Second COVID cluster identified at Mountaintop Golf Club
 

Second COVID cluster identified at Mountaintop Golf Club

The Jackson County Department of Public Health has identified its second COVID-19 cluster in a single day, announcing that 11…
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COVID-19 cluster identified at Jackson dermatologist
 

COVID-19 cluster identified at Jackson dermatologist

Jackson County Department of Public Health has identified a COVID-19 cluster in a local medical provider’s office.
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Crews search for three missing hikers at Black Balsam
 

Crews search for three missing hikers at Black Balsam

UPDATE: Searchers made contact with the hikers around noon Tuesday, July 7. They were able to walk out with search…
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Designed by Johnson Architecture and IBI Placemaking, the Cherokee Cultural Corridor Plan includes a “maker’s space” and public mall, among other features. Johnson Architecture illustration
 

Cherokee cultural corridor plan receives award

Knoxville, Tennessee-based Johnson Architecture, along with project partner IBI Placemaking, recently earned an award in North Carolina for the Cherokee…
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Cashiers chamber supplying free masks for businesses
 

Cashiers chamber supplying free masks for businesses

The Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation to provide valuable Personal Protection Equipment…
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James W. Patton (left) and Augustus S. Merrimon.
 

What’s in a name? For Asheville, signs point to history of racism

By Peter H. Lewis • AVL Watchdog | Vance, Patton, Woodfin,  Henderson, Weaver, Chunn, Baird — their names are familiar  to anyone living in…
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New Haywood COVID cases traveled to Florida
 

New Haywood COVID cases traveled to Florida

Haywood County Public Health received notice July 2 that another Haywood County resident has tested positive for COVID-19.  This brings…
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Second Blessing needs donations, volunteers
 

Second Blessing needs donations, volunteers

The Second Blessing Thrift Store, located in Waynesville, is open, expanding operations and in need of donations and volunteers. 
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Substance still matters in politics
 

Substance still matters in politics

Haywood County resident Lynda Bennett was beaten badly in the Republican runoff primary for Congress last week against 24-year-old political…
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Songbirds, stars and the Fourth of July
 

Songbirds, stars and the Fourth of July

Every morning around 5:15, the birds start chirping outside my window. The past several months I’ve been trying to figure…
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Forest plan lacks water quality measures
 

Forest plan lacks water quality measures

To the Editor: The Nantahala and Pisgah national forests are the headwaters of seven major river systems, providing drinking water…
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Pipeline is a threat to Appalachian Trail
 

Pipeline is a threat to Appalachian Trail

To the Editor: The Appalachian Trail, spanning nearly 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, maintains a natural mystique that cannot…
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Leadership needed to take down monuments
 

Leadership needed to take down monuments

To the Editor: I moved to Jackson County in January of 2013 and have been in love with everything about…
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Taking monuments down is just a mistake
 

Taking monuments down is just a mistake

To the Editor: Giving in to the misguided desire to remove statues and monuments, which Black Lives Matter admits is…
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People exaggerate COVID-19 suffering
 

People exaggerate COVID-19 suffering

To the Editor: In today’s America, we find ourselves facing the continued onslaught of biased reporting and erroneous “expert” advice…
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Separating truth from fiction
 

Separating truth from fiction

To the Editor: An early lesson that a child hears is “tell the truth” and “honesty is the best policy.”…
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Invest in people to strengthen community
 

Invest in people to strengthen community

To the Editor: By leaving households without reliable internet access, the marginalization of Southern Appalachia will perpetuate. Without a good connection to…
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Some people just don’t get it
 

Some people just don’t get it

To the Editor: A reader’s letter in the last issue complained about mainstream media and a limited view of events…
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A rainbow falls across Yellowstone Lake  in Wyoming. Holly Kays photos
 

America, mile by mile: Cross-country trip reveals country’s beauty, diversity

Back when the trip was a new idea, I don’t think either of us took it seriously. Three weeks on…
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Motorcycle accident results in fatality
 

Motorcycle accident results in fatality

A motorcycle fatality occurred on Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park shortly after 5 p.m. Monday,…
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Man drowns after rescuing minor
 

Man drowns after rescuing minor

A visitor to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park perished last week when he tried to save a younger family…
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LEGOs in the garden
 

LEGOs in the garden

The arrival of the N.C. Arboretum’s newest exhibit was delayed due to COVID-19, but Nature Connects: Art with LEGO Bricks…
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The ever-popular monarch butterfly is one of four placed along the garden’s entrance path. Donated photo
 

Butterfly murals installed in Cullowhee garden

Four larger-than-life butterflies now greet visitors as they enter the Cullowhee Community Garden, each representing a species that helps pollinate…
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Planning effort seeks to form regional multi-use trail network
 

Planning effort seeks to form regional multi-use trail network

A plan that would create a 150-mile-plus trail network through Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties is now out…
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George Ellison.
 

The secretive, intelligent and prolific crow

Like most commonly observed objects, crows flit across our field of vision unheeded. Caw-caw-cawing unmusically … flap-flap-flapping over the fields…
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Redemption and Occasional Magic: two books of inspiration
 

Redemption and Occasional Magic: two books of inspiration

Many readers are familiar with his story.  Johnny Cash, also known in later life as “The Man in Black,” grew…
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Crowds gather at a past Groovin’ on the Green event.
 

Groovin’ On the Green canceled

The Village Green has announced that the Friday night summer concert series, Groovin’ On the Green is canceled for the…
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The 1940s Rotary Deluxe cowboy parlor guitar. (photo: Garret K. Woodward)
 

This must be the place: ‘Don’t let ‘em pick guitars and drive them old trucks’

Sitting in the back den of my parents’ Upstate New York farmhouse last week, I could hear the familiar sounds…
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Pandemic changes WNC’s Independence Day tourism
 

Pandemic changes WNC’s Independence Day tourism

By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | In the past, the Fourth of July holiday has been counted on to…
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NOC photo
 

Outdoor adventures reopen in WNC

The Coronavirus Pandemic and ensuing shutdown means folks have been spending most of their time at home for the last…
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For 22 years, Cherokee Beloved Man Jerry Wolfe was a cornerstone of visitor experience at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Holly Kays photo
 

Customer service should be a powerful connection

By Gerri Wolfe Grady • Special to SMN | Customer service is an important commodity for any business and particularly…
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‘The arts will always be open’: Bardo Arts Center adapts to remote audience
 

‘The arts will always be open’: Bardo Arts Center adapts to remote audience

By Andrew Dundas • Contributing writer | This fall, Western Carolina University’s John W. Bardo Fine & Performing Arts Center…
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Madison Cawthorn, who mobilizes using a wheelchair, stands to address supporters at his June 23 victory party. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

It’s Cawthorn in NC11 after runoff blowout

How, exactly, does someone lose a Primary Election in which they have almost a year’s exclusive advance knowledge of the…
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Supporters of law enforcement gather before the Historic Haywood Courthouse on June 27. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

‘Back the Badge’ rally comes to Waynesville

Last week, as demonstrations were taking place across the nation to call attention to police brutality and racial injustice, Canton…
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Maggie Valley starts planning process for waterfall park
 

Maggie Valley starts planning process for waterfall park

When tourists visit this region, many of them come seeking the beauty and awe of the waterfalls that decorate the…
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Cherokee has second COVID-related death; Macon experiences nursing home ‘outbreak’
 

Cherokee has second COVID-related death; Macon experiences nursing home ‘outbreak’

As of June 30, North Carolina had 64,670 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The death toll is now over 1,300 and…
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DOT revises plan for Dillsboro bridge project
 

DOT revises plan for Dillsboro bridge project

Plans for a $14 million bridge project in Dillsboro have changed, with the project now expected to take nine months…
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WCU removes name 'Hoey' from auditorium
 

WCU removes name 'Hoey' from auditorium

 The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution removing the name “Hoey” from a campus performance facility.
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DA searches for larger substitute courtrooms during COVID
 

DA searches for larger substitute courtrooms during COVID

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said across the 43rd Prosecutorial District, in the state’s seven most-westernmost counties, court officials are…
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Additional COVID-19 cases confirmed in Haywood
 

Additional COVID-19 cases confirmed in Haywood

Haywood County Public Health received notice on June 26 that three more Haywood County residents have tested positive for COVID-19. …
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Lake Junaluska opens new restaurant
 

Lake Junaluska opens new restaurant

The Terrace Bistro has opened at the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, offering a rare lakeside dining option in…
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Drowning occurs near Oconaluftee Visitor Center
 

Drowning occurs near Oconaluftee Visitor Center

At approximately 5:20 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rangers responded to a drowning in progress…
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Grandfather Mountain mourns loss of Gerry the black bear
 

Grandfather Mountain mourns loss of Gerry the black bear

On Saturday, June 20, Grandfather Mountain bid farewell to Gerry the black bear. Gerry was humanely euthanized following a long history of…
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Jackson County budget passes without tax cut
 

Jackson County budget passes without tax cut

Following a June 23 public hearing, Jackson County Commissioners voted to pass the proposed 2020-21 budget without any of the…
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SRCA approves preliminary plans for $15 million facility
 

SRCA approves preliminary plans for $15 million facility

According to a press release, Shining Rock Classical Academy board of directors recently unanimous voted to accept the architectural designs…
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COVID-19 outbreak at Macon nursing home
 

COVID-19 outbreak at Macon nursing home

Macon County Public Health has identified a COVID-19 outbreak in staff at Macon Valley Nursing Home. Two staff members of…
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Gov. Roy Cooper discusses the status of COVID-19 reopening plans on June 24.
 

No Phase 3 for NC

North Carolina’s graduated three-phase COVID-19 reopening plan was set to cruise into Phase 3 on June 26, but due to…
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Box turtles can live 120 years
 

Box turtles can live 120 years

Five turtle species reside in Western North Carolina: snapping, musk, and painted turtles are primarily found in streams, lakes, and…
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Hiker fatality in the Smokies
 

Hiker fatality in the Smokies

A hiker on the Abrams Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park died following a cardiac event Monday,…
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Senate votes to fund conservation needs
 

Senate votes to fund conservation needs

Outdoors groups are hailing a recent vote by the U.S. Senate to pass legislation supporting funding for public lands as…
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