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The difference between precaution and fear
By Lee Shelton I found Scott McLeod’s column, “Living in Fear....” , in theJan. 18 issue of the Smoky Mountain…
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Congress debates longevity of the Endangered Species Act
A move to rewrite the Endangered Species Act has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is expected to come…
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Local BMX teen aims high
A 15-year-old from Waynesville hopes to be part of the women’s USA BMX bike team at the 2008 Olympics after…
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A lone cry of reason from the wilderness
The January 2006 edition of “The Auk,” the journal of the American Ornithologists’ Union, includes a 15-page article by Jerome…
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The art of forgery: Jackson County blacksmiths learn the art of their business and the business of art
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Deep in the mountains that surround Jackson County’s Tuckasegee community, the sound of metal…
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A little frisky — much better than fair
By Chris Cooper It’s harder than you would think to write a song. As a musician, it is tempting to…
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A Mysterious Island: ‘The Tempest’ twists and turns in WCU’s Hoey Auditorium Feb. 8-12
By Michael Beadle The Duke of Milan and his daughter have been shipwrecked on a strange island far from civilization.…
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Recommended diversions
Most Secret I was given this book over Christmas and finally got around to reading it. It’s a fascinating tale…
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Elk negotiations continue
Dick Hamilton, director of the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Biologists with…
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Cornell – it’s more than just ivory-billeds
Cornell University and the ivory-billed woodpecker have been inextricably linked since the announcement in 2005 of the rediscovery of the…
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State sues TVA for polluting mountains’ air
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority last week seeking to significantly reduce pollution…
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TVA lawsuit Q&A
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper issued the following question and answer column on the state’s air pollution law suit…
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Hayseed’s latest falls flat on its grass
Some jokes are really, really funny. Some even get better with age, as if their repeated telling somehow increases the…
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Recommended diversions
Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein If you love the goofy wordplay of Spoonerisms — switching the beginning sounds of words…
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A changing audience
“Unto These Hills” first opened on July 1, 1950, as an outdoor drama to celebrate the history and honor the…
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Unto These Hills gets a facelift: Changes to include script rewrite, more Cherokee actors, better marketing plans, and more community involvement
By Michael Beadle For 56 years, the outdoor historical drama known as “Unto These Hills” has been a fixture for…
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A troubled talent
I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone by Nina Simone and Stephen Cleary. New York: Pantheon…
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New collection brings old materials into sharp focus at Western library
Working with four heritage partners, Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library is creating a virtual collection of objects, documents, letters, photos…
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Board majority said Horton violated trust
Haywood County Manager Jack Horton was dismissed from his post in early January by a 3 to 2 vote of…
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County Manager resignation fallout spills over into Haywood Rotary Club
The Waynesville Rotary Club has been caught up in the fallout following the forced resignation of Haywood County Manager Jack…
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DOT plows ahead despite outcry from residents
Despite overwhelming opposition from residents, the N.C. Department of Transportation is moving forward with plans to widen Plott Creek Road…
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Downtown may get internally lit signs
The Waynesville town board will consider a request to loosen sign regulations for the downtown district for the second time…
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Macon takes official stand against I-3
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Stop I-3 Coalition received a major boost in its efforts to prevent construction…
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Build the road, honor our sacrifice
Those who want the government to build the road it flooded when Fontana Lake was created say the issue boils…
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Call of the wild resounds loud and clear
Environmental groups and outdoors lovers packed the public hearing in Bryson City last week to decry the idea of building…
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Cash: a better deal than a road
There’s more than one way for the federal government to make up its promise to Swain County to rebuild the…
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North shore to Nowhere: Controversy countdown or just another chapter?
Opinions on whether to build a 34-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seem to be falling into…
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Wal-Mart talk still going strong in Cherokee
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In the meat aisle of the Reservation Foodliner IGA a customer picks up a…
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A wide open race in Jackson
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In what outgoing Jackson County commissioner Eddie Madden has called an “unusually quiet” election…
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Civil War in the Smokies
The war in the Smokies proved to be an intensely personal conflict. A curious conjunction of terrain, history, politics and…
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Looking in on the iPod cocoon
It is now official. I am not young anymore. I guess I should have paid more attention to the signs,…
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Customers say restaurant grades matter
Editor’s note: Last week The Smoky Mountain News cover story was about cleanliness at restaurants and what health department inspectors…
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Religion and public schools a volatile mix
When a high school biology teacher in Macon County asked students to compare evolution and creation from a scientific perspective,…
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Snowbird youth club gets a home
A dream eight years in the making met reality earlier this month when the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians cut…
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Hospital sales on track to close this week
The sale of the MedWest hospital trio in Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties will go through on July 31, in…
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Folkmoot festival inspires Waynesville leaders to restore town funding
After oscillating on how much money to give Folkmoot USA during annual budget machinations last month, Waynesville town leaders have…
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Canton debates public alcohol ordinance
A new push to change the public alcohol consumption and possession law in Canton has not come without controversy.
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Big dreams, but no money: A new library in Swain searches for funding
A day earlier the room was full. Wall-to-wall children and snakes. “That was in this room,” said Swain County Librarian…
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Junaluska merger plan sidelined until next year
Lake Junaluska homeowners have suspended their push to merge with the town of Waynesville until next year due to political…
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Maggie Valley mudslide lands in court
A lawsuit casting blame for a massive landslide in Maggie Valley four years ago is headed to a jury trial…
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WCU launches lifelong learning program
Western Carolina University is launching a new lifelong learning institute aimed at people age 50 and older across Western North…
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Cullowhee development standards get reviewed
The Cullowhee Community Planning Advisory Committee will meet July 31 to review proposed development standards for the area. The proposed…
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Hicks testifies before U.S. Senate committee on positive impact of tribal gaming
Michell Hicks, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, told a U.S. Senate committee in testimony on July…
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Canton gets new fire chief
The Town of Canton has selected J. Derek Littlejohn as its next fire chief. Littlejohn has been employed with the…
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Swain passes fracking resolution
Swain County recently passed a resolution in opposition to fracking. “Are you familiar with what fracking is?” asked Swain County Commissioner…
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After initially being overlooked, WNC gets fracking hearing
The North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission has scheduled a public hearing on fracking for Western North Carolina. The hearing…
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Prison protest: Hazelwood residents voice concerns about prison conversion
With the lease drawn up and fundraising underway, most people attending the Haywood County Commissioner meeting last week figured that…
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The need to achieve: Western counties work to satisfy state law, get young readers on track
Carson Angel is excited to show off her reading skills as she waits outside East Franklin Elementary for her mom…
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A bright idea: Skaters say park needs lighting
Austin Fore calls it “a blessing.” “If I’m not there every other day I’m bummed,” the Clyde skateboarder said.
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Looking back at strawberry wine, Kephart and Calhoun
In a letter to the editor of the Smoky Mountain News published several weeks ago, Gwen Franks Breese took exception…
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