Archived (29807)
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Tax opponents organize in Macon, Swain
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A property transfer tax that could potentially bring nearly a million dollars a year…
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Recommended diversions
Rock On: An Office Power Ballad Written by Dan Kennedy, this venture into life in the corporate music business isn’t…
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The right too often hides behind the children
On a political talk show recently, a well-known Republican political consultant spent a lot of time attacking public schools in…
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Sharon Jones conjures up the heart of soul
By Chris Cooper Sharon Jones and her amazing band of funk/soul revivalists were responsible for one of the happiest musical…
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Residents debate motives behind proposed road
Some Macon County residents are questioning the need for a proposed $11.5 million road project billed by the N.C. Department…
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Watershed logging remains election issue
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer An issue that caused a firestorm of controversy for Waynesville’s current town board is…
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A health care fix is needed
Our story last week about a fund that helps women pay for breast cancer testing and treatment pointed out cracks…
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Free press and tribal politics
The decision by Michell Hicks, chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, to do away with a column in The…
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Forgotten poetry illuminated by Dark Horses
Dark Horses: Poets on Overlooked Poems by Joy Katz and Kevin Prufer. University of Illinois Press, 2007. 232 pages Dark…
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Four options considered for the new road
The N.C. Department of Transportation is mulling four options for a new road in Macon County that would facilitate future…
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Halloween recipes
Pumpkin Nut Bread 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon each salt and baking soda 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ginger and…
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Siler Road timeline
The benefits to private development of the Siler Road project in Macon County figured prominently in early planning documents and…
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Something Pumpkin this way rolls ...
By Michael Beadle Carve ‘em. Cook ‘em. Turn ‘em into glowing faces. There’s plenty you can do with this year’s…
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The Naturalist's Corner
I’m so dizzy I tripped over the equinox and fell backwards away from the sun, and now I’m spinning so…
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Elections board investigates school bond activities
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer A complaint filed against the Macon County School Board over questionable campaign actions has…
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Days like these can go on forever
I miss all those Sundays at my grandma’s house, so many Sundays, so many years. Once upon a time, it…
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Recommended diversions
“Away From Her” Based on the great short story “The Bear Came Over The Mountain” by the ever-amazing Alice Munro,…
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Overnight hibernation
As I write this on Monday morning, we’ve just had our initial hard frost of the year here in Swain…
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Some people really can work miracles
By Stephanie Wampler I walked across the floor, the crowds cheering, the woman smiling as she handed me an award.…
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Land trust branches out, helps preserve community store
The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee has taken the protection of the historic landscape one step further with the…
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Recommended diversions
Brian Regan Live! Whether you purchase this CD or simply Google Brian Regan on your computer, you will find yourself…
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The nice ones are all red and shiny
By David Curtis If you are driving west along U.S. 23/74 and nearing exit 102, the Waynesville exit, you will…
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Transfer tax would help Swain schools
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer After several years of trying to secure funding for school improvements, Swain County officials…
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Bear frenzy over acorns attracts a crowd
Sometimes Bill Stiver, a wildlife biologist in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, feels more like a social scientist than…
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Who’ll pay the price?
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer It’s lunchtime in downtown Hazelwood, and the small area’s only parking lot of roughly…
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Highlands sets the table for a fall feast: Inaugural gathering of gastronomes holds great promise for the plateau
By Michael Beadle Indulge in a seven-course meal that includes roasted pheasant, foie gras and braised wild boar. Sip award-winning…
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What to do when you meet a bear
In his younger, more naïve hiking days, Joel Zachary found himself watching in slow motion as a bear charged toward…
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Halloween Ramblings, 2007
There’s a connection between being a musician and Halloween that goes beyond the obvious skulls/pumpkins/fake blood/heavy metal stereotype, at least…
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Decision expected soon on quarry permit
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Tuckasegee community members will learn next week if a rock quarry gets state approval…
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Ample options, no decision yet on Franklin Town Hall relocation
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer The possibility of relocating Franklin’s town hall has been a topic of debate among…
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Macon citizens deserve better from DOT on Siler Road project
A major road is in the planning stages, and neighbors and others in the community feel like it’s more of…
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Shelter plan irks Hall Top residents
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer It’s a typical neighborhood with houses, trees, bikes in the yard, a basketball goal…
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Lessons from the jungle
The Airmen and the Headhunters: A True Story of Lost Soldiers, Heroic Tribesman and the Unlikeliest Rescue of World War…
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Burmese need our voices our courage
By Michael Beadle The tired diatribes of partisan politics may continue to capture the headlines in the coming campaign months,…
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Spookables
It’s Halloween and goblins, ghouls, witches and vampires are wreaking havoc — and that’s before they get all that sugar…
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Paging all book lovers
Readers of the Smoky Mountain News are acutely aware of the writing and storytelling talent here in Western North Carolina.…
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Recommended diversions
Going to the movies Every now a then a great batch of movies is released, calling me to the movie…
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Island music in the mountains: Western Carolina University’s gamelan orchestra helps share the music of Malaysian culture
By Michael Beadle A few days before Halloween, strange sounds were coming from room 451 in the Coulter Building on…
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Smart Roads Alliance seeks answers on Southern Loop
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer In their fight to stop progress to the proposed Southern Loop, members of the…
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Watershed to be clearcut – planted in tobacco
OK, now that I’ve got your attention — there has been a recent flurry of hyperbole, rhetoric and misinformation regarding…
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A life in the rapids
By Jennifer Garlesky •Staff Writer The raging Class II rapids of the Cacapon River, which flows along the eastern panhandle…
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Martin removed as editor in Cherokee
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Last week Eastern Band of Cherokee officials made the decision to remove The Cherokee…
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When litter is good
Due to the virtual absence of wind and rain, the fall color season is lingering with us. But winter weather…
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Saving rain makes sense
By Kathleen Lamont This month’s column was a tossup. I was encouraged by a recent article on the Haywood County…
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Ever-evolving, always surprising
By Chris Cooper Mountain Heart released a fantastic album last year with Wide Open, demonstrating a remarkable ability to make…
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Macon makes mistakes in quest to pass school bonds
Macon County Schools superintendent Dan Brigman, school board attorney John Henning Jr. and the school board as a whole did…
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Sex offenders and civil liberties: Ordinance sparks debate over whether the two go hand and hand
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Convicted sex offenders don’t have many advocates, but a recent rush of laws banning…
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Incumbent Moody, newcomer Graham win in Sylva: Allen, Lewis tie will go to elections board
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Building a strong downtown district will be a top priority of the new Sylva…
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Brown unseats Foy in mayor’s race: Incumbents Feichter, Caldwell, Moore win; Roberson also in
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Former alderman Gavin Brown is now the new mayor of Waynesville, unseating 16-year incumbent…
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