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Two Republicans vie for district judge seat
One of 43 spread across the state, North Carolina’s 30th Judicial District covers Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and is where many people have their first interaction with the court system.
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It’s a rematch for Deitz and Cody in Jackson commissioner race
Jackson County Commissioner Boyce Deitz took office in 2014 after wresting the seat from incumbent Doug Cody, but this time around Cody is looking to reverse that result in a repeat face-off to represent District 2.
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Two Dems in high-profile superior court race
You’ve probably seen the billboards by now, if not for months. Or, you’ve seen the candidates out campaigning in person — incumbent Superior Court Judge Brad Letts and well-known Waynesville attorney Mark Melrose.
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Incumbent sheriff challenged in Swain
Incumbent Republican Curtis Cochran is running for a fourth term as Swain County sheriff. While he’s never had an easy race, he said, this election cycle has been particularly brutal with mudslinging coming from all directions.
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Joint opioid task force leads to 75 arrests in WNC
A major law enforcement operation targeting drug trafficking in and around the Qualla Boundary has resulted in the arrest of…
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Two sentenced for drug trafficking in Macon County
Macon County Superior Court recently saw guilty pleas and lengthy prison sentences of two drug trafficking defendants. In unrelated cases,…
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Three candidates run for Macon sheriff
Talk briefly about your past experience and why you are the most qualified candidate.
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Economic development agency defunded; longtime director retires, earns state’s highest honor
Mary Ann Morgan was a one-woman show with a shoestring budget for more than 40 years but still, she managed…
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Lost out here on the wind: Greensky Bluegrass returns to Asheville
For over 15 years, Michigan-based string act Greensky Bluegrass has been blurring the lines between bluegrass, rock-n-roll and jazz music. Whether…
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University of the streets: With new book, WNC writer chronicles the Baby Beat movement
At 69, Thomas Rain Crowe feels pretty good, considering. “I’m not looking forward to 70, it’s kind of a psychological…
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University of the streets
At 69, Thomas Rain Crowe feels pretty good, considering. “I’m not looking forward to 70, it’s kind of a psychological…
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A slow, beautiful tale told through letters
English farmwife and mother Tina Hopgood writes to Professor P.V. Glob. The professor had long ago dedicated his book, The…
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From our readers
Health insurance may disappear under GOP To the Editor: It makes no difference if you support the current administration or…
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Celebration crashers
My bride and I celebrated our anniversary by ditching the kids and renting a cabin near Blue Ridge, Ga., for…
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WOW releases 2019 charity calendar
WOW has produced a semi-nude calendar featuring its own members for seven years and all proceeds go toward the nonprofit’s…
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Nevertheless, she persisted
Almost two years ago, I traveled to Iowa with a close friend of mine. We visited her hometown to see…
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The real problem in Haywood’s tax office
Haywood County GOP leaders last week took the podium at a public meeting and proceeded to act as shills for…
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Mountains at a running pace
Andrew Shepherd has only been a runner for about two years. But when he took up the hobby, he was…
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MST birthday weekend logs 2,700 miles
An initial tally shows that 434 hikers cumulatively covered 2,756 miles of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail during its birthday weekend Sept.…
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Haywood tourism continues to grow
The fiscal year for Haywood County’s Tourism Development Authority ended June 30, and now that all the data are in,…
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Cherokee widens window for election law changes
Tribal Council extended its deadline to complete a slew of amendments to its election ordinance with a unanimous vote during…
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Pretrial release program comes to Western NC
Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, Haywood and Jackson counties will be the first judicial district in the state to pilot a…
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District Attorney under fire for ‘mishandling’ cases
District Attorney Ashley Welch doesn’t have an opponent in the 2018 election, but an online petition to remove her from…
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Jackson schools see gains and losses in school performance
Jackson County Schools showed mostly level performance over last year with the release of statewide school performance data for 2017-18…
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Bridge over Lake Junaluska now open
The bridge over the Lake Junaluska dam is now open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. All are invited to attend…
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Waynesville mayor takes plea deal in forgery case
Waynesville attorney Gavin Brown pled guilty Sept. 18 to two felony counts stemming from an incident in which he forged…
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Obamacare navigator funding eliminated
Jan Plummer is the Obamacare Navigator program coordinator at Mountain Projects, but probably not for much longer. Unsurprisingly, after a…
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Workforce housing coming to Sylva
Work will begin next year on a new apartment complex in Sylva aimed at providing housing rates affordable to working-class…
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Community comes together to offer veterans services
It’s no secret homelessness across the region is a problem, but as in most parts of the country, it’s a…
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Chimney Rock reopens
Chimney Rock State Park is now reopen, complete with a working elevator, after a tough year that included extensive damage…
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National park volunteers receive regional recognition
Great Smoky Mountains National Park volunteers received regional recognition through the George and Helen Hartzog Awards Program for Outstanding Volunteers…
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Live animal programs offered for schools
Schools and other educational organizations in Western North Carolina have the opportunity to bring wildlife education programs to their home…
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Golf tourney a win for charity
The Maggie Valley Lions Club raised more than $10,000 for local charities with its 10th annual Golf Tournament and Silent…
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This must be the place: I couldn’t tell where heaven stopped and the earth began
It will mark 1,000 days straight. This past Tuesday, I will have gone for a run 1,000 days in-a-row. “The…
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Woman injured in bear encounter
A Swannanoa woman sustained serious, though non-life-threatening, injuries Tuesday, Sept. 18, after an encounter with a black bear.
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Haywood Schools wants you to help plan future
When Dr. Bill Nolte was promoted to superintendent of Haywood County Schools this past summer, one of the first things…
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Elders and Woody vie for Jackson County Commission seat
Jackson County Commissioner Charles Elders is seeking a fourth term in office this campaign season, but challenger Gayle Woody is hoping election results will instead seat her for a first term.
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A mile-high view: State-level squabble stalls Jackson County conservation project
To call the view stretching out below the 5,462-foot bald “spectacular,” “impressive” or even “jaw-dropping” would be an understatement. It…
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Man found dead in Smokies after two-day search
A man and a bear are dead following an ill-fated ginseng hunt in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Mis-identifying mushrooms is a risky mistake
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Smoky Mountain News in September 2004. The cool and humid forests and…
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God’s broadcasting station — the great outdoors
When I taught homeschool seminars in Latin, history, and literature in Asheville, I would wait for a cold spell in…
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A love so full it could send us all ways: A conversation with Gavin Rossdale
In the mid-1990s, just as the raucous nature of the grunge scene in the United States was hitting its peak,…
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In my life, I’ve loved them all
With the massive rainfall from Tropical Storm Florence on Sunday, my truck carefully navigated its way through deep puddles and…
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SCC grad receives prestigious award
Although Yesenia Navarro grew up with few material possessions, she always believed one catalyst for change was within her grasp…
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It’s OK to not be OK: Suicide prevention takes center stage at Folkmoot
Imagine this — you’re atop a hundred-story building, and it’s on fire. As the flames and smoke close in, you…
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Tax cut has not trickled down
To the Editor: Today the American economy is strong. The percentage of American unemployed is down, the Dow Jones industrial…
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It is too late for Kavanaugh
By Hannah McLeod • Guest Columnist The vote to approve Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court of…
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Acknowledging differences and embracing brotherhood
For many years, I thought of myself as one of Flannery O’Connor’s “Christ-haunted” characters, living my life in a kind…
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Florence’s gas gouging passes WNC
While Hurricane Florence spared much of The Smoky Mountain News coverage area when it rolled through the region last week,…
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