Duke Energy rate hike: out of necessity or greed?
A proposal by Duke Energy to hike electricity rates by 17 percent isn’t sitting well with many of the company’s…
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Challengers top field in Cherokee primary
The field was narrowed from five to two yesterday in the race for principal chief of the Eastern Band of…
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More rabies cases spotted in Haywood
The second case of rabies in eastern Haywood County in less than a week has been confirmed, marking the fourth…
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Day of Service features festivities in Jackson
Western Carolina University’s Academic Success Program (ASP) is working with associates from the Sylva Wal-Mart for a day of service…
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Learn cooking tips with local chef
A cooking program called “Fresh Ways with Local, Seasonal Food” will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, as…
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Haywood crowns outstanding volunteers
The Haywood County Volunteer Center awarded Judy Smith of the Fines Creek Community Association’s MANNA food bank program as the…
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New outpatient center to make health care more accessible
MedWest Health System is breaking ground on a new outpatient services center at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 11, on…
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Cuts target childhood development during critical early years
When SmartStart, an early childhood education program, was launched in 1993, it was hailed nationally as a model for reaching…
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Macon’s steep slope debate mired in details
In a somewhat surreal meeting last week of Macon County’s planning board, progress on developing regulations for steep slopes were…
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Travel app coming soon to steer tourists through western counties
Linda Harbuck doesn’t own a smart-phone herself, but that doesn’t stop the veteran Macon County tourism official from understanding and…
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River rats test homespun engineering in the Tuck Derby
It is not by swiftness, nor by strength and valor, that races are gained and battles won, but by sheer…
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Primary election showdown arrives in Cherokee
In Cherokee this week, tribal elections are edging ever closer, with a primary scheduled for Thursday that will whittle the…
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‘I feel their pain’: Keeping pools in working order costs small towns big bucks
Canton was one of the first towns in Western North Carolina to sport a swimming pool, something made possible thanks…
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Canton could get hosed by pool woes
The Canton swimming pool is on its last leg and without a major investment of $750,000 to $1 million, the…
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Popularity has its pitfalls
In the do-you-remember, they-were-right-after-all category, the enormous popularity of Jackson County’s new library has meant finding parking at the renovated…
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Cowboy preacher delivers maverick graduation speech
Graduation ceremonies are, by their nature, boring. The bookend of an educational phase is supposed to be a solemn occasion,…
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Everyone up for election in Franklin pledges to run again
When Sam Greenwood retired as Macon County’s manager and almost immediately accepted the same position for the town of Franklin…
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Hotel a tombstone for WNC’s once booming real estate industry
When construction on the lofty Clarion Inn started in 2008, the town of Sylva thought it was finally going to…
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Roof on high school library suffers more storm damage
For the second time in as many months, strong winds ripped part of the roof off the school library, known…
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Sylva police packed in like sardines
Just stepping inside the Sylva Police Department gives a person an immediate understanding of why Chief Davis Woodard is pushing…
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Sylva’s appointed aldermen must run for real this fall
Easing congestion on N.C. 107 and general economic development issues look to shape the context of Sylva’s upcoming municipal elections.…
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Founder of Cherokee court system reflects on storied legal career
Seventy-six years ago, Harry Martin decided he wanted to become a lawyer. He was 15, and knew little to nothing…
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First encephalitis case of the season reported in Franklin
Public health officials have reported that a child in Macon County has contracted LaCrosse Viral Encephalitis, a potentially serious illness…
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Talk explores life and times of Lake Junaluska
A program exploring the history of Lake Juanluska and its influence on Haywood County will be held at 9:30 a.m.…
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Need a helping hand on a house? Call Habitat
Haywood Habitat for Humanity is holding an open enrollment through July for prospective new-home partner families. Applicants interested in purchasing…
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Jackson to sell items from old library
The Jackson County Public Library will hold a “yard sale” on Saturday, July 9, from 8 a.m. until noon inside…
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Patient appreciation party for Smoky OB/GYN
Smoky Mountain OB/GYN will hold a patient appreciation day from 1 until 4 p.m. Saturday, July 9. All past, present…
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SMHS grad receives Jackson Paper scholarship
The Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company has awarded a $500 scholarship to Candace Erin Ridley, a Smoky Mountain High School graduate…
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Cackleberry Mountain raffle benefits Good Samaritan Clinic
Cackleberry Mountain’s yearly charitable campaign has returned, and through it, you can purchase a raffle ticket for $3 to benefit…
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Dowling appointed to HCC trustees
Patsy Dowling, the executive director of Mountain Projects, has been appointed to serve on the Haywood Community College Board of…
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MedWest foundation names new director
Steve Brown, the former head of the Haywood County Schools Foundation, has been named the director of foundations for three…
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Canton election field might calm down this year
Two years after its last major shakeup, the entire Canton town board is up for election again, though this time,…
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College, schools in Haywood collaborate
Haywood Community College and Haywood County Schools have signed an agreement between the schools that will give high school students…
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Maggie’s mayor to face challenger in fall election
Rarely is there a lull in political turmoil in Maggie Valley, and this summer is no exception. With election filing…
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Waynesville alderwoman won’t run again
In Waynesville, it’s time again for a town board election, marking the end of four-year terms for both the mayor…
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Landslide hazard maps axed by state: Risky slopes in Jackson, Haywood to remain a mystery for now
Republican lawmakers have pulled the plug on the state’s landslide mapping unit, terminating a controversial project to assess which slopes…
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Row over property values in Haywood still raging unabated
Haywood County commissioners continue to be dogged by outcries over new property values. Critics are openly deriding commissioners at every…
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Scholarship winners travel to China
Two $500 scholarships have been awarded to Lella Dougherty of Cherokee County Schools and Sarah Bruegger of Jackson County Schools…
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Space still open in theatre camp
Western Carolina University’s Theatre Summer camp has space remaining for campers ages 7 to 17. Registration will run through July…
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Opportunity to help a community member in need
Money and donations of clothing, furniture and other household items are being accepted at the Swain County Sheriff’s Office to…
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Laity conference begins June 30 at Lake Junaluska
The SEJ Laity Conference, a family experience, will be offered June 30 through July 3 at Lake Junaluska Conference and…
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Macon steep-slope ordinance inches forward
Macon County’s commissioners want their planning board, if possible, to finish up work on a steep-slope ordinance by August. Commissioner…
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Strange at best, tacky at worst — library plaque to bear two boards’ names
Jackson County Commissioner Doug Cody said he was as surprised as anyone to learn that his name would be included…
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Former commissioner now former college trustee, too
William Shelton is off the local community college’s board of trustees after the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, in a…
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Jackson commissioner keeps on DOT warpath
Jack Debnam, chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, called on Sylva leaders to join him in his bid…
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Back taxes on Ghost Town help fund festivals in Maggie
Maggie Valley gave the thumbs up to a 2011-12 budget, voting 4-1 to approve the spending plan at a town…
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Community funding pool to aid nonprofits
Macon County non-profit organizations have until July 30 to apply for grants through the Macon County Community Funding Pool. Organizations…
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Rolling center offers bone testing
MedWest Health System’s osteoporosis bus provides bone density testing each week to women throughout rural Western North Carolina. Osteoporosis causes…
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Sales keep pace with county’s new values
Property in Haywood County is selling 4 percent higher than the new values on the county’s tax books, refuting criticism…
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How right is the reval?
There’s only one way to tell how right — or wrong — Haywood County’s recent property revaluation is. Appraisers attempt…
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