Lottery money takes on new role as state budget cuts loom
By definition, the lottery is a gamble. There’s no guarantee of winning, no assurance that you’ll look back on your…
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Learn about animal rescue efforts
Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation’s annual meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 13, at the Haywood County…
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HCC offers help in managing time
The Small Business Center of Haywood Community College will offer a free seminar entitled, “Organizing your Work and Life -…
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Public hearing set for landfill problem
Jackson County’s old solid waste landfill is leaking contaminants in higher concentrations than allowed into the groundwater, and satisfying state…
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Commissioners demand ‘green’ wonder prove black-and-white dollar value
How fickle fortune can be, Timm Muth, the director of the oft-touted Green Energy Park, found upon tendering a simple…
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Situation still bleak for builders in the region
By Colby Dunn and Quintin Ellison • Staff Writers Although retail businesses might have found some relief toward the latter…
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Needmore proposal back for debate; this time in Macon County
People for and against the state Department of Transportation’s plans to pave and widen a 3.3-mile section of Needmore Road…
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West Elementary gets new classrooms
Swain County’s West Elementary School will be getting a classroom expansion thanks to $1.8 million handed to them by Swain…
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Haywood releases closed session minutes on its own accord
At their last meeting of 2010, the Haywood County Commissioners made what might seem like a rather mundane decision. They…
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Crowd revs up against proposed dirt bike racetrack
More than 100 people turned out recently to protest a Macon County farmer’s plan to save his land by building…
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Taking tabs on economic recovery: Economic situation in WNC seems to be improving for small businesses
By Colby Dunn and Quintin Ellison • Staff writers Despite a sour economy, many businesses in Western North Carolina are…
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Vote for Western Carolina University's Pride of the Mountains Marching Band
Southern California-area television station KTLA is polling Parade of Roses viewers to determine which participating band is the crowd favorite.…
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North Shore Road funds in danger of disappearing
Battles in Congress are nothing new. Practically every day that the legislature is in session, there is a fight, argument…
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Less might mean more if developers respond to lot-size changes in Sylva
When Mountain Projects came calling on Sylva leaders earlier this year because the group wanted to build five affordably priced…
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Year in review 2010
Editor’s note: Here is The Smoky Mountain News’ annual Year in Review, but ours comes with a nod and a…
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Shuler selects a familiar face to help bid for national prominence
Andrew Whalen, an up-and-coming political insider who helped craft U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler’s entry onto the political scene five years…
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“New” steam-powered train service planned for railroad
Steam engines are coming back to Western North Carolina, thanks to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. The railroad announced that…
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Wooten to serve as stopgap Jackson County manager
Chuck Wooten will become interim Jackson County manager for six months or so starting next month. Commissioners this week in…
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Board holds off on land use vote
The Waynesville Planning Board said this week it will hold off on adopting a major update to the town’s land…
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Tavern joins Haywood restaurant scene
A new tavern is set to make its debut this week in downtown Waynesville, featuring barbecue, beer, and a friendly,…
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Town bows to transportation department’s superior knowledge
Town of Sylva leaders have sent a letter to the state Department of Transportation endorsing what supporters would like called…
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Free seminar offers organization tips
The Small Business Center of Haywood Community College will offer a free seminar entitled, “Organizing your Work and Life —…
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Commissioners seek applicants for Health, TDA boards
The Haywood County Board of Commissioners is accepting applications for the following boards: Haywood County Board of Health – This…
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Swain finance manager loses job, cites political activity
To Vida Cody, Dec. 6 didn’t seem unlike any other average Monday. She was the finance manager for Swain County,…
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Haywood chooses contractor for Wal-Mart project
Clyde’s old Wal-Mart is now on track to get a new life after Haywood County commissioners voted Monday to sign…
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An attorney for everyone
Jay Coward, newly hired to serve as Jackson County’s attorney, will receive $175 an hour, commissioners agreed in a unanimous…
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WCU tuition increase poses financial problems for students
A tuition hike spells additional hardships for many students at Western Carolina University, at least those who already find it…
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Missing maps provoke discussion at Macon steep-slope meeting
No one could specify exactly who made the decision to remove the maps or when precisely that occurred, but some…
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Lottery money put to bleachers, but grudgingly
A wide selection of bleachers at nearly every secondary school in Haywood County will get some repairs and replacements thanks…
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County to pay fairgrounds loan
Haywood County commissioners will be stepping in to save the county’s fairground from the bank’s clutches after a vote at…
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Christmas family movies at Marianna Black
During the month of December the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will continue to show family Christmas favorites. The…
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Sylva “back street” plans moving forward: Grant application due Feb. 10
Three years ago, Holly Hooper and sister Heather Menacof had saved enough money to invest in new windows for the…
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Jackson County library taking shape
The completion date for Jackson County’s new library is just three months away, but the likelihood the project really will…
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WCU, Forest Hills continue hammering out Town Center concept
Looming budget cuts to the state’s higher education system won’t interfere with Western Carolina University’s goal of creating a town…
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Commissioners to hold public hearings Dec. 20
The Haywood County Board of Commissioners will hold two public hearings at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20, in the…
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Burrell recovering after fracturing vertebrae
Conrad Burrell, a member of the state’s Board of Transportation and chairman of Southwestern Community College’s board of trustees, underwent…
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Macon planning board uproar subsides
Planning board members in Macon County this week voted against a plan that would have seen their group expand from…
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Maggie Valley tries ‘flowery’ marketing idea
Maggie Valley is in the midst of a makeover. The town is taking steps to spruce itself up, modernize and,…
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Jackson Paper host party for local school children
Jackson Paper Manufacturing hosted more than 45 local elementary students and their families at the company’s Christmas for Kids party…
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A changing of the guard at Lake Junaluska: Methodist center with deep Haywood roots works to re-invent itself
Almost a century after its inception, Lake Junaluska Assembly is still a pillar of Haywood County’s heritage, an organic, integral…
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Q&A with Jackson-Swain Extension Director
Robert “Rob” Hawk, a Whittier resident and the former community resource development agent in this region for the N.C. Cooperative…
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Lomo owners sell to Atlanta entrepreneur
The inside of Waynesville’s 44 Church Street does not, today, bustle with life, warmth and the scintillating scent of food…
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SMN obtains draft agreement between WCU, Forest Hills
A draft agreement between Western Carolina University and the Village of Forest Hills calls for a referendum on mixed drinks,…
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Selzer honored by NC library association
Mary Selzer received the “Library Friend of the Year” award at the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association meeting in…
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How to do business with the government
Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center and the Greater Haywood Chamber of Commerce have partnered to offer a free seminar…
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Macon’s natural spaces focus of luncheon
The Macon County League of Women Voters will sponsor a program on the Natural Areas Inventory of Macon County at…
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Cold weather help comes to local pets
Haywood Animal Welfare Association delivers 1,600 pounds of pet food per week to the local pantries and assists some cat…
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HCC Employees Donate $2,924 to United Way’s Imagination Library
Haywood Community College faculty and staff members collected a total of $2,924.00 for United Way to be used for the…
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Canton mill case moves forward
A recent decision by a North Caroline administrative law judge has denied Evergreen Packaging’s attempt to dismiss the case filed…
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Initiation fee waived at HRMC fitness center
Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center is waiving the usual initiation fee on six-month memberships as a holiday gift to…
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