Pedaling toward Mitchell: Biking and biology go hand-in-hand for WCU professor
 

Pedaling toward Mitchell: Biking and biology go hand-in-hand for WCU professor

Darby Harris is going on a bike ride Saturday, Oct. 7, but how far he’ll pedal will be a mystery…
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Proceeds grow from Smokies plates
 

Proceeds grow from Smokies plates

Sales of Friends of the Smokies license plates brought in $230,000 over the first half of 2017, a 6 percent…
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Grant funds to protect farmland
 

Grant funds to protect farmland

Three Western North Carolina properties are among those to be protected through $3.28 million in grants recently awarded by the…
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Dam removal to boost native species
 

Dam removal to boost native species

A recent dam removal on Santeetlah Creek in the Nantahala National Forest is allowing native fish to return to high-quality…
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Scouts bring in the apple harvest
 

Scouts bring in the apple harvest

More than 600 pounds of apples wound up in the pantries of people in need thanks to the efforts of…
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When they bloom, ‘fall’s a-coming’
 

When they bloom, ‘fall’s a-coming’

Late summer has slid into early autumn. The end of summer officially arrived with the autumnal equinox of Sept. 23,…
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Books that transcend the divisiveness
 

Books that transcend the divisiveness

From Thanksgiving dinners to football games, from the floors of Congress to Joe’s Bar & Grill, from universities to kindergartens,…
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After tragedy in Vegas, where to from here?
 

After tragedy in Vegas, where to from here?

I’ve never shot a gun. Nope. Not once. I come from a family of gun owners. I’ve held plenty of…
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A part of my generation’s soundtrack
 

A part of my generation’s soundtrack

We were pretty full of ourselves, I guess. Barely 19, barely finished with our freshman year in college, having left…
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We can survive the Trump era
 

We can survive the Trump era

To the Editor: President Trump never ceases to amaze me on his downward spiral to be the worst president in…
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Children’s healthcare must be supported
 

Children’s healthcare must be supported

To the Editor: Last week the US Congress failed to reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Plan — CHIP — known…
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Air Force Academy general deserves praise
 

Air Force Academy general deserves praise

To the Editor: All men and women who have served in the armed forces can hold their heads high when…
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So retirees should relinquish rights?
 

So retirees should relinquish rights?

To the Editor: I am completely mystified by a recent letter writer’s response to my letter questioning the legitimacy of…
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Business dedicated to saving bees
 

Business dedicated to saving bees

Spriggly’s Beescaping is a new small business located in Waynesville that offers workshops, products, and services to create environments that…
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Haywood County manager resigns
 

Haywood County manager resigns

Haywood County Manager Ira Dove has resigned; a resignation letter was sent out the morning of Oct. 4 from Candace Way,…
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Déjà vu: candidates walk familiar path
 

Déjà vu: candidates walk familiar path

A spate of early announcements by local candidates hoping to gain seats in the North Carolina General Assembly may have…
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Jackson restricts some referendums to high-turnout elections
 

Jackson restricts some referendums to high-turnout elections

The Jackson County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Sept. 18 that will limit referendum votes on sales tax increases and…
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Swain installs Charters of Freedom
 

Swain installs Charters of Freedom

Swain County officials came together last week to dedicate the Charters of Freedom monument that can now be seen just…
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Swain elections director to sue county
 

Swain elections director to sue county

Swain County Elections Director Joan Weeks recently informed the board of elections that she hired a lawyer and planned to…
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Waynesville inclusive playground approved
 

Waynesville inclusive playground approved

Play, it is said, is the work of children. But a substantial population of disabled kids who’ve up until now…
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Election Board orders runoff race in Birdtown; candidate files suit in Tribal Court
 

Election Board orders runoff race in Birdtown; candidate files suit in Tribal Court

Uproar over the results of an election recount in the race to represent Cherokee’s Birdtown community on Tribal Council has…
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Cherokee’s attorney general resigns
 

Cherokee’s attorney general resigns

The attorney general of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians appointed during the administration of Principal Chief Patrick Lambert has…
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Cherokee outlaws backpay with Council pay hikes
 

Cherokee outlaws backpay with Council pay hikes

During its last days before swearing in newly elected members, the Cherokee Tribal Council unanimously passed an ordinance amendment that…
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Riverbend named Blue Ribbon School
 

Riverbend named Blue Ribbon School

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the 2017 National Blue Ribbon Schools, which included Riverbend Elementary School in Haywood…
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Canton continues pondering pigs as pets
 

Canton continues pondering pigs as pets

Giggles, snickers, snorts and outright laughter echoed through the Town of Canton’s Sept. 28 board meeting as an ordinance regarding…
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Waynesville aldermen throw dogs a bone
 

Waynesville aldermen throw dogs a bone

Although Waynesville aldermen continue to seek a definitive answer on whether or not to rescind the town’s 15 year-old policy…
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Haywood Pathways Center expansion to help homeless
 

Haywood Pathways Center expansion to help homeless

The causes of homelessness — and homelessness in Haywood County — are varied and numerous, but according to the Haywood…
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Tourism board looks to change grant funding methods
 

Tourism board looks to change grant funding methods

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is considering a number of major changes to increase its efficiency in collecting and…
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Franklin approves brunch bill with little fanfare
 

Franklin approves brunch bill with little fanfare

The Franklin Town Council unanimously approved the local adoption of the brunch bill, which will allow restaurants and stores to…
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Sylva approves Sunday morning alcohol sales
 

Sylva approves Sunday morning alcohol sales

Sylva has joined the growing list of towns and counties approving Sunday morning alcohol sales following a 4-1 vote Sept.…
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Waynesville to reinstitute capacity use fees
 

Waynesville to reinstitute capacity use fees

Thanks to the N.C. Supreme Court and the North Carolina General Assembly, the Town of Waynesville’s about to be back…
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Franklin football banner incites religious debate
 

Franklin football banner incites religious debate

At a Friday night football game against Murphy, the Franklin High School cheerleaders took to the field like they do…
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WNC falls into October
 

WNC falls into October

Amid the innumerable reasons why we love Western North Carolina, the fall foliage of October might be the one key…
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Time of the season: WNC falls into October
 

Time of the season: WNC falls into October

Amid the innumerable reasons we love Western North Carolina, the fall foliage of October might be the common denominator that…
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Autumn leaves must fall, but not before being a WNC tourism draw
 

Autumn leaves must fall, but not before being a WNC tourism draw

It’s September in the hills when Western Carolina University’s fall foliage forecaster Beverly Collins attempts to quantify the quality of…
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This must be the place: ‘You never slow down, you never grow old’
 

This must be the place: ‘You never slow down, you never grow old’

Tom Petty. I can’t remember a time without him and his band’s music in my life. It’s always been there,…
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Tourism board looks to change funding committees
 

Tourism board looks to change funding committees

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is considering a number of changes to increase its efficiency in collecting and allocating…
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Wildlife through a lens: Highlands couple explores the outdoors one photograph at a time
 

Wildlife through a lens: Highlands couple explores the outdoors one photograph at a time

The years since retirement have been anything but dull for Highlands residents Ed and Cindy Boos. From Ecuador to Kenya…
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A wall can’t stop these migrants
 

A wall can’t stop these migrants

Regrettably a wall through desert and riparian lowlands along the Mexico-U.S. border will have terrible effects on terrestrial fauna whose…
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Miss Julia’s saga is well worth the read
 

Miss Julia’s saga is well worth the read

Miss Julia Springer lives in a small town near Asheville, where she is mourning the death of her husband of…
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Hand on heart or on bended knee — Americans all
 

Hand on heart or on bended knee — Americans all

This is what it means to be an American. I’m talking about NFL players and coaches and owners uniting to…
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Learning to let my emotions breathe
 

Learning to let my emotions breathe

I’ve always been prone to bouts of melancholy. I’m not sure if it’s a writer thing or a woman thing…
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‘Stranger Things” and DACA truth
 

‘Stranger Things” and DACA truth

To the Editor: With all the news of DACA and how the changes will affect many people including some family,…
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Immigrants need to assimilate
 

Immigrants need to assimilate

To the Editor: A common sense response is necessary to the foolish arguments in a letter printed in a recent…
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Park’s fire response was woefully inadequate
 

Park’s fire response was woefully inadequate

To the Editor: Regarding the Chimney Tops 2 wildfire review article, my stomach clenched as I read quotes from the…
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Safety to improve at Bryson City intersections
 

Safety to improve at Bryson City intersections

Improvements may be coming to five intersections in Bryson City that would increase safety for drivers and pedestrians.
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Green air in the Blue Ridge
 

Green air in the Blue Ridge

A report recently issued by the Land of Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition clears the air about Haywood County’s greenhouse gas…
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WCU total student enrollment tops 11,000
 

WCU total student enrollment tops 11,000

Records continue to fall by the wayside at Western Carolina University, as total student enrollment has surpassed 11,000 for the…
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Behind the scenes of SCC’s high-altitude weather balloon launch on eclipse day
 

Behind the scenes of SCC’s high-altitude weather balloon launch on eclipse day

By Julia Hartbarger • SCC Public Relations A little time has passed since the Great American Solar Eclipse on Aug. 21,…
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