WNC Nature Center reaches record attendance in 2013
 

WNC Nature Center reaches record attendance in 2013

A whole lot of people visited the WNC Nature Center last year. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center report…
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Keeping track in the Smokies
 

Keeping track in the Smokies

Tracking elk in Great Smoky Mountains National Park just got a little easier, thanks to a grant from Charter Communications.…
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Good times at Tube World
 

Good times at Tube World

Tube World in Maggie Valley treated 170 students from Clyde Elementary to a fieldtrip last week as part of a…
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New public river access launched along Tuckasegee
 

New public river access launched along Tuckasegee

Three new public access sites and boat put-ins have been developed along the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County:
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New fees tacked on to all-electric cars
 

New fees tacked on to all-electric cars

This year all-electric vehicles registered in North Carolina — about 1,600 of them — are required to pay a $100…
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Grant helps buy feed for abused horses
 

Grant helps buy feed for abused horses

STAR Ranch Rescue, a refuge for abused and neglected horses and other animals in Haywood County, has received a $750…
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Discovery Place
 

Discovery Place

Looking for something fun for the kids on a cold and/or rainy winter’s day. The Discovery Place in Charlotte has…
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Energy on the horizon: Debate on drilling still hypothetical, but groundwork is being laid
 

Energy on the horizon: Debate on drilling still hypothetical, but groundwork is being laid

From the oil fields of North Dakota to the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania, the U.S. oil and gas industry is…
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Slave narratives an insightful collection
 

Slave narratives an insightful collection

This remarkable collection of interviews with African-Americans in North Carolina who were once slaves is a fascinating discovery. Conducted by the…
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NC Arts Council grants open call
 

NC Arts Council grants open call

The deadline for submitting applications for grants from the North Carolina Arts Council is Monday, March 3. The grant programs…
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Haywood County’s ‘Homegrown Picks’ for 2014
 

Haywood County’s ‘Homegrown Picks’ for 2014

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has announced its “Homegrown Picks” for 2014. Buy Haywood, is the only county-specific agritourism…
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Jackson County Arts Council awards grants
 

Jackson County Arts Council awards grants

Six Western North Carolina artists have received funding from the Jackson County Arts Council to support their artistic endeavors. Regional…
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Cullowhee fire victims fundraiser at WCU
 

Cullowhee fire victims fundraiser at WCU

Donations for people affected by a November fire in Cullowhee will be collected at Western Carolina University’s men’s basketball game…
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This must be the place
 

This must be the place

If Keith Richards had been born below the Mason-Dixon Line, his name might have been Mike Cooley.
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Native art: Bill Eleazer bronze comes home to Waynesville 30 years later
 

Native art: Bill Eleazer bronze comes home to Waynesville 30 years later

Nearly 30 years after Bill Eleazer put the finishing touches on “Chasing Tadpoles,” a multi-piece bronze sculpture of three children…
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GOP leaders should provide emails
 

GOP leaders should provide emails

To the Editor: Everybody wants transparency in government — everybody except our Republican legislators in Raleigh. Last year, they passed…
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Keystone Pipeline could help economy
 

Keystone Pipeline could help economy

To the Editor: Are you concerned if you are in your 50s or late 40s that the Social Security fund…
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On the way to an imperial presidency
 

On the way to an imperial presidency

To the Editor:  This is what President Barack Obama said this week: “Where I can act on my own without…
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Weaker slope law could lead to lawsuits
 

Weaker slope law could lead to lawsuits

To the Editor: After reading the Jan. 15 edition and seeing continued plans to weaken the present Steep Slope Ordinance…
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Awards deserve a little more comment
 

Awards deserve a little more comment

To the Editor: I always look forward to the “Awards” issue of The Smoky Mountain News. May I make three short…
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Education is alternative to killing more bears
 

Education is alternative to killing more bears

To the Editor: The changes in the five-year black bear management plan currently being proposed by the North Carolina Wildlife…
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Plan for teacher raises a bone of contention
 

Plan for teacher raises a bone of contention

The ramifications of one particularly disturbing directive passed in the last session of the General Assembly is unfolding right now…
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Grant to bring advanced manufacturing training to Swain
 

Grant to bring advanced manufacturing training to Swain

The Golden LEAF Foundation and Duke Energy recently funded a trio of advanced manufacturing training grants, totaling $1.3 million, to…
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HRMC labor and delivery unit to be remodeled
 

HRMC labor and delivery unit to be remodeled

The Haywood Regional Medical Foundation has donated $400,000 to MedWest Haywood for a remodel of the fourth floor, which includes…
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Changing of the guard in store for Haywood tourism board
 

Changing of the guard in store for Haywood tourism board

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will see unprecedented turnover on its board this month, with five of the 12…
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Stepping down: Aumen’s departure marks end of an era for Haywood TDA
 

Stepping down: Aumen’s departure marks end of an era for Haywood TDA

Editor’s note: Alice Aumen has been a major voice in Haywood’s tourism landscape for more than half a century —…
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Jackson TDA hires trio of marketing firms for trial period
 

Jackson TDA hires trio of marketing firms for trial period

After a split vote that followed nearly an hour of discussion, the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority hired three different…
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Hunters upset about ‘Something Bruin’ tactics
 

Hunters upset about ‘Something Bruin’ tactics

Hunters from all over the mountains came together last weekend to speak out against the tactics used by undercover wildlife…
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In Waynesville, meter readers going the way of milkmen
 

In Waynesville, meter readers going the way of milkmen

Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent Some homeowners in Waynesville might have started wondering why a certain visitor who had routinely appeared…
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McCrory to appoint Holt’s successor, but could ignore bar’s counsel
 

McCrory to appoint Holt’s successor, but could ignore bar’s counsel

Attorneys in the seven western counties will to be called on in the coming weeks to weigh in on their…
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Local churches lift the lives of homeless, incarcerated
 

Local churches lift the lives of homeless, incarcerated

On Sept. 12, Jeff Clontz walked out of Haywood County Jail a free man. It wasn’t his first time, though.…
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Reforming lives on a wing and a prayer
 

Reforming lives on a wing and a prayer

A proposal to convert a closed-down state prison into a halfway house and homeless shelter in Haywood County is gaining…
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And, goal: WNC soccer players train with Olympics in mind
 

And, goal: WNC soccer players train with Olympics in mind

Jacob Flannick & Holly Kays • Correspondent/Staff writer When Scott Cline graduated from Swain High School in the mid-1990s, the community…
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Forum aims to create new vision for Canton
 

Forum aims to create new vision for Canton

When Heidi Dunkelberg first entered the town of Canton, she couldn’t imagine ever living there.
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Rules rule and rulers rue it
 

Rules rule and rulers rue it

I mentioned the fact a couple of weeks ago that N.C. House Bill 74— the Regulatory Reform Act of 2013…
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Cold temps freeze Highland’s lake
 

Cold temps freeze Highland’s lake

Lindenwood Lake, a four to five-acre stretch of water in Highlands, froze over last week during the area’s record-cold temperatures.…
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Slide closes Tsali Trail loop
 

Slide closes Tsali Trail loop

The left loop of the Tsali Trail system popular among mountain bikers is closed due to a slide along the…
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News from the farmers market
 

News from the farmers market

New farmers market planned for Macon  The Macon County Heritage Center at the old Cowee School is launching a new…
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Race to support the Community Table
 

Race to support the Community Table

Registration is now open for the Assault on Black Rock, a seven-mile trail race in Jackson County that takes runners…
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Last call for Polar Plungers
 

Last call for Polar Plungers

Haywood Waterways Association is calling on lovers of clean water, those immune to the cold or anyone out there  crazy…
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Relocated white-tailed deer come to Cherokee
 

Relocated white-tailed deer come to Cherokee

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will receive 25 to 50 white-tailed deer every year for the next three years…
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The cost of cleaner air: New pollution standards would cost paper mill $50 million in upgrades
 

The cost of cleaner air: New pollution standards would cost paper mill $50 million in upgrades

Evergreen Packaging’s Canton paper mill will be writing some big checks over the coming years as it moves to comply…
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Much of ACA came from conservatives
 

Much of ACA came from conservatives

To the Editor: When Hillary Clinton proposed a government-run, single-payer system to solve our health care crisis, Republicans responded by proposing…
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Columnist’s anti-Israel tirade distorts truth
 

Columnist’s anti-Israel tirade distorts truth

David C. Friedman • Guest Columnist Doug Wingeier’s op-ed published in The Smoky Mountain News on Dec.  25, 2013, titled, “Christmas…
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Views on Israel based on life experiences
 

Views on Israel based on life experiences

Doug Wingeier • Columnist My oh my! Looks like the long arm of Israeli surveillance has reached out to us…
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Hipps brings work ethic to race
 

Hipps brings work ethic to race

When Jane Hipps began toying with the idea of running for state Senate as a Democratic challenger, a wave of…
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Robinson says WNC voters need representation in Raleigh
 

Robinson says WNC voters need representation in Raleigh

Ron Robinson thinks a state senator should represent all of his constituents. 
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Battle for state Senate seat begins to take shape
 

Battle for state Senate seat begins to take shape

The North Carolina Senate seat for the seven western counties could be one of the few swing races in the…
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Negotiations in progress over Ghost Town gunfighter incident
 

Negotiations in progress over Ghost Town gunfighter incident

Nearly six months after a staged gunfight left a Ghost Town gunfighter injured, the incident is still not resolved.  Ghost…
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Mayor’s mandate for change in Franklin searching for traction
 

Mayor’s mandate for change in Franklin searching for traction

Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent He campaigned on the promise of making Franklin fertile ground for new ideas and encouraging more…
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