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Northerners in our southern climes
Elevations above 4,000 feet in the Blue Ridge Province can be thought of as a peninsula of northern terrain extending…
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Bardo declines nomination
Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo will not be among the pool of candidates being considered for president of the…
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Swain given option to rescind property reval
Swain County will be able to rescind its latest property revaluation — which caused property values to increase by an…
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Garden records
By Jim Webb Don’t you wish you kept good records? I sure do. Those Elvis Presley 45’s, purchased the first…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Birds of a feather Yep, they’ll be flocking June 25 at 10 a.m. at the North Carolina Arboretum, 100 Frederick…
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Terms of Duke’s offer made public
The terms of Duke Energy’s counter-offer to Jackson County and the town of Franklin in exchange for dropping their opposition…
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Woman turns passion into beneficial career
When Suzanne Wilson’s job was eliminated last December, she quickly found a new career, one that would allow her to…
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Families sacrifice land for creation of the park
Gudger Palmer has never forgotten the fond memories of growing up in Cataloochee Valley. At 100 years old, one memory…
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Macon budget avoids tax increase, layoffs
If you’re a county commissioner in Western North Carolina, it’s hard not to feel envious of Macon County’s budget. While…
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Haywood passes budget that includes tax hike
After months of struggling to solve a $7 million budget shortfall, Haywood County commissioners voted 3 to 2 Monday night…
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Duke begins prepping for dam removal
Despite the looming threat by Jackson County to win control of the Dillsboro Dam using eminent domain, Duke Energy announced…
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Education cuts deal harsh blow to public schools
By John Sanderson • Guest Columnist It was great to learn recently about the effort the Haywood County Schools Foundation…
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Culture and history to take rightful place in new visitor center
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held this week for a new visitor center at the main North Carolina entrance to the…
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Snippets from a poet’s life
Fall of Frost by Brian Hall. Penguin Group, 2008. 352 pages Since his death in 1963, Robert Frost has come…
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Jackson uses eminent domain to take dam
Jackson County played the ultimate trump card in the drawn-out fight against Duke Energy over the Dillsboro dam this week.…
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Recreating the past with nostalgic
Remembering Henderson County by Louise Bailey. History Press, 2005. 144 pages. In Louise Bailey’s Remembering Henderson County, the author recreates…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Goodbye to a native son A light has dimmed in the universe. It was a light that shone with gracious…
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Caught in the spider’s alluring web
Spiders are one of the most interesting — and sometimes disconcerting — critters to observe. Especially fascinating, to me, are…
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Haywood commissioners exhaust search for budget cuts, tax increase looms
A proposed tax increase that Haywood residents have fought hard against could likely be avoided if residents would just pay…
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Commissioners' viewpoints
Chairman Brian McMahan “I believe that river belongs to the people of the United States of America. That’s our river.…
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Frequently asked questions
Why does Duke want to tear down the dam? Dam removal is tied to the larger issue of mitigation for…
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Former Mountaineer publisher puts together Aleutian book
Photographer Ken Wilson of Waynesville recently published his first book, The Aleutian Islands of Alaska, Living on the Edge. The…
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Cherokee casino to be dry no more
When Beverly Easton came to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino for the first time and realized there was no drinking, she wondered…
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A race against time
While it’s hard to imagine as one gazes at the vast wilderness of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more…
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Jackson takes on Duke Energy
Jackson County’s decision to take the Dillsboro dam through eminent domain is a bold next step in the relicensing saga…
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Parents turn out to support Swain principal
A group of nearly 45 parents and friends came out to show their support for embattled Swain County West Elementary…
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Ghost Town CEO preaches cohesive marketing
Ghost Town CEO Steve Shiver told players in the Haywood County tourism community they need to pull together if they…
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Tribe votes in favor of lease agreement with Wal-Mart
At long last, Wal-Mart will be coming to Cherokee. A move to bring a 120,000-square-foot superstore to the Eastern Band…
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Doing the public’s business in the open
By Avram Friedman Receiving public input is not a discretionary part of the decision-making process for elected public officials in…
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Save the kids – and me – from the madness
When people say that Jim Carrey can’t act and that his movies are terrible, I always point to “The Truman…
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Artists’ renderings of Smokies benefit National Park
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The misty mountaintops and bubbling creeks of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have…
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The unique ways of the kingfisher
Belted kingfishers are one of my favorite birds. A pair fishes along the small creek on our property during the…
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Gorge outfitters debate direction
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A year ago, a group of more than 40 rafting outfitters gathered to discuss…
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New model for mountain living
Mixed-use developments where residents live, work, shop and dine within a few block radius are popping up in cities around…
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Deal over Dillsboro dam could be afoot
Five years into a bitter fight over the fate of the Dillsboro Dam, Duke Energy showed its first sign of…
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Questions mount over popular Swain principal’s sudden departure
Parents at West Elementary School in Swain County are questioning the circumstances surrounding the departure of a popular principal. In…
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Time to go all in at Harrah’s
It’s time for Harrah’s Cherokee Casino to offer alcohol to patrons, especially since the Tribe is counting on receipts from…
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Ivy covered walls
By Jim Janke When our house was being built it became obvious that we needed to hide two 40 feet…
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Patriot’s story is unflinching, honest
American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day by Robert Coram. Little, Brown and Company, 2007. Robert Coram’s…
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Creation of the park was marked by triumph and tragedy
The creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75 years ago was nothing short of a miracle. The pitfalls…
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New landfill proves money pit for Haywood
Haywood County commissioners grappling with the $4.4 million price tag of a landfill expansion briefly eyed the steep engineering costs…
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Creating the park: the early years
1900s Logging and lumber companies built railroads, camp towns and timber camps, slashing across the landscape while fueling an economic…
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Study shows Gorge economic impact significant
The Nantahala Gorge contributes $85 million to the local economy each year, and is the primary reason many tourists make…
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Restoration blends function with history
After more than two years, the Haywood County historic courthouse has finally been returned to its original grandeur. The painstaking…
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Haywood residents protest property tax hike during bad economy
Scores of Haywood County taxpayers criticized the county’s proposed budget at a public hearing Monday (June 1) saying commissioners had…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Stop and smell the flowers Sure, we all hear it and we all think, “I’m gonna do just that as…
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New hospital structure could dilute autonomy
Although the board of Haywood Regional Medical Center could lose much of its control following its affiliation with WestCare, it…
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You can’t stash true wealth in a bank
By John Beckman • Guest Columnist The concept of wealth has been sideswiped over the last few decades. It seems…
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Pennington recreates scenes of the Smokies
As a little girl, Teresa Pennington of Waynesville looked forward to Sundays all week. After church, her family would venture…
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Rates jump prior to signing of library loan
Hints of an up tick in the economy are good news to say the least, but a resulting rise in…
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