×

Warning

JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 12658

HCC welcomes new president with open community arms, firm academic handshake

fr barbarasueparkerHaywood Community College trustees cited leadership, community rapport and deep local roots as key factors when naming Dr. Barbara Sue Parker the next college president last week.

Prescription drug scourge claiming dozens of lives in Haywood

coverThe numbers are unforgiving.

One in three unexpected deaths in Haywood County are likely prescription drug overdoses. This year alone, there have been eight drug-related deaths — out of 25 unexpected deaths in all. And that doesn’t include two deaths last week that the county medical examiner suspects are overdoses as well. 

Congressman Meadows among good company with Haywood business leaders

fr meadowsU.S. Congressman Mark Meadows told Haywood County business leaders this week that the federal government should borrow a page  — or perhaps a whole chapter or two — from the private sector playbook when it comes to financial problem solving.

Waynesville skateboard park to ramp up by summer

fr skateparkAfter years of stops and starts, construction is now imminent on a long-awaited skateboard park in Waynesville.

A real estate phoenix: Foreclosed second-home lots transformed into low-income housing

fr bethelvillageThe story is all too familiar.

A property developer buys a large swath of land with grand plans to build high-end homes and sell them for a substantial profit. But the housing bubble bursts. The lots don’t move. The property sits empty, and eventually, the developer can’t repay the bank loan used to purchase the land. It falls into foreclosure and becomes an artifact of the U.S. real estate market crash.

World Methodist leader overcomes adversity in his life path to Junaluska

fr abrahamsIvan Abrahams didn’t come to hold the top spot in the World Methodist Council because he abided by the rules. At more than one point in his spiritual career, he was a bit of a thorn in the clergy’s side.

Unloading machine guns could raise big bucks for Canton

The Canton Police Department is considering selling two 80-year-old submachine guns and using the proceeds to pay for new and better equipment for the force — before the federal government possibly bans such weapons.

Due diligence underway on MedWest hospital split

MedWest hospital leaders have hired an outside consulting firm to help them analyze the pros and cons of staying together versus dissolving their fledgling partnership. Also at stake: whether Carolinas HealthCare System will stay on as the hospitals’ management company.

Parrying between tourism interests slows progress on tourism tax bill

The prospects of Haywood County’s tourism development tax increase making it through the General Assembly in Raleigh this year is highly likely — or perhaps highly unlikely. It depends on whom you ask.

Cost-benefit of school safety weighs on Haywood

Law enforcement officials in Haywood County are stepping up to keep a watchful eye on schools as leaders plot their next steps toward increasing safety.

Parents have probably already noticed one simple and cost-free solution to better school security: deputies and police officers have started parking their patrol cars at one of Haywood County’s 16 schools whenever they need to take care of administrative tasks such as filling out reports or doing paperwork.

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.