Wheel locks now legal in Sylva
Sylva’s parking rules now have a stronger set of teeth with the passage of an ordinance allowing officers to put…
Read More
Jackson County gets new tourism board members
The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority will have some new faces around the table this year after the county commissioners…
Read More
Franklin plant shutting down
Macon County was hit with some tough news last week when Caterpillar Inc. announced that it would be shutting down…
Read More
Welch adjusts to life as a district attorney
After just a couple of weeks, Ashley Welch is quickly learning what it means to be the District Attorney of…
Read More
Macon, Jackson negotiate payment for services
Macon County is asking Jackson County for money to pay for providing services to its residents in Highlands, but Jackson…
Read More
Western plans replacement for burned-out building
Western Carolina University’s slated to get a brand new building on Centennial Drive in place of the one destroyed by…
Read More
Maggie moves forward with recreation plan
Maggie Valley resident June Johnson wants the town’s recreation plan to go far beyond fixing up an old playground behind…
Read More
Caesar’s bankruptcy won’t affect Harrah’s
Caesar’s Entertainment Operating Company, a subsidiary of the same company that manages Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort, announced Jan. 15…
Read More
Cullowhee zoning heads to commissioners
It’s been one-and-a-half years since the Jackson County Commissioners first OK’d a committee to look into doing some zoning in…
Read More
Sylva pub cancels music acts following noise conflict with neighbors
No Name Sports Pub is no longer a music joint, at least not until a dispute between the bar and…
Read More
EPA looks to end 30 years of contamination at old Benfield site
It’s been 32 years since Benfield Industries in Hazelwood burned to the ground, 25 since the Environmental Protection Agency designated…
Read More
Community rallies to keep Evergreen clinic
Evergreen Packaging in Canton plans to close the Evergreen Family Medical Center and pharmacy on March 31, but county officials…
Read More
New Jackson board passes anti-fracking resolution
Applause broke out as Jackson County Commissioners concluded a unanimous vote last week passing a resolution opposing hydraulic fracturing —…
Read More
Revised fracking rules head to Legislature
They’ve plowed through the feedback, and now the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission has in hand a revised version of…
Read More
General Assembly resumes; Local legislators to tackle key issues
North Carolina Legislators are back in session in Raleigh this week with a full agenda, including unfinished items from last…
Read More
Erosion from DOT job concerns Jackson residents
A highway construction project in Jackson County has come under public scrutiny for muddying the Tuckasegee River. Erosion control measures…
Read More
Finding its way: Foundation severs formal ties to hospital, forges new mission
The most affluent, prominent charity in Haywood County has reinvented its mission but hopes to remain on donors’ radar as…
Read More
Student housing developer in hot water
Monarch Ventures, a Charlotte-based student housing company, has been trying to locate a posh 500-bed student housing complex in Cullowhee…
Read More
Franklin pawn dealers now required to digitally report
Secondhand dealers in Franklin will soon be required to report their pawned items electronically to the police department within 48…
Read More
Haywood tourism board loses experience, gains fresh faces
Three new members have been appointed to the tourism board in Haywood County that guides tourism marketing, promotions and development.…
Read More
Cherokee affirms gay marriage ban
Same-sex marriage may be legal in the state of North Carolina, but it’s not on the Qualla Boundary, according to…
Read More
Haywood School board split on state lobbying
The Haywood County School Board was divided this week on whether to join forces with school systems around the state…
Read More
Maggie Valley to hold first Winterfest
In an effort to bring in more tourism dollars during the cold winter months, the first WinterFest Smoky Style will…
Read More
Cherokee to move away from year-round fishing
Cherokee will institute a two-week fishing season closure each March beginning in 2016 after operating under a year-round season since…
Read More
Maggie still in dispute with Maniscalco
Maggie Valley resident Joe Maniscalco has not given up on getting his property de-annexed from the town despite several failed…
Read More
Healthcare grant pool opens in Haywood
Programs and initiatives to address unmet health care needs in Haywood County could be eligible for mini-grants of up to…
Read More
Study shows Swain benefited most from ACA
More than 10 million people now have health care coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, and Swain County residents…
Read More
A possumless possum drop
Just like they have for the last two decades, residents of Clay County and beyond gathered in Brasstown to ring…
Read More
Park changes firewood rules to protect forests
Great Smoky Mountains National Park will limit the type of firewood brought into the park in order to protect forests. …
Read More
LifePoint making good on pledge to upgrade Haywood Regional
More than $6 million has been spent on upgrades and improvements at Haywood Regional Medical Center since it was bought…
Read More
Haywood Regional’s new CEO now on the job
The new CEO of Haywood Regional Medical Center assumed his role this week, pledging to lead the hospital into a…
Read More
From prison to platter: Haywood Pathways Center kitchen serves up first meals in Hazelwood
Dinnertime came a little late at Haywood Pathways Center Sunday night (Jan. 4), but for all the right reasons. It…
Read More
Musical tiers: Counties receive 2015 economic designations
Each year an economic report card issued by the North Carolina Department of Commerce determines which counties will be given…
Read More
Brick by brick: Fred Baker’s long view crafts Waynesville into model town
Fred Baker’s title isn’t particularly glamorous. For nearly three decades, he kept the potholes patched, the trash picked up, the…
Read More
Insurance agents adjust to industry under ACA
Since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, people have been urged to get signed up for health insurance online…
Read More
Jackson commissioners consider county attorney applicants
Jackson County got plenty of response back when its new board of commissioners put out the word that they were…
Read More
Jackson, Macon work together on transportation
Public transit in Macon County is slated to get a boost as Jackson and Macon counties work out an agreement…
Read More
Cullowhee planning proposals set for Jan. 13 hearing
A final public hearing to solicit public input on a draft set of standards to guide development in Cullowhee will…
Read More
Major tool manufacturers attracted to SCC student’s patented invention
Southwestern Community College student Stanley Kingsberry has landed a patent for his invention of a magnetic wrench system. Though offers…
Read More
Crash course Numbers up in Jackson for alcohol-related crashes
Alcohol-related traffic accidents are on the rise in Jackson County, with rates outstripping those of both North Carolina as a…
Read More
2014: Newsworthy award winners
2014 is all but in the rearview mirror now, and all the stories reported over the last 12 months are…
Read More
Questions continue about Cherokee council raises
Editor’s note: Cherokee Tribal Police would not allow Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Holly Kays entry into the Cherokee Tribal…
Read More
Canton uses crowdsourcing to improve playground
With a focus on improving recreation options for residents with limited funding, the town of Canton is using crowdsourcing methods…
Read More
Canton moves forward with pool project
The town of Canton is moving forward with plans to upgrade its public swimming pool after interviewing several design consultants…
Read More
Macon requests funding for Cherokee gravesite memorial
Plans to memorialize a Cherokee gravesite found earlier this year in the midst of construction for a new baseball tournament…
Read More
Cherokee cuts the ribbon on $26 million justice center, tribe’s first jail
It’s not every day that the scent of barbecue meatballs wafts through the open doors of a jail filled with…
Read More
Planning board discusses noise ordinance for Macon
Two residents shared their horror story experiences dealing with nuisance neighbors during a Dec. 18 Macon County Planning Board meeting. …
Read More
New animal shelter gains traction in Haywood
A movement to build a new animal shelter in Haywood County is in the early conceptual stages. Animal lovers say…
Read More
Park officials consider banning outside firewood
In an effort to protect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park forest from disease-carrying pests, park officials have proposed a…
Read More
Home helps women transition to independent life after prison, substance abuse
The future was looking increasingly frightening to 54-year-old Anita as she got to the end of her six-year prison sentence. …
Read More
