New health foundation hires director
 

New health foundation hires director

The Nantahala Health Foundation, a newly formed, public 501(c)(3) organization, has hired its inaugural executive director, Lori Bailey.
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The Friends of Bryson City Cemetery formed five years ago with the mission of maintaining and beautifying the historic Bryson City Cemetery. Jessi Stone photos
 

If these stones could talk: Friends work to restore Bryson City Cemetery

It’s quiet and peaceful on the hillside of Bryson City Cemetery. Overlooking the hustle and bustle of downtown, all you…
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Richard Sneed and Teresa McCoy.
 

Chief candidates speak on the issues

Over the last four years, Richard Sneed and Teresa McCoy have found themselves on the opposite side of many an…
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Shining Rock Classical Academy timeline
 

Shining Rock Classical Academy timeline

July 2015: Shining Rock Classical Academy, a brand-new taxpayer-funded public charter school governed by an unelected public board, violates closed-session…
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Shining Rock enrollment drops dramatically
 

Shining Rock enrollment drops dramatically

Back-to-school time is here again, and at Shining Rock Classical Academy — Haywood County’s only public charter school — it…
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Shining Rock’s plans to leave its current location off Dellwood Road, shown here under construction in 2016, have been suspended.  A Shot Above photo
 

Shining Rock continues to struggle with transparency

Editor’s note: This is the seventh in a series of stories on Haywood County’s public charter school, Shining Rock Classical Academy,…
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DEA Agent Joel Reece (right) poses in 1998 with what may have been the largest undercover heroin buy in Tennessee history at the time – nearly a pound. Donated photo
 

Forced to Fight: Law enforcement grapples with opioids in Appalachia

After a routine surgery, Haywood County native Clayton Suggs ended up hooked on opioids until on the first day alone…
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The N.C. 107 project will require 55 businesses to relocate, including Speedy’s Pizza and Valero Gas Station. Holly Kays photo
 

N.C. 107 relocation list still includes 55 businesses

Based on information presented at a joint government meeting in Jackson County July 23, The Smoky Mountain News reported in…
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Kituwah LLC’s offices are located on U.S. 441 across from Waffle House. Holly Kays photo
 

Council gives $50 million to tribal LLC

The Cherokee Tribal Council voted to allocate an additional $50 million to Kituwah LLC, the tribe’s economic development arm, during…
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Becky Buller.
 

The rebel and the rose: Becky Buller to play ‘An Appalachian Evening’

In bluegrass, there are pioneers and there are pillars — Becky Buller is both. A beloved singer/fiddler, the Minnesota native…
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This must be the place: Never for money, always for love
 

This must be the place: Never for money, always for love

Please allow me to reintroduce myself. I started this column back around Memorial Day of 2013. So, by the calendar…
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Heavy rain causes rock slides, fatality on Spur
 

Heavy rain causes rock slides, fatality on Spur

At approximately 3:00 p.m., the northern area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, TN, experienced extremely heavy rainfall…
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Jackson County residents sought for Citizens Academy
 

Jackson County residents sought for Citizens Academy

Jackson County residents will have the chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at how county government works during the third…
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Search teams finds lost hiker near Cataloochee
 

Search teams finds lost hiker near Cataloochee

After spending four nights lost in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Kevin Mark Lynch was found by…
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Photo by ctroque1 from FreeImages
 

Like canaries in a coal mine

By Sandi Sox • Guest Columnist I have been haunted this week by words Kathryn Stripling Byer wrote in a piece…
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Photo by Thomas Gaudet from FreeImages
 

Drinking in the memories at the beach

We had plans to take the kids to a remote island outside of Charleston for a summer beach trip. I…
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Defining America’s religious philosophy
 

Defining America’s religious philosophy

To the Editor: Here we are in 2019 arguing about worthiness to be an American citizen. Down through time some…
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N.C. needs Medicaid expansion
 

N.C. needs Medicaid expansion

To the Editor: I read with interest the recent article by Patrick Gleason titled “What Queen didn’t tell readers about…
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Coyotes can be loving
 

Coyotes can be loving

To the Editor: I was sad to read the article “Wolf Tales” in last week’s edition of The Smoky Mountain…
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Kudos for addressing brush clear cutting
 

Kudos for addressing brush clear cutting

To the Editor: I just finished reading the story in the July 17 issue of The Smoky Mountain News by…
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Mount Pisgah rises above the fields at Pisgah View Ranch. Donated photos
 

A new state park: Funding and opening Pisgah View State Park will be years-long process

A new state park has been created in Buncombe and Haywood counties following Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature on a state…
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New members appointed to Wildlife Commission
 

New members appointed to Wildlife Commission

Three new commissioners have been added to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and a new chairman and vice chairman elected…
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The barn dance gets underway at the second annual Smokies Stomp Barn Party. David Huff photo
 

Smokies Stomp raises $84K for national park needs

The second annual Smokies Stomp Barn Party raised more than $84,000 for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this year,…
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Forrest E. Jarrett presents the award that bears his name to Garrett McCarson, HCC student and Wildlife Society President. Donated photo
 

HCC wildlife club wins award

The Haywood Community College Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society recently received the Forrest E. Jarrett Wildlife Conservation Award, an…
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Wild bergamot. Donated photo
 

Horsemint is a fascinating, useful plant

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in a July 2010 edition of The Smoky Mountain News Each July since 1991, I’ve…
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A fine first novel exploring loneliness
 

A fine first novel exploring loneliness

Loneliness. Even the word, standing that way by itself, smacks of the pitifully sad and alone, forlorn.
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Fred Chappell.
 

Fred Chappell releases new poetry collection

The purpose of a writer is to take observations on life and distill those sights and sounds into words and…
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Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia.
 

This must be the place: Living in the present, trying to forget the past

Persistence and gratitude. Those are two key words and concepts in life, personally and professionally. But, for this specific post,…
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Haywood Arts expands artist, gallery reach
 

Haywood Arts expands artist, gallery reach

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) is expanding beyond Waynesville’s city limits to include the artists and creative workers in…
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Anna Thibeault.
 

HCAC ‘Volunteer of the Year’

During its July meeting, the Haywood County Arts Council presented Anna Thibeault with its “Volunteer of the Year” award. 
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Updated relocation list released for N.C. 107 project
 

Updated relocation list released for N.C. 107 project

CORRECTION: Due to inaccurate information presented at the July 23 government meeting when the road project was discussed, the number…
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Elections director wins lawsuit
 

Elections director wins lawsuit

After years of fighting with county commissioners, a judge has ordered Swain County to fund retirement benefits for Elections Director…
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Screens will be key at The Book, the new sports betting lounges planned for casinos in Cherokee and Murphy. JCJ Architecture rendering
 

Sports betting legalized on Cherokee land

Sports wagering is now legal in casinos on the Qualla Boundary following Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature on Senate Bill 154…
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Tribal Council candidates speak on the issues
 

Tribal Council candidates speak on the issues

Cherokee’s Sept. 5 Election Day is coming up, and the 24 candidates running for 12 available Tribal Council seats are…
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This week, Nicole Mescia and her team from Gaia Arise Farm will open a downtown retail space featuring hemp and CBD products. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

‘Growing our gifts’: Retail hemp shop comes to Waynesville

That empty black and white building on the corner of Branner Avenue and Depot Street is about to be filled…
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Western Carolina University Chancellor Kelli R. Brown meets with Ed Holland, president of the university’s Alumni Association, at the July 15 ‘Chancellor’s Welcome Tour’ event in Greensboro.
 

WCU begins ‘Welcome Tour’ to introduce new chancellor

Western Carolina University Chancellor Kelli R. Brown is meeting with alumni, friends of the university and community members across North…
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Clayton Suggs.
 

Forced to Fight: Opioid data puts local addiction in context

It was finally moving day, and that empty little Greensboro apartment must have seemed like a mansion to 29-year-old Clayton…
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 Greg Wozniak
 

Investigation finds ranger used illegal drugs

An investigation into a June 2018 incident involving the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Pisgah District Ranger Greg Wozniak concluded that Wozniak…
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The pulse of the community: Local pediatrician retires
 

The pulse of the community: Local pediatrician retires

Dr. Stephen Wall couldn’t have come to Waynesville at a better time.  “There were four pediatricians in Haywood County, and…
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Search operations amplify for missing hiker
 

Search operations amplify for missing hiker

Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers continue to search for 58 year-old Kevin Mark Lynch who went missing on Saturday,…
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Chris Hatton.
 

New police chief chosen for Sylva

A successor has been chosen for Sylva Police Chief Tammy Hooper following a three-month search by a panel of Western…
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Park searching for missing person in NC
 

Park searching for missing person in NC

Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers are searching for a 58 year-old male near the Cataloochee Divide Trail in Haywood…
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Photo by Cathy KIng from FreeImages
 

The years pass, but Edisto remains

This year, it was the deer and the pelicans. We see deer every summer on Edisto Island, but never as…
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What Queen didn’t tell readers about budget standoff
 

What Queen didn’t tell readers about budget standoff

By Patrick M. Gleason • Guest Columnist What Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, failed to mention in his recent column in these pages…
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The four R’s help the earth
 

The four R’s help the earth

To the Editor: What are you doing to implement the four R’s to help our environment, which are Recycle, Re-use,…
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Story of acceptance saddened me greatly
 

Story of acceptance saddened me greatly

To the Editor: The article regarding Waynesville’s First United Methodist Church’s from July 10 (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/27236) saddened me greatly. I am…
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No theocracy for this country
 

No theocracy for this country

To the Editor: Have you really, really thought about these five words: “In the beginning God created…? Maybe it’s time…
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Cool to catch a couple of ovenbirds foraging in my yard. This one hopped up into the holly tree for a nanosecond. Don Hendershot photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: “There is a singer everyone has heard…”

Robert Frost names that singer in the title of his 1916 sonnet “The Oven Bird.”  The ovenbird is a large…
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Survey open for electric vehicle owners
 

Survey open for electric vehicle owners

Owners of electric vehicles are wanted to take a short survey aimed at assessing the challenges and benefits of electric…
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