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The Naturalist's Corner: 4TH Annual Hendershot Birdapalooza
The results are in and the fourth annual Hendershot Birdapalooza at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Monroe, Louisiana…
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Loss of Hazelwood prison likely just a matter of time
Local legislators are preparing to fight yet another attempt by the state to close the only minimum security prison west…
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Spare me some spears
By Sandi Simons-Crawford Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is one of very few perennial vegetables. A properly managed bed will produce for…
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A ray of hope in the mental health crisis
When it comes to caring for the mentally ill in North Carolina, there’s been very little good news over the…
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Aldermen deny exploiting ‘Slategate’
Two Franklin aldermen said they didn’t whip up controversy regarding slate to get back at Mayor Joe Collins but because…
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A call to action for the Southern Appalachians
By Brent Martin • Guest Columnist In an article in Blue Ridge Country magazine, author and professor Steve Nash provided…
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The age of acting and the rapture of writing
The Age of Dreaming by Nina Revoyr. Akashic Books, 2008. 320 pages Every once in a while a novel comes…
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Hair Wars: May the gel be with you
By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer Movie stars are coming to Cullowhee. With a snip here and a dye job…
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A long and winding road
Sylva’s current library opened in 1970 and is 6,400 square feet. The debate over where to locate a new library…
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Paver design chosen for Waynesville police station
Courtney Boessel’s “Patchwork Community” was chosen as the winning entry for Waynesville’s new police station paver design as part of…
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Haywood commissioners asked for more oversight of mega-developments
A group of Haywood residents appealed to county commissioners for an ordinance assessing the impacts of large developments. The ordinance…
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Guarding the Little Tennessee from exotics
Environmental groups in Macon County are joining forces to tackle the scourge of exotic plants along the Little Tennessee Greenway…
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Reservoir rendezvous
Joe Wright was born and raised in the high Nantahalas in the northwest corner of Macon County. He was 90-some-years-old…
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Smokies’ mania: 75 hikes for the 75th anniversary
Jerry Span stared down the sign post for Old Settlers Trail. The temperature registered a mere 6 degrees, and the…
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Library success rides on public support
Dr. John Bunn of Sylva lived through the Great Depression and said people bind together during tough times to help…
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Tight times force tough choices for Swain schools
The Swain County School District has terminated a popular program that emphasized science and math education, offered students smaller classes…
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Mandated cutbacks mean tough decisions
The first Friday in February came with some bad news for the Swain County School District and systems around the…
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Closed session minutes an opportunity for openness
What a great way to earn public trust: a public body decides that minutes from closed sessions no longer need…
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Forsythia heralds the spring season
The recent warm spell has the birds singing and various plants budding. One of these is forsythia. My wife, Elizabeth,…
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For Terry, the world was too much
“Unique” is a word much abused as a descriptor for human beings. I have heard many, many people described as…
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Environmentalists come in many forms at fair
Standing next to a display that showed pictures of West Virginia mountains scarred by mountaintop removal coal mining, Austin Hall…
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Jackson undeterred by price tags or economy in pursuit of library
Despite tough economic times, Jackson County commissioners decided last week to move forward with three multi-million dollar projects. In a…
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Four-legged crisis brewing in Swain
Swain County’s complete lack of services to handle the growing stray animal population is putting a heavy burden on a…
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Food cooked with love can fend off February’s chill and soothe a wounded heart
By Karen Dill • Guest Writer The weather in February can be as fickle as new love. In the mountains…
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Building better, conserving energy
Western Carolina University is leading the way in a state mandate to cut energy production on college campuses. WCU has…
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Psych unit improving mental health system, officials say
At a time when the state’s fractured mental health care system seems beyond repair, local mental health officials have hit…
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With proposals in, work starts on partnership
One of three hospitals courting Haywood Regional Medical Center and WestCare for a partnership has dropped out of the running.…
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A stockyard lost: Cattle farmers round up support for new auction
How far would you drive for $100? That’s the dilemma Haywood County cattle farmer Neal Stamey faces each time he…
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Tales of survival from the American frontier
Fine Just the Way It Is by Annie Proulx. Simon & Schuster, 2008. 240 pages. When critics attempt to define…
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Recipes, 2/11/09
Lentil Soup • 1 onion, chopped • 1/4 cup olive oil • 2 carrots, diced • 2 stalks celery, chopped…
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Dillsboro dam is simply worth preserving
By Anna Fariello • Guest Columnist OK, so I have to admit that part of the appeal of the Dillsboro/Duke…
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Past pursuit of building projects proved less than organized
Commissioner Tom Massie wants to see the county formalize how it funds capital projects. Under the current method entities simply…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Birder bucks
The mountain section of the North Carolina Birding Trail (NCBT) is complete and the Mountain Region Trail Guide, describing, with…
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Bardo pledges to defer to deans
Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo in an interview with The Smoky Mountain News last week said that he is…
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Suttles gets nod for Haywood sheriff
The Haywood County Democratic Party has tapped Chief Deputy Bobby Suttles to replace outgoing Sheriff Tom Alexander. Suttles is a…
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WCU in ‘flux’ as it braces for state budget cuts
Proposed budget cuts at Western Carolina University are beginning to affect students like Will Furse, who says he won’t graduate…
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WCU Cherokee studies professor wins Oklahoma book award
Robert Conley, the Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University, is winner of the 2009 Arrell Gibson…
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Gardeners get a bargain
By Jane Young Haywood County Master Gardeners had you in mind when they wrote The Gardener’s Guide to Growing in…
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Community lobbies DOT to save a piece of history
Citizens in the Oak Grove community of Macon County hope to save a bridge from demolition by the Department of…
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Feeling slighted, TDA yanks grant
Farmer Skipper Russell thought he was helping drive tourism with his famous corn “maize,” an agricultural attraction he operates each…
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Savage salvation
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. HarperCollins, 2008. 752 pages. Wally Lamb’s newest novel, The Hour I First…
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Franklin wants process for releasing closed session minutes
The Franklin aldermen on Monday night (Feb. 2) unanimously voted to formalize a process for releasing the minutes from previously…
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Another piece of farmland saved
Hickory Nut Gap Farm, a historic and scenic farm in Buncombe County, has been permanently protected through a conservation agreement…
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The Naturalist's Corner: When not to feed the birds
Last week I wrote about the spiraling cost of birdseed and about experimenting with different seed and protocol for those…
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TVA ruling could signal beginning of a new era
A recent court victory by the state of North Carolina will require the Tennessee Valley Authority to reduce emissions at…
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How to decide?
A new rule could make it easier to open up trails in national parks to mountain biking. Mountain biking isn’t…
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Park-and-ride in Haywood gains traction
A shuttle to transport commuters between Haywood and Buncombe counties is gaining momentum following the state’s recent offer to donate…
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Landowners held accountable in wake of landslide
Property owners at the site of last month’s landslide in Maggie Valley are being tasked by county officials with the…
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Electing sheriffs leaves too much to chance
By Bob Scott • Guest Columnist A municipality would never think of electing a chief of police. But in North…
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Owls remain mysterious, alluring
Of late, I have been hearing the owls sounding off on the slopes and ridge lines behind our home. Some…
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