Plans for Ghost Town property begin to emerge

There is perhaps no parcel of land in Haywood County that generates as much interest as the one that’s home…
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Five more COVID deaths recorded in Haywood

Haywood County Health and Human Services has received notice of five more COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number now to…
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Rep. Cawthorn Tours Western Counties

NC-11 Congressional Rep. Madison Cawthorn spent last week engaging with his constituents in the western reaches of the district.
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Haywood EMS partners with HVO on COVID pod production

Expanding on an existing partnership, Haywood County Emergency Services has contracted Haywood Vocational Opportunities, Inc. to manufacture COVID pod covers…
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Highlights from Smokies' Hikes for Healing Program

Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced the release of a video highlighting the Smokies Hikes for Healing program. In response to social…
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Sylva man arrested in connection with Capitol riots

The world watched with bated breath Jan. 6 as what is normally a perfunctory proceeding — the Senatorial certification of…
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Black Home Ownership and the Promise of Reparations

By Barbara Durr, Asheville Watchdog — Priscilla Ndiaye Robinson looked across the empty fields where her Southside neighborhood once thrived. “It’s…
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Haywood scores touchdown on stadium capacity limits

It’s not something that happens all that often, but a late fourth-quarter drive by Western North Carolina’s state and local…
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NC Gov. Cooper eases some coronavirus restrictions

As vaccination of North Carolinians continues and positive coronavirus case reports decline, today Gov. Roy Cooper announced changes to a…
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The things you don't hear

Weary and sore they came upon a small copse of Loblolly pines swaying high above a sea of softly undulating…
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International equity firm invests in Drake Software

International private equity firm Cinven recently announced that it has agreed to make a significant investment into Drake Software, a…
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Drug sting wraps up in Macon County

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said a Macon County woman who was arrested as part of a multiple-person drug sting…
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Reparations, Six Months Later: So Far, Empty Promises

By Barbara Durr and Peter H. Lewis • Asheville Watchdog | Six months ago, as part of a reckoning on…
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Leading the way: Love for nature spurred HCC’s Black forestry grads to barrier-breaking lives

Ron Davis Sr. was just 17 years old when he arrived in the tiny town of Clyde, completely alone.  It…
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Foxfire and BPR team up for COVID-19 oral history project

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Foxfire has been collecting stories, memories, photographs and artifacts related to the experiences of…
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Developer withdraws Cashiers Hillside application

When it was first scheduled, the Feb. 22 meeting of the Cashiers Area Community Planning Council was expected to be…
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Winter storms slow down vaccine progress

Widespread winter storms last week drastically slowed down vaccination efforts in Jackson County, which still has the lowest percentage of…
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Night Work Redirecting Traffic Exiting U.S. 74

CLYDE – A late-night operation at the interchange of U.S. 74 West and U.S. 19 South in Haywood County requires…
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Macon man guilty of sex offender violations

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said a Macon County man who went on school property in violation of his sex…
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Jackson to pause vaccine registration Feb. 26

Jackson County will close its phone-based vaccine appointment registration system on Friday, Feb. 26, as the county prepares to offer…
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Changes, upgrades coming to Maggie festival grounds

The Town of Maggie Valley recently decided on several upgrades and changes to the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds this month.…
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Share your pandemic stories with SMN

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the past year’s likely been topsy-turvy in all kinds of unexpected ways. With…
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Weather prompts changes for Lake Junaluska cleanup

Due to the forecast for windy, cold weather, the Annual Lake Cleanup at Lake Junaluska, originally scheduled to take place…
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Macon man gets 19-year sentence for drug trafficking

Daniel “Danny” Steven Lucas will spend a minimum of almost 19 years in prison for operating a substantial opiate and…
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Gladys Knight, William McDowell vaccinated in Haywood

Gladys Knight, “Empress of Soul,” and her husband William McDowell recently received their COVID-19 vaccinations in Haywood County. The couple,…
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Vaccine shipment delays push back WCU clinic start date

Western Carolina University is one of four University of North Carolina System campuses that has opened or will soon open…
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Vaccination coverage improves in WNC

Vaccination coverage is picking up in Western North Carolina, with the percentage of the population receiving at least one dose…
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Local Methodist churches form Justice and Reconciliation Team

The Smoky Mountain District of the First United Methodist Church has created a Justice and Reconciliation Team to take on…
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Top to bottom, prognosis for NC economic recovery is good

North Carolina’s fiscal and economic health, along with years of budgetary discipline and a commitment to economic freedom, bode well…
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Bit by bit, major investments bring broadband to the mountains

After years of pecking away at Western North Carolina’s broadband problem at the state level, a large-scale federal investment in…
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Nikwasi Initiative changes plans for Franklin property

Nikwasi Initiative, the nonprofit that took over ownership of the Nikwasi Mound in Franklin two years ago, recently announced some…
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Hottest ticket in town: Capacity limits for rivalry game ‘make no sense’

It’s a rivalry that runs as deep as the waters of Lake Logan and as wide as the Pigeon River…
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Jail expansion opponents ask county to reprioritize

As promised, members of Down Home North Carolina presented to Haywood County commissioners a budget alternative that prioritizes treatment and…
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All signs point to Canton’s continuing renewal

Another aesthetic improvement to Canton’s emerging downtown business district — rundown and dilapidated for years, until recently — will soon…
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Impaired driver takes Alford plea

A woman who wrecked while driving impaired, killing a close friend after the two left work from the now-shuttered No…
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‘Enroll Anytime’ now available at SCC

Uncertainty about university schedules, childcare and other variables prevented some prospective students from enrolling in college classes this spring.
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Macon Leaders Encourage Vaccine Registration

The supply of COVID-19 vaccine from N.C. DHHS to Macon County remains limited at this time and a waitlist was…
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Traffic stop leads to drug arrests in Haywood

On Tuesday, Feb. 9,  Haywood County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a vehicle on North Canton Road around 4 p.m. A search…
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WCU prepares to open COVID vaccine clinic

With freezers now on campus, staff in place, and volunteers on the way, Western Carolina University is in the final…
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Haywood reports two more COVID-19 deaths

Haywood County Health and Human Services has received notice of three more COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number now to…
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Child pornography arrests made in Macon

Two investigations and subsequent arrests in cases that were first initiated in Fall 2020 has Macon County Sheriff’s Office detectives…
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HRMC recognized for maternity care

Haywood Regional Medical Center has been recognized by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina with a Blue Distinction…
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Wheels Through Time founder dies of cancer

Dale Walksler, the founder and curator of the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, passed away peacefully, with his…
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Macon budget remains agile through pandemic

Despite dire predictions of how local governments would be financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Macon County has fared well…
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Masking rules take effect on public lands

On Jan. 20, President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring coronavirus prevention protocols — including mask-wearing — on all…
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Disc golf course proposed in Franklin

The Whitmire property on East Main Street in Franklin could soon become a public disc golf course.
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‘Something’s got to give’: Sylva police chief argues for more officers

Every year, Sylva’s department heads have a chance to tell town commissioners what they need — and what they want…
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Macon steps up COVID response

When Macon County Commissioners met on Jan. 12, health department staff was having a difficult time meeting the demands of…
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WCU center examines economic recovery after pandemic

The Center for the Study of Free Enterprise at Western Carolina University has issued an assessment of economic recovery, sustainability and growth in North…
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Franklin man pleads guilty to trafficking

A Franklin man who pleaded guilty last week to trafficking in methamphetamine has been sentenced to serve 70 to 93…
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