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My personal happiness project for 2019
What is a New Year’s resolution anyway? Just a statement we make aloud while toasting friends and family with a…
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Government shutdown is not really about a wall
By Norm Hoffman • Guest Columnist Now we have yet another federal government shutdown. We have to ask if there…
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Working 9 to 5 (plus nights and weekends)
Unemployment rates are about as low as they’re going to get in Western North Carolina and there are jobs to…
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TWSA to wait on forming N.C. 107 policies
Developing policies to help business owners affected by the upcoming N.C. 107 road project will go on the Tuckaseigee Water…
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10 transformations at Lake Junaluska in 2018
In 2018, Lake Junaluska invested more than $5 million into transforming its facilities and grounds. These improvements will help thousands…
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Cherokee debates ability to protest Council decisions
An ordinance seeking to broaden the ability to protest decisions of Tribal Council is under discussion, with Tribal Council narrowly…
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Nurse family program provides resources
How does someone prepare for one of the most important jobs of their life, the job of being a mother?…
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Hospitals still in negotiations with UnitedHealth
UnitedHealthCare and local Duke LifePoint affiliated hospitals have not yet worked out a new contract agreement, which could mean higher…
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Cherokee passes election ordinance
After months of work sessions, tabled votes and debate, Cherokee has an updated election law.
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Partial government shutdown continues; National parks still accessible to visitors
Congress’s failure to approve a discretionary spending budget led to another partial government shutdown beginning Dec. 21, and Western North…
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Limestone ‘sink’ is just over the mountain
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in a January 2005 edition of The Smoky Mountain News. “If it form the…
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Outdoors 2018: The year in quotes
From the depths of winter to the height of summer, valley agriculture to mountain exploration, longtime mountain dwellers to new…
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Fire tower restoration complete
The historic Rich Mountain Fire Lookout Tower has been restored, thanks to a collaborative effort from the Carolina Mountain Club,…
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Road closures to begin in the Nantahala
Seasonal road closures will soon begin in the Nantahala National Forest. Certain roads are closed each winter to help protect…
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Chronic wasting disease found in Tennessee
Chronic wasting disease has been preliminarily detected in western Tennessee, increasing the threat to deer and elk in Western North…
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Invasive found in Deep River
Hydrilla, a highly invasive nonnative plant, has been found in the Deep River, covering a 90-acre area in Moore, Chatham…
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Graham Greene, redemption, and us
Let’s start the new year with some old books. We begin with two suppositions. First, you are a good person…
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Serving ‘something larger than themselves’
“Stray from the truth, and whoever corrects you can be dismissed as ‘the other side.’ The strategy runs on a…
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Basking in the comfort of holiday traditions
They grow up so fast. Of all the clichés in the parenting handbook, this is the oldest and the truest.…
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Elf Parade provided help for seniors
To the Editor: Last Saturday, a group of merry elves paraded down the sidewalks of Main Street in Waynesville to…
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Graveyard tours are disrespectful
To the Editor: I have somewhat followed the issues surrounding the Green Hill Cemetery. I have stayed out of…
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This must be the place: ‘Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away’
This year has been quite the whirlwind. It felt like 2018 was a rollercoaster I either didn’t buy a ticket…
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Fake News FREAKOUT!! Part Three
This is my third Christmas as a member of The Smoky Mountain News staff, and this is also the third…
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2018: A look back
Before we ring in the New Year, The Smoky Mountain News likes to look back and reflect on the last…
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Let my life be a light: After banner year, Balsam Range release ‘Aeonic’
Following a second “Entertainer of the Year” award from the International Bluegrass Music Association this past September in Raleigh, the…
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HART receives N.C. Community Theatre Award
Located in Waynesville, the renowned Haywood Arts Regional Theatre received an early Christmas present when the organization was awarded the…
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Pointing the way: Volunteer group earns national recognition for trail sign project, other accomplishments
The year is nearly over, but in 2018 the Graham County Rescue Squad has run only three search and rescue…
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Fire ant quarantine expands
As of Jan. 1 the quarantine area for the imported fire ant will include Davidson, Orange and Vance counties, meaning…
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Fees to rise on national forest sites
Fees will increase at 24 sites on the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests beginning Jan. 1. For sites that are…
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Portal in the snow
I don’t know if our recent ancestors were better weather readers than we, or if they simply knew, by late…
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An alternative solution for N.C. 107
By Carl Queen • Guest Columnist As a long-time resident of Sylva — 48 years — I have had a…
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Creating an honest path to gratitude
I haven’t always known how to feel grateful or identify the feeling of joy. There are certain lessons in life…
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It’s OK to ignore the people, governor
To the Editor: This is a letter to our dear Gov. Cooper. I couldn’t agree with you more. Pure genius.…
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Polar Express wraps up another magical season
Hearing the joyful sound of a small silver jingle bell from Santa’s sleigh — it’s what separates those who believe…
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Sylva food pantry to get new roof
The Community Table in Sylva will get a new roof to the tune of $18,000 after Town of Sylva and…
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Macon County completes 2019 revaluation
Macon County commissioners may be looking at a possible higher tax rate next year after hearing a presentation on the…
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Homeless services strained in Jackson
The homeless shelter in Jackson County is full up with a waiting list 12 deep, shelter managers told Jackson County…
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Farm Bill offers little relief for American agriculture
American agriculture is experiencing a tougher time than ever, and that includes farmers in North Carolina. But as the latest…
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Haywood Schools will buy land adjacent to Tuscola
It took a while, but after a surprise addition to the Haywood Board of County Commissioners’ agenda, no small amount…
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Resolution passed to dissolve Qualla Housing
The Cherokee Tribal Council took the first step toward dissolving the Qualla Housing Authority with a resolution passed Thursday, Dec.…
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Cooper’s voter ID veto overridden
Legislation implementing North Carolina’s first-ever voter ID requirement passed both the House and the Senate Dec. 6, but a veto…
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Sylva shakes up TWSA board
Sylva commissioners voted Dec. 13 to remove former mayor and longtime Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority board member Brenda Oliver…
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Renewed push for Historic Haywood County Hospital redevelopment
An ongoing effort to qualify for tax credits that would make redevelopment of the county-owned Historic Haywood County Hospital more…
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Common ground found in Green Hill Cemetery spat
Long-established rules and regulations created by the Town of Waynesville that proscribed periodic cleanup of the town’s historic Green Hill…
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Patience, persistence and power chords
The core of any sincere and determined musical circle is a simple formula: camaraderie + compassion = musicianship. Anyone who…
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This must be the place: ‘Didn’t wanna get me no trade, never want to be like papa’
So, amid the whirlwind this past week of being published by Rolling Stone — my biggest dream and top bucket…
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Galax’s enduring popularity
Galax is an evergreen groundcover found throughout the Blue Ridge. The plant can thrive in various settings, but the ideal…
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Clean Water awards flow to WNC
The N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund awarded $20 million for conservation projects across the state this fall, with much…
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Hope for Scotts Creek: Report yields optimism for creek’s restoration
Sylva got some good news about the creek that runs straight through its heart at a Nov. 8 town meeting. …
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