Another notch in the conservation of Yellow Mountain
 

Another notch in the conservation of Yellow Mountain

Another 207-acre tract on Little Yellow Mountain in Mitchell and Avery counties has been saved from development thanks the efforts…
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Hundreds of athletes to descend on Lake Logan this weekend
 

Hundreds of athletes to descend on Lake Logan this weekend

Haywood County will be crawling with runners, bikers and swimmers this weekend for the Lake Logan Multi-Sports Festival on August…
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Gone Fishin’ at the lake
 

Gone Fishin’ at the lake

A Gone Fishin’ program will be offered from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, August 13. Participants will meet…
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Farm to School movement takes off in Jackson County
 

Farm to School movement takes off in Jackson County

A Farm to School movement, an effort to get fresh, healthy foods in front of school kids, has taken off…
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Haywood farmers bone up on business skills and planning
 

Haywood farmers bone up on business skills and planning

Nine Haywood County farmers and growers boosted their business planning with agriculture-specific training through Mountain BizWorks. Bethel farmer Skipper Russell,…
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Haywood farmers market makes shopping festive
 

Haywood farmers market makes shopping festive

Haywood Historic Farmer’s Market will pull out all the stops this Saturday, Aug. 6, with a festival celebrating the full…
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OK, this polar bear walks into a Scottish bar…
 

OK, this polar bear walks into a Scottish bar…

That’s probably not the exact scenario but a recent article in Current Biology claims that most, if not all, of…
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The great outdoors: New Franklin outfitter store proves a big hit with enthusiasts
 

The great outdoors: New Franklin outfitter store proves a big hit with enthusiasts

With the explosion of outdoor sports over the past few decades in Western North Carolina, perhaps it shouldn’t come as…
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Authors of young adult lit to appear at City Lights
 

Authors of young adult lit to appear at City Lights

A panel discussion of young adult literature will be held at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva at 1 p.m. on…
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Libraries engage dogs to get children to practice reading
 

Libraries engage dogs to get children to practice reading

Maya, a golden retriever reading assistance dog, will be at the Bryson City Library at 1 p.m. this Saturday, August…
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A collection of dark plots and twisted characters
 

A collection of dark plots and twisted characters

Back in 1987, a young West Virginia writer, Pinckney Benedict, published a highly lauded collection of short stories entitled Town…
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Living the good life includes the arts
 

Living the good life includes the arts

Art is aesthetic; crafts are practical. That’s the difference between the two, at least in theory. The distinction between arts…
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Put blame for budget woes where it belongs
 

Put blame for budget woes where it belongs

To the Editor: The ad from Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS organization, funded by anonymous sources, about “no more blank checks”…
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New state abortion law slaps of irony
 

New state abortion law slaps of irony

To the editor: I have just received a notice from Sen. Jim Davis that the N.C. Senate passed a bill…
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Chattooga plan bends to extreme paddlers at the expense of solitude
 

Chattooga plan bends to extreme paddlers at the expense of solitude

To the editor: I urge conservation-minded residents of Western North Carolina and all those hikers, birders, campers, anglers, hunters, nature photographers,…
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Wake up America, the world is watching
 

Wake up America, the world is watching

From the hotel window in Durban, South Africa, I can see the Indian Ocean. Freighters line the horizon like parapets…
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Grandparent parenting program offered
 

Grandparent parenting program offered

A new program called Parenting the Second Time Around is being offered for grandparents who are raising grandchildren. The program…
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Bridge work in Haywood County set to go
 

Bridge work in Haywood County set to go

The bridge over the Pigeon River on U.S. 19/23 in downtown Canton will be replaced over the coming year, with…
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Haywood schools, HCC form credit partnership
 

Haywood schools, HCC form credit partnership

Haywood Community College and Haywood County Schools recently signed an agreement to provide high school students with a seamless transition…
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Harrah’s brings career fair to Haywood
 

Harrah’s brings career fair to Haywood

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino recruiters will be at Haywood Community College’s West Waynesville Campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on…
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Cherokee descendents lose land over technicality in will
 

Cherokee descendents lose land over technicality in will

A family is protesting after they say the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians seized land they claim is rightfully theirs.…
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Caregiver information on dementia offered
 

Caregiver information on dementia offered

MemoryCare, a program to assess memory and cognitive functioning, will present its Professional Caregiver Education Program curriculum in a three-part…
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Need a hand recovering from storm damage?
 

Need a hand recovering from storm damage?

If you are a private forest landowner and suffered severe damage from the tornado or high winds earlier this year,…
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No taxes this weekend on back-to-school items
 

No taxes this weekend on back-to-school items

Time to go shopping — this weekend, Aug. 5 through Aug. 7, is the annual back-to-school tax free weekend. Retailers…
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Swain Visitor Guide kickoff scheduled
 

Swain Visitor Guide kickoff scheduled

The Swain County Chamber of Commerce and The Smoky Mountain News will host a meet-and-greet at the chamber office from…
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New urgent care center to open in Sylva
 

New urgent care center to open in Sylva

MedWest Health System will open a new Urgent Care Center on Aug. 15 in Sylva. It will be located at…
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Back-to-school date lands Macon in court
 

Back-to-school date lands Macon in court

If this were a race, Macon County Schools would win for being the first in Western North Carolina — maybe…
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Natural gas in Maggie may be a long shot, but worth a try
 

Natural gas in Maggie may be a long shot, but worth a try

Maggie Valley’s business community hopes to bring natural gas lines to the valley, but it will hinge on drumming up…
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Fontana Dam post office targeted for closure
 

Fontana Dam post office targeted for closure

The U.S. Postal Service wants to close Fontana Dam’s tiny post office to save money, a downsizing move critics say…
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Being the middleman for bulk liquor sales at Harrah’s not as lucrative as it seems
 

Being the middleman for bulk liquor sales at Harrah’s not as lucrative as it seems

Harrah’s Cherokee casino bought nearly half a million dollars of liquor over the past year, netting almost $50,000 in profits…
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Cherokee election politics fixed on looming casino debt
 

Cherokee election politics fixed on looming casino debt

In the current political debate, the word ‘debt’ has become ubiquitous. Cherokee is no exception, where discussion of the debt…
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Scattered county offices could find new home in old lumber yard in Jackson
 

Scattered county offices could find new home in old lumber yard in Jackson

Jackson County commissioners are considering whether to renovate the former Southern Lumber Co. building to get the county out of…
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Jackson manager wants more say in hiring, firing
 

Jackson manager wants more say in hiring, firing

Chuck Wooten’s wings are still clipped as Jackson County’s manager, at least for now, but it looks like he’ll get…
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A new life in the cards for Haywood’s prison?
 

A new life in the cards for Haywood’s prison?

The oft-threatened closure of the state prison in Haywood County has finally come to pass, but by now, it hardly…
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State prisons, county jails play musical chairs with inmates
 

State prisons, county jails play musical chairs with inmates

Counties with jail beds to spare will soon be able to make a little cash housing state prison inmates. Under…
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Haywood prison  gets death sentence: Community laments loss of inmate work crews
 

Haywood prison gets death sentence: Community laments loss of inmate work crews

Western North Carolina is losing one of its strongest municipal work forces. And a quick look at their record of…
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WCU students have  mixed emotions about  countywide alcohol vote
 

WCU students have mixed emotions about countywide alcohol vote

Western Carolina University and the Cullowhee area could prove the decisive battleground in the coming debate about whether alcohol sales…
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Meth lab cleanup costs sloughed onto counties
 

Meth lab cleanup costs sloughed onto counties

In what promises to become an increasingly expensive proposition, county taxpayers must now pick up the tab for cleaning up…
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Pilot on pot patrol hits the jackpot
 

Pilot on pot patrol hits the jackpot

After hours of scouring the ground for renegade marijuana plants from the air last Thursday, the pilot of a Highway…
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Workshops help artists get their game on
 

Workshops help artists get their game on

Two Handmade in America Craft Labs are coming to Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center in Graham County. Learn how to…
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Sylva artist headlines art society gathering
 

Sylva artist headlines art society gathering

The next meeting of the Blue Ridge Watermedia Society will be held from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. on August…
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Festival to celebrate moonshiner, minus the notorious merchandise
 

Festival to celebrate moonshiner, minus the notorious merchandise

The Popcorn Sutton Summer Jam is scheduled for noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, at the Maggie Valley…
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Narnia’s magical world behind the wardrobe comes to life in Franklin
 

Narnia’s magical world behind the wardrobe comes to life in Franklin

The Overlook Players will present Narnia at 7:30 p.m. from August 4-6, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, August…
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Kaleidoscope artist to make appearance at Junaluska craft show
 

Kaleidoscope artist to make appearance at Junaluska craft show

Phil Coghill, a professional kaleidoscope artist and woodturner, will be one of the newest artists to participate in the Creative…
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Art After Dark gallery stroll is August 5
 

Art After Dark gallery stroll is August 5

Art After Dark returns to downtown Waynesville from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, August 5. Working studios and galleries…
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Hundreds of dogs to take to the streets of downtown Waynesville
 

Hundreds of dogs to take to the streets of downtown Waynesville

The Downtown Waynesville Dog Walk will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 6, at the Haywood County Courthouse, and…
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Ever popular Balsam Range to give free concert in Sylva
 

Ever popular Balsam Range to give free concert in Sylva

Balsam Range, a renowned bluegrass band across the region, will play Sylva’s Concerts on the Creek series at 7:30 p.m.…
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Franklin’s Mountain High BBQ festival offers shot at state title
 

Franklin’s Mountain High BBQ festival offers shot at state title

Franklin will be hopping with all things barbecue at the Mountain High Barbecue Festival and Car Show on August 12…
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Take a stroll down Tomato Alley at Canton’s Mater Fest this weekend
 

Take a stroll down Tomato Alley at Canton’s Mater Fest this weekend

For the last seven years, Canton has celebrated Haywood County’s biggest crop with a festival in its honor. This year,…
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Chess as a metaphor for life
 

Chess as a metaphor for life

When you think chess club, the quintessential picture that comes to mind probably doesn’t include a cowboy or a retired…
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