Brian McKnight.
 

The way love goes: A conversation with Brian McKnight

For the last 25 years, few R&B/soul performers have risen to height of success and level of mainstream talent as…
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Guster. (photo: Garret K. Woodward)
 

This must be the place: By now you took what was to take, tear it apart and start again

Emerging from the beer line along the top of the hill with a Fiddlehead IPA, I heard the slight sound…
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A shiner’s tale, a woman’s perspective
 

A shiner’s tale, a woman’s perspective

In a literary genre (Appalachian noir) dominated by men, Amy Jo Burns’ new novel Shiner breaks through barriers and the…
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2 Most Common Design Mistakes
 

2 Most Common Design Mistakes

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | My intuitive design work is based on the principles of Feng Shui. I started…
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Stop the checks, get to work
 

Stop the checks, get to work

To the Editor: In response to the article, “Where Are the Workers?” Well, you can thank your President Biden for…
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Left to right: Susanna Shetley, Jessi Stone and Holly Kays. Sophia Burleigh photo
 

Grateful for tribes

Everyone needs a tribe, and sometimes we need more than one. 
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A House Plant For Every Type of Home
 

A House Plant For Every Type of Home

No matter where your house is located, how much sun it gets or how inept you think you are at…
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Alum Cave Trail overflow parking.
 

Let’s talk about all the visitors

In the middle of the tourism season, is there any way to politely state the obvious: this region is being…
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Proceed with caution: Data details deaths in national parks
 

Proceed with caution: Data details deaths in national parks

On May 21, 2000, a beloved Sevier County elementary school teacher named Glenda Ann Bradley took a walk on the…
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SCC offering free tuition
 

SCC offering free tuition

Through a one-time program, Southwestern Community College will not charge tuition or fees to students for the 2021-22 academic year.
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HCC holds ‘Peak Week’
 

HCC holds ‘Peak Week’

Haywood Community College is holding Peak Week July 12 through July 16. 
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SCC’s Health Science Center ready this fall
 

SCC’s Health Science Center ready this fall

As workers apply the last few coats of paint and other finishing touches this summer, Southwestern Community College officials are…
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Billboard signs all along U.S. 74, like this one just outside of Waynesville, advertise Harrah’s financial incentives for new hires. Holly Kays photo
 

Harrah’s chips away at job vacancies

Now carrying double the vacancies it had in the summer of 2019, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos is feeling the effects of…
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Developers have wasted little time in beginning renovations at the historic Waynesville Inn. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Developers tee off on Waynesville Inn rehab

With some demolition work currently underway and a membership drive event held on July 12, the new owners of The…
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Alcohol referenda to appear on Cherokee’s September ballot
 

Alcohol referenda to appear on Cherokee’s September ballot

Cherokee voters will decide whether to loosen alcohol regulations on the Qualla Boundary this September by answering three referendum questions…
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Around 100 people attended a presentation by NCDOT at Lake Junaluska on July 10. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

After uproar, DOT relents on bridge replacement project

A controversial bridge replacement project that would have snarled Haywood County traffic for up to four years will likely get…
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Amy Murphy-Nugen (left), chair of Waynesville’s Task Force on Homelessness, presents the group’s findings on July 8. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Task force issues draft recommendations on homelessness

More than 18 months after its creation and just over 12 months since its first meeting, Waynesville’s Task Force on…
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Haywood among top school districts nationwide
 

Haywood among top school districts nationwide

Haywood County Schools has made the list of National Board Accomplished Districts recognized by the National Board for Professional Teaching…
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Skyland Care Center staff members pose for a picture with a resident.
 

Nursing homes face essential worker shortage

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities were among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they are facing another…
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Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Back to the blue: Wounded Haywood deputy returns to work

UPDATE: Shortly after this story was published, Batchelor declared his intent to enter the NCGOP NC11 Primary Election field.  He’d…
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The Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy currently boasts 50,000 square feet of gaming space with 1,023 slots and 62 table games, as well as a seven-story hotel tower with 300 guest rooms. File photo
 

Cherokee approves $275 million expansion plan for Murphy casino

After a 45-minute off-air discussion  July 8, the Cherokee Tribal Council approved a $275 million master plan to expand the…
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Yellowhill community member Mary Crowe speaks with LGBTQ advocates outside the Cherokee Council House July 8, following Tribal Council’s second refusal to consider an ordinance legalizing same-sex marriage. Holly Kays photo
 

Tribal Council again refuses to consider same-sex marriage ordinance

For the second month in a row , the first item on Tribal Council’s agenda  was an ordinance to legalize…
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7 Ways to Fuel Your Body
 

7 Ways to Fuel Your Body

The simplest of changes to your daily lifestyle can make you feel more alert, productive and energetic. Following these seven…
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Foods to improve low thyroid function
 

Foods to improve low thyroid function

In what feels like a never-ending quest to feel my best, I’ve been working on honing in on my health…
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Love Knows No Bounds
 

Love Knows No Bounds

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | I work with the spirit world. I am grateful for those in the living…
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Smooth coneflower recovery spurs downlisting proposal
 

Smooth coneflower recovery spurs downlisting proposal

Due to continually strengthening populations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to downlist the smooth coneflower from an endangered…
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N.C. logs record bear harvest in 2020
 

N.C. logs record bear harvest in 2020

Hunters harvested a record 3,748 black bears in North Carolina last year, an 8% increase over the previous season. 
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Mountain turkey harvest flags amid high statewide numbers
 

Mountain turkey harvest flags amid high statewide numbers

This year’s North Carolina turkey hunting season yielded the second-highest harvest on record, second only to the record-breaking 2020 harvest…
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About 130 tents dot the top of Max Patch in a viral photo taken by Mike Wurman on Saturday, Sept. 19. Mike Wurman photo
 

A new chapter for Max Patch: Forest Service issues two-year camping ban for iconic bald

Following an explosion of use at Max Patch, the U.S. Forest Service is prohibiting camping and fires on the iconic…
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Andy Coburn. WCU photo
 

Outdoor Industry program offers new study track

A third track is now available within Western Carolina University’s Professional Outdoor Industry Certificate. 
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Delia Owens, author of "Where the Crawdads Sing," comes to Asheville
 

Delia Owens, author of "Where the Crawdads Sing," comes to Asheville

New York Times bestselling author Delia Owens will keynote Literacy Together’s 13th Annual Authors for Literacy Dinner & Auction on…
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Perhaps we all need to laugh a little more
 

Perhaps we all need to laugh a little more

Recently I realized I needed to laugh more often.  I do laugh when I’m on the phone with one of…
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A shared space, a shared responsibility
 

A shared space, a shared responsibility

By Casey Quarterman • Guest Columnist | For six years I have been working as a Wilderness Ranger in the…
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In Western North Carolina, memories of old-time baseball endure
 

In Western North Carolina, memories of old-time baseball endure

For much of the 20th Century, small-town life in Western North Carolina revolved around the large-scale industrial enterprises that had…
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Rafters navigate whitewater during a guided Dillsboro River Company trip. tuckshot.com photo
 

Labor shortage a lesser challenge for many outdoor industry businesses

While prominently displayed “now hiring” signs and sign-on bonuses attest to the difficulty many employers now face in staffing their…
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New fly shop opening in Waynesville
 

New fly shop opening in Waynesville

Tuckaseegee Fly Shop will expand into Haywood County starting Aug. 1, with plans to open a retail shop and guide…
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Maggie Valley discusses RV park rules
 

Maggie Valley discusses RV park rules

A draft text amendment to a Maggie Valley ordinance concerning campgrounds and RV parks has sparked a larger conversation about…
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UNC System President Peter Hans answers media questions during a July 1 visit to Western Carolina University. Holly Kays photo
 

UNC system president visits Cullowhee

University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans toured institutional improvements at Western Carolina University July 1, marking his first…
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Housing crunch exacerbates WCU’s stagnant salaries
 

Housing crunch exacerbates WCU’s stagnant salaries

With the state’s biennial budget process  now nearing its conclusion, Western Carolina University employees are hopeful that they could soon…
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Bernadette Peters
 

City Lights owner to lead Sylva’s Main Street program

Bernadette Peters, owner of City Lights Café, has been hired to lead economic development efforts in downtown Sylva. 
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One step closer to affordable housing
 

One step closer to affordable housing

Southwestern NC HOME Consortium is one step closer to receiving annual allocation to bring more affordable housing to the region.
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Drake Software expands to Waynesville
 

Drake Software expands to Waynesville

An economic development venture previously referred to as “Project Duck Call” has been revealed to be a new call center…
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Bruce O’Connell, owner of the Pisgah Inn, becomes the latest Republican to challenge Rep. Madison Cawthorn. Donated photo
 

Another Republican out to oust Madison Cawthorn

As the second Republican to enter the 2022 Congressional Primary field, Bruce O’Connell is certainly looking at a David versus…
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Man takes plea in fatal DWI case
 

Man takes plea in fatal DWI case

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said a Haywood County man will serve the maximum sentence possible in prison after entering…
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Candidates sign up to run in Canton. Pictured from left are Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, Alderwoman Kristina Smith and Alderman Tim Shepard. Donated photo
 

Candidates file for municipal seats

The filing period for candidates seeking municipal governing board seats in November began at noon on Friday, July 2, with…
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The Southern Porch in downtown Canton.
 

Setting the tone: Beloved Canton restaurant celebrates five years

Five years ago, when the Southern Porch opened its doors in Canton, it wasn’t hard to get a parking spot…
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