LATEST NEWS
With childcare centers closing, schools are stepping up to meet a growing need
Nearly all counties in The Smoky Mountain News coverage area have fewer childcare facilities than just several years prior, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Haywood and Swain counties experienced a 10-19% net decline between July 2024 and January 2026. For Macon, among a handful of hardest-hit counties, that figure jumped to…
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De-flocking Macon: County votes to let ALPR contract lapse
As the country becomes increasingly consumed by the debate over Flock cameras, the issue hit the Smoky Mountains as Macon County voted to let its contract with the…
Cashiers teachers struggle with cost of living
The average home price in Cashiers is $1.4 million. The starting salary for a first-year teacher in North Carolina is in the low $40,000s.
These two figures present…
WCU earns top mark for reading instruction
Western Carolina University’s undergraduate elementary education program has earned an A+ from the National Council on Teacher Quality for its excellence in preparing future teachers to teach reading.
…
Ramp closed from U.S. 74 east to I-40 west in Haywood County
The ramp from U.S. 74 to Interstate 40 West in Haywood County will be closed for about two weeks while a contractor conducts a maintenance repair.
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Outdoors
Up Moses Creek: The Pasture
Moses Creek may be off the beaten path, but it’s no stranger to famous people. Moses himself has knocked on our door, and so have Socrates and Plato,…
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
In search of a good show, a good story: Acclaimed Celtic act to play Stecoah
What was initially seen as a debacle at the hands of Mother Nature 12 years ago has turned out to be a serendipitous moment of melodic beauty that still reverberates to this very day.
At the 2014 Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City, Missouri, fiddler Rose Baldino and her band, Burning Bridget Cleary, were…
This must be the place
This must be the place: ‘It’s so noisy at the fair, but all your friends are there’
Hello once again from Niantic, Connecticut. This is the last day of this current chapter of the “Great American Road Trip.” It’s been a pretty special and meaningful visit to the Long Island Sound and coast of New England. To preface, I went to college not far from here, about an hour west along Interstate…
This must be the place: Ode to 250 years of Old Glory, ode to being an eternal optimist
Hello from New Harbor, Maine. It’s Tuesday morning and it finally stopped raining. Cloudy and a slight breeze from the nearby Atlantic Ocean, which can be seen from the front porch of my friend’s humble abode here ona the coast. I’m up here chipping away at this bluegrass book, and also seeking solitude. To preface, over the last week or so, I’ve driven solo from…
Partner content: Health, Humidity and Hydration
White rice is a good source of carbohydrates and a handy and versatile grain to keep on hand as it stores well.
Here are 5 things you can do with white rice:
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Partner content: Taste of Local
Thursday, June 18 • 3pm-6pm
Ingles Markets — 151 Smokey Park Highway — Asheville
Complimentary Samples (Limited Availability)
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Partner content: Pack a Snack
White rice is a good source of carbohydrates and a handy and versatile grain to keep on hand as it stores well.
Here are 5 things you can do with white rice:
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Partner content: What to do with … BANANAS
White rice is a good source of carbohydrates and a handy and versatile grain to keep on hand as it stores well.
Here are 5 things you can do with white rice:
Keep readingOpinion
There’s no place like home
Growing up, we had a VHS tape where we’d recorded three different movies from the television — “The Million Dollar Duck,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Fletch.” On…
letters to the editor
‘Why support Illegal immigration?’
As I participated Saturday — on the square in Bryson…
Dispatches from Highlanderstan
For some time it has baffled me how so many…
Upcoming judicial elections matter
There are important judicial elections this fall. North Carolina voters…
GOP official has it all wrong
I have to respond to the letter from the Highlands…