Macon wraps up fiscal year
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Potential free clinic partnership sparks both enthusiasm and concern
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Current, former Lake Junaluska Singers allege drug abuse, favoritism
 

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…
Read More

Comment

New rules could change the face of downtown Waynesville
 

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,…
Read More

Comment

Candidate for Jackson commission alleges wrongdoing
 

Candidate for Jackson commission alleges wrongdoing

Mickey Luker has been working on a remodel of Caney Fork General Store ever since he purchased the property in…
Read More

Comment

Lake Junaluska Singers suspend season, director resigns
 

Lake Junaluska Singers suspend season, director resigns

Visitors to the Lake Junaluska Singers web page over the past day or so were shocked to see that the…
Read More

Comment

Food Fight: Waynesville denies Mad Anthony's request to keep food truck
 

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…
Read More

Comment

A look at how local governments utilize the web
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Governments get graded
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Maggie Valley website biggest bang for the buck
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Canton plans to beef up town website
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Bryson City website needs more attention
 

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’…
Read More

Comment

Swain County’s website lacks basic information
 

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. 
Read More

Comment

Cherokee’s web presence a work in progress
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Sylva’s website scheduled for a makeover
 

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…
Read More

Comment

User-friendly website a priority for Jackson
 

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,…
Read More

Comment

Franklin strives for open government — even online
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Macon’s web presence has come a long way
 

Macon’s web presence has come a long way

Macon County’s government website started 16 years ago with a shoestring budget.
Read More

Comment

Waynesville website a reliable resource
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Haywood County’s website gets the job done
 

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.
Read More

Comment

Online presence a must for modern government
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Haywood school board responds to lawsuit
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Beyond the river: Fly fishing camp builds confident, conservation-minded kids
 

Beyond the river: Fly fishing camp builds confident, conservation-minded kids

Rods, reels, and wader-clad teenagers dotted Big East Fork’s meander to Lake Logan through the warm summer mornings last week,…
Read More

Comment

Comments sought on A.T. campsite construction
 

Comments sought on A.T. campsite construction

Fifteen new tent sites could go in along the Appalachian Trail on its route through the Standing Indian Basin in…
Read More

Comment

Croquet group starts in Waynesville
 

Croquet group starts in Waynesville

A croquet group has formed in Waynesville, meeting 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays at Vance Street Park.
Read More

Comment

Insect affecting WNC white pines
 

Insect affecting WNC white pines

A tiny insect is being blamed for declining health in eastern white pine trees in six North Carolina counties including…
Read More

Comment

Severe drought comes to WNC
 

Severe drought comes to WNC

For the first time since September, severe drought is affecting North Carolina — including portions of Haywood, Jackson, Macon and…
Read More

Comment

Greenway bridge open in Jackson
 

Greenway bridge open in Jackson

A new bridge allowing access to the Jackson County greenway’s terminus at Locust Creek is now open to pedestrians, marking…
Read More

Comment

Land conserved on Cold Mountain
 

Land conserved on Cold Mountain

The Cold Mountain Game Lands in Haywood County will likely get larger following a 162-acre purchase by the Southern Appalachian…
Read More

Comment

Backyard weed merits deadly respect
 

Backyard weed merits deadly respect

“Seeds of this common weed do indeed contain an hallucinogenic component, but, as is so often the case, the same chemical…
Read More

Comment

Sylva movie’s author is famed British playwright
 

Sylva movie’s author is famed British playwright

Back a few months ago, when Hollywood came to town, I was fascinated and when I heard that for a…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place
 

This must be the place

I could see it in their faces. It was something I felt before, and also had seen in pictures taken…
Read More

Comment

The world through your fingertips
 

The world through your fingertips

It’s about speaking with your hands. For guitarist Joe Taylor, his lifelong passion and career as a musician is one…
Read More

Comment

Join the new movement or die
 

Join the new movement or die

To the Editor: I read with interest the editor’s op piece (Even today, our republic is on shaky ground, www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/17903).…
Read More

Comment

This country needs Donald Trump
 

This country needs Donald Trump

To the Editor: I was reading Scott McLeod’s piece last week (www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/17903) with interest when suddenly I felt like I…
Read More

Comment

In praise of passionate, civic-minded teachers
 

In praise of passionate, civic-minded teachers

As they say, the devil is in the details, and in this case the details are simply ridiculous. A bill…
Read More

Comment

We have to teach boys how real men act
 

We have to teach boys how real men act

Because when she dresses like that, she is just asking for it. Because saying “no” is part of the game,…
Read More

Comment

Shooting suspect wanted in Haywood
 

Shooting suspect wanted in Haywood

Haywood County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for an armed and dangerous suspect involved in a June 26 shooting incident in…
Read More

Comment

Jackson names interim manager
 

Jackson names interim manager

With a one-month gap between the retirement of Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten and the arrival of his successor Don…
Read More

Comment

Staggered payments for Cherokee Minors’ Fund
 

Staggered payments for Cherokee Minors’ Fund

When teen members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians come of age, they find themselves in sudden possession of…
Read More

Comment

Canton a ‘workplace of first choice’
 

Canton a ‘workplace of first choice’

Canton’s new budget includes a provision making it the first living wage certified government in Western North Carolina, but at…
Read More

Comment

November election taking shape in Haywood County
 

November election taking shape in Haywood County

Although the upcoming general election has much of the nation’s attention focused on just two candidates — a controversial populist…
Read More

Comment

WCU plans for medical building to improve education, expand health care access
 

WCU plans for medical building to improve education, expand health care access

Students pursuing health careers at Western Carolina University will soon have ample chance for hands-on learning right on campus if…
Read More

Comment

Jackson hopes to end the free ride for out-of-county dumpers
 

Jackson hopes to end the free ride for out-of-county dumpers

Suspicions that people are concealing old sofas and worn-out mattresses over state and county lines to dump on the sly…
Read More

Comment

Solving Jackson’s last-mile internet challenge will take time and money
 

Solving Jackson’s last-mile internet challenge will take time and money

When Travis Lewis was hit with a $600 charge for going over his monthly cell phone data allotment two years…
Read More

Comment

SkyFi aims for 11 new wireless towers
 

SkyFi aims for 11 new wireless towers

Jackson commissioners were put in a tough spot this month by county staff seeking special treatment for wireless internet towers…
Read More

Comment

NC ‘Sanctuary Cities’ threatened with loss of school, road funding
 

NC ‘Sanctuary Cities’ threatened with loss of school, road funding

In late October 2015, Gov. Pat McCrory signed the “Protect North Carolina Workers Act,” requiring state and local governments to…
Read More

Comment

State budget agreement reached
 

State budget agreement reached

The North Carolina General Assembly reached the finish line a bit earlier than expected in their race to present GOP…
Read More

Comment

Presnell calls emissions testing a ‘sham’
 

Presnell calls emissions testing a ‘sham’

The Great Smoky Mountains are known across the world for their beauty and the unique bluish haze produced in large…
Read More

Comment

Chili's restaurant coming to WCU this fall
 

Chili's restaurant coming to WCU this fall

CULLOWHEE – Chili’s Grill and Bar, a popular national chain restaurant, will be open for business on the campus of…
Read More

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.