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Finding wetlands in the most unlikely places
As Mickey Henson waded into a brambly thicket bordering a town park in Sylva, he stopped a few steps in,…
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In Forest Hills, the flip of a coin decides mayoral race
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Forest Hills mayoral election came down to the flip of a coin Tuesday…
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Haywood, Maggie Valley chambers reach out to each other
The boards of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce and Maggie Valley Visitor Center and Convention Bureau met last week…
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Seeing nature through new eyes
When Mickey Henson looks at a creek, he sees a physics equation.
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Macon residents worried about devlopment
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A long-range study that analyzed perceptions about the mountain landscape among Macon County residents…
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HCC has new president
Dr. Rose Harrell Johnson, currently working for the Virginia Community College system, has been appointed president of Haywood Community College.
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Requiem for a heavyweight
The eastern hemlock has long been one of my favorite trees. Like many people reading this column, my wife, Elizabeth,…
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Contemplating the end of Eden
“At times I think there are no words But these to tell what’s true And there are no truths outside…
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The job’s done, now it’s time to leave
By Lee Shelton • Guest Columnist The U.S. recently incurred — and then quickly exceeded — the 2,000th casualty in…
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Who’s dying in Iraq?
Seventy-five percent of the deaths were active duty and 24.8 percent were National Guard or Reserves. Of these, 67.9 percent…
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Paying the price – a parents’ weekend at WCU
By Nancy Geiger • Guest Columnist I went to my first college parent’s weekend this month. I’d been to plenty…
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Schools must help with obesity woes
It should come as no shock to learn that children in Western North Carolina, as in the rest of this…
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Dealing with the struggles of keeping the Hemlock in WNC
The clock is ticking for hemlock trees in Western North Carolina.
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A season of our own
Here’s a riddle for you. If the leaves turn in the mountains and there are no tourists to see them,…
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New shelter near Max Patch ready for hikers
A new Appalachian Trail shelter that can sleep 18 backpackers has been built in the Max Patch area of Haywood…
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Taking it outside: The Balsam Mountain Trust offers nature hikes, outdoor seminars, workshops and research studies in a richly diverse tract of 4,400 acres in Jackson County
By Michael Beadle At first it sounds like a contradiction — a land developer interested in protecting the environment. Is…
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Landslide death case ends in mistrial
A wrongful death lawsuit surrounding a landslide in Maggie Valley was declared a mistrial this week after a jury failed…
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Wide variety of influences leaves sump’m for everyone
By Chris Cooper Let’s just go ahead and say it: terrible title for an album. Thankfully, a lot of the…
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Lamotte’s work branches beyond music with non-profit
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer David Lamotte is a safe driver. Headed south to Columbus, Ga., last Friday afternoon…
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Recommended diversions
“Elizabethtown,” Soundtrack From everything I hear, the movie turned out to be entirely less than it was cracked up to…
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Pottery, naturally
By Greg Sessoms • Correspondent Upon entering Susan Balentine’s home off of Howell Mill Road in Waynesville, one could be…
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Remembering the Civil War
This year marks 140 years since the end of the American Civil War. In that time a gigantic library of…
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The body count keeps rising
As of Nov. 20, the total number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom climbed to 2,083. Eleven more…
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Choosing replacement puts board, director at odds
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer There was a showdown at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Fontana Regional Library Board.…
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Finishing well: Canton native dies in a war he didn’t support for the country he did
By Michael Beadle Michael Parrott wanted to be in Iraq. He told his wife Meg about it every Sunday morning…
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Latest Ghost Town suitor eyes May 2006 opening
The owner of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad has teamed up with a venture capitalist and an amusement operator to…
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New laws should help curtail meth plague
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Swain County Chief Deputy Jackie Fortner never thought he’d equate marijuana with more simple…
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Trial forces widower to relive mountainside tragedy
Almost two years ago, a retired couple from Florida was crushed in their home after the hillside behind their house…
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Making use of natural surroundings
When the Cherokees emerged as a distinctive culture more than a thousand years ago, they situated themselves so as to…
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Pressure mounts to get out of Iraq
Many of us who call these mountains home rely on the isolation, the distance from the cold realities of modern…
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Brothers in arms
Jacob, Luke and Ben Sutton were once considered renegade snowboarders at Cataloochee Ski Area.
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Chickadee code cracked
Chickadee #1: Chick-a-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE! Translation: There’s a sharp-shinned hawk behind you!
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NOC founder inducted into Hall of Fame
Payson Kennedy, co-founder of Nantahala Outdoor Center, was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Whitewater Hall of Fame…
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Ranger Rick rappels into cave to rescue dog
Rangers with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rappelled into a 70-foot underground cave last week to rescue a hunting…
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Two parks, two leaders, one mission: Park assistant superintendent, Phil Francis takes over at Parkway
Phil Francis, the long-time assistant superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has been appointed superintendent of the Blue…
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Bright nights in Dillsboro
By Michael Beadle Dillsboro becomes a village of glittering lights for the first two Friday and Saturday nights in December…
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NY rock quartet conjures a blast from the past
By Joe Hooten Scene: A Friday night, Firebirds and Camaros fill a Main Street parking lot after the big high…
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New Faces, Familiar places: Galleries old and new wrap up a successful year
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer This Friday (Dec. 2) marks the close of what Waynesville Gallery Association chairman David…
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One year and all’s well: 2005 finale of Waynesville’s popular gallery stroll marks anniversary of Outer Spaces Gallery
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer On a cold, grey Sunday afternoon just before Thanksgiving, Polly Smith sits behind the…
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Recommended diversions
Graham Greene Recently I have begun revisiting authors I read back in my 20’s — Thomas Wolfe, Hemingway, Faulkner, some…
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In search of Will: One book falls short while another succeeds
Shortly after completing Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier discussed the possible subject of his next novel. Frazier said that he wanted…
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Land too valuable to conserve, residents say
Nearly two years after Bryson City town leaders agreed to conserve 900 acres once used as the town’s drinking water…
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School’s stormwater system will be state-of-the-art
A new elementary school under construction in Haywood County will serve as an environmental model for developers in the region.
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Study says water, sewer needs rising
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The state’s water, wastewater and stormwater systems are faced with $6.8 billion in capital…
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A long tradition of greenery and Christmas
Christmas greenery is a Southern Appalachian specialty. This region has been furnishing the eastern United States with quantities of various…
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Playing politics at the expense of our soldiers
By Major Gen. Geoffrey B. Higginbotham In 1998, while serving as a Marine Corps Bases Commander in Japan, I had…
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Things change, and sometimes not for the best
I’m not sure where home is, but my children know. They’re first-generation mountaineers, which means, should they stay, they’ve got…
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The Naturalist's Corner
The front that passed through the week before Thanksgiving brought the first waterfowl fallout of the season to Lake Junaluska.…
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Paddling for Gold: NRC’s world-class whitewater stars are paddling hard this winter to secure a place on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team
By Michael Beadle It’s 26 degrees on a November morning, and Jamie Tidmore has just finished another whitewater kayaking run…
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The boats that once plied mountain waters
When one thinks about navigation in regard to the rivers here in the Smokies region, its old-time ferries and modern-day…
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