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The alluring calls of song birds
In the opaque early-morning light outside our bedroom windows, the birds that reside in our woods — or do we…
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Research outpost engages scientists and students under backdrop of the Smokies
There are few places where scientists probing the mysteries of the natural world would rather be. The sweeping vistas of…
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Maggie grapples with best way to recruit new festivals
The town of Maggie Valley fired its part-time festival director after he failed to produce results a few months into…
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A funeral story of necessity and pragmatism
By Dawn Gilchrist-Young This is an Appalachian story because it is about resourceful people taking care of their own with…
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Hiking and heritage converge in new trail guide
A new hiking book on Western North Carolina puts the regions trails in a new perspective. It weaves together the…
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A Peacock Came to Dinner: A matter of pride, cooking with herbs and gifts from Percy
By Karen Dill Author’s note: This article is dedicated to our dear friend and neighbor, Louise Bedford, who passed away…
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Death in the arctic
The Terror by Dan Simmons. Little, Brown and Company. 2007. 769 pages. Dear readers, let’s begin by establishing two contrary…
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Recipes, 5/27/09
Grilled Lemon Tarragon Chicken An intense lemon and garlic-flavored grilled chicken, the addition of the dill-like herb, tarragon, adds a…
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Cherokee art institute gets new home
Several years ago, an idea was planted to establish an institution of higher education on the Qualla Boundary that would…
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River park concept centers on dam, throws Duke for a loop
Jackson County commissioners got their first look last week at a master plan for a Dillsboro river park — a…
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Performing arts center to open in Franklin
When Phil Drake puts his mind to something, there’s little he can’t achieve. Drake’s company, Drake Enterprises, is one of…
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Cherokee face historic vote on alcohol
On June 4, members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will go to the polls to cast their vote…
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NOC to launch major new presence in Gatlinburg
Nantahala Outdoor Center is planning a major new outfitters store in Gatlinburg, tapping into the hub of one of the…
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Ghost Town makes opening deadline; roller coaster still not working
Ghost Town in the Sky drew around 2,500 people over Memorial Day weekend, despite the daunting challenges of getting the…
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Yaupon and the ‘Black Drink’
For some years now — when walking the woodlands around ancient Cherokee settlements — I have been on the lookout…
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Long-held dream becomes reality
It’s a project that’s been years in the making, and on Saturday the scores of Jackson County residents who gathered…
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The many rewards of home improvement
Lately, the days whiz by faster than usual. Now that we have finally decided to put our house up for…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Crepuscular by nature The sun knows the secret. Beginning and end Are the beautiful times. The soft warm And sensual…
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Ghost Town withdraws loan request
By Becky Johnson & Julia Merchant A surprising turn of events caused the Maggie Valley town board to call off…
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Haywood considers cutting jobs, raising taxes
Tight times in Haywood County have forced commissioners to consider significant job cuts and a tax increase in an attempt…
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Event kicks off initiative linking artists with nonprofits
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood County jeweler Diannah Beauregard believes that art can change the world. With that…
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Macon, Rabun leaders eye future of water
Would a water-starved Atlanta ever come after the Little Tennessee River? While it may be a long shot, the prospect…
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Project will restore courthouse’s grandeur
While the feeling of stately grandeur evoked by Jackson’s historic courthouse has remained over the years, many of the original…
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Under siege: Saving the sequoias of the East
Jesse Webster consulted his GPS and eyed the tangle of rhododendrons stretching out of sight up the mountainside. Somewhere beyond…
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Swain jail escapees returned to NC
A murder suspect and the guard who allegedly helped him escape from the Swain County jail have been returned to…
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Cutbacks could be less severe in Swain budget
Though the Swain County government hasn’t escaped the recession completely, the blow dealt by the economy has been softer there…
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The new frugality is an old idea
There’s talk all over about America’s newfound love affair with frugality. What Time magazine has dubbed the Great Recession is…
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Remembering Popcorn
To tell you the truth, when I read that some woman claiming to be Popcorn Sutton’s daughter was publishing a…
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A two-horse town
A rift that splintered the town’s longtime farmers market in downtown Waynesville into two opposing groups of vendors continues to…
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Smokies relies on outside support to maintain what makes it special
When Steve Woody and Barney Coulter got a mysterious call from Smokies Superintendent Randall Pope in the early 1990s asking…
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Persistent WCU grads find work in tough economy
It’s slim pickin’s out there, as Western Carolina University students are finding out. This past weekend, more than 1,100 graduates…
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Ghost Town seeks ride inspections
A team of state inspectors will arrive at Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park on Monday, May 18, in…
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Grant funds installation by Haywood artist
Susan Livengood of Fines Creek has been awarded a 2009 Regional Artist Project Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council.…
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Jackson public asked to envision a greenway
For nearly a decade, a group of Jackson County residents have envisioned a greenway that would meander for miles from…
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Local farmers markets
Haywood Waynesville Tailgate Market 8 a.m. to noon Wednesdays and Saturdays at American Legion parking lot near downtown Waynesville. Haywood…
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Erosion laws put to the test
Haywood County’s sediment and erosion control policies are the subject of a bitter legal battle poised to set statewide precedent.…
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Do you have a gardening question?
By Jim Janke The purpose of Master Gardener programs is to increase the knowledge of horticulture among home gardeners. Master…
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Street vendors, store owners reach compromise
A potential clash between downtown Franklin merchants and street vendors was headed off the pass this week. For years, street…
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Swain jail keys found in get-away truck
The Swain County Sheriff’s Department got a welcome piece of news recently when it learned the escape of an inmate…
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Haywood County nixes old Wal-Mart purchase
It looks like the Department of Social Services in Haywood County won’t be getting a new home after all. Haywood…
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The Naturalist's Corner
What’s that buzzin? “Daddy, daddy, there’s a yellowjacket in the bedroom!” cried Izzy. And somehow, the dusty old synapses fired…
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Slowed housing market poses challenges for Swain property revaluation
The burst of the nation’s housing bubble has caused real estate markets to tank — everywhere, it seems, but in…
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The story of the fiddlehead
Fiddleheads are emerging from the leaf litter in our forests. Almost everyone, even those not especially interested in plants, has…
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A haven of nectar and beauty
The irises my wife, Elizabeth, cultivates in our yard are coming into full bloom as I write this. Their shapes…
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School serves as model for dealing with runoff
Innovative techniques for dispersing runoff and protecting neighboring streams will be highlighted during a program at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May…
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Kephart proved to be a key figure in shepherding idea of a national park
With massive logging operations running full tilt in the Smokies in the 1920s, the sanctity of what once seemed like…
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Carden’s views on Kephart have softened
As a struggling albeit brilliant writer, Gary Carden never turns down money. So when an out-of-town man in a rental…
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Finding distinction in literature
The Genius by Jesse Kellerman. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2008. 384 pages Sixty years ago, Graham Greene, one of the great…
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Ellison came to WNC as a ‘Kephart pilgrim’
While George and Elizabeth Ellison are fixtures in Bryson City today — Elizabeth as a renowned artist and George as…
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Miss California takes on gay marriage
I cannot remember the last time I watched a minute of a beauty pageant. I never had much of an…
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