Harris provides new scoreboard
 

Harris provides new scoreboard

Harris Regional Hospital has provided a new scoreboard for the Carr Hooper Stadium and Babe Howell Field at Smoky Mountain…
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Chamber director earns certified status
 

Chamber director earns certified status

CeCe Hipps, president of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, was designated by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives…
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Swain County buys property to create fairgrounds
 

Swain County buys property to create fairgrounds

With the purchase of 8 acres in Bryson City, Swain County will now have an outdoor event area to host…
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New Swain library not possible without county support
 

New Swain library not possible without county support

The clock is ticking to get a new library constructed in Swain County before the land donation reverts back to…
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Canton awarded $350K pool grant
 

Canton awarded $350K pool grant

The Canton Board of Aldermen was in high spirits Aug. 25 even before Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss walked in to…
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Shining Rock seeks annexation
 

Shining Rock seeks annexation

The future site of Shining Rock Classical Academy at 1023 Dellwood Road isn’t in the town limits of Waynesville, but…
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New charter school campus behind schedule
 

New charter school campus behind schedule

Shining Rock Classical Academy leaders were hoping students would start classes this year at a new campus on Dellwood Road,…
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Road to Nowhere lawsuit stalled for another month
 

Road to Nowhere lawsuit stalled for another month

It’s been about five months since Swain County filed a lawsuit against the federal government for $38.2 million, and commissioners…
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Jackson County goes down on hospital value
 

Jackson County goes down on hospital value

Harris Regional Hospital saw its tax value slashed by 36 percent in the minutes before Jackson County’s Board of Equalization…
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Residents near Allens Creek Road seek solutions for failing septic systems
 

Residents near Allens Creek Road seek solutions for failing septic systems

A high water table wreaking havoc with aging septic systems that has left some residents in one Waynesville neighborhood seeking…
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Renters, homeowners can’t always get what they want, sometimes get what they need
 

Renters, homeowners can’t always get what they want, sometimes get what they need

A task force studying the issue of affordable housing in Haywood County since March recently issued findings presenter Dona Stewart…
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No charges filed in Macon child death
 

No charges filed in Macon child death

No charges will be filed following a District Attorney Office investigation into the death of 2-year-old Mason Lee Powell of…
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High On A Hilltop: Yonder Mountain String Band to headline Canton Labor Day
 

High On A Hilltop: Yonder Mountain String Band to headline Canton Labor Day

Where to from here? It’s the lingering question within bluegrass and string circles nowadays. Amid the traditional pickers and grinners,…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

The instant the guitar chords echoed from the Mexican restaurant speakers, a slight grin emerged on my face. Immediately, the…
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Youth Talent Contest winners
 

Youth Talent Contest winners

The annual Mountain Youth Talent Contest was held at the Franklin Area Folk Festival on Saturday, Aug. 20, at the…
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Mural prints, album available
 

Mural prints, album available

The recently unveiled “Golden Threads” mural, located outside facing Pack Square Park in Asheville is now available as a limited…
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Discounted classes at Penland
 

Discounted classes at Penland

Penland School of Crafts has open spaces in its upcoming eight-week session available at half tuition to area residents. These…
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Papageorgio's to replace Apple Creek Cafe
 

Papageorgio's to replace Apple Creek Cafe

Papageorgio’s Italian-American Restaurant is set to open Friday, Sept. 2, on Main Street in Waynesville where Apple Creek Cafe has…
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Mark Meadows: A flashback to Nixon?
 

Mark Meadows: A flashback to Nixon?

To the Editor: Oh, boy. It’s like 1974 all over again. A high-profile elected official is doing his best to…
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Wilderness is an asset, not a museum
 

Wilderness is an asset, not a museum

To the Editor: Mr. Jim Gray’s letter concerning wilderness conservation in last week’s SMN, while well written, is based on…
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Summer’s fading, and it’s all happening much too fast
 

Summer’s fading, and it’s all happening much too fast

On my Sunday afternoon jog around Lake Junaluska, I can actually feel for the first time that summer is slipping…
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Thoughts on diversity from a white guy
 

Thoughts on diversity from a white guy

By David Teague • Guest Columnist More than 20 years ago, I attended a diversity training in Raleigh. A component…
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Supporting transparency is never a bad move
 

Supporting transparency is never a bad move

Let’s be completely honest: the Haywood County School Board’s long-time practice of recording its work sessions makes it one of…
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Cherokee students become Smokies experts
 

Cherokee students become Smokies experts

Students at Cherokee Middle School have spent the last two years digging deep into the ecology, culture and history of…
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New education chief comes to the Smokies
 

New education chief comes to the Smokies

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a new chief of resource education in Nigel Fields, who Superintendent Cassius Cash…
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Task force to tackle affordable housing shortage
 

Task force to tackle affordable housing shortage

• Affordable housing issues on Haywood County’s horizon• Habitat houses give people hope• Old hospital’s rehab into low-income housing falls flat• Affordable housing…
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Affordable housing issues on Haywood County’s horizon
 

Affordable housing issues on Haywood County’s horizon

Anecdotal accounts of a tight housing market have long swirled about Haywood County, but a quick look at hard data…
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Habitat houses give people hope
 

Habitat houses give people hope

About five years ago, Suzanne Cianciulli and her son were living in a rundown mobile home rental while she tried…
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Going tiny: Some look to downsized housing for personal freedom, financial security
 

Going tiny: Some look to downsized housing for personal freedom, financial security

When her husband lost his battle with cancer, Lindey Herrington was living in a 1,800-square-foot house in Lakeland, Florida, where…
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Old hospital’s rehab into low-income housing falls flat
 

Old hospital’s rehab into low-income housing falls flat

Despite a perfect score on its application, Haywood County was not awarded tax credits that would have helped developers turn…
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Affordable housing development looks for resources
 

Affordable housing development looks for resources

Passersby probably don’t give a second thought to seeing news houses being built on the hillside when traveling up Jonathan…
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Self-build program empowers low-income families
 

Self-build program empowers low-income families

Mountain Projects’ self-build housing program is all about helping those who are willing to help themselves.
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Funding shortage results in fewer Macon library hours
 

Funding shortage results in fewer Macon library hours

Macon County Public Library in Franklin will be cutting its hours of operations to combat a budget deficit.
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Macon manager earns hefty raise
 

Macon manager earns hefty raise

After exceeding expectations for more than three years without a merit raise, Macon County commissioners approved an $18,000 salary increase…
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WCU opens $29 million building
 

WCU opens $29 million building

With fall classes newly underway, 420 Western Carolina University students are settling into their rooms in brand new Noble Hall,…
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Plan for new mountain biking system moving forward
 

Plan for new mountain biking system moving forward

A meeting seeking feedback on an emerging plan to turn Sylva’s Pinnacle Park into a mountain biking destination drew about…
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Cherokee council, chief tussle over veto power
 

Cherokee council, chief tussle over veto power

When the Cherokee Tribal Council voted last month to investigate hiring and firing practices in tribal government, Principal Chief Patrick…
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Party in the front, business in the back for Haywood County Board of Education
 

Party in the front, business in the back for Haywood County Board of Education

Admittedly, the issue of recording work sessions and regular board meetings on video would be mostly moot if the public…
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Candidates weigh in on board of education videos
 

Candidates weigh in on board of education videos

Just prior to the Haywood County Board of Education’s work session on Aug. 4, Chairman Chuck Francis unilaterally decreed that…
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Haywood Board of Elections copes with changes
 

Haywood Board of Elections copes with changes

The recent ruling out of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit may have county elections boards…
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High impact development ordinance to protect vulnerable populations
 

High impact development ordinance to protect vulnerable populations

Haywood County commissioners are considering an ordinance that would ensure that certain types of developments do not pose adverse effects…
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Davis, deVille spar over state education funding
 

Davis, deVille spar over state education funding

In the last year, Macon County teacher John deVille has asked county commissioners several times to pass a resolution asking…
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Novel explores questions of real import
 

Novel explores questions of real import

It’s a wonderful day when a book surprises us with its wit, story, style, and wisdom. Recently I was talking…
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It’s ragweed that is the real culprit
 

It’s ragweed that is the real culprit

“Hay fever: An acute allergic condition of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes, characterized by…
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Speaking for the trees: Waynesville launches arboretum effort
 

Speaking for the trees: Waynesville launches arboretum effort

As manager of Waynesville’s urban forest, it’s safe to say that Jonathan Yates likes trees. So when Diane Kornse of…
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Ahead of her time: Photographer shifted the art of the image, fought for women’s rights
 

Ahead of her time: Photographer shifted the art of the image, fought for women’s rights

Who was Bayard Wootten? “She was a wonderful, strong North Carolina woman,” said Pam Meister. “She was a skilled photographer.…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

It’s a feeling rather than an attitude.
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School board to continue recording meeting
 

School board to continue recording meeting

Earlier today, Haywood County Board of Education Chairman Chuck Francis reversed his controversial decision to stop taping the board’s work…
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Sheriff searching for break-in suspects
 

Sheriff searching for break-in suspects

Haywood County Sheriff’s Office is searching for one or more individuals who around midnight Tuesday, Aug. 16, broke into the…
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Rev. Jimmy Pennell named 2016 Chief Junaluska
 

Rev. Jimmy Pennell named 2016 Chief Junaluska

Rev. Jimmy Pennell was recognized as the 2016 Chief Junaluska recipient during Lake Junaluska Associates Weekend held on Aug. 6. 
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