Major new Haywood schools facility proposed
It’s $13 million now, or $40 million later, according to a presentation by Haywood Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bill Nolte…
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Meth, not bear attack, caused death in park, autopsy says
An autopsy recently completed on a man who died in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September determined that…
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Macon leaders attend legislative goals conference
Macon County Commissioners Jim Tate and Ronnie Beale and County Manager Derek Roland recently joined voting delegates from counties throughout…
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HCA completes purchase of Mission Health
HCA Healthcare, a leading healthcare provider with 185 hospitals and approximately 1,800 sites of care in 21 states and the…
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Women’s March embarks on third year; Organizers strive for inclusivity for all women
This year marked the third annual Women’s March on Asheville — part of a national movement to rally for equal rights…
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Halfway home: pink hat marchers soldier on
A little over two years ago, I woke up in Alexandria, Virginia, less than 24 hours after the inauguration of…
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Habitual felons convicted in Haywood
According to the District Attorney's Office, it’s gotten quieter in the Dutch Cove community near Canton since Matthew Dillon Smathers,…
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Run, Forest, run: Lt. Dan declares for governor
An architect by training, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest became only the second Republican in the last 120 years…
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Ice rink in Maggie Valley opens next week
It’s a perplexing dichotomy. Maggie Valley has been portrayed as a town that rolls up the sidewalks once the leaf-lookers…
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Tuscola sports classification not all fun and games
Grumblings about Tuscola High School’s athletic reclassification from 2A to 3A seem to have fallen on deaf ears, but administrators…
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EBT funds for March still up in the air
The federal shutdown didn’t have as much of an effect on Haywood County’s social services as one might think, but…
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Jackson will not buy Pepsi property
Following a series of closed session discussions, Jackson County has opted to cancel its $500,000 contract to buy a 5.61-acre…
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Downtown Waynesville Association sets ambitious plan
The organization charged with maintaining and revitalizing Waynesville’s downtown core is setting an ambitious plan of work for 2019, to…
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Author with Bryson City roots publishes RBG biography
Born of the same generation but in different parts of the country, Jane Sherron De Hart and Ruth Bader Ginsburg…
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SBI investigating Jackson jail death
The recent death of a Jackson County Detention Center inmate has spurred a probe from the N.C. State Bureau of…
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Plan presented for Green Energy Park makeover
Jackson County got its first glimpse at what a reinvigorated Green Energy Park campus might look like when a preliminary…
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HRMC to host emergency drill
Haywood Regional Medical Center will host a public service training and emergency response simulation with local law enforcement and emergency…
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Habitual felons convicted in Haywood
According to the District Attorny's Office, it’s gotten quieter in the Dutch Cove community near Canton since Matthew Dillon Smathers,…
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WCU's MLK speaker promotes inclusion through effort
Diversity and inclusivity are easy goals for a university to set, inclusion educator Aminata Cairo said during her keynote address…
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Untreated sewage discharged in Clyde
The Junaluska Sanitary District experienced a discharge of untreated sewage from a blockage in a manhole due to mop heads,…
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N.C. 107 meeting postponed
A meeting to discuss possible solutions to the N.C. 107 issue in Sylva scheduled for today was postponed due to…
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Smokies closed for winter weather
Normal operations at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park resumed for the first time since Dec. 22 on Saturday, Jan.…
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When, not if: The case for and against cannabis in NC
With the recent actions of Michigan and Vermont, 72 million people in 10 U.S. states — 23 percent of the…
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Jackson will not buy Pepsi property
Following a series of closed session discussions, Jackson County has opted to cancel its $500,000 contract to purchase a 5.61-acre…
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Local officials weigh in on legal marijuana
On Jan. 15, The Smoky Mountain News contacted almost every elected official in Haywood County for whom an email address…
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Cannabis legalization under study in Cherokee
As states across the nation loosen restrictions on cannabis products, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is launching a study…
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From the ground up: Appalachian Growers digging into hemp industry
It may look like marijuana and it may smell like marijuana, but it’s not marijuana. Without the THC component, the…
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WCU chancellor search narrowed
The committee leading the national search for the next chancellor of Western Carolina University has narrowed the pool of candidates…
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Federal Shut-Down Food Drive
The Federal Shut-Down is, or soon will be, affecting federal workers, federal and local food assistance deliveries, food-insecure citizens, and…
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Jackson to re-examine health, DSS organization
With the one-year anniversary of Jackson County’s decision to consolidate its health and social services departments looming, commissioners are now…
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Entegra Bank merges with SmartFinancial
Entegra Bank, which has locations throughout Western North Carolina, will soon merge with SmartFinancial, Inc., the parent company of SmartBank…
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Qualla Housing ordinance tabled
An ordinance that would have codified a laboriously passed December resolution abolishing the Qualla Housing Authority was tabled during the…
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HRMC limits visitation due to flu cases
Haywood Regional Medical Center has begun limited visitation at the hospital due to the increased number of positive flu cases…
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Mission Health sale cleared by AG Josh Stein; Contract negotiated to address concerns
Those who were unhappy with the original terms of the proposed sale of Mission Health to a for-profit heathcare giant…
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Waynesville steps up to address affordable housing crisis
Like the region’s opioid crisis, if Western North Carolina’s affordable housing crisis could have been solved by meetings, panel discussions…
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Park visitor centers to reopen for MLK weekend
Friends of the Smokies announced Thursday that it will temporarily fund the reopening of Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg, Tenn.,…
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Donation will open Smokies visitor centers for holiday weekend
Despite the ongoing government shutdown, two visitor centers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be open over Martin…
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Jackson inmate found unresponsive
A Jackson County Detention Center inmate is currently at Mission Hospital in Asheville after having been found unresponsive.
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WCU chancellor interview process begins
In a search that is now entering its second year, Western Carolina University’s Chancellor Search Committee is preparing to interview…
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Pigeon Center seeks donations after fire
A small kitchen fire caused big problems at Waynesville’s Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center Jan. 8, prompting the organization to…
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Park to restore accessibility, visitor services
Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced that recently closed areas of the park were once again accessible to visitors beginning…
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Semi-trucks still a hazard on Highlands Road
More signage and stricter law enforcement could be the solution to keeping tractor trailers off Highlands Road.
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Effort underway to make WNC counties ‘Blue Zone’ certified
On the Greek island of Ikaria, its population of 10,000 people live an average of 10 years longer than Americans,…
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Good Samaritan’s last good deed
For 20 years, Good Samaritan Clinic provided much needed health care services to people of Haywood County. Even though the…
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Scarcity, rising prices drive affordable housing crisis
A booming real estate market brings with it many benefits and is a sign of a thriving economy, but some…
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Town to take action on homeless encampment
A beef between the Town of Waynesville and local property owner Ron Muse over an ersatz dwelling on an otherwise…
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Tribe petitions Meadows to end shutdown
The ongoing federal government shutdown is having a negative effect on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and last week…
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Work begins on alternative N.C. 107 plan
More than 100 people filled the Jackson County Public Library’s Community Room Jan. 14 to help kick off the Asheville…
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Entegra Bank mergers with SmartFinancial
SmartFinancial, Inc., the parent company of SmartBank, and Entegra Financial Corp., the parent company of Entegra Bank, jointly announced Tuesday…
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Community steps up to care for parks during shutdown
The National Park Service is closed. Sort of. When the clock struck midnight on Dec. 22, 2018, the latest continuing…
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