Evergreen Foundation gives away half million
The Evergreen Foundation has provided $507,995 in funding to 13 agencies providing programs and services for individuals with behavioral health,…
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Franklin bike walk projects revealed, ranked
Franklin is one step closer to outlining a plan to provide better connectivity throughout the town for pedestrians and bicyclists.
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Jackson health department gets new leadership
Jackson County’s health department is gearing up to start millions of dollars of construction for its animal shelter and health…
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Business owner wants out of downtown tax district
At least one local property owner plans to take advantage of a new law allowing for withdrawal from Waynesville’s Municipal…
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New DSS director hired in Jackson
After 20 years with the department, Jackson County’s director of social services will be retiring from county employment at the…
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Charters of freedom coming to Sylva
After months of fundraising, cash is now in hand to get a monument to the country’s founding documents in place…
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Secluded country store can’t hide from time
The pungent aroma of morning dew was still in the air and Kelly Sutton had just opened the Big Creek…
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Waynesville to formalize policy for pro-bono utility work
Waynesville utility crews will no longer donate labor to run power, water and sewer connections for community projects on a…
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Cherokee council votes to extend dog running season
Bear hunters on the Qualla Boundary may be able to run their dogs through tribal reserve land for a full…
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Tourism entities have same goal, different focus
If a rising tide lifts all boats, it only makes sense for organizations with common goals to work together, but…
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Opportunity for change: Three seats open on Maggie Chamber board
As three members of the Maggie Valley Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors rotate off the board next month,…
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The value of a Maggie chamber membership
Businesses in the valley have varying views on whether being a member of the Maggie Valley Area Chamber of Commerce…
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Tribal Council favors amending deceased man’s will
Cherokee Tribal Council is closer to finalizing a decision to revoke part of a former vice chief’s will, following its…
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Food truck ordinance passed in Cashiers
Cashiers recently completed its own effort to address food trucks with an ordinance approved by the Jackson County Commissioners last…
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Sylva to revisit food truck rules
After seeing the showdown over food truck rules playing out in Waynesville, Sylva is gearing up to take a look…
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Waynesville enters agreement to expand broadband
The lack of high-speed internet in Western North Carolina has been more than just an annoyance to Netflix binge-watchers —…
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Former elections director sentenced for embezzlement
Kimberly Michelle Bishop, the former director of Macon County’s Board of Elections, was recently sentenced to six months in prison…
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After pedestrian fatality, county scrambles for funding
After a June 9 accident that left a man dead and a community grieving, the effort to address a road…
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Maggie distillery gets help from town, sanitary district
On July 11, Dave Angel’s plan to operate a 10,000 square-foot whiskey distillery on 1.7 acres at 3732 Soco Road in…
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Giving up the Ghost: Last respects at Ghost Town in the Sky
Mike Withers loved Ghost Town in the Sky so much that in Spring 2015 at the age of 72, he…
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Vexed by bad luck, sawmill’s would-be savior burned again in lawsuit verdict
A lawsuit over the historic sawmill that burned down at Haywood Community College nearly four years ago was settled last…
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WCU voices support for tuition reduction plan
Ever since a controversial bill proposing to slash tuition rates at selected University of North Carolina schools popped up in…
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Haywood Halt: NCDOT set to improve interchange
Drivers who use a section of U.S. 74 in Haywood County will be taking a slightly different route starting on…
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Tourism increases in Jackson County
Visitation to Jackson County for the 2015-2016 fiscal year was the highest recorded in the four-year history of the Jackson…
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Tuition ‘buy down’ promises future entanglements
As the 2016-17 North Carolina budget came together, a significant part of it — touted by both Democrats and Republicans…
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Couple works to open wedding venue at family farm
Nearly five years ago, Taylor and Preston Gregg stood on top of Chestnut Ridge and recited their wedding vows.
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Food Fight: Anthony’s mad at Waynesville
The Mad Anthony’s food truck debate culminated last week in what will go down in the annals of Waynesville lore…
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Macon applies for mental health assistance grant
Macon County Emergency Management Services hopes to expand an existing health care model to better serve mental health patients in…
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TekTone Sound to expand operations in Macon
With the help of matching grants funds from Macon County, TekTone Sound & Signal Manufacturing Inc. will expand operations at…
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Macon wraps up fiscal year
Macon County commissioners had some last-minute spending decisions to make before heading into the new fiscal year that started July…
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Potential free clinic partnership sparks both enthusiasm and concern
A partnership that could quadruple patient volume and expand medical staffing for the uninsured of Jackson County has been the…
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Current, former Lake Junaluska Singers allege drug abuse, favoritism
The resignation of Lake Junaluska Singers Director Dr. Melodie Galloway comes after one member of the well-known choral group made…
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New rules could change the face of downtown Waynesville
By a 4-1 vote on June 28, the Town of Waynesville finally got around to complying with an Oct. 1,…
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A look at how local governments utilize the web
Having a website used to be an added bonus for local governments, but now it has become a necessity and…
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Food Fight: Waynesville denies Mad Anthony's request to keep food truck
Revolutionary War hero General “Mad” Anthony Wayne once told George Washington, “Issue the order, Sir, and I will storm the…
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Rare wood hunter unearths irresistible beauty in salvaged burl wood
Stephen Metzger was like a kid in a candy shop as he clambered over a massive mound of behemoth tree…
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Governments get graded
Journalists responsible for news gathering in a rugged and mountainous four-county (Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain), 2,111-square-mile swath of Western…
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Online presence a must for modern government
Go back in time 25 years, and a town with a website — any website, no matter how terrible the…
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Maggie Valley website biggest bang for the buck
Years ago, the Town of Maggie Valley used to be known as a place where governance didn’t always take place…
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Canton plans to beef up town website
The Town of Canton’s website was the subject of discussion during recent budget hearings, as some questioned the need for…
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Bryson City website needs more attention
Considering Bryson City didn’t even have a website until 2009, it’s no surprise that it lags behind the other municipalities’…
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Swain County’s website lacks basic information
With the lowest population and the lowest county budget, Swain County also scored the lowest among the four-county website comparison.
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Cherokee’s web presence a work in progress
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ website received the lowest score of any of those reviewed by The Smoky Mountain…
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Sylva’s website scheduled for a makeover
Sylva’s website, last overhauled in 2010, will be getting a facelift this year after the town board voted to spend…
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User-friendly website a priority for Jackson
Kelly Fuqua doesn’t have a problem saying she’s pretty proud of Jackson County’s website. Before she overhauled it in 2011,…
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Franklin strives for open government — even online
The town of Franklin’s website is a great example of a small town going the extra mile to encourage public…
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Waynesville website a reliable resource
As the largest town west of Asheville and the county seat of Haywood County, Waynesville is the economic engine of…
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Macon’s web presence has come a long way
Macon County’s government website started 16 years ago with a shoestring budget.
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Haywood County’s website gets the job done
Haywood County’s website tied for the highest ranking in the area despite earning design scores that were sub-par.
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Haywood school board responds to lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by a Waynesville parent and attorney in May regarding the closure of Central Elementary School is beginning…
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