Haywood Rotary Clubs deliver Christmas boxes

Members from three Rotary Clubs in Haywood County delivered 651 Christmas dinner boxes Dec. 21 to local families. The Christmas…
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Incarcerated at Christmas: Swain inmates thankful for family visitations

Swain County Detention Center became a place of reunions and redemption during the last few weeks as inmates had their…
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Congress ends EBCI challenge to Catawba casino

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ last hope for stopping the Catawba Indian Nation from building a casino in North…
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WCU trustees approve athletics fee hike

The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees voted unanimously during its Dec. 3 meeting to recommend a schedule of fees…
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Swain County Schools faces recruitment, retention obstacles

In the midst of the third school year affected by COVID-19, school systems are keenly aware of the stress the…
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Public hearing slated for RV moratorium in Maggie

Maggie Valley Town Hall was packed Tuesday evening for the regular December Board of Aldermen meeting. This was the first…
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Franklin Town Council fills vacant seat

Adam Kimsey will join the Franklin Town Council after the board unanimously appointed him to fill a two-year unexpired term. 
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New Report Sounds Alarm on Affordable Housing — Again

By Barbara Durr • Asheville Watchdog | This story was originally published by Asheville Watchdog, an independent nonprofit news team serving Asheville…
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Cherokee gaming LLC to expand its reach

The company the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians formed earlier this year to purchase Caesar’s Southern Indiana Casino hopes to…
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Emergency shelter operations conclude in Haywood

Haywood County’s emergency shelter operations for Tropical Storm Fred survivors have concluded this week, four months after sheltering first began…
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Ghost Town developer pleads his case

Ghost Town developer Frankie Wood made his case to members of the Maggie Valley business community during a presentation at…
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Herrons offer home to family that lost everything

By Bill Graham • Special to SMN | For Ed Herron, childhood at Lake Junaluska in the 1960s was idyllic.…
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Operation Medicine Drop 
 

Operation Medicine Drop 

North Carolina created Operation Medicine Drop to help people safely dispose of medications and prescription drugs. A series of locations…
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Cherokee passes casino smoking ban

Casinos in Cherokee and Murphy will be permanently smoke-free following a majority vote from Tribal Council Dec. 9, codifying a…
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Jackson declares Darrell Woodard Day of Service

Jackson County and the Town of Sylva have officially declared Dec. 10 as Darrell Woodard Day of Service. 
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Plea agreement delayed in Sylva man’s Jan. 6 case

Lewis Easton Cantwell, a Sylva resident facing charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building, was…
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Cashiers-Glenville recreation plan approved

Jackson County commissioners have approved a Cashiers-Glenville Recreation Center Master Plan that will include the construction of a splash pad…
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Nikwasi story told in traveling Smithsonian exhibit

The history of the Nikwasi Mound in Franklin will soon be part of a Smithsonian Museum traveling exhibit that will…
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Cherokee supports Nikwasi grant effort

Tribal Council voted Dec. 9 to support the Nikwasi Initiative’s  efforts to land $5 million in grant funds for a…
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Cawthorn’s Uncivil War

Congressman’s invasion into new district is triggering an intra-party reckoning  By TOM FIEDLER | When Madison Cawthorn revealed his plan to…
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Relief funds aim to keep up with difficulties in schools

Just after the Coronavirus Pandemic broke out in the United States in March of 2020, the CARES Act was signed…
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Regional honors given to Haywood community groups

The WNC Honors Awards, a program of WNC Communities, is built on a 72-year tradition of recognizing rural community development…
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COVID-19 cases rise following holiday

In the week since the last press release, Haywood County Public Health has received notice of 170 new cases of COVID-19, doubling…
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Grant will allow Jackson to expand Pre-K

When Dr. Dana Ayers became Superintendent of Jackson County Public Schools in June 2021, two of her top priorities were…
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Supreme Court suspends candidate filing, moves 2022 Primary

The North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended candidate filing for all offices for the 2022 primary election.
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‘Snuffed Out’: Unannounced dam release covers Oconaluftee in sediment

It was around 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 4, when Ken Brown’s phone started lighting up with photo texts depicting…
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Rescue funds to assist local governments

Signed by President Joe Biden on March 17, 2021, the American Rescue Plan will provide $1.88 trillion in federal funds…
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Students visit Hazel Creek

Eighth-grade students from Mountain Discovery Charter School in Bryson City went on a five-day and four-night backpacking up Hazel Creek. 
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WCU master plan: The focus areas

If the proposed master plan is adopted, over the coming years the university will focus its development efforts on five…
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Ten years ahead: WCU trustees mull master plan proposal

At a board retreat this month, Western Carolina University trustees got their first look at a draft proposed 10-year master…
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Sylva still undecided on ARP projects

Sylva is slated to receive a total of $880,000 in American Rescue Plan funds, but the town has not yet…
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Jackson uses ARP money to assist nonprofits

The American Rescue Plan, signed into law March 6, allocated $350 billion for state and local relief in response to…
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Census tract limits Swain’s options for ARP spending

Swain County Board of Commissioners voted to spend its American Rescue Plan allocation on pay for employees since a guideline…
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Bryson City approves one-time bonuses

Bryson City Council approved premium pay for 32 employees during a Dec. 6 board of aldermen meeting. 
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Franklin approves premium pay policy

Franklin Town Council has agreed on how to spend $73,000 of the town’s $1.3 million allocation from the American Rescue…
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Macon uses rescue funds to increase employee pay

Macon County decided early on to invest all of its American Rescue Plan allocation toward county employees. 
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Haywood undecided on rescue fund spending

Haywood County commissioners haven’t made any decisions regarding how they plan to allocate the $12 million coming from the American…
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Cherokee rolls out ARP spending plan

A long-term care center, massive expansion to broadband access and direct payments to tribal members are some of the many…
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Domestic violence shelter planned for Jackson

Too often at the Center for Domestic Peace in Jackson County, a staff member picks up the phone to encounter…
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Maggie Valley will discuss restricting campgrounds, RV parks

Maggie Valley will discuss restricting all campgrounds and RV parks after newly-elected Alderman Jim Owens recommended the move during his…
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SCC to hold traditional graduation ceremony
 

SCC to hold traditional graduation ceremony

After enduring a series of unexpected, pandemic-related challenges, the latest group of Southwestern Community College graduates will celebrate their accomplishments…
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Candidate filing halted, restarted as courts consider maps

Election season in North Carolina got off to a predictably unpredictable start on Dec. 6 when an appellate court issued…
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Public meeting scheduled to discuss U.S. 276 improvements

The N.C. Department of Transportation invites the public to a meeting next week to offer opinions and submit questions regarding…
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SCC to hold first traditional graduation ceremony

After enduring a series of unexpected, pandemic-related challenges, the latest group of Southwestern Community College graduates will celebrate their accomplishments…
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Graham County deputy cleared of wrongdoing

A Graham County sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a Tennessee man on June 20 has been cleared of any wrongdoing,…
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The next chapter: Wall Street Books seeks new home

Miss Virginia stretches unassumingly in the lamplit window of Wall Street Books. While she used to host bridge once a…
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Libertarian candidate offers voters a third way in NC-14

Libertarian David Coatney entered the race for North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District long before Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-Henderson) announced his…
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Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards joins race for NC-14

After much speculation, three-term Henderson County incumbent Sen. Chuck Edwards made his 14th Congressional District candidacy official with an announcement…
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No sleep until January: Retailers rejoice over bustling holiday season

The holiday shopping season tends to be a stressful time for shoppers as well as retailers with large crowds, long…
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Macon officer investigated on rape allegations

On the evening of Monday, Nov. 15, the Special Victims Unit of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation…
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