Franklin, NC
FRANKLIN–Two-lane NC 28 follows the Little Tennessee River north from Franklin through beautiful countryside. Columnist Brent Martin writes in the Smoky Mountain News that the proposed widening of this road is one of a series of transportation missteps.
CASHIERS–There’s nothing primary about Tuesday’s vote when it comes to the Jackson County Commissioner’s race. As always, each candidate is a Democrat, so primary winners take all.
The race is, of course, a referendum on the relatively fresh Jackson County steep slope development ordinance–an aggressive ordinance that limits mountainside development and raises the bar for land [...]
We asked four of Sylva’s many talented culinary professionals to kick a ramp recipe or two our way. Here’s what they came up with:
Ross Lorenz, Owner and Chef, 553 West Main Restaurant
Grilled Ramp Soup
1/2 cup clarified butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 quarts chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
3 bay leaves
blackening seasoning
4 bunches of [...]
ROBBINSVILLE–A 21 year-old Maryland motorcyclist became one of many killed or injured on NC 129 north of Robbinsville Monday, when he lost control of his bike at high speed in a curve.
His death, near Parsons Branch, was the first on NC 129 in 2008.
This stretch of highway is well-known nationally among motorcyclists, who come to [...]
Rising energy prices, environmental consciousness and lifestyle choices are leading home-buyers back into town, a fact that will impact our small mountain towns as more and more people relocate here. Town planners are realizing this, even if local governments and long-time residents are slower on the uptake.
The Citizen editorializes on this trend today, and cites [...]
SYLVA–We noted on the 19th a Sylva Herald story reporting that Jackson County housing starts are way off in 2008–a point that could be used by opponents of the county’s assertive steep-slope ordinances.
The Herald chose not to compare this trend with national or comparable averages, and Jackson County Planning Director Linda Cable noted that building [...]
CHARLOTTE–The double canoe team of Scott McCleskey, of Sylva, and Austin Crane, of Atlanta, won the two-day Pan American Championships at the big fake river in Charlotte on Saturday, securing a C-2 berth for the United States at the Beijing Olympics.
Full story from the Asheville Citizen and Associated Press.
MAGGIE VALLEY–As I sat in a conference on North Carolina tourism a decade or so ago, leafing absently through some brochure or another, a German special on the Tarheel State played on the auditorium’s big screen.
Suddenly, there was Popcorn Sutton.
At the time, it was surreal. I was familiar with Popcorn mostly from his Hemphill Road [...]
CHEROKEE–The dynamics of this tourism-driven town, the capital of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, are changing quickly.
Lynne Harlan, long a consistent voice and advocate for the tribe, touches on the passing of a “chief” in the Citizen-Times.
(This piece is no longer available in the Citizen-Times archive, although it might be available from the newspaper [...]
Sylva Herald editor Lynn Hotaling wrote last week about the seeming demise–or at least departure–of the whip-poor-will, a ground-nesting nightjar that was once fairly common in this area. The bird, whose name is derived onomatopoeically from its haunting call, is a staple of popular rural culture and legend.
New Englanders once thought the bird could sense [...]