Amid changing times, Haywood budget seeks solid ground

Strong growth across multiple revenue streams will help Haywood County government balance increasing costs for staffing, schools and vehicles in…
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Canton’s flood projects gaining momentum

The Town of Canton has made another big move toward recovery from Tropical Storm Fred by accepting advanced planning documents…
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Waynesville looks to maintain its architectural, cultural legacy

It’s that small town feel — the Normal Rockwell-esque Main Street dimly lit by vintage streetlights, the brilliant fall colors…
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Haywood event aims to shed stigma surrounding addiction

This weekend, The SHARE Project will host its third annual WNC drug awareness event — “Hope Not Stigma.”
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Drug Trafficker pleads guilty in Haywood

A Swanannoa man forfeited his vehicle and received a stiff prison sentence after pleading guilty in Haywood County Superior Court…
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Sylva approves brief road closure for Pride

An application to use Bridge Park and Main Street for the annual Pride event has led the Town of Sylva…
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Sylva budgets for future uncertainty

Town Manager Paige Dowling officially presented the proposed 2023-24 budget to the Sylva Board of Commissioners during its May 11…
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Sylva approves zoning request for workforce housing

Sylva has approved a zoning map amendment request in order to allow for the possible construction of an affordable housing…
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Haywood commissioners support tax hike to fund school resource officers

Absent any meaningful gun legislation by the North Carolina General Assembly or by Congress, the cost of protecting Haywood County’s…
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Old Kmart plaza sold

Less than two weeks after a story in The Smoky Mountain News revealed that a real estate marketing flyer along with…
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Abortion bill will test Republican supermajority

It’s been a little over a year since a draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling was leaked, and a…
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Student wins WCU College of Business pitch competition

Avery Pittman, a first-year entrepreneurship and interior design major from Startown, won first place in the Western Carolina University College…
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Meetings set to discuss Waynesville historic preservation

The Town of Waynesville Historic Preservation Commission will host a pair of public meetings to discuss the preparation of a…
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Teen driver law changes take effect
 

Teen driver law changes take effect

Upon passage of a bill by the North Carolina General Assembly, the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles announced changes to…
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Man pleads guilty to child sex crimes

A South Carolina man who used social media to groom then entice an underage teen to meet him in both…
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Car show reminds people to slow down and move over

Following her son’s death, a Haywood County mom is on a mission to get people to slow down and move…
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Birdtown Tribal Council candidates share their vision

fF Five candidates are running for a term representing Birdtown on Tribal Council for the next two years.
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Cannabis funding vetoed

UU Upholding a veto from Principal Chief Richard Sneed, on May 4 the Cherokee Tribal Council reversed an April decision…
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DA finds Lambert Wilson shooting was self-defense

M More than six months after beloved Swain County educator was shot and killed  at his motel in Cherokee, District…
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Remembering the stolen: Gathering honors those lost to missing and murdered indigenous women epidemic

The fourth annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relative Walk and Vigil held in Cherokee Friday, May 5, aimed to do…
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‘Cornerstone of the community’: HCC budgets for the coming year

Haywood Community College has long been a foundation of education and job training in the region; the college will celebrate…
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Jackson approves juvenile crime prevention funding plan

Three Jackson County programs will receive funding from the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council to help reduce and prevent juvenile crime.
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Chief vetoes cannabis enterprise funding

Following a veto from Principal Chief Richard Sneed, the Cherokee Tribal Council today reversed an April decision that allocated $64…
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Persistent Pless pushes partisan polling play

Haywood Republican Rep. Mark Pless is closer than ever to getting partisan local elections in his district — part of…
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Sylva considers sponsoring pride

The Town of Sylva has decided that only town-sponsored events can warrant closing Main Street. Now, the town board will…
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Haywood seeks to ‘get ahead’ of cryptocurrency mining

The relatively recent rise of cryptocurrency, its associated strain on utility infrastructure and its potential to disrupt the peace and…
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Search continues for missing man near Bryson City

Update: 4:47 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has reduced the scale of the search for…
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DEQ secretary visits Canton

During a visit to Canton Tuesday, May 2, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Elizabeth Biser met with a room…
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Waynesville changes name of governing board

The Town of Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen will now be known as the Town Council, after an April 25 vote…
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Staggered terms adopted in Waynesville

This year’s election for seats on Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen — recently re-styled as “Town Council” — will proceed with…
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Cherokee constitution effort faces hurdle

AA proposed constitution for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is facing opposition from the EBCI Attorney General’s Office following…
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HCS budgets for a changing school system

As Haywood County Schools hammered out its 2023-24 budget, administrators faced declining student population and the imminent end of COVID-era…
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Wolfetown Tribal Council candidates share their vision

Six candidates are hoping to earn one of two seats in what is an extremely unusual election year for Wolfetown…
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Confusion surrounds Higdon Property

At the April 24 meeting of the Macon County School Board, confusion surrounding the county’s intent to purchase the Higdon…
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No charges filed in Lambert Wilson death

No criminal charges will be brought against a South Carolina resident who shot and killed Lambert Wilson last fall, according…
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Multiple signs that Aldi is coming to Waynesville

A real estate marketing flyer along with correspondence between Waynesville’s Land Use Administrator Byron Hickox and an Asheville sign company…
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Commissioner’s tax troubles go deeper than previously reported

New details from the Haywood County Tax Collector’s office show that Haywood Republican Commissioner Terry Ramey, who until recently hadn’t…
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It’s an ‘honor system’ — public records statute has troubling gap

Across the state of North Carolina, the public’s right to know what its elected leaders are doing remains foundational to…
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Painttown Tribal Council candidates share their vision

Six candidates are hoping to earn one of two seats up for election in this year’s race for Painttown Tribal…
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Celebrate the Pigeon Center this Saturday

Once upon a time, the old school on Pigeon Street was a striking symbol of divisiveness and inequality.
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GREAT Grant approved for Jackson

Last week, the Jackson County Commissioners approved a GREAT Grant agreement that will fund a project to connect more than…
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Tribe adopts overdose tracking tool

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has become the first tribal nation to adopt a tool that gives real-time updates…
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Sylva allows chickens

Residents in the Town of Sylva will be able to keep poultry in the downtown business district after commissioners voted…
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Law enforcement rallies support for DWI bills

As the May 4 deadline for crossover approaches in the North Carolina General Assembly, a last-minute push has begun to…
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A somber journey: After losing son over a decade ago, Waynesville man still seeks solace

The immediate grief of having to bury a child seems insurmountable, and the lifetime of what-ifs seem like enough to…
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The show must go on: NC bill would ban drag in public

“I’d like to add one more thing,” Marigold Showers said. She is sitting with her back to the garage-style window…
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Canton Labor Day Festival headliner announced

Canton’s 115th annual Labor Day Festival — the oldest in the South — could take on a more somber tone…
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Tribe approves $64 million for cannabis enterprise

F Following more than an hour of discussion capping off months of debate, the Cherokee Tribal Council voted April 6…
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Macon will remain in Fontana Regional Library

After a contentious meeting with an outpouring of input from the public, Macon County commissioners have decided to work with…
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Legislative tour focuses on lingering flood impact

Nearly two years after rains from Tropical Storm Fred inundated Haywood County and flooded parts of Bethel, Canton, Clyde and…
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