‘The lady behind the scenes’: Carmaleta Monteith named Beloved Woman

Carmaleta Littlejohn Monteith has worn an impressive number of titles over the course of her life. 
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Macon requests more funds for the arts

Last year, Macon County Schools requested a nearly $2 million budget increase to fund additional staff positions. When the pandemic…
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Spectators allowed at Haywood graduations

Graduation ceremonies will be allowed as many spectators as school sporting events this spring, after the Haywood County Schools Board…
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Cherokee to pursue new casino project

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will pursue a new casino project in partnership with a publicly traded gaming company,…
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Franklin manager delivers last budget proposal

Longtime Franklin Manager Summer Woodard will be leaving for a new job in June, but before she goes, she presented…
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Skaters make case for Franklin skatepark

The Franklin Town Council board room was standing room only last week as several local teenagers expressed their desire for…
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Vaccination still slow as Pfizer shot approved for teens

For the fourth straight week, the rate of vaccinations has decreased in the four-county area, with just 0.5 percent of…
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Urgent Pipe Replacement Coming to U.S. 19/23

CLYDE – A deep pipe failure under the eastbound lanes of U.S. 19/23 between Clyde and Canton near Crawford Memorial Gardens…
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Canton mayor selected as ‘Outstanding Rising Leaders’
 

Canton mayor selected as ‘Outstanding Rising Leaders’

Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers was selected as one of 19 leaders from across the country to join the NewDEAL (Developing…
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Urgent pipe replacement coming to U.S. 19/23
 

Urgent pipe replacement coming to U.S. 19/23

A deep pipe failure under the eastbound lanes of U.S. 19/23 between Clyde and Canton near Crawford Memorial Gardens will…
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WNC towns debate future of room occupancy tax

If passed, legislation introduced by Western North Carolina Republican representatives would allow municipalities within Haywood County to levy their own…
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Canton, Waynesville to consider room tax increases

A tax bill sponsored by two western Republicans that’s currently making its way through the North Carolina General Assembly has…
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Bryson City removed from room tax legislation

The Town of Bryson City has been removed from a piece of state legislation that would have allowed the town…
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No plans for town room tax in Sylva

While Sylva’s leaders have considered the idea of a town occupancy tax a couple times over the years, so far…
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Maggie Valley occupancy tax on the horizon

Maggie Valley may have the opportunity to create its own Tourism Development Authority for the purpose of promoting tourism in…
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Summer school aims to address learning loss

As much of Western North Carolina bounces back from the devastation of COVID-19 — lower case counts, rising tourism numbers…
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New vaccinations continue to slow

Vaccinations continue to slow down in the four-county area and in the state as a whole, but case counts are…
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Decision time coming for Haywood budget

Although the recommended budget won’t be presented for another two weeks, Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead took the opportunity on…
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HCA breaks ground on new Franklin hospital

HCA Healthcare officially broke ground last Friday morning on a $68 million facility to replace Angel Medical Center in Franklin.
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Merchant group forms in Canton

The Haywood County town of Canton hasn’t always been a major tourist destination, but with downtown revitalization well underway and…
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Transparency concerns hobble DWA contract renewal bid

Despite more than three decades of service to Waynesville’s downtown municipal service district, the organization charged with managing it now…
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Haywood school board approves budget

Haywood County Schools Local Expense Budget is set to look very similar to years past, with the COVID-19 Pandemic causing…
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Sylva moves toward tax rate increase

During an April 29 work session, four of Sylva’s five board members signaled their approval of a draft budget totaling…
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Sylva board mulls Allen Street solution

Despite their proximity to multiple slope failures on and around Allen Street in Sylva, two trouble spots that appeared in…
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Profits up at HCA, ratings down at Mission

BY PETER H. LEWIS, Asheville Watchdog HCA Healthcare, which owns and operates Mission Hospital in Asheville, reported this month that…
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North Carolina ‘driving’ toward more diverse corps of educators

North Carolina’s population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse every day, but according to a report issued by Gov.…
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WNC behind state average in educator diversity

North Carolina has about 1.5 million public school students, and according to a report from the Department of Public Instruction,…
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Integration and the disappearance of Black teachers

For Lin Forney, the end of fourth grade was the end of an era.  The year was 1963, and the…
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Committed to movement: WCU professors push for diversity in education

Professors at Western Carolina University are tired of just talking about the importance of diversity within the teaching industry and…
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ALE conducts statewide enforcement operation

In recognition of Alcohol Awareness Month, ALE special agents concluded a statewide enforcement operation on Friday resulting in over 200…
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Jackson commissioners weigh fire funding

Jackson County leaders are considering adding a penny to the county’s tax rate to fund the Cullowhee Volunteer Fire Department’s…
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Waynesville Inn sold, will see extensive rehab

An iconic Waynesville landmark sold for nearly $9 million last week, but the new owner’s plans to renovate the 165-acre…
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Growing pains at Haywood Community College

In preparing for Haywood Community College’s first post-pandemic budget, President Dr. Shelley White presented a stable operating budget but asked…
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April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Dr. Diana Messer, a forensic anthropology professor at Western Carolina University, is working on groundbreaking research that could drastically improve…
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Firefly lottery opens Friday

The annual synchronous firefly viewing event will return to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this year, but with a…
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Vaccine appointments readily available in WNC

Vaccination rates slowed substantially across the four-county area over the past week, and the pace will likely continue to slacken…
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Canton budget goes all-in on recreation, infrastructure

The Town of Canton’s property tax rate hasn’t changed in almost two decades. This year, it looks to be headed…
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Bill addresses judicial efficiency in western counties

A House bill proposed by Western North Carolina reps. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and Mark Pless, R-Haywood, includes significant changes…
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WCU will offer full college experience this fall

Western Carolina University is gearing up for a traditional college experience this fall with plans to resume all typical academic,…
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As long as water runs downhill: The story of Popcorn Sutton

People have been making moonshine almost since the day water started running downhill, and it seems like people have been…
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Woman dismissed for overturning gravestones

Following the results of a mental evaluation, a judge on Monday ordered the release of an Oregon woman accused in…
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Murphy man pleads guilty to drug trafficking

A Murphy man who triggered an investigation into his own drug-dealing activities admitted in Graham County Superior Court to trafficking…
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COVID-19 cluster found at Haywood jail

Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency has identified a COVID-19 cluster at the Haywood County Detention Center. Over the…
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Court rules in favor of Catawba casino

In a 55-page opinion filed Friday, April 16, U.S. District Court Judge James A. Boasberg gave a green light in…
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Commissioners discuss changes to Sylva statue

Eight months after voting to revamp the pedestal of the county’s controversial Civil War monument, Jackson County commissioners got their…
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Waynesville residents shocked by big electric bills

Complaints from Town of Waynesville power customers about higher-than-expected electric bills prompted town officials to look into the matter, which…
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Future of Downtown Waynesville Association to be debated

It’s been almost five years since the Downtown Waynesville Association landed a multi-year contract to manage the town’s municipal service…
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Virus trends down as vaccination continues

Despite a continued pause on distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and flagging demand for appointments, the past…
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Franklin manager to leave her post

Franklin Town Manager Summer Woodard recently submitted her resignation letter after accepting a position as the town manager of Reidsville. 
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Maggie property owners oppose waterfall project

Maggie Valley Country Club Estates Property Owners Association has communicated intense opposition to the proposed Waterfall Park on 8 acres…
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