCU chancellor, wife give $1.23 million for scholarships, reflect on Catamount identity

Through careers as students, teachers and administrators, David and Susan Belcher have marked the milestones of their lives in college…
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Collaborative work on Forest Service plan cost Martin his job
 

Collaborative work on Forest Service plan cost Martin his job

The former Southern Appalachian Regional Director for The Wilderness Society was the catalyst and key facilitator for a compromise and…
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Jackson to downsize TDA board
 

Jackson to downsize TDA board

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority Board will shrink from 15 members to nine following a unanimous vote from the…
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Bill Taylor to represent tribe in Raleigh, D.C.
 

Bill Taylor to represent tribe in Raleigh, D.C.

Former Tribal Council Chairman Bill Taylor is now settling into a new position as the tribe’s governmental affairs liaison after…
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Swain dedicates Old 288 Park to Monteith
 

Swain dedicates Old 288 Park to Monteith

Swain County commissioners recently held a dedication ceremony to officially rename the Old N.C. 288 Park after David Monteith.
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Swain library project hits roadblock
 

Swain library project hits roadblock

As much work as they’ve put into planning and fundraising, the Marianna Black Library Campaign Planning Committee still can’t get…
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Swain coalition pushes for tobacco-free parks
 

Swain coalition pushes for tobacco-free parks

Aproposed policy to make the Swain County Recreation Center a tobacco-free property may not be a slam dunk with all…
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Wastewater treatment plant has urgent needs, huge price tag
 

Wastewater treatment plant has urgent needs, huge price tag

For the second meeting in a row, consultants presented the Waynesville Board of Aldermen with some unpleasant realities about the…
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Brunch ordinance passes over opposition in Canton
 

Brunch ordinance passes over opposition in Canton

After weeks of public comment, opposition by religious leaders and appeals by the local business community, a controversial “Brunch Bill”…
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More retail space coming to Champion Drive
 

More retail space coming to Champion Drive

Planning board officials recommended and the Canton Board of Aldermen/women approved plans that will bring an additional 7,000 square feet…
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Canton alderman dispels anti-veteran rumors
 

Canton alderman dispels anti-veteran rumors

In an unusual move, Canton Alderman Ralph Hamlett took time at the Canton Board of Aldermen/women meeting Oct. 26 to…
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Asheville, Haywood chambers to ink economic development deal
 

Asheville, Haywood chambers to ink economic development deal

The economies of Haywood and Buncombe counties are and have been intricately linked for some time now, but a forthcoming…
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Newly issued alcohol permits cause backlash against off-casino sales
 

Newly issued alcohol permits cause backlash against off-casino sales

Five years ago, Cherokee voters gave a decisive response on a referendum question asking whether they’d like to see the…
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Kneeling in protest is a proper protest
 

Kneeling in protest is a proper protest

To the Editor: Will Americans allow the symbol of “liberty and justice for all” to be more highly regarded than…
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Do you write stories to dispel rumors?
 

Do you write stories to dispel rumors?

“A lie can run around the world before the truth has its boots on.” That’s one of the few quotes…
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If truth doesn’t matter, we are doomed
 

If truth doesn’t matter, we are doomed

By Norman Hoffman • Guest Columnist Some time ago a cartoon had Donald Trump’s press secretary and Kelly Ann Conway…
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Embracing the wicked vibe of Halloween
 

Embracing the wicked vibe of Halloween

In less than a week, I’ll spend Tuesday evening traipsing the streets of Waynesville watching two little boys knock on…
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An alternative to opiates for pain relief
 

An alternative to opiates for pain relief

Like placing a bandage over a deep wound and hoping it will just go away, opiate painkillers are prescribed to…
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Keeping the river clean: Adopt-a-Stream volunteers keep litter out of Haywood’s waterways
 

Keeping the river clean: Adopt-a-Stream volunteers keep litter out of Haywood’s waterways

It’s a sunny, abnormally warm October afternoon, and Tom Anspach is ready to meet it with a canoe on the…
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Volunteers plant hundreds of spruce
 

Volunteers plant hundreds of spruce

More than 900 young spruce trees were planted in the Black Balsam area of the Pisgah National Forest this fall,…
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Serenity Garden complete in Waynesville
 

Serenity Garden complete in Waynesville

The first project of the Town of Waynesville Arboretum has celebrated its first full year of growth and blooming, with…
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Special Olympics athletes celebrate a well-played season
 

Special Olympics athletes celebrate a well-played season

Haywood County Special Olympics held its first Fall Games Celebration Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Waynesville Recreation Center, honoring the…
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HCC students dominate at lumberjack meet
 

HCC students dominate at lumberjack meet

The Haywood Community College Lumberjack Team placed first out of 10 teams in this year’s John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s…
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Waynesville native to study lemurs
 

Waynesville native to study lemurs

Waynesville native Christopher Lile is on his way to Madagascar for three months following his graduation from Gardner-Webb University this…
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Stay calm and creep on
 

Stay calm and creep on

Two years in a row — for this Hendershot family that’s like a tradition. We pedaled the Virginia Creeper Trail…
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New book delves into ‘Death of Europe’
 

New book delves into ‘Death of Europe’

Recently I came across an online article on Powerline regarding French president Emmanuel Macron. I knew little of President Macron,…
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Mountain Heritage Day award winners
 

Mountain Heritage Day award winners

A popular component of Western Carolina University’s annual Mountain Heritage Day are the judged and juried contests, and other competitions.…
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This must be the place: ‘It’s times like these you learn to live again’
 

This must be the place: ‘It’s times like these you learn to live again’

It was right around the third song or so that the goosebumps kept appearing. Up and down my arms, the…
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Growing up in freedom: Gladys Knight performance to benefit proposed Canton community center
 

Growing up in freedom: Gladys Knight performance to benefit proposed Canton community center

Just outside of a small Western North Carolina community known as “Papertown USA” sits a dilapidated 84-year old brick schoolhouse…
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WNC Municipal Elections
 

WNC Municipal Elections

Municipal Election season is upon us in Western North Carolina, and six towns have candidates running for a chance to…
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Development a priority in Canton race
 

Development a priority in Canton race

Canton Alderman Zeb Smathers isn’t quite mayor yet, but that didn’t stop one local brewery from releasing a “Mayor Smathers…
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Maggie Valley candidates ask for votes
 

Maggie Valley candidates ask for votes

Unlike Haywood County’s other contested municipal election — in Maggie Valley — two incumbents are running for reelection and seek…
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Bryson City election: Five fight for future of their hometown
 

Bryson City election: Five fight for future of their hometown

The five candidates running for Bryson City Board of Aldermen all hold their hometown near and dear to their hearts,…
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Seven run for Dillsboro town board
 

Seven run for Dillsboro town board

The years ahead are likely to be lively ones for the tiny town of Dillsboro, with a new river park…
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