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It’s all about the kids, right?
We stood looking at the dinosaur for quite awhile. As parents of children ages 7 and 3, we are more…
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Public lands feel the pressure: a recurring theme
Conflicts over public land continued to heat up in 2009 as more people turn to outdoor recreation in WNC. More…
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Bad economy leads to a few good things
By John Beckman • Guest Columnist A lot of attention lately has been focused on how bad the economic downturn…
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Boars and otters among Wildlife Commission changes
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is now taking public comment on several proposed changes to hunting and fishing regulations. The…
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A look back at the year’s top environmental stories
The past year has been marked by some good and not so good news for the environment in Western North…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Snowbirds are here No, I’m not talking about your Uncle Bernie and Aunt Esther from New York City. I’m talking…
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Winter wear
(Note: A version of this essay will appear in an upcoming issue of “Chinquapin: The Newsletter of the Southern Appalachian…
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Best wishes for Sylva in 2009
By Chris Cooper Last year I wrote a “suggested Christmas play list” for the holiday. It may have been a…
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Today’s boys
The Trouble With Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators…
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Motive behind Cherokee fire remains mystery
An apparent arson fire that burned the Tribal Operations Program building in Cherokee in the early morning hours of Dec.…
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Save the planet by changing your diet
By Rudy Beharrysingh • Professor, Southwestern Community College Editor’s note: This series of green living tips is provided by Sustainable…
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With each visit home, college daughter is more grown up
By David Curtis Just a short two weeks ago I was texting my daughter, who was in the process of…
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Jackson board sets sights on historic property
The Jackson County Planning Board is considering establishing a historic preservation commission to help maintain significant landmarks and districts. Such…
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Dressing right for winter weather
By Doug Scarborough • Contributing writer With the winter season here, dressing appropriately to prevent cold injuries is often overlooked.…
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Voters to decide on alcohol sales at Harrah’s
Voters in Cherokee will decide whether alcohol should be sold at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino now that enough signatures have been…
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Dissatisfied, HRMC once more on the hunt for ER docs
Haywood Regional Medical Center will terminate its contract with the corporate physician staffing outfit that supplies doctors for the hospital’s…
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A stellar year for Cataloochee’s elk
When the first batch of 25 elk were released in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seven years ago, it…
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Land use plan review ‘back on track’
Waynesville leaders vowed to speed up a review of the town’s land use plan after an article in The Smoky…
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That’s me on the couch, counting my blessings
The holidays are upon us, I’m walking almost normal, and I’m ready to sit on the couch and count my…
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Chili’s scouts Waynesville as possible location
Even as one national retailer — Home Depot — is pulling its plans for a Waynesville store, the national restaurant…
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Sustainable travel makes sense
By Cynthia Deale • Western Regional Representative, Center for Sustainable Tourism Editor’s note: This series of green living tips is…
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Macon, Franklin tourism boards take helm during tough climate
Two recently created tourism boards in Macon County met last week to begin discussing how they can make the area…
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DOT meeting should have been advertised
By James McCarthy • Guest Columnist Did the N.C. Department of Transportation hold an illegal meeting on Dec. 4 at…
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For the love of language and song: NC composer and poet laureate intertwine arts
By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer North Carolina’s poet laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer listens to the CD “Alma,” composed by…
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Swanger back in the game with EDC seat
Haywood County Commissioner Mark Swanger is back on the county’s Economic Development Commission five years after he played a critical…
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Holiday transcends economic classes: Family, religion are unifying themes to the season
Charles Phillips of Waynesville may be monetarily poor, but he is rich in the Christmas spirit. Each Christmas Phillips covers…
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Was the night really that silent?
According to old Appalachian tradition, you don’t have to be named Doolittle to hear the animals. You just have to…
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Maggie Valley’s Collins picked again to lead TDA
Lynn Collins, the director of Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, was unanimously appointed as the new director of the Haywood…
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Heritage center welcomes new curator
Trevor Jones, a native of St. Cloud, Minn., is the new curator at the Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University’s…
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Music for the land
Dirt Music by Tim Winton. Scribner and Sons, 2003. 411 pages. Well, dear reader, we are about to discuss a…
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Brought on in crisis, extra ambulance shows it’s mettle
When Haywood Regional Medical Center suspended its care of Medicare and Medicaid patients last February, Jim Pressley realized there was…
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Historic harmony: “Songs From Haywood County”
By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer Providing a historic glimpse into triumph and tragedy of real life in Haywood County over…
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College students squeeze value out of trash
It took a team of Western Carolina University students just 10 days and dozens of discarded plastic bottles to design…
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Sylva domestic violence shelter not to blame in murder
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit filed against a domestic violence shelter by the family of…
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Public land stewardship as economic stimulus
Editor’s Note: The following is testimony delivered by Mark Singleton of Sylva, who is the chairman of the Outdoor Alliance.…
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Life in Hazel Creek: Mountain Discovery Charter School 8th-graders experience life as pre-national park settlers
Editor’s note: The following is series of student-written excerpts from a five-day camping trip taken to the Hazel Creek area…
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Franklin development pushes village-style design
The days of suburban sprawl could be coming to an end as a new type of development — mixed use…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Gun-toting tourist deters smarter than average bear Setting: A campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, nightfall, Jan. 13,…
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Waynesville needs to get going on land use plan update
It’s time for Waynesville to get going on its land use plan review, especially since the economic downturn has slowed…
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School air data suspect, officials say
Officials from Haywood County and the state Division of Air Quality are disputing a recently released report by USA Today…
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WestCare, Haywood hospitals hunt for partner
The boards of Haywood Regional Medical Center and WestCare Health System are officially seeking proposals from three hospital systems that…
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Verizon cell tower violates county ordinance
A cell tower company jumped the gun by building onto its tower without the necessary permits from Haywood County. Verizon…
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Russell’s ‘dog of a book’
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. Random House, 2008. 272 pages. One of the great delights in browsing…
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Auto dealers lament Shuler’s ‘no’ vote on bailout
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, voted against the proposed bailout of the auto industry last week. Gary Tallent, manager of…
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Home Depot scraps Waynesville plans
Home Depot has officially yanked plans to build a store in Waynesville next to the town’s new Super Wal-Mart. The…
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HCC serves up student-grown produce
This spring, the greens served in Haywood Community College’s cafeteria couldn’t have been more local — they were grown just…
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There ain’t no shelter here
There aren’t many options for those without a home in Western North Carolina. Sleeping outside is one, but winter nights…
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Trapping rainwater could solve airport slope problems
Although Jackson County and the Airport Authority prevailed in a lawsuit this month blaming them for slope failure at the…
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Ye Olde Christmas CD roundup ...
By Chris Cooper I guess it’s a kind of Christmas tradition. Every year around this time I go on the…
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