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Combination science lab and amusement park
Weightless for two seconds is not a moonwalk but at the top of the Space Shot at Huntsville, Alabama’s (Rocket…
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Remembering the removal: Wayside markers trace the Trail of Tears in WNC
A growing collection of roadside signs has been popping up along rural drives and main thoroughfares in Western North Carolina…
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Falling into the rabbit hole of fiction
For reasons unfathomable to me, I have spent the last two weeks on a fiction-reading jag. Until I was about…
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Discovering the world within yourself
It’s about what you see in mirror, and what you’re willing to acknowledge within the reflection staring right back at…
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Tourism increases in Jackson County
Visitation to Jackson County for the 2015-2016 fiscal year was the highest recorded in the four-year history of the Jackson…
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WCU voices support for tuition reduction plan
Ever since a controversial bill proposing to slash tuition rates at selected University of North Carolina schools popped up in…
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Tuition ‘buy down’ promises future entanglements
As the 2016-17 North Carolina budget came together, a significant part of it — touted by both Democrats and Republicans…
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Couple works to open wedding venue at family farm
Nearly five years ago, Taylor and Preston Gregg stood on top of Chestnut Ridge and recited their wedding vows.
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Food Fight: Anthony’s mad at Waynesville
The Mad Anthony’s food truck debate culminated last week in what will go down in the annals of Waynesville lore…
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Macon applies for mental health assistance grant
Macon County Emergency Management Services hopes to expand an existing health care model to better serve mental health patients in…
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TekTone Sound to expand operations in Macon
With the help of matching grants funds from Macon County, TekTone Sound & Signal Manufacturing Inc. will expand operations at…
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Macon wraps up fiscal year
Macon County commissioners had some last-minute spending decisions to make before heading into the new fiscal year that started July…
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Potential free clinic partnership sparks both enthusiasm and concern
A partnership that could quadruple patient volume and expand medical staffing for the uninsured of Jackson County has been the…
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Current, former Lake Junaluska Singers allege drug abuse, favoritism
The resignation of Lake Junaluska Singers Director Dr. Melodie Galloway comes after one member of the well-known choral group made…
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New rules could change the face of downtown Waynesville
By a 4-1 vote on June 28, the Town of Waynesville finally got around to complying with an Oct. 1,…
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Candidate for Jackson commission alleges wrongdoing
Mickey Luker has been working on a remodel of Caney Fork General Store ever since he purchased the property in…
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Lake Junaluska Singers suspend season, director resigns
Visitors to the Lake Junaluska Singers web page over the past day or so were shocked to see that the…
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Food Fight: Waynesville denies Mad Anthony's request to keep food truck
Revolutionary War hero General “Mad” Anthony Wayne once told George Washington, “Issue the order, Sir, and I will storm the…
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A look at how local governments utilize the web
Having a website used to be an added bonus for local governments, but now it has become a necessity and…
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Governments get graded
Journalists responsible for news gathering in a rugged and mountainous four-county (Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain), 2,111-square-mile swath of Western…
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Maggie Valley website biggest bang for the buck
Years ago, the Town of Maggie Valley used to be known as a place where governance didn’t always take place…
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Canton plans to beef up town website
The Town of Canton’s website was the subject of discussion during recent budget hearings, as some questioned the need for…
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Bryson City website needs more attention
Considering Bryson City didn’t even have a website until 2009, it’s no surprise that it lags behind the other municipalities’…
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Swain County’s website lacks basic information
With the lowest population and the lowest county budget, Swain County also scored the lowest among the four-county website comparison.
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Cherokee’s web presence a work in progress
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ website received the lowest score of any of those reviewed by The Smoky Mountain…
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Sylva’s website scheduled for a makeover
Sylva’s website, last overhauled in 2010, will be getting a facelift this year after the town board voted to spend…
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User-friendly website a priority for Jackson
Kelly Fuqua doesn’t have a problem saying she’s pretty proud of Jackson County’s website. Before she overhauled it in 2011,…
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Franklin strives for open government — even online
The town of Franklin’s website is a great example of a small town going the extra mile to encourage public…
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Macon’s web presence has come a long way
Macon County’s government website started 16 years ago with a shoestring budget.
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Waynesville website a reliable resource
As the largest town west of Asheville and the county seat of Haywood County, Waynesville is the economic engine of…
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Haywood County’s website gets the job done
Haywood County’s website tied for the highest ranking in the area despite earning design scores that were sub-par.
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Online presence a must for modern government
Go back in time 25 years, and a town with a website — any website, no matter how terrible the…
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Haywood school board responds to lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by a Waynesville parent and attorney in May regarding the closure of Central Elementary School is beginning…
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Beyond the river: Fly fishing camp builds confident, conservation-minded kids
Rods, reels, and wader-clad teenagers dotted Big East Fork’s meander to Lake Logan through the warm summer mornings last week,…
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Comments sought on A.T. campsite construction
Fifteen new tent sites could go in along the Appalachian Trail on its route through the Standing Indian Basin in…
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Croquet group starts in Waynesville
A croquet group has formed in Waynesville, meeting 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays at Vance Street Park.
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Insect affecting WNC white pines
A tiny insect is being blamed for declining health in eastern white pine trees in six North Carolina counties including…
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Severe drought comes to WNC
For the first time since September, severe drought is affecting North Carolina — including portions of Haywood, Jackson, Macon and…
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Greenway bridge open in Jackson
A new bridge allowing access to the Jackson County greenway’s terminus at Locust Creek is now open to pedestrians, marking…
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Land conserved on Cold Mountain
The Cold Mountain Game Lands in Haywood County will likely get larger following a 162-acre purchase by the Southern Appalachian…
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Backyard weed merits deadly respect
“Seeds of this common weed do indeed contain an hallucinogenic component, but, as is so often the case, the same chemical…
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Sylva movie’s author is famed British playwright
Back a few months ago, when Hollywood came to town, I was fascinated and when I heard that for a…
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This must be the place
I could see it in their faces. It was something I felt before, and also had seen in pictures taken…
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The world through your fingertips
It’s about speaking with your hands. For guitarist Joe Taylor, his lifelong passion and career as a musician is one…
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Join the new movement or die
To the Editor: I read with interest the editor’s op piece (Even today, our republic is on shaky ground, www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/17903).…
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This country needs Donald Trump
To the Editor: I was reading Scott McLeod’s piece last week (www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/17903) with interest when suddenly I felt like I…
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In praise of passionate, civic-minded teachers
As they say, the devil is in the details, and in this case the details are simply ridiculous. A bill…
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We have to teach boys how real men act
Because when she dresses like that, she is just asking for it. Because saying “no” is part of the game,…
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Shooting suspect wanted in Haywood
Haywood County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for an armed and dangerous suspect involved in a June 26 shooting incident in…
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