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Schools work through calendar challenges
Macon County teachers recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of adding 20 minutes to their school days in an effort to…
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Tobacco-free ordinance on hold in Swain
Swain County Commissioners postponed a vote on whether to make the county recreation center a tobacco-free area after hearing feedback…
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Homeless shelter planned for Cherokee
Work will begin on establishing a shelter for Cherokee’s homeless following passage of a resolution Principal Chief Patrick Lambert introduced…
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Artificial turf likely for Smoky Mountain High
A plan to replace the football field at Smoky Mountain High School with artificial turf is likely to move ahead…
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Parents feel railroaded in Central Elementary closure
A study conducted by Haywood County Schools justifying the closure of Central Elementary School was a sham and failed to meet state requirements for a school closure, two speakers argued before the Haywood County School Board last week.
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Republican legislature castigated for its role in Haywood school budget woes
State Republican lawmakers were strongly chastised for penning Central Elementary School’s death warrant during a rally prior to the Haywood County School board meeting last week.
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Blurred lines for Haywood commissioner race
On the right track or wrong track? That question was posed to candidates running for Haywood County commissioner and could…
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Republican candidates deliberate Macon’s future
Even though all five of the candidates running for two open seats in the Macon County commissioner primary are Republicans,…
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Oscar winners to film movie in Sylva
Sylva is going to hit the big screen next year, made over as the fictional town of Ebbing, Missouri, and…
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Bishop back out on bond after failing drug test
Former Macon County Elections Director Kim Bishop recently had to appear before a federal judge for the second time to…
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WCU preps for visit from new UNC president
Western Carolina University leaders are getting ready to roll out the red carpet for the impending arrival of Margaret Spellings,…
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Mountain Heritage Center selected for accreditation academy
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center is among 10 museums selected to participate in the American Alliance of Museums’ new…
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Veteran reflects on World War II, life and poetry
He got to me before I could get to him. Turning into the large parking lot of the Canton Ingles…
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Florence King: a biting wit that took no prisoners
In Withering Slights: The Bent Pin Collection (National Review Books, 2015, ISBN 978-0-9847650-3-4, 186 pages, $24.95), the recently deceased (she…
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Discounted Penland classes for WNC residents
Penland School of Crafts has open spaces in a number workshops in its second summer session available at half tuition…
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This must be the place
Editor’s Note: On Feb. 9, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary in New Hampshire. Garret posted a photo…
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Over the hills and far away: Balsam Mountain Inn ‘Songwriters in the Round’
Pulling off the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway onto the Cabin Flats Road, within an earshot of Waynesville, a cold wind…
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Say goodbye to stripper boobs
“Out: so-called stripper boobs. In: a woman’s natural shape.” I read that sentence a couple of months ago in a…
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We need more wilderness areas
To the Editor: Here are three reasons why we should designate more federal land as wilderness to protect it from…
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Bond initiative would waste taxpayer money
To the Editor: Voters should vote AGAINST the $2 billion “Connect NC” bonds on the March 15 ballot. Gov. Pat…
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Support Connect NC bond initiative
To the Editor: One of the greatest resources our state has is the University of North Carolina System with its…
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No reason to believe N.C. will fix redistricting mess
Maybe North Carolina will be a shining star of a state working to resolve petty partisanship, and maybe it won’t. …
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Prepare to show photo ID at the polls
New voter identification laws are in effect for the 2016 elections, meaning voters should be prepared to show a valid…
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Free meal program going well at WNC schools
Half a year after launching a program that makes breakfast and lunch free for every child in school, the financials…
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No lifeline for Haywood School budget shortfall
Haywood County commissioners deflected calls from the public this week that they should step in and help the school system out of its budget dilemma.
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Waynesville begins mobile vending discussions
The debate over when, where and how mobile vendors should be allowed to operate within the town limits has now…
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Some say time is right for land-use discussions
The controversy over a proposed gun range in a rural farming community in Haywood County has raised questions about the…
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Haywood OKs outdoor shooting range moratorium
A moratorium on commercial outdoor shooting ranges took effect in Haywood County this week, temporarily halting any new shooting ranges…
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Swain County partnering with charter school for new gym
With the help of Swain County commissioners, Mountain Discovery Charter School is about to begin a capital campaign to build…
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Former church leader investigated for sexual misconduct
Rev. Howard “Howdie” White, former rector of the Episcopal Grace Church in the Mountains in Waynesville, is being investigated in…
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Sylva sets sights on revitalized Scotts Creek
Running through the hearts of Dillsboro and Sylva on its tumble down from Balsam, Scotts Creek has star potential. It…
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Haywood commissioners question whether scattergun economic development approach is working
A freewheeling discussion on how to create more jobs stumped Haywood County commissioners last week as they pondered what else…
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Haywood candidates come up empty on fresh ideas for economic development
Candidates for Haywood County commissioner all agreed economic development is one of the top issues facing the county during an…
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Democrat candidates for commissioner weigh in on Swain issues
Five Swain County Democrats are heading for the March 15 primary election in hopes of securing a seat on the…
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Four elk dead in Jonathan Creek
After three elk were shot on the Ross dairy farm in Jonathan Creek for eating winter wheat, a follow-up visit…
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Wildlife Commission OKs elk hunting rules
Elk hunting could be on the way to becoming legal in North Carolina following the N.C. Wildlife Resource’s Commission unanimous…
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P.T. would be jealous
One of the greatest shows on Earth is about to take center stage. Spring ephemerals will begin clawing through the…
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Taste — and hear — the wild
Get a taste of the wild with students in the Wildlife Club at Haywood Community College as they host the…
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Franklin-area forest road closed for logging
A 6-mile stretch of Rainbow Springs Road near Franklin will stay closed through mid-May for logging going on nearby.
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Help Franklin become more bikable and walkable
Share ideas for making Franklin more pedestrian and cyclist friendly during a public input meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m.…
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Celebrate winter Smoky-style
WinterFest Smoky Style will return for its second year Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds, injecting the…
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Nearly 50 acres conserved along national forest boundary
A purchase of 48 acres adjacent to the Pisgah National Forest and the Highlands of Roan by the Southern Appalachian…
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Control from the top: WNC hunters attempt to curb coyote populations with hunt
Mark Rogers sticks his hand through the cold air outside Bethel Grocery into the even more frigid interior of the…
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Here to stay: Coyotes make themselves at home in WNC
It’s been 30 years since Raymond Bunn saw his first coyote, and that moment — Clay County, 1986 — is…
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Budget cuts to shutter Central Elementary School: Haywood School board says it was the only option
Parents, students and teachers of Central Elementary School in Waynesville made a desperate and impassioned final stand to save their beloved school last week, but to no avail.
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Haywood County Schools: Response from Rep. Michelle Presnell
Enrollment has fallen in Haywood County Schools every year since at least 2008, and Jimmy Rogers was on the school…
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Waynesville lumber company recognized for exports
Waynesville lumber company Oaks Unlimited Inc. got recognition in Raleigh last week, named 2016 Exporter of the Year by the…
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Polar Plunge attracts record number
The water of Lake Junaluska was a balmy 41 degrees as a parade of 158 people — sanity questionable —…
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Drawdown starts at Lake J for silt removal
Water levels at Lake Junaluska are falling following the start of a drawdown to dredge silt and litter — and…
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