CCC honors groups, individuals for community work
 

CCC honors groups, individuals for community work

The Commission for a Clean County (CCC) has announced the 2014 winners of its annual Community Pride Awards program. This…
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Broadband survey needs more rural responses
 

Broadband survey needs more rural responses

Haywood County leaders are still in the process of collecting data on broadband Internet service, but they need help from…
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Cherokee navigate the business side of Internet for all
 

Cherokee navigate the business side of Internet for all

It’s been more than eight years since the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians made its first move toward creating a…
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Judge tells Jackson County to get moving with courthouse security
 

Judge tells Jackson County to get moving with courthouse security

The exploration of inadequacies at the Jackson County Justice Center has been years in the making, but it’s looking like…
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Sylva pub launches petition to amend town noise ordinance
 

Sylva pub launches petition to amend town noise ordinance

A pair of dueling petitions dealing with the question of noise at No Name Sports Pub will likely spar at…
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Swain schools crack the code
 

Swain schools crack the code

“When will I ever use this in real life?” is often the question students have when faced with difficult subjects…
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Faircloth’s lead finding lands him state award
 

Faircloth’s lead finding lands him state award

Harold Faircloth was recently named Environmental Specialist of the Year in North Carolina after uncovering widespread lead contamination in private…
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Ghost Town not for sale
 

Ghost Town not for sale

Ghost Town owner Alaska Presley was willing to sacrifice a piece of the theme park property to generate some cash…
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To snag a cyberstalker
 

To snag a cyberstalker

For most Americans, the Internet has moved from novelty to normal, but translating that shift in norms into law has…
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NC commissioners set legislative priorities
 

NC commissioners set legislative priorities

After wading through more than 300 legislative goals presented by more than 500 commissioners throughout the state, the North Carolina…
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Maggie Valley: ‘It’s been a good year’
 

Maggie Valley: ‘It’s been a good year’

Maggie Valley officials are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel after experiencing several tumultuous years.…
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Back from rock bottom: Macon Realtors reflect on the past, present and future
 

Back from rock bottom: Macon Realtors reflect on the past, present and future

June Tassillo loves real estate, but she never knew how exciting it could be until she worked her first all-or-nothing,…
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What you really want to know when new property values arrive in the mail
 

What you really want to know when new property values arrive in the mail

Mailboxes across Macon County were blanketed with new property value notices this week, the first countywide appraisal since 2007.  As…
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Meet Richard Lightner, the eagle eye of Macon’s reval
 

Meet Richard Lightner, the eagle eye of Macon’s reval

Richard Lightner isn’t one for nostalgia. For nearly 30 years, he’s been running the property reval show in Macon County.…
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Macon’s reval: unplugged and uncensored
 

Macon’s reval: unplugged and uncensored

The time of reckoning is finally here. Macon County’s first countywide assessment of real estate values since the bust came…
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The quest for the perfect comp
 

The quest for the perfect comp

Some weeks Tommey Allen spends more time behind the wheel than a long-haul trucker. It’s not all driving time though.…
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Walmart Awards $1,500 to The Arc of Haywood County
 

Walmart Awards $1,500 to The Arc of Haywood County

Jerry Pressley, Walmart manager, presented $1,500 to The Arc of Haywood County for holiday presents and clothes to the individuals…
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Wheel locks now legal in Sylva
 

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…
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Jackson County gets new tourism board members
 

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…
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Franklin plant shutting down
 

Franklin plant shutting down

Macon County was hit with some tough news last week when Caterpillar Inc. announced that it would be shutting down…
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Welch adjusts to life as a district attorney
 

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…
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Macon, Jackson negotiate payment for services
 

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…
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Western plans replacement for burned-out building
 

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…
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Maggie moves forward with recreation plan
 

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…
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Caesar’s bankruptcy won’t affect Harrah’s
 

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…
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Cullowhee zoning heads to commissioners
 

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…
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Sylva pub cancels music acts following noise conflict with neighbors
 

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…
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EPA looks to end 30 years of contamination at old Benfield site
 

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…
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Community rallies to keep Evergreen clinic
 

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…
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New Jackson board passes anti-fracking resolution
 

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 —…
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Revised fracking rules head to Legislature
 

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…
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General Assembly resumes; Local legislators to tackle key issues
 

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…
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Erosion from DOT job concerns Jackson residents
 

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…
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Finding its way: Foundation severs formal ties to hospital, forges new mission
 

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…
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Student housing developer in hot water
 

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…
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Franklin pawn dealers now required to digitally report
 

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…
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Haywood tourism board loses experience, gains fresh faces
 

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.…
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Cherokee affirms gay marriage ban
 

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…
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Haywood School board split on state lobbying
 

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…
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Maggie Valley to hold first Winterfest
 

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…
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Cherokee to move away from year-round fishing
 

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…
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Maggie still in dispute with Maniscalco
 

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…
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Healthcare grant pool opens in Haywood
 

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…
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Study shows Swain benefited most from ACA
 

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…
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A possumless possum drop
 

A possumless possum drop

Just like they have for the last two decades, residents of Clay County and beyond gathered in Brasstown to ring…
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Park changes firewood rules to protect forests
 

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. …
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LifePoint making good on pledge to upgrade Haywood Regional
 

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…
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Haywood Regional’s new CEO now on the job
 

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…
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From prison to platter: Haywood Pathways Center kitchen serves up first meals in Hazelwood
 

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…
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Musical tiers: Counties receive 2015 economic designations
 

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…
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