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Growth prompts call for Cullowhee land-use plan
 

Growth prompts call for Cullowhee land-use plan

Cullowhee community members have been making their case for nearly a year now that this pseudo-college town needs land-use planning…
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River park could catapult Old Cullowhee revitalization
 

River park could catapult Old Cullowhee revitalization

Champions of Cullowhee revitalization are chipping away at a lofty plan to create a vibrant college downtown centered on the…
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Waynesville resident celebrates life after transplant
 

Waynesville resident celebrates life after transplant

Life Share of the Carolina’s and a local organ donation recipient are hosting a Transplant Party to celebrate the lives…
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Stellar lumberjack team carves out a niche at HCC
 

Stellar lumberjack team carves out a niche at HCC

Haywood Community College leaders are collecting donations to give its lumberjack club a facility worthy of its prestige.
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A mixed bag of home building signals hope for 2013
 

A mixed bag of home building signals hope for 2013

It may still be too soon to declare an economic rebound, but recent construction data may point toward a housing…
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HCC unveils new Professional Arts and Crafts center
 

HCC unveils new Professional Arts and Crafts center

With her hands fluttering like a hummingbird, Dana Claire loops skeins of colored yarn around a large pegboard. Claire has…
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Exhibit focusing on artists as critics, curators and writers
 

Exhibit focusing on artists as critics, curators and writers

The Fine Art Museum will host a “Third Thursday” reception for a new exhibit, “Critology,” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb.…
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Mardis Gras king and queen contest raises funds for Haywood School Foundation
 

Mardis Gras king and queen contest raises funds for Haywood School Foundation

The fundraising race is on among several business and civic leaders in Haywood County who are competing for the title…
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‘Rashomon’ brings Japanese tale and sword fighting to stage
 

‘Rashomon’ brings Japanese tale and sword fighting to stage

Stage and screen students from Western Carolina University will perform the classic drama “Rashomon” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20,…
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HART greets Valentine’s Day with marriage musical
 

HART greets Valentine’s Day with marriage musical

The Broadway Musical “I Do, I Do” is coming to the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville at 7:30 p.m.…
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It’s all, really, about the tadpoles
 

It’s all, really, about the tadpoles

The kids are doing their best to amuse themselves there at the water’s edge, but they are past restless. Something…
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Ushering in a new era in Maggie Valley
 

Ushering in a new era in Maggie Valley

A whole lot of residents and business owners are excited — and that’s putting it mildly — about Ghost Town’s…
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The lamentable loss of Appalachian yard junk
 

The lamentable loss of Appalachian yard junk

By Brent Martin The most popular subject of conversation in mountain communities today deals with the hollows and ridge tops…
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Trail head earns accolades
 

Trail head earns accolades

Who is he: Tobias Miller, who lives near Sylva, was honored this month as the 2006 employee of the year…
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From dogwood to blackberry winter
 

From dogwood to blackberry winter

Frost warnings and advisories across the Blue Ridge tonight (May 18) officially announce this year’s “blackberry winter.” It is coming…
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Tag helps nonprofit reach $1 million mark
 

Tag helps nonprofit reach $1 million mark

Motorists sporting Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park license plates have helped the organization top the $1 million fund-raising…
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Moratorium opponents suffer setback
 

Moratorium opponents suffer setback

A group of Realtors and developers challenging the legality of Jackson County’s five-month moratorium on new subdivisions lost the first…
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Jackson planners propose exempting existing lots from steep slope rules
 

Jackson planners propose exempting existing lots from steep slope rules

For the second week in a row, the Jackson County planning board watered down proposed development regulations following rounds of…
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Ressurecting the Ghost of Maggie past
 

Ressurecting the Ghost of Maggie past

Bob Cordier likes a challenge. So, when the 25-year veteran of the amusement park industry decided he was bored with…
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Sky-high hopes: Maggie Valley’s theme park destination looks to the future with an eye on the past
 

Sky-high hopes: Maggie Valley’s theme park destination looks to the future with an eye on the past

After they opened Joey’s Pancake House in 1966, Brenda O’Keefe and her late husband would calculate how much pancake batter…
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A new park opens
 

A new park opens

“Ghost Town is one of the biggest things that has happened to the western end of North Carolina in many…
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Election probe likely to swing on interpretation
 

Election probe likely to swing on interpretation

A state election investigator is trying to determine whether a Swain County voting drive targeting the poor and elderly crossed…
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A hard day’s work
 

A hard day’s work

On Earth’s Furrowed Brow: The Appalachian Farm in Photographs by Tim Barnwell. W. W. Norton, 2007. 224 pages. For a…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

A Homecoming, Of Sorts (whilst never leaving Main Street) I’ve lived in WNC for nearly four years now. I’ve written…
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Taking steps in the right direction
 

Taking steps in the right direction

By Chris Cooper If a band stays together long enough, it’ll probably morph into something a little beyond its starting…
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Dazzle of Light: John Phillips’ new Fire and Light Glass Studio and Gallery in Otto offers artwork, classes and glass art supplies
 

Dazzle of Light: John Phillips’ new Fire and Light Glass Studio and Gallery in Otto offers artwork, classes and glass art supplies

By Michael Beadle There’s a dance of light in a work of glass. Move around the piece and it changes…
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Open space requirement set at 25 percent
 

Open space requirement set at 25 percent

How much open space should be required in new developments? That question has caused the most contention among Jackson County…
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Proposed election law change follows Swain nursing home irregularities
 

Proposed election law change follows Swain nursing home irregularities

The General Assembly is considering a bill that could solve a Catch 22 in election law: how to legitimately help…
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Ghost Town re-opens
 

Ghost Town re-opens

After being closed for five years, a North Carolina icon, Ghost Town In The Sky, is re-opening on May 25.
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Fun Facts about Ghost Town
 

Fun Facts about Ghost Town

• Ghost Town in the Sky first opened its doors to the public in June 1961. Construction began in September…
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History of Ghost Town in the Sky
 

History of Ghost Town in the Sky

Businessman R. B. Coburn, who was inspired to build a park with a western theme after visiting several ghost towns…
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Ghost Town goes silver screen
 

Ghost Town goes silver screen

Dean Teaster’s Ghost Town “The Movie” will premiere at the Eaglenest Entertainment Center in Maggie Valley at 7 p.m. on…
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The mountain rhodo show
 

The mountain rhodo show

Rhododendrons are a part of the heath family (Ericaceae), which includes such diverse members in regard to size and habitat…
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Pedaling my America: Jackson County native A.J. Rowell prepares for 10,000-mile summer cycling ride from Arctic Alaska to Cullowhee
 

Pedaling my America: Jackson County native A.J. Rowell prepares for 10,000-mile summer cycling ride from Arctic Alaska to Cullowhee

By Michael Beadle Before you ask the most obvious question – why? – remember, it’s not a race or a…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Fuel for thought
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Fuel for thought

Biofuels have been getting a lot of media and blogosphere attention lately, and with the price of gas at $3…
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A surprising reminder of a common bond
 

A surprising reminder of a common bond

By Stephanie Wampler One morning in early spring, I woke up before anyone else and went out on my porch.…
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Park Service opinion could seal road’s fate
 

Park Service opinion could seal road’s fate

The road, it appears, stops here. Now, elected leaders and citizens must demand a timetable for the $52 million settlement…
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I’m sorry for all the impotence ads
 

I’m sorry for all the impotence ads

By John Armor • Guest Columnist There are certain categories of ads on TV which offend me, and no doubt…
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Just looking around
 

Just looking around

I’m rediscovering that it’s good to just slip out of the office and amble around town for a few minutes.…
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What they’re saying
 

What they’re saying

“It’s well past time to bury this boondoggle and resolve the issue in this positive way for the park and…
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Judge rules Realtors’ loss is not irreparable
 

Judge rules Realtors’ loss is not irreparable

A group of Realtors and developers challenging the legality of Jackson County’s five-month moratorium on new subdivisions lost the first…
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The end of the road? Park Service recommends cash instead of road
 

The end of the road? Park Service recommends cash instead of road

The National Park Service has finally chosen sides in the long-standing debate over whether to build a 30-mile road through…
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Cherokee dedicates first section of downtown greenway
 

Cherokee dedicates first section of downtown greenway

A long-range plan to make Cherokee a friendlier place to walk, visit and shop moved forward last week with the…
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Another look at Wolfe
 

Another look at Wolfe

Thomas Wolfe: An Illustrated Biography by Ted Mitchell. Pegasus Books, 2007. 341 pages. Thirty-three years ago this month, at the…
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Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Memorial Day with a soldier He’s just a kid, 23 year old I think, dating one of my young cousins.…
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Good music for nice people
 

Good music for nice people

By Chris Cooper John Prine and Mac Wiseman: Standard Songs For Average People John Prine just sounds like a nice…
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Dance of the people: Women use traditional art form for fun and exercise
 

Dance of the people: Women use traditional art form for fun and exercise

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With vigorous hip pops and shimmies, members of the Sidra bellydancing group are sending…
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Taking God out of schools was mistake
 

Taking God out of schools was mistake

To the Editor: Just over five weeks ago a mentally disturbed 19-year-old young man went into a school in Connecticut…
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Jackson should not sell out to developers
 

Jackson should not sell out to developers

To the Editor: Thank you for your excellent reporting on the consideration to a change in the development rules in…
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Majoring in philosophy? More power to you
 

Majoring in philosophy? More power to you

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is trying to temper disparaging remarks he made early last week about the value of a…
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