Air quality improves in N.C.
 

Air quality improves in N.C.

North Carolina set a record low for number of unhealthy ozone days with the close of the 2017 season Oct.…
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First snow
 

First snow

Frosty temperatures Sunday night into Monday, Oct. 30, brought the first snow of the season to high elevations in the…
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The Naturalist's Corner: S.P.E.C.M.M.D.S.G.T.
 

The Naturalist's Corner: S.P.E.C.M.M.D.S.G.T.

Don’t you love the way it rolls off the tongue — “spec-mm-dsgt?” As in, “what time is it spec-mm-dsgt?”
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BCBS patients leave Mission after contract lapse
 

BCBS patients leave Mission after contract lapse

It’s been a month since Mission Health’s contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina expired, leaving thousands of…
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Mission tightlipped about negotiations with BCBS
 

Mission tightlipped about negotiations with BCBS

It’s been a month since the contract between Mission Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina expired, leaving…
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Patient counts up at Harris, Swain
 

Patient counts up at Harris, Swain

Mission Hospital’s decision to let its contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield expire has resulted in increased business for Harris…
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Community forums scheduled
 

Community forums scheduled

A slate of upcoming community forums in Bryson City, Cashiers and Sylva will give residents a chance to learn about…
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Harris opens new emergency department
 

Harris opens new emergency department

A brand new emergency department at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva received its first patients Monday, Nov. 6, marking the…
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New Franklin hospital could move out to U.S. 441
 

New Franklin hospital could move out to U.S. 441

Angel Medical Center has been located in downtown Franklin for 60 years, but hospital officials are looking into the possibility…
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Waynesville ‘nudged’ toward gambling zoning
 

Waynesville ‘nudged’ toward gambling zoning

When the Nudge City video gaming parlor popped up in an old auto dealer’s lot on Dellwood City Road earlier…
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Mobile home standards to be updated in Waynesville
 

Mobile home standards to be updated in Waynesville

New standards and stricter definitions for manufactured homes in Waynesville could make it easier to develop manufactured home parks, under…
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Transformation continues at Lake Junaluska
 

Transformation continues at Lake Junaluska

The Lake Junaluska Assembly prides itself on being a place of transformation and renewal for all people, but over the…
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Dorm renaming recognizes Cherokee history
 

Dorm renaming recognizes Cherokee history

Before white settlers corrupted the name to Cullowhee, the land along the Tuckasegee River south of Sylva was known to…
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FBI investigation of Cherokee BIA official extends beyond marriage fraud
 

FBI investigation of Cherokee BIA official extends beyond marriage fraud

The FBI’s investigation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Cherokee Agency’s deputy superintendent Ruth Marie Sequoyah McCoy goes far deeper…
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Tribal members oppose alcohol expansion
 

Tribal members oppose alcohol expansion

About 100 people piled into the exhibit hall at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds the evening of Monday, Nov. 6,…
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Franklin board shoots down festival idea
 

Franklin board shoots down festival idea

Franklin alderman candidate Jimbo Ledford had hoped his idea for a multi-day music and beer festival on the languishing Whitmire…
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Veteran portraits on display in Macon
 

Veteran portraits on display in Macon

By Kurt J. Volker • Contributing writer In recognition of Veterans Day 2017, the Macon County Art Association will conduct its…
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Walker will be missed, but life goes on in Clyde
 

Walker will be missed, but life goes on in Clyde

The passing of Clyde Mayor Jerry Walker Oct. 30 has not only left a huge hole in the Clyde community,…
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Community mourns the loss of Franklin alderman
 

Community mourns the loss of Franklin alderman

Just a couple of weeks ago, Billy Mashburn discussed with The Smoky Mountain News his continued goals and vision for…
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Masterful work by one of our great writers
 

Masterful work by one of our great writers

A number of Mark Helprin’s works — Winter’s Tale, Memoir From Antproof Case, and more — have appeared on the…
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Only here for your love: Futurebirds to rock Highlands Food & Wine Fest
 

Only here for your love: Futurebirds to rock Highlands Food & Wine Fest

It’s about finding a balance between your creative soul and your sanity. “When you feel you’re doing what you’re supposed…
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This must be the place: ‘And it feels like heaven’s so far away’
 

This must be the place: ‘And it feels like heaven’s so far away’

Taken too soon. It’s the three words one person — let alone one family or one community — never wants…
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Will turnout turn around?
 

Will turnout turn around?

Thunder, lightning, fog and torrential downpours on an off-year municipal Election Day in Haywood County’s smallest municipalities doesn’t bode well…
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Election Day is here
 

Election Day is here

Polls are open across the state and across Western North Carolina for balloting in this year’s municipal election cycle, which…
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EDC director Clasby announces retirement
 

EDC director Clasby announces retirement

After a career spanning more than 14 years as the executive director of Haywood County’s Economic Development Council, Mark Clasby…
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Welcome to a rising tide of young candidates
 

Welcome to a rising tide of young candidates

Local politics in Western North Carolina have long been dominated by the good ole boys. But like they say about…
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They’ve been dancing the whole time
 

They’ve been dancing the whole time

The first time I met my stepfather I threatened to beat him up. My brother and I were both in…
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Brewing success: Two WNC craft breweries win national medals
 

Brewing success: Two WNC craft breweries win national medals

With sunshine spilling into the taproom of Currahee Brewing Company in Franklin one recent afternoon, brewmaster Taylor Yates is all…
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New Sylva brewery opens
 

New Sylva brewery opens

With its grand opening last Friday, Balsam Falls Brewing Company becomes the third business of its kind in Sylva.
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This must be the place: ‘Take me out to the ball game…’
 

This must be the place: ‘Take me out to the ball game…’

My first love. Baseball. The quintessential American pastime. The thing of which childhood dreams are made. The playing grounds of…
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Local World War II vet honored
 

Local World War II vet honored

Paul Willis, 96, a World War II veteran from Canton, was awarded the French Legion of Honor by the French…
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Book of poetry has a disturbing beauty
 

Book of poetry has a disturbing beauty

If the saying “timing is everything” is true, then John Lane’s new collection of poems by Mercer University Press is…
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Catalyst for adventure: Field school instructors reflect on three decades in the Smokies
 

Catalyst for adventure: Field school instructors reflect on three decades in the Smokies

The Smoky Mountain Field School was only a couple years old when Joel Zachary came on as an instructor in…
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WNC paddler enters hall of fame
 

WNC paddler enters hall of fame

Paddling legend Bunny Johns was inducted into the International Whitewater Hall of Fame this fall for her sport-changing facilitation of…
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WCU biologist wins international award
 

WCU biologist wins international award

Highlands Biological Station Director James Costa recently traveled to London to receive the silver Alfred Russel Wallace medal recognizing his…
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Highlands Biological serves as living laboratory
 

Highlands Biological serves as living laboratory

A dozen students studying everything from mountaintop forests to river basins are currently living at the Highlands Biological Station, enrolled…
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The quandary that is book shelving
 

The quandary that is book shelving

The books have once again piled up in stacks up to three feet high in many corners of the house.…
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Time, place, manner: free speech at center of Confederate flag proposal
 

Time, place, manner: free speech at center of Confederate flag proposal

The South’s oldest Labor Day parade birthed a controversy this year that the parade’s founders probably didn’t foresee, but the…
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Leading by example: WCU chancellor, wife give $1.23 million for scholarships, reflect on Catamount identity
 

Leading by example: WCU chancellor, wife give $1.23 million for scholarships, reflect on Catamount identity

Through careers as students, teachers and administrators, David and Susan Belcher have marked the milestones of their lives in college…
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Collaborative work on Forest Service plan cost Martin his job
 

Collaborative work on Forest Service plan cost Martin his job

The former Southern Appalachian Regional Director for The Wilderness Society was the catalyst and key facilitator for a compromise and…
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Jackson to downsize TDA board
 

Jackson to downsize TDA board

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority Board will shrink from 15 members to nine following a unanimous vote from the…
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Bill Taylor to represent tribe in Raleigh, D.C.
 

Bill Taylor to represent tribe in Raleigh, D.C.

Former Tribal Council Chairman Bill Taylor is now settling into a new position as the tribe’s governmental affairs liaison after…
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Swain dedicates Old 288 Park to Monteith
 

Swain dedicates Old 288 Park to Monteith

Swain County commissioners recently held a dedication ceremony to officially rename the Old N.C. 288 Park after David Monteith.
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Swain library project hits roadblock
 

Swain library project hits roadblock

As much work as they’ve put into planning and fundraising, the Marianna Black Library Campaign Planning Committee still can’t get…
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Swain coalition pushes for tobacco-free parks
 

Swain coalition pushes for tobacco-free parks

Aproposed policy to make the Swain County Recreation Center a tobacco-free property may not be a slam dunk with all…
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Wastewater treatment plant has urgent needs, huge price tag
 

Wastewater treatment plant has urgent needs, huge price tag

For the second meeting in a row, consultants presented the Waynesville Board of Aldermen with some unpleasant realities about the…
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Brunch ordinance passes over opposition in Canton
 

Brunch ordinance passes over opposition in Canton

After weeks of public comment, opposition by religious leaders and appeals by the local business community, a controversial “Brunch Bill”…
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More retail space coming to Champion Drive
 

More retail space coming to Champion Drive

Planning board officials recommended and the Canton Board of Aldermen/women approved plans that will bring an additional 7,000 square feet…
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Canton alderman dispels anti-veteran rumors
 

Canton alderman dispels anti-veteran rumors

In an unusual move, Canton Alderman Ralph Hamlett took time at the Canton Board of Aldermen/women meeting Oct. 26 to…
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Asheville, Haywood chambers to ink economic development deal
 

Asheville, Haywood chambers to ink economic development deal

The economies of Haywood and Buncombe counties are and have been intricately linked for some time now, but a forthcoming…
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