Mission approved to build new Franklin hospital
 

Mission approved to build new Franklin hospital

With Mission Health in the process of building a replacement hospital in Franklin, Macon County and town of Franklin leaders…
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Mission moves forward with for-profit buyout
 

Mission moves forward with for-profit buyout

Mission Health CEO Dr. Ron Paulus made a visit to Franklin last week to provide the community with more details…
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Swain Sheriff Curtis Cochran and his attorney David Sawyer (left) speak to the Swain County Board of Elections during a preliminary hearing held for Cochran’s candidate challenge filed by Jerry Lowery (right).
 

Sheriff candidate challenge appealed to state board

Swain County resident Jerry Lowery has appealed his candidate challenge against Sheriff Curtis Cochran to the N.C. Board of Elections…
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Judge Brad Letts (left to right) and Susan Belcher look on as WCU Chancellor Dr. David Belcher receives the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from Gov. Roy Cooper. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Belcher receives Long Leaf honor

It’s been quite a week for Western Carolina University Chancellor Dr. David Belcher. 
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Gov. Roy Cooper (center) addresses a community roundable in Haywood County April 24. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Governor, Haywood leaders meet on opioid crisis

As the opioid crisis continues to rage across the nation and the state, legislators, law enforcement and medical professionals are…
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The Tanasi Memorial in Vonore, Tennessee, looks toward the site of the once-prominent Cherokee town, now underwater. Sequoyah Birthplace Museum photo
 

Cherokee lands bill moves forward in Congress

Following a 383-2 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation transferring the property to the tribe, the…
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Chairman Adam Wachacha (left), of Snowbird, used a countdown clock to keep track of speaking time limits during an April 3 Budget Council session. The clock was gone by the April 5 Tribal Council session. EBCI image
 

Law gives Council chairman authority over chambers

The Cherokee Tribal Council voted unanimously to formalize rules governing who has final authority over procedures in the council house,…
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Renovation plans progress for Jackson health department
 

Renovation plans progress for Jackson health department

Plans are moving forward for an extensive renovation of the Jackson County Health Department building, with County Manager Don Adams…
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Jim Shearl (left) and Jim Tate.
 

Meet the Macon County commissioner candidates

The Smoky Mountain News and The Macon County News will jointly host a meet and greet and candidate forum from…
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Commissioner Boyce Deitz takes to a whiteboard to sketch out his opposition to consolidation following a Jan. 29 public hearing on the matter. Holly Kays photo
 

Jackson will hire new director to oversee consolidated department

After January’s split vote to merge the social services and health departments into one consolidated department, the Jackson County commissioners…
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Newspapers to host candidate forum in Franklin
 

Newspapers to host candidate forum in Franklin

The Macon County News is teaming up with The Smoky Mountain News to host candidate forums and meet and greets…
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2018 Summer Camp Guide
 

2018 Summer Camp Guide

While there are plenty of summer camp opportunities for youth in WNC, parents have to begin planning far in advance…
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SMAC stresses team unity and camaraderie. SMAC photo
 

Out of school and into the pool

Since 2001 the Smoky Mountain Aquatic Club has been geared toward having a nationally recognized aquatics program that develops and…
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NOC photo
 

Learn to paddle at NOC youth camp

For 15 years Nantahala Outdoor Center instructors have been teaching kids and teens how to maneuver the waters of Western…
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Summer youth events at Lake Junaluska
 

Summer youth events at Lake Junaluska

Church youth groups of all sizes are invited to Lake Junaluska for five Summer Youth Events June 17 to July…
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A young angler learns to fish during a Jackson County Parks and Recreation event. Donated photo
 

Jackson launches outdoors camp

With a whole world of mountain beauty to explore, summer leaves no time to waste indoors. 
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A camp counselor assists kids during a stream crossing. Donated photo
 

Waynesville’s Base Camp now offered on the go

In the four years since they first launched, Waynesville’s Base Camp summer programs — day camps packed full of outdoor…
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When the weather isn’t cooperating, campers still have plenty of options for indoor adventures. Donated photo
 

Camp Watia offers affordable fun for local youth

A YMCA camp in Swain County specifically caters to youth in Western North Carolina by offering an affordable weeklong outdoor…
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Summer camps help kids stay sharp
 

Summer camps help kids stay sharp

When the last bell rings and the doors fly open loosing schoolchildren across the nation out into the sunny summer…
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A yellow violet displays and early spring bloom. Holly Kays photo
 

Wildflower spotting: New book guides search for April blooms

The combination of a stress-filled week and the dawn of a perfect, sunny and 70-something degree day worked like a…
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Hanging Dog Campground closed
 

Hanging Dog Campground closed

Hanging Dog Campground, located in the Nantahala National Forest near Murphy, will not re-open following a decision from the U.S.…
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The first phase of the project last year resulted in stonework to replace a washed-out and eroded trail section. NPS photo
 

Trail work resumes on Rainbow Falls Trail

The second phase of a two-year trail rehabilitation project in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will begin Monday, April…
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Matt Kirby makes his way through the 68-mile Georgia Death Race route. Donated photo
 

‘Death Race’ raises money for students

In a 68-mile fundraising run through the mountains of Northern Georgia, Matt Kirby conquered the terrain in 20 hours and…
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Volunteers haul a discarded tire out of a creek. Donated photo
 

Team up for the planet

In a month-long celebration of Earth Day, the #WNCforthePlanet initiative invites businesses, civic groups and community organizations to take part…
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The sacred animal that walks like a man
 

The sacred animal that walks like a man

Editor’s note: This column first appeared in an April 2003 edition of The Smoky Mountain News. Bears have always held…
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Sage advice from a clutter of books
 

Sage advice from a clutter of books

Spring cleaning. When we hear those words, we think of washing windows and dusting neglected baseboards, de-cluttering closets, going through…
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Make the most of every day
 

Make the most of every day

When I was a student at Appalachian State University, I could have made the walk from Anne Belk Library to…
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Ingraham is like a temple Pharisee
 

Ingraham is like a temple Pharisee

To the Editor: Trump TV, aka Fox News, has scored another low mark thanks to its sneering cross-bearer, Laura Ingraham.…
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Our Christian USA is slowly disappearing
 

Our Christian USA is slowly disappearing

To the Editor: I have read many good articles from Smoky Mountain News Editor Scott McLeod, but the editorial on…
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It’s OK to tie instead of winning
 

It’s OK to tie instead of winning

To the Editor: I don’t understand how we are supposed to be human in modern life. We want social change…
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Waynesville needs to do some paving
 

Waynesville needs to do some paving

To the Editor: I am pretty sure I am not alone in wondering every time I drive around in Waynesville,…
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Trump era should end
 

Trump era should end

To the Editor: Is it possible that the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency has begun? That, in…
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Illegals pay into benefit programs
 

Illegals pay into benefit programs

To the Editor: I am responding to the reader who wrote regarding Fox News and illegal immigrants.  I have no…
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Clockwise, from top left: Holly Bowick, Vance W. Greene, Kevin Seagle, Johnny Parton and Danny Burns. Not pictured: Wayne Dover.
 

Six candidates compete in Swain commissioner primary

Six candidates for Swain County commissioner — three Republicans and three Democrats — will appear on the May 8 Primary Election ballot. 
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Ann D. Melton (left) and Kim Coggins Poteet.
 

Primary will decide Jackson clerk race

For the two Democrats running to serve as Jackson County’s next clerk of Superior Court, the results of the May…
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Jarrett Crowe (left) and Charles Elders.
 

Jackson commissioner candidates to face off in primary

During the May 8 Primary Election in Jackson County, two Republican candidates for county commissioner will race for the right…
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Left to right: Tommy Long, Terry Ramey and Phillip Wight.
 

Haywood Commission primary could be first step to GOP majority

Three Democratic seats on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners are up for election this year, but only two of…
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Cashiers resident Tommy Madden urges commissioners to vote no on the Brunch Bill. Holly Kays photo
 

Brunch Bill fails in Jackson

In a 3-2 vote that followed hours of public comment spread over three different meetings, a measure that would have…
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Tribe added to council of governments
 

Tribe added to council of governments

For the first time in the Southwestern Commission’s 53-year history, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has a seat at…
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Cherokee councilmember receives North Carolina’s highest honor
 

Cherokee councilmember receives North Carolina’s highest honor

Longtime Cherokee Councilmember Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown, became the latest recipient of North Carolina’s highest honor when she was presented…
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A soil reclamation project on Jonathan Creek is causing frustrations in county government. Haywood GIS photo
 

Bogged down: Jonathan Creek project getting messy

Problems with moist soil are mucking up what seemed at the time to be a quick, cheap and easy accouterment…
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More parking could be coming to Frog Level. Haywood GIS photo
 

Overlapping leases complicate Frog Level parking

A legal snafu has halted work on the Frog Level parking lot paving project as well as delayed action on…
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Former Waynesville priest indicted by grand jury
 

Former Waynesville priest indicted by grand jury

Howard “Howdy” White Jr., a former episcopal priest who served in Waynesville until 2006, was indicted last week by a…
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Jeremy Garrett. Connie Garrett photo
 

A hard life makes a good song: Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters

Hopping up on my truck tailgate one recent afternoon, fiddler/singer Jeremy Garrett gazed around the Spirit of the Suwannee Music…
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Albino Skunk Music Festival. Garret K. Woodward photo
 

Roads that we abandon, and others that we take

A slight breeze awoke me from my slumber this past Saturday morning. Swaying in the hammock, I looked upward while…
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WCU marching band invited to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
 

WCU marching band invited to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band will be enjoying one of the best things about Thanksgiving Day…
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Cartoon, April 11, 2018
 

Cartoon, April 11, 2018

By Will Studenc
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Brunch Bill is about better business, not religion
 

Brunch Bill is about better business, not religion

It’s one of those issues that garner headlines and controversy but really shouldn’t. I’m talking about the Brunch Bill, the…
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An unexpected triathlon journey
 

An unexpected triathlon journey

When life turns upside down, we have options. We can sink into the darkness and find comfort in substances and…
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