Skyland Drive to get sidewalks
Sidewalks are coming to Skyland Drive in Sylva along a 0.7-mile section stretching from the Old Asheville Highway to its…
Read More
WCU student dies in shooting; Two teens arrested in connection
A late-night shooting near the Western Carolina University campus Friday, Oct. 6, has left a student dead.
Read More
Staying in the game: New policies could define Waynesville economic development for decades
After realizing small but consistent gains in local business development over the past few years, the town of Waynesville has…
Read More
Candidate forums next week in Canton, Maggie Valley
To mark the start of early voting, The Smoky Mountain News will host a pair of free candidate forums in…
Read More
Developer takes Jackson to court over permit denial
Denial of a permit to build a 388-bed student housing complex in Cullowhee will land Jackson County in court after…
Read More
Bryson Senior Living close to completion
When Bryson Senior Living, an assisted living facility in Swain County, opens in January, a major void in the community…
Read More
Bryson City secures new maintenance property
After months of negotiations, the town of Bryson City has finally closed on a piece of property that will allow…
Read More
Business dedicated to saving bees
Spriggly’s Beescaping is a new small business located in Waynesville that offers workshops, products, and services to create environments that…
Read More
Haywood County manager resigns
Haywood County Manager Ira Dove has resigned; a resignation letter was sent out the morning of Oct. 4 from Candace Way,…
Read More
Déjà vu: candidates walk familiar path
A spate of early announcements by local candidates hoping to gain seats in the North Carolina General Assembly may have…
Read More
Jackson restricts some referendums to high-turnout elections
The Jackson County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Sept. 18 that will limit referendum votes on sales tax increases and…
Read More
Swain installs Charters of Freedom
Swain County officials came together last week to dedicate the Charters of Freedom monument that can now be seen just…
Read More
Swain elections director to sue county
Swain County Elections Director Joan Weeks recently informed the board of elections that she hired a lawyer and planned to…
Read More
Waynesville inclusive playground approved
Play, it is said, is the work of children. But a substantial population of disabled kids who’ve up until now…
Read More
Election Board orders runoff race in Birdtown; candidate files suit in Tribal Court
Uproar over the results of an election recount in the race to represent Cherokee’s Birdtown community on Tribal Council has…
Read More
Cherokee’s attorney general resigns
The attorney general of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians appointed during the administration of Principal Chief Patrick Lambert has…
Read More
Cherokee outlaws backpay with Council pay hikes
During its last days before swearing in newly elected members, the Cherokee Tribal Council unanimously passed an ordinance amendment that…
Read More
Riverbend named Blue Ribbon School
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the 2017 National Blue Ribbon Schools, which included Riverbend Elementary School in Haywood…
Read More
Canton continues pondering pigs as pets
Giggles, snickers, snorts and outright laughter echoed through the Town of Canton’s Sept. 28 board meeting as an ordinance regarding…
Read More
Waynesville aldermen throw dogs a bone
Although Waynesville aldermen continue to seek a definitive answer on whether or not to rescind the town’s 15 year-old policy…
Read More
Haywood Pathways Center expansion to help homeless
The causes of homelessness — and homelessness in Haywood County — are varied and numerous, but according to the Haywood…
Read More
Tourism board looks to change grant funding methods
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is considering a number of major changes to increase its efficiency in collecting and…
Read More
Franklin approves brunch bill with little fanfare
The Franklin Town Council unanimously approved the local adoption of the brunch bill, which will allow restaurants and stores to…
Read More
Sylva approves Sunday morning alcohol sales
Sylva has joined the growing list of towns and counties approving Sunday morning alcohol sales following a 4-1 vote Sept.…
Read More
Waynesville to reinstitute capacity use fees
Thanks to the N.C. Supreme Court and the North Carolina General Assembly, the Town of Waynesville’s about to be back…
Read More
Franklin football banner incites religious debate
At a Friday night football game against Murphy, the Franklin High School cheerleaders took to the field like they do…
Read More
WNC falls into October
Amid the innumerable reasons why we love Western North Carolina, the fall foliage of October might be the one key…
Read More
Tourism board looks to change funding committees
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is considering a number of changes to increase its efficiency in collecting and allocating…
Read More
Safety to improve at Bryson City intersections
Improvements may be coming to five intersections in Bryson City that would increase safety for drivers and pedestrians.
Read More
Green air in the Blue Ridge
A report recently issued by the Land of Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition clears the air about Haywood County’s greenhouse gas…
Read More
WCU total student enrollment tops 11,000
Records continue to fall by the wayside at Western Carolina University, as total student enrollment has surpassed 11,000 for the…
Read More
Behind the scenes of SCC’s high-altitude weather balloon launch on eclipse day
By Julia Hartbarger • SCC Public Relations A little time has passed since the Great American Solar Eclipse on Aug. 21,…
Read More
Swain schools names interim superintendent
The Swain County Board of Education has named Janet Clapsaddle as interim superintendent of schools after the retirement of Superintendent…
Read More
Franklin doles out $40K in community funding
Every year the Franklin Town Council struggles to meet the needs of the community with only $40,000 to spend on…
Read More
Macon to receive $100,000 for community needs
Macon County will receive $100,000 to be used for “community purposes” thanks to help from Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin.
Read More
Franklin meeting gets heated over ABC facility
A Franklin Town Council meeting got heated as the mayor and aldermen disagreed over what steps the town should take…
Read More
Garden of Memory dedicated at Lake Junaluska
The Lake Junaluska Columbarium and Garden of Memory was recently dedicated during a worship service in Memorial Chapel.
Read More
Drug bust in Hazelwood
On Sept. 7, the Waynesville Police Department’s TAC Unit along with Haywood County’s Multi-jurisdictional Drug Task Force, the U.N.I.T., executed…
Read More
Tourism, trade could grow with WNC railroad renaissance
Long before the Oct. 3, 1880, arrival of the first scheduled train in Asheville, the American railroad has been romanticized…
Read More
Regional leaders work for rail growth
One needn’t look further than industries like Sylva’s Jackson Paper, Canton’s Evergreen Packaging and Waynesville’s Giles Chemical for evidence of…
Read More
Vintage trailers take to Maggie Valley
Aloha. Aristocrat. Forester. Shasta. Spartan. And of course, Airstream and Winnebago.
Read More
Seven WNC counties to host Annual Stand Down
By Kurt J. Volker • Contributing writer In cooperation with the seven Veteran Services offices in the WNC region, the Macon…
Read More
Spotlight blares on rare medical condition
What if you could see sounds and hear pictures? About 4 percent of people across the world possess a rare…
Read More
Jury acquits in rape case
Nearly three years after a Sylva Halloween party resulted in his indictment for statutory rape, Cody Jenkins is a free…
Read More
Giving back at Goodyacre: Ambitious plans in play at Canton area farm
At one time or another, many of us have thought about giving up on the hustling, bustling daily life of…
Read More
Residence hall, parking deck projects move forward at WCU
Two projects deemed by Western Carolina University officials as necessary to meet the demands of a rapidly increasing student enrollment…
Read More
Of gods and governments: Brunch ordinance latest conflict between church, state
The inherent paradox in American government is that a nation founded upon Christian values by Christians provides for the separation…
Read More
Waynesville brunch ordinance sends message
After two low-key meetings that saw no opposition, the Town of Waynesville Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance moving the…
Read More
Brunch battle brewing in Canton
Over the past few years, Canton has made its case as a progressive, pragmatic, scrappy mill town fighting to attract…
Read More
Brunch ordinance adoption varies in WNC
With the June 29 passage of Senate Bill 155, North Carolina became the 47th state in the union to allow…
Read More
