Jackson County to vote on budget
Jackson County Commissioners held a special-called meeting Tuesday, June 11, to vote on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2019-2020,…
Read More
Haywood County to welcome Revolutionary War monument
Earl Lanning was just a little boy in Haywood County during the 1930s, he developed three ambitions. “I used to…
Read More
McCoy, Sneed will be General Election principal chief candidates
Voters made their choices during last week’s Primary Elections in Cherokee, with Teresa McCoy coming in as the top vote-getter…
Read More
Records show Catawba casino developer donated to bill sponsors
Federal campaign finance records show that Wallace Cheves, developer for a proposed Catawba Indian Nation casino in Kings Mountain, donated…
Read More
No tax increase in Waynesville budget
It's starting to sound like a broken record in Haywood County as North Carolina’s municipal budget season comes to a…
Read More
Hemp processing operation coming to Canton
Haywood County’s latest economic development victory — a state-of-the-art, $12 million hemp processing facility — means that Canton will become…
Read More
Interstate 40 closed indefinitely after another rockslide
Less than four months after a rockslide in Haywood County closed a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 40, it’s happened again.…
Read More
Abundant Labs to open hemp processing facility in Canton
Haywood County’s latest economic development victory – a state of the art, $12 million hemp processing facility – means that…
Read More
Jackson County to vote on budget June 11
The Jackson County Commissioners will adopt the budget for fiscal year 2019-2020 in a special-called meeting at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday,…
Read More
SEC claims Waynesville businessman defrauded clients
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged investment adviser Stephen Brandon Anderson, 41, of Waynesville, with defrauding clients by overcharging…
Read More
Curriculum coordinator proposed for Jackson Schools
In the last few years, Jackson County has poured significant investment into its public schools, including $9 million in much-needed…
Read More
Primary Election results return to Cherokee
Preliminary results are in from Cherokee’s June 6 Primary Election.
Read More
2007: Journey from the Road to Nowhere
If you can’t understand why people in Swain County are distrustful of the federal government, then you are among those…
Read More
Twenty years later, another edition done
In the beginning, one doesn’t even think about the long run. When you’re fighting every day to survive, there’s no…
Read More
1999: Smokies works to overcome hurdles
It’s no coincidence that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the subject of The Smoky Mountain News’ first-ever front-page…
Read More
2001: Elk return to Western North Carolina
“A large herd gathered last week on a remote, historical farmstead maintained by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in…
Read More
2003: The end of Eric Rudolph’s run
He was a seasoned dumpster diver by now. For the last three summers, he’d regularly swoop down in the dead…
Read More
2004: Floods ravage Western North Carolina
The tiny central Haywood County town of Clyde lies more than 270 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, more than 400…
Read More
2005: State passes education lottery system
Nearly 15 years after the North Carolina General Assembly narrowly passed a bill establishing an education lottery system, state legislators…
Read More
2008: Real estate takes a major hit
The housing bubble was finally bursting in 2008 as the Great Recession became the new reality in Western North Carolina…
Read More
2009: Ghost Town comes crashing down
Decades after it first opened in 1962, Ghost Town in the Sky still commands a wistful loyalty from thousands of…
Read More
2012: Table games come to Harrah’s
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, an economic powerhouse that employs 5 percent of the workforce in the seven western counties and…
Read More
2013: Southern Loop scrapped for good
For a road that has never existed, the infamous Southern Loop of Sylva sure has gotten a lot of ink…
Read More
2014: Transition to for-profit health care
Area hospitals finally found some steady financial footing in 2014 after years of floundering, trying to keep their heads above…
Read More
2016: Fire on the mountain
As you read this, I’ve just noted the passing of my third anniversary with this 20 year-old newspaper and as…
Read More
2017: Cherokee impeaches its chief
When Patrick Lambert won the 2015 race for principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, he saw the…
Read More
2018: WCU sees a year of change
This roller coaster of a year at Western Carolina University started before it started, when the school’s beloved chancellor David…
Read More
Women dead following Parkway vehicle accident
A Brevard woman is dead following a car accident on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Devil's Courthouse.
Read More
A voter's guide to Cherokee's 2019 tribal elections
As the June 6 Primary Election in Cherokee draws closer, The Smoky Mountain News will be updating this voter guide…
Read More
Former charter school director fired following sexual harassment complaint
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories on Haywood County’s public charter school, Shining Rock Classical…
Read More
Junaluska Elementary works to empower male students
Female empowerment is all the rage right now. From school-age programs like Girls on the Run to the #MeToo movement,…
Read More
Low bid participation delays shooting range improvements
Planned improvements to the Southwestern Community College firing range aimed at reducing noise pollution and lead buildup will have to…
Read More
Primary election nears in Cherokee
Early voting is now over in Cherokee, with polls to open for the Primary Election on Thursday, June 6, in…
Read More
Macon schools pleads for more resources
Angela Phillips painted a painfully realistic picture of what it’s been like inside her second-grade classroom at Cartoogechaye Elementary for…
Read More
A look at Jackson’s proposed budget
Jackson County’s proposed budget for 2019-2020 won’t require an increase from the current property tax rate of 0.38 cents per…
Read More
Marquee Maggie mayoral matchup expected
With municipal candidate filing little more than a month away, the race to replace outgoing Maggie Valley Mayor Saralyn Price…
Read More
Swain on track to pass status-quo budget
In preparing the proposed budget for 2019-20, Swain County continues to hold the line on the county’s low property tax…
Read More
Canton joins opioid lawsuit
Of all the victims of the nation’s opioid epidemic, probably the most overlooked are the municipalities that have to expend…
Read More
Swimmer drowns in Lake Glenville
An Iredell County man is dead following a swim at Lake Glenville Sunday, May 26.
Read More
Cold Mountain Music Festival returns to Lake Logan
The third annual Cold Mountain Music Festival will take place May 31 and June 1 at the Lake Logan Conference…
Read More
Feeding the fight against food insecurity
On one of the first warm sunny Saturdays early in Western North Carolina’s tourist season, the traditional signs of a…
Read More
Efforts to keep McCoy off Cherokee ballot continue
Tribal member Robert Osley Saunooke is not giving up on his efforts to see Teresa McCoy barred from candidacy in…
Read More
Harrah’s sponsors Habitat home
Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos have been a long time partner with Habitat for Humanity, but this year the company is taking…
Read More
Town of Highlands making broadband progress
The town of Highlands is making major headway when it comes to providing broadband internet services to its rural residents,…
Read More
Franklin proposes to hold tax rate
Town of Franklin Manager Summer Woodard recently presented the town council with a proposed budget for 2019-20 that would maintain…
Read More
Macon manager proposes tax increase
For the first time in several years, Macon County Manager Derek Roland is proposing a small property tax increase moving…
Read More
New Shining Rock board chair Haynes speaks out
It’s been a tumultuous couple of years for Shining Rock Classical Academy, which has dealt with a variety of administrative…
Read More
Shining Rock defends interim head
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories on Haywood County’s public charter school, Shining Rock Classical…
Read More
Sylva police chief to retire
After 22 years with the Sylva Police Department and two years as its head, Sylva Police Chief Tammy Hooper will…
Read More
Legal action dropped against Franklin
Five Macon County residents are dropping their legal action against the town of Franklin for deeding over the sacred Nikwasi…
Read More
