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Downtown Sylva to get more free parking
Years of complaining by Sylva merchants that there isn’t enough parking downtown has spurred the Sylva town board to lease…
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Public outcry pushes Duke to consider new substation site
Duke Energy wants an option to buy land at the Swain County Industrial Park with the intention of using it…
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WCU grad drowns during tubing trip
A river tubing trip on a sunny day ended in tragedy last week when a recent Western Carolina University grad…
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Apartment complex fills unmet need in WNC
The demand for stress-free, turnkey living was largely an untapped market in the region until the recent debut of VantagePointe…
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The Naturalist's Corner
uddling – a kaleidoscope adventure Maddy (my 4-year-old) and I had been in the woods at Harmons Den checking on…
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Haywood budget cuts pose hardship for some library users
Kaleigh Davis, 12, comes to the Haywood County Public Library with her aunt Marlene Arrington almost every Thursday night. Arrington…
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Trash controversy dominates Haywood budget discussion
When the hour finally arrived for Haywood County commissioners to vote on a budget for the upcoming year, Haywood County…
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Towns demand parity in Haywood trash plan
There was one thing Haywood County commissioners, town officials, private haulers and county employees could all agree upon at last…
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Lake Junaluska at risk of losing most meaningful conference
Despite its peaceful atmosphere and long history as a spiritual center for Methodists, Lake Junaluska may lose the annual United…
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Conservation of tract protects the Pigeon River
A 92-acre tract near the Little East Fork of the Pigeon River in the Bethel community in Haywood County has…
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Civil suit targeting Jackson sheriff fails
“The only reasonable verdict here is for Sheriff Ashe,” Patrick Flanagan told the jury. “He did not commit any wrongdoing…
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An ongoing preservation
This past week, we took our 11-year-old granddaughter, Daisy, who is visiting from Colorado, to the Cherokee Indian Village. She…
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Yearning for ancient ties
The Memory of Gills by Catherine Carter. Louisiana State University Press, 2006. 59 pages. Recently, when Catherine Carter was asked…
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Protection of mountain’s vast tract hinges on funding
An 8,000 acre tract in Transylvania County, the largest block of privately owned wilderness in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains,…
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Economic development that works for the region
A couple of stories we’ve covered in the last two weeks illustrate better than any data the new face of…
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Quilt celebrates rec center’s contributions
Catch the Spirit of Appalachia and the Appalachian Homestead Farm & Preserve recently presented a hand pieced, appliquéd quilt of…
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Juggling through books
In Spite of Myself: A Memoir by Christopher Plummer. Knopf, 2008. 656 pages. Like most readers, I usually have a…
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Instructor instills lifelong appreciation for art
Many people might say Lilian Parks is a staple to the regional art community. “Lil” as she is known to…
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Strand project kick started with state grant
Hidden behind 16 feet of Main Street storefront, the inside of The Strand Theater looks like a cave. The floor…
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Perdue gets enthusiastic welcome in Waynesville
Gov. Beverly Perdue visited Main Street Friday to announce that Waynesville received a $300,000 grant from the state’s Main Street…
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Jackson library campaign marks success, new goals
On May 25 the Friends of the Jackson County Main Library marked the completion of their astonishing two-year fundraising drive,…
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Waynesville bookstore changes ownership
Waynesville residents may soon notice the sign on Main Street’s Blue Ridge Books & Café switched out for a new…
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Haywood County 911 director calls for help
Haywood County’s technology director Kristy Wood wasn’t exactly latching onto the hope that commissioners would grant her $2.8 million budget…
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Rock star treatment a surprise as WCU quintet visits China
Western Carolina University’s quintet in residence should consider letting the Travel Channel tag along before embarking on its next international…
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Ecology and culture intertwine with incredibly useful river cane
The Cherokee uses and ecology of river cane will be discussed during a guided walk from 10 a.m. to noon…
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Cherokee passport checkpoint a fun reminder
Martie Hoofer was driving her motorcycle into Cherokee from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when an Anikituhwa warrior dressed…
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Rediscovering inspiration
In the mid-1970s my primary writing interest was poetry. I was consumed night and day by poetry for perhaps five…
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Swain County to air proposed zoning ordinance
In March Swain County commissioners voted to enact a moratorium that put a halt to Duke Energy’s substation project on…
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County power struggle surfaces in Finn v. Ashe trial
“Putting Mr. Finn out of business is not a duty of the Jackson County sheriff. Is that a fair statement?”…
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Linking farmers to restaurants not always easy
On one side are local farmers, toiling from dawn to dusk, trying to compete in an increasingly globalized economy. On…
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New venture welcomed by downtown business community
Downtown Waynesville merchants hope a plan to remodel the old Strand theater as an entertainment venue, restaurant and microbrewery will…
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Students take lettuce from greenhouse to cafeteria
It doesn’t get much fresher than this. Horticulture students at Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva are helping to feed…
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From garden to table in Sylva
In Sylva, the buy local mantra is being reinterpreted as grow your own. Volunteers at the Community Table, a nonprofit…
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The answer’s still blowin; but the times may be a’changin’
I was heartened recently by two op-eds I read in area newspapers regarding industrial-sized wind turbines in the mountains of…
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Laughter abounds in ‘Falling In Like,’ an almost romantic comedy at HART
The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre kicks off summer with a hilarious backstage romp “Falling in Like” an “almost romantic comedy”…
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Men who built Blue Ridge Parkway recount hard work, dangerous conditions
Lorin Shaw was barely 16 when he landed a job with a crew building the Blue Ridge Parkway in the…
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Williams’ world is one of blues, ghouls and Budweiser
By Brent MartinI went down to the water but he left me in the mud; I wanted me some wine…
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Complaint filed over ballot counting before polls closed
An election watchdog in Swain County is protesting the tallying of early votes before the close of polls on Election…
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The butternut in the creek bend
Like dimly-lit rhododendron tunnels or ancient sphagnum-layered bogs, creek bends are special places that invariably precipitate beauty. Sitting in the…
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Smokies’ ash trees at risk from deadly insect
Researchers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park need volunteers to help map stands of ash trees and look for…
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Tsali targeted for trail work
The famed mountain bike trails of Tsali will get a workover this fall thanks to federal stimulus funding. Vegetation will…
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Triathlon combines best of mountain sports
The ultimate triathlon for outdoors adventure lovers — with the triple combo of paddling, trail running and mountain biking —…
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Franklin 5k for Clean Water in Africa
The Franklin Blue Planet 5K for Clean Water will be held Saturday, Sept. 4, along the Little Tennessee Greenway. The…
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Blue Ridge Parkway tract preserved near Waynesville
A 110-acre tract along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville has been protected thanks to the longtime landowner selling the…
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Chestnut festival to be held at Cataloochee Ranch
Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley is hosting a chestnut celebration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. The…
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Jackson lakes lowered
Boating at Tanasee Creek and Wolf Creek lakes will be reduced while Duke Energy repairs a hydroelectric generator below the…
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Fireman’s 5K blazes into Bryson City
The Fireman’s Day 5K will be held in Bryson City Saturday, Sept. 4, in conjunction with the 29th annual Fireman’s…
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Greenhouses warmed by “green” heat up for rent
Growers looking for greenhouse space may find what they need at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro, where…
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Won one for the piper
On Aug. 17, federal judge Royce C. Lambeth ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s designation of critical habitat…
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First Blue Ridge Breakaway a great success
Barring relentless rain and a couple of mishaps, the inaugural Blue Ridge Breakaway was a resounding success, according to ride…
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