Josh Dobson.
 

Candidates work for Labor post

After a long career in public service, North Carolina’s current Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry — who you probably know…
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Jackson County Schools hopes to have required accessibility improvements to the baseball field at Smoky Mountain High School complete by late summer or early fall. Holly Kays photo
 

Baseball field improvements move forward at SMHS

It will cost nearly half a million dollars to upgrade facilities at the Smoky Mountain High School baseball fields to…
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Cherokee retail project moves forward
 

Cherokee retail project moves forward

A new retail complex featuring a mix of local and national chains is expected to break ground in Cherokee this…
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Twinkle Patel.
 

Twinkle Patel appointed as Maggie alderman

After interviewing five applicants that applied to serve out an unexpired term on the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen, the…
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Macon County educators pack the Macon County courtroom Jan. 14 to ask commissioners to support a resolution to increase  pay for retired educators. Screenshot
 

Retired teachers ask state for a raise

When teachers were starting their careers in North Carolina some 30 years ago, they did so with the understanding that…
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SMN launches digital newsletter
 

SMN launches digital newsletter

The Smoky Mountain News has lauched a digital newsletter that will publish every Friday morning to give you the latest…
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Macon considers Second Amendment proposal
 

Macon considers Second Amendment proposal

On Monday, Jan. 20, as many people were off work to honor the memory of the late Martin Luther King…
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Chamber President Patty Carter swears in new board members Dave Angel and Rose Beck.
 

Maggie Chamber honors dedicated volunteers

The Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce recognized the hard work of its many volunteers Tuesday night during its annual banquet…
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Catholic church identifies 'credibly accused' in WNC
 

Catholic church identifies 'credibly accused' in WNC

On Monday, Dec. 30, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte published a list of several clergy the diocese found to…
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Big changes could come to Waynesville’s Green Hill Cemetery, and the town wants to hear from you.
 

Waynesville’s cemetery policy revamp begins

Proposed changes to and clarifications of cemetery ordinances prompted by public outcry in Waynesville will undergo a period of public…
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Aubrey Elizabeth Ward
 

Runaway teen sought in Jackson County

UPDATE: Ward was found in Tennessee Jan. 18 thanks to help from a citizen and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.…
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Becoming mindful in a chaotic world
 

Becoming mindful in a chaotic world

Last October, I turned 40. It made me evaluate where I was physically, emotionally and personally. About a month after…
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WCU band trip is once in a lifetime opportunity
 

WCU band trip is once in a lifetime opportunity

In the early hours of the morning on Saturday, Nov. 30, slightly more than 500 students at Western Carolina University…
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Franklin to honor Robert Burns, his work
 

Franklin to honor Robert Burns, his work

Robert Burns is credited with saving the folk music of Scotland. He was born just a few years after England…
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Trump is doing a great job
 

Trump is doing a great job

To the Editor: The impeachment of President Donald Trump, the most partisan political witch hunt in our American history, is fraudulent,…
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Budget impasse harms retirees, taxpayers
 

Budget impasse harms retirees, taxpayers

To the Editor: It is my understanding that the state legislature and the governor are at an impasse over the…
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Rich rewards: a review of The Enchanted Hour
 

Rich rewards: a review of The Enchanted Hour

Though I read aloud with my children and do so now with my grandchildren, I have rarely done so with…
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Possums are the ultimate survivalist
 

Possums are the ultimate survivalist

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in a January 2005 issue of The Smoky Mountain News | I became acquainted…
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Committed to the slopes: Waynesville snowboarder to appear in international competition
 

Committed to the slopes: Waynesville snowboarder to appear in international competition

Zeb Powell was 7 years old the first time he tried a snowboard.  That initial ride wasn’t great — Powell, a…
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Dawn Gilchrist, who has been teaching English and language arts in Western North Carolina for 30 years, was named Regional Teacher of the Year. David Proffitt photo
 

Following the gleam: Gilchrist named Regional Teacher of the Year

Something Dawn Gilchrist’s father-in-law, a retired Methodist minister, once said has stuck with her throughout her career as an educator…
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Tribal Council passes term limits for casino board members
 

Tribal Council passes term limits for casino board members

After nearly an hour of debate, Tribal Council voted unanimously last week to place term limits on members of the…
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Regional hospitals look back on 2019 growth
 

Regional hospitals look back on 2019 growth

Western North Carolina hospitals under the Duke LifePoint umbrella are celebrating several milestones in making communities healthier as a new…
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Sylva planning board gets two new members
 

Sylva planning board gets two new members

The Town of Sylva has two new members on its planning board following a pair of unanimous votes from town…
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Search for new Waynesville police chief nears end
 

Search for new Waynesville police chief nears end

Almost seven months after the retirement of its longtime police chief, the Town of Waynesville is getting closer to naming…
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Community members packed Frog Level Brewing in October to discuss                                     the homeless issue in Waynesville. Jessi Stone photo
 

Waynesville homelessness task force takes shape

Despite the urgency of the area’s homelessness problem and the cacophony of citizens clamoring for a task force to begin…
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The existing Pinnacle retail complex is in Tennessee, while the proposed casino complex would be just over the state line in Virginia. Donated map
 

Cherokee angles for Virginia casino project

Casino gaming is under serious discussion in the Virginia legislature this year, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is…
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Pisgah teacher under investigation resigns
 

Pisgah teacher under investigation resigns

A Pisgah High School teacher who had been under investigation by Haywood County Schools since late last year is no…
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State superintendent candidates sound off
 

State superintendent candidates sound off

As Primary Election season sets in, a number of statewide races will have voters making some serious decisions at the…
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Gathering of the souls: Beloved Sylva restaurant closes doors
 

Gathering of the souls: Beloved Sylva restaurant closes doors

Last Thursday evening, three days of celebration commenced within the walls of Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro on the…
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Eastern Idaho.
 

This must be the place: Sunlight wakes me just to say let’s go to sleep now

The moment the song came onto my stereo, I was immediately transported to a time and a place somewhat foggy…
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Duke Energy asks for rate increase
 

Duke Energy asks for rate increase

Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, filed an application with the North Carolina Utilities Commission Sept. 30, 2019, requesting authority to increase…
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Lake Junaluska to draw down water levels
 

Lake Junaluska to draw down water levels

Lake Junaluska to draw down water levelsLake Junaluska has opened its dam to draw down the lake. The lake drawdown,…
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Hunting, fishing and trapping license changes take effect
 

Hunting, fishing and trapping license changes take effect

Several changes to hunting, inland fishing and trapping licenses structures and fees went into effect with the start of the…
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Land trusts surpass land conservation goal
 

Land trusts surpass land conservation goal

Eight area land trusts protected a collective 8,598 acres in 2019, equivalent to 13.43 square miles, bringing the total protected…
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Rusty blackbird fall 2019. Don Hendershot photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: CBC vagaries

This year’s Balsam Christmas Bird Count was record setting — but maybe not in a good way. The 63 species…
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Petrea to leave Waynesville Parks and Rec
 

Petrea to leave Waynesville Parks and Rec

Tim Petrea, program supervisor for the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department since 2013, will be leaving North Carolina for a…
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The Swain County Tourism Development Authority is proposing an expansion to the Appalachian Rivers Aquarium that just opened its doors last summer. File photo
 

Swain tourism authority requests aquarium expansion

The Swain County Tourism Development Authority has approached the county about expanding the Appalachian Rivers Aquarium that just opened its…
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Mountain bogs like the Jonas Ridge Bog are rare ecosystems in the Southern Appalachians. FCNC staff photo
 

Bog protected in Burke County

A 17-acre bog in Burke County is now protected for consesrvation folowing a Dec. 16 purchase by the Foothills Conservancy…
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Settlement reached in coal ash case
 

Settlement reached in coal ash case

Duke Energy will move forward with excavating nearly 80 million tons of coal ash at sites in North Carolina following…
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Beating back the January Blues
 

Beating back the January Blues

Ugh. The skies are gray, the wind’s a knife, the dank cold crawls into your very bones, and spring seems…
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Grave consequences to follow assassination
 

Grave consequences to follow assassination

The assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Suleimani is the latest in a string of incoherent, dangerous foreign policy decisions…
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Coffee grounds for breakfast no more
 

Coffee grounds for breakfast no more

I’m not that big on New Year’s resolutions, but one thing I do want to do in 2020 is practice…
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Bumper stickers can divide us
 

Bumper stickers can divide us

To the Editor: On a recent ride into town, I found myself behind a car with a bumper sticker that…
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Four more years for Trump
 

Four more years for Trump

To the Editor: Recently, a prolific contributor of letters to editors asked how much longer we could stand to have…
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Only slightly mad: A conversation with David Bromberg
 

Only slightly mad: A conversation with David Bromberg

David Bromberg doesn’t have time to wax poetic about life.  But, more so he doesn’t have time to talk about…
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Trend in party registration could sink Democrats
 

Trend in party registration could sink Democrats

Only twice since 1972 has the state of North Carolina supported a Democratic candidate for president. But if a years-long…
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The Tanasi Memorial in Vonore, Tennessee, looks toward the site of the once-prominent Cherokee town, now underwater. Sequoyah Birthplace Museum photo
 

House approves bill to grant Cherokee land in Tennessee

For the second year running, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would return 76 culturally significant…
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The fire training trailer will be 27-feet long and allow for training on a variety of interactive scenarios. Donated photo
 

Jackson County to purchase fire training trailer

Fire education in Jackson County will soon get a leg up following county commissioners’ vote Dec. 17 to appropriate $169,434…
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Tribe continues recovery from cyber attack
 

Tribe continues recovery from cyber attack

Update: In a Dec. 14, 2023, opinion, the Cherokee Supreme Court vacated a lower court's conviction of Benjamin Cody Long…
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