Businesswoman offers leadership advice
For all the women out there wondering if they can have it all in life — the career, family and…
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Women’s contributions to workforce celebrated
Sometimes it can feel like one step forward, two steps back for women in the workforce, but this year’s theme…
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Honoring Women’s History Month
The Smoky Mountain News will be publishing a series of articles to showcase a number of women in Western North…
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Russ Avenue: growing pains in Waynesville
While most people agree that the $18 million Russ Avenue widening project in Waynesville is much-needed and long overdue, the…
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DOT to ditch ‘suicide lane’ on 441 in Franklin
With safety concerns at the forefront, a project to significantly alter U.S. 441 through Franklin has been ranked as the…
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Franklin considers changing ‘alderman’ title
The term alderman is defined as a member of a city legislative body, but it literally translates as “old man”…
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Kirkpatrick: ‘It feels like we have no representation’
Tensions between Haywood County and a state legislator are on the rise as commissioners called her out at a recent…
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Lawmakers want to make town elections partisan
Republican lawmakers in Raleigh have introduced several bills to make more local elections a partisan affair, and local leaders aren’t…
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Haywood considers investigation into leaked docs
The strange saga of Haywood County Tax Collector Mike Matthews isn’t over, but for the moment the spotlight is back…
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Majority opposed to making school board partisan
A bill set to make school board elections partisan in Haywood County took current school board members — including the…
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Clampitt files legislation to recoup money for Swain
Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, has introduced House Bill 260 in an effort to help Swain County recoup millions of…
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Grants could offset cost of river park project
Jackson County is hoping that grants will offset the $847,000 cost of extending water and sewer connections to a piece…
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Haywood County schools budget reinstates cuts
After scrambling to cut $2.4 million from last year’s budget, the Haywood County School Board has weathered the storm and…
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Increased need prompts change in shelter management
Correction: In the March 1 issue, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported that Jackson Neighbors in Need requested funding from…
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Petition effort seeks Tribal Council term limits
A petition drive is underway in Cherokee aiming to place term limits on Tribal Council members and give tribal members…
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New apartment complex received in Sylva
A 48-unit apartment complex could be built along Savannah Road in Sylva if town commissioners give the green light at…
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WNC communities help redesign their five-lane highways
Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover in the coming years that could reshape the fabric…
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Over and out: a Southern Loop retrospective
With a redesign of N.C. 107 officially in the works, the controversial Southern Loop appears to be toast.
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A windshield tour of the new 107
Years in the making, design options for a new N.C. 107 in Sylva were recently unveiled by the North Carolina…
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Death of the five lane, birth of the boulevard
Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover, reshaping the fabric of these communities for decades to…
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DOT spares part of Walnut Street, for now
A message sent by opponents of the Russ Avenue widening project’s Walnut Street segment appears to have been received loud…
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Canton businesses rebound from crash
A lot is going right in Canton these days, but a driver going left — right into a downtown building…
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Economic diversification continues in Canton
Canton is the archetype of a small southern mill village: the river running through it helps churn the gears of…
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Early college is Haywood’s ‘hidden gem’
A collaborative program designed to help students overcome the familial, financial and social obstructions of attending college lacks room to…
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Cherokee impeachment efforts will continue
Some tribal members are saying their rights were violated after three pieces of legislation that would curtail impeachment proceedings against…
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Possible shots fired near Haywood school
At approximately 11:40 a.m., Haywood County Schools Superintendent Anne Garrett received a call from the Haywood Community Learning Center in…
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Calvary Street lots to become Waynesville park
A new park in Waynesville’s Pigeon Street community can finally move forward thanks to an agreement reached between Haywood County…
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Swain Specialty Clinic opens new space
Swain Specialty Clinic, the longstanding group of specialty physician practices at Swain Community Hospital, has expanded to a new space…
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Cherokee council overturns impeachment veto
Tribal Council will proceed with its efforts to impeach Principal Chief Patrick Lambert following votes to overturn Lambert’s veto of…
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Reynolds Community Center to be a ‘safe haven’
Canton native William McDowell and his wife, celebrity songstress Gladys Knight, have big plans for McDowell’s old alma mater, Reynolds…
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Gladys Knight, husband announce Canton community center
A dilapidated segregation-era high school in Canton purchased by a former student will become a $5 million community center by…
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National Register possible for Pigeon Street
Special recognition could be coming to an overlooked quarter of Waynesville if a recently submitted grant application receives funding.
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Faces and places from Pigeon Street’s past
Standing in the parking lot of the Jones Temple AME Zion Church on Pigeon Street in Waynesville, Phillip Gibbs doesn’t…
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Jackson leaders debate whether utility hookup fees are too high
An unusual number of building vacancies has peppered downtown Sylva this winter, and as town leaders have scratched their heads…
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Haywood school board settles Central lawsuit
The Haywood County Board of Education and local attorney Mark R. Melrose have agreed to a settlement that brings an…
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Franklin prioritizes 2017 projects
Every year before budget time, the Franklin Board of Aldermen likes to get together and figure out what the town’s…
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Chief vetoes impeachment resolution
Principal Chief Patrick Lambert has issued a veto against Tribal Council’s Feb. 2 resolution to begin impeachment proceedings against him.
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A new day for N.C. 107
The congested, five-lane drag through Sylva will soon meet its maker. A $36 million project to re-do the commercial thoroughfare…
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ConMet closes in Bryson City: Canton plant to absorb many employees
Consolidated Metco, a designer and manufacturer of commercial vehicle truck components, has announced that it will close its Bryson City…
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Jackson homeless shelter receives $23,400 in emergency funding
The population of folks in need of overnight housing has been increasing in Jackson County, prompting Jackson Neighbors in Need…
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Former assistant principal will lead Sylva school
The newly hired principal of the newly formed Catamount School in Sylva won’t be new to the environment at Smoky…
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Opinions sought for Sylva improvements
State Transportation officials will host a public meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, on upgrading N.C. 107 through Sylva.
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ConMet plant in Bryson City to close
Consolidated Metco, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of commercial vehicle truck components, will close its Bryson City plant by February…
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Clampitt’s constituents walk away without answers
Newly elected Rep. Mike Clampitt was asked some tough questions during his first constituent meeting in Haywood County last Friday,…
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Gladys Knight, husband to host community event
A dilapidated segregation-era high school in Canton purchased by a former student will become a $5 million community center by…
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Bank robbery suspect caught
The Waynesville Police Department responded to the report of a robbery on Feb. 17 at Entegra Bank located at 2045…
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Behind the scenes: Artist brings theater productions to life
Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville is fortunate to be one of few theaters to have a talented scenic artist…
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Sylva begins budget talks
Sylva is just starting budget planning for 2017-18, but this year’s process promises to be less arduous than last year’s,…
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Community ready for a fight
Macon County commissioners heard impassioned cries for help last week from families that have lost loved ones to addiction.
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Two elk found dead on Jonathan Creek dairy farm
A technician with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission was out for a routine check of an elk fence installed at…
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