Jackson swears in commissioners, sets meeting schedule
The Jackson County commissioners said goodbye to a longtime member, welcomed a new member and changed their meeting schedule during…
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State releases annual economic tier rankings
Macon and Jackson counties will be considered less economically distressed in 2019, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
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Casino profits set records
Tribal members received the largest per capita distribution ever released from casino profits when payments of $7,007 were released Monday,…
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Lambert not giving up on future run for chief
Patrick Lambert was removed from office following a controversial impeachment process in 2017, but with the 2019 election season underway…
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ACLU files suit against state for ADA violations
A magistrate judge recently recommended that a federal district court judge order the North Carolina Department of Public Safety to…
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Pay for court-appointed lawyers remains stagnant
Under the Sixth Amendment every criminal defendant has a constitutional right to legal representation — and if you can’t afford a…
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Historic Haywood commission sworn in
It was fitting that District Court Judge Donna Forga was on hand Dec. 3 to swear in the two new…
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Ghosted: Clock runs out on latest Ghost Town redevelopment plan
The strange saga of Maggie Valley’s Ghost Town amusement park has more twists and turns and more highs and lows…
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Campaign rhetoric criticized in Jackson
A May blog post titled “Chairman Mao or is it Chairman Mau?” was the topic of an impassioned statement Jackson…
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The essence of power is a towel
There, in Sumter County, Georgia, not far from the Alabama line lies the tiny town of Plains (pop. 784), a…
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Cherokee loses treasured tribal elder
Cherokee has lost its second honored member in the space of a month with the Nov. 24 death of Amanda…
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Macon wants out of flat fee defense program
While the North Carolina Legislature included Macon County in a pilot program to change the way court-appointed lawyers are paid,…
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Drake takes Macon airport under its wing
Drake Enterprises is spreading its wings further into the community as it takes over management of the Macon County Airport. …
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Sylva residents speak out against road plans
A Sylva town meeting this month drew a crowd of people to speak against the N.C. 107 road plan, but…
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TWSA to develop ideas to help displaced businesses
With the N.C. 107 project continuing to move forward, the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority is beginning to talk about…
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Contractor selected for SCC health building
The Michigan-based Christman Company will carry out a $17.66 million contract to construct a new health sciences building at Southwestern…
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Lawyers needed for pretrial pilot program
The success of a pretrial release program being piloted in Jackson and Haywood county’s judicial district hinges on a handful…
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Health departments investigate cases of Legionnaires
The Jackson County Department of Public Health and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Public Health and Human Services are…
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Homeless in Haywood: the journey continues
It was a journey I thought would last three days but has already lasted a year, with no signs of…
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Inventory of life: Twenty-year effort to count Smokies species adds 1,000 to science
By late November, the trees at 5,000 feet are mostly bare, once-green leaves covering the forest floor like a brown…
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Plott Balsam conservation project gets funding
A plan to conserve more than 900 acres of high-elevation terrain in Jackson County will move forward after the Clean…
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LifePoint, RCCH merger a done deal
LifePoint Health and RCCH HealthCare Partners have completed their merger and will now begin operating as one united company under…
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SBI finds no crime committed in Bryson City K9 death
After conducting a limited review into the death of a Bryson City K9, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations…
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Meadows sanctioned over handling of office harassment
A pair of congressmen — one Democrat and one Republican — were slapped with sanctions by the House Ethics Committee…
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New business coming to Macon County
The Macon County Industrial Park will be getting a new tenant after county commissioners approved a lease for TECO Inc.…
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ConMet not closed yet in Bryson City
Rumors of Consolidated Metco Inc., staying open in Bryson City have been circulating around the community, but unfortunately the plant…
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Mountain Projects seeks more transportation funding
Citing a slowdown in federal funding and a desire to run a regularly scheduled circulator route across Haywood County, Mountain…
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Jonathan Creek project lurches forward
With a new board that will subsequently change the face of Haywood County government set to be sworn in on…
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Bye bye BI-LO, adios Los Amigos: Tenants seek out new spaces ahead of plaza redevelopment
A major project slated for a prime parcel in Waynesville’s burgeoning Russ Avenue commercial district could soon transform a local…
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Historic court session held in Cherokee
A man claiming the courts misled him when accepting his guilty plea. A woman with a disability contending termination from…
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Jackson to purchase old Pepsi-Cola plant for $500K
If all goes as planned, Jackson County will spend $550,000 to buy the old Pepsi-Cola plant in Whittier, following a…
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The cost of compassion: Influx of juvenile cases could cause cash crunch
A juvenile justice system already stressed to the limit is about to be stretched even further, thanks to a change…
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Tribal housing reorganization still stalled
For the second time in less than a month, an ordinance that would abolish the Qualla Housing Authority and place…
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Susan Belcher receives WCU service award
Susan Brummell Belcher, wife of late Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher, received one of the top honors bestowed…
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Sylva to choose new TWSA board member
The Sylva Town Board is considering who it should choose to replace Commissioner Harold Hensley on the Tuckaseigee Water and…
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Macon to analyze county space needs
Now that the election is over and three incumbents have reclaimed their seats on the Macon County Board of Commissioners,…
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Swain schools earn ‘C’ average
Unchanged over last year, all four Swain County Schools earned a ‘C’ on their 2017-18 annual report card handed down…
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Majority of Macon schools meet growth goals
Eight of the 11 schools in Macon County either met or exceeded their academic growth expectations for the 2017-18 school…
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A fresh look at Haywood school capacity
As the pace of growth and development begins to pick up across Haywood County, demand for basic services like sewer,…
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Amazing Grace makes a full recovery
Beth Cline-Stroud, the executive director of PAWS in Bryson City, was on her way to an important event when a…
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Sessions firing triggers protests
It didn’t take long for protests to spring up across the country, state and region as soon as President Trump…
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Court of Appeals hearing Cherokee cases
On Thursday, Nov. 15, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will make history by holding oral…
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Never give up: Franklin native survived years of torture in Vietnam POW camp
Just west of the town of Franklin, along a winding back road heading into the mountains surrounding Wayah Bald, sits…
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Local physician honored with scholarship
The Haywood Healthcare Foundation, Haywood Regional Medical Center, and Haywood Community College recently held a presentation ceremony for Dr. Bennie…
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Interim UNC System president selected
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has selected the man who could well be charged with nominating the…
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Mediation valuable service in criminal justice system
Mountain Mediation Services has been providing an invaluable service to Western North Carolina’s criminal justice system for more than 20…
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Cherokee leaders speak out against Texas adoption ruling
A recent court ruling in Texas has Native American tribes across the country — including the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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WCU to commemorate WWI
Back before incessant war became a hallmark of American foreign policy, U.S. involvement in global affairs was but a shadow…
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Legal troubles mount for Ghost Town, developers
A pair of legal actions filed in Haywood courts during the month of October suggest efforts to redevelop Maggie Valley’s…
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Jackson TDA begins visitor study
The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority, whose mission it is to promote and market the county, is conducting its first…
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