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Cold weather and deep sleepers
This past weekend’s sudden drop in overnight temperatures into the high 20s (26 degrees and 28 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, at…
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Where do you get medical advice?
By Mark Jaben I always marvel at people that tell me they haven’t been to a doctor in 25 years.…
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Need negative ad material? We’ve got it
Heath Shuler says he will bring integrity and accountability to Washington? Ha! We have here in our satchel 76 examples…
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Lauderdale’s Country Super is super country
By Chris Cooper The stellar songwriting talents of Jim Lauderdale have been tapped by a “who’s who” of country music…
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Makin’ tracks: Musician/traveler/artist Jim Stoltz brings his cross-country experience to life with a multimedia show and fund raiser for the Jackson/Macon Conservation Alliance
Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Jim Stoltz first learned to appreciate nature on family camping trips.
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Tisn’t the season, but...
A couple of Sundays ago Bob Olthoff, Blair Ogburn (senior naturalist at Balsam Mountain Preserve) and I were at Balsam…
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Going the distance: Elite runner Jason Bodnar sets his sights on Olympic Trials
By Michael Beadle The marathon can be such a fickle race. As much as you prepare for it, a lot…
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Connecting with nature
Editors note: Bill and Sharon Van Horn with the Nantahala Hiking Club in Franklin recently attended a conference in West…
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The debate logjam: Politically calculated, popularly mistaken
Democratic congressional candidate Heath Shuler’s decision to back away from a debate with Rep. Charles Taylor sent shockwaves through the…
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Recommended diversions
A Tall One Earlier this month North Carolina won five medals at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival Competition —
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Ashes to ashes
Before Cormac McCarthy’s nameless father and son have ventured more than a few yards down The Road, we realize that…
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Haywood County school board race
There are four seats up for election on the Haywood County school board this November. The county is divided into…
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Health care costs remain important issue for voters
From behind the prescription counter at Village Pharmacy in Waynesville, Jim Winfree has a bird’s eye view of rising drug…
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What role should the federal government play in helping to make health care more affordable for low- and middle-income Americans?
Heath Shuler: America is truly facing a health care crisis. Over 46 million Americans are currently living without health insurance…
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Planning ahead a critical first step in escaping abuse
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer If you or someone you know is thinking about leaving an abusive relationship, there…
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The landscapes of our lives
By Michael Beadle Shafts of sun pierce through a misty forest. A thick river of fog rolls through ancient mountains.…
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Raging rockabilly courtesy of Big Sandy and his Fly Rite Boys
By Chris Cooper “Timeless” is one of those words tossed around a lot in reference to music. Everybody wants to…
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Recommended diversions
Book By Book Michael Dirda, a reviewer for The Washington Post Book World and winner of a Pulitzer Prize for…
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Sifting through the stack
For many people, autumn means more than colorful leaves and blue, crisp days. For them fall is, like spring, a…
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An open letter to Sylva
Most of us in the course of a week find a reason to go to downtown Sylva. We may go…
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Candidates evenly split on North Shore Road
Some voters in Swain County consider the North Shore Road a litmus test for candidates in the county commissioners race…
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Case management key issue in DA’s race
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The race for District Attorney is garnering what some may say is an unusual…
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Differences are obvious, say Haire, Carpenter
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The candidates for the District 119 House race describe themselves as polar opposites.
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How do you stand on the North Shore Road issue?
Charles Taylor: The federal government should live up to its 60-year-old commitment to Swain County residents and complete the North…
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What is the North Shore Road?
The North Shore Road is proposed to go through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Bryson City to Tennessee…
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The road ends here
If Congressman Charles Taylor is defeated in two weeks, it could spell the end of plans to build a road…
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Swain challengers question spending
All five seats on the Swain County Board of Commissioners are up for election this year. The winners will serve…
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Ancient animals of the Blue Ridge
Names of places throughout the Blue Ridge country pay tribute to the familiar wildlife of the region: Bear Wallow Stand…
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Optimisim reigns at Blue Ridge
The ups and downs across a graph that tell of a business’ profits and losses may not be very interesting,…
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Finding ways to help the innocent
Over the last two decades, the number of drug-affected infants has been growing. It is estimated that as many as…
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A survival guide for direct-to-consumer ads
By Mark Jaben In the 1970s, a book written about a doctor’s internship experience, The House of God, reached near…
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Using development to save mountain farms
Not too long ago there occurred an unlikely meeting of the minds. Sylva developer John Beckman and Whittier farmer William…
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Recesses in nature: Bryson City group sets up new caving club
By Michael Beadle There are still dark corners in this world yet to be explored.
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Winter means waterfowl at Lake Junaluska
Anyone who follows the Naturalist’s Corner knows that I have devoted much ink to the birds one might encounter at…
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Keith Presnell
1. What specific legislation or policies are at the top of your list? Jobs, to make sure we have infrastructure…
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Three commission seats up for grabs in Macon
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Macon County’s three Democratic commissioners are facing a challenge from three Republican contenders in…
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Voters need to look closely at the Good Governance Legion
By Lee Shelton As the Nov. 7 election date approaches, the “Good Governance Legion” is, again, “banging their noise makers”…
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Smith thrills in his new dark suspense
“The Ruins does for Mexican vacations what Jaws did for New England beaches.” — Stephen King The Ruins by Scott…
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The value of endorsements
Come Nov. 7, voters will choose candidates based on many different factors. In almost all cases, those choices will be…
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Mixed allegiances make Haywood race especially difficult to call
The scene at Haywood County commissioner meetings today is quite different from that four years ago. In the year prior…
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The horrifying beauty of Halloween made simple
“Excuse me, miss, but did you happen to see a princess and a small cow come through here a minute…
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How ‘bout them toad suckers? Ain’t they clods?
When my wife came home the other evening, she asked if I had heard about the toad-sucking dog on NPR.
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Simple living
By Kathleen Lamont Have you heard? The recent marriage of sustainable food production and big business is on the rocks.
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Macon sheriff's race
Robert Holland, 39, has been Macon County Sheriff for four years and with the sheriff's department since 1991. He is…
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Spotlight on Endangered Species in WNC
Green Salamander — Although listed by the state as endangered and recognized as a species of concern by the U.S.…
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Paying for the purchase
Here’s how Swain County plans to pay for the school land purchase.
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Cowee Mound preserved for future generations, historic interpretation
Cowee Mound, a 71-acre site in Macon County and once a major Cherokee village, will be preserved thanks to a…
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Some critical of price paid for Swain land
The price of a recent land purchase by Swain County for school expansion has raised some eyebrows among candidates running…
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