Haywood hospice patients to move to hospital

A press release issued by Haywood Regional Medical Center on Oct. 26 touted renovations to an existing facility that will…
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New generation needed to preserve North Shore cemeteries

It’s a crisp fall day in Swain County. As the sun finally peaks over the trees around lunch time, the…
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Haywood Republicans again stung by social media

More and more, Facebook is becoming a place not only to catch up with friends, read the news and look…
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Cherokee considers abolishing Qualla Housing

The Cherokee Tribal Council is considering disbanding the Qualla Housing Authority, an organization that was formed in 1993 to create…
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Open enrollment for federal health insurance begins
 

Open enrollment for federal health insurance begins

Open Enrollment for the 2019 Federal Health Insurance Exchange begins Thursday, Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15 for coverage…
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UnitedHealthCare contract renegotiation underway at area hospitals

When retired teacher Villa Brewer went to get her mail Oct. 23, she returned with two interesting letters. One was…
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Giles returns to patrol duty despite Giglio Order

Eric Giles, a candidate for Macon County sheriff, is back on patrol duty for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office after…
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New opioid treatment facility to open
 

New opioid treatment facility to open

Groups: recover together, a leading provider of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, will be hosting an open house from 4…
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Blue Rooster steps up for kids

The crew at The Blue Rooster Southern Grill is known for some of the best fried chicken in the region,…
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N.C. Promise success celebrated at WCU

Western Carolina University students whose lives have been changed by the tuition reduction program N.C. Promise got to tell their…
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UNC President to resign: Spellings will leave office in midst of WCU chancellor search

When UNC System President Margaret Spellings visited Cullowhee Wednesday, Oct. 24, the prevailing mood was celebratory and lighthearted as she…
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Haywood deputies charge four with trafficking drugs
 

Haywood deputies charge four with trafficking drugs

Haywood County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested four people Thursday night (Oct. 18) charging them with trafficking heroin and cocaine. 
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TWSA considers policies to help displaced N.C. 107 businesses

There’s still more than a year to go before the N.C. Department of Transportation starts acquiring right-of-way for the N.C.…
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Walking in Her Steps: Macon County to unveil Women’s History Trail

The multifaceted roles women have played in society are often overlooking in the history books, but if you dig deep…
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Work to start on alternative road plan

MountainTrue’s Asheville Design Center will soon begin work toward an alternative vision of the N.C. 107 project in Sylva. 
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Haywood Habitat unveils deconstruction program
 

Haywood Habitat unveils deconstruction program

If you’re about to remodel, don’t put a sledgehammer through the kitchen cabinets and toss the tub into the dumpster. 
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‘The band that changes people’s lives’: WCU marching band a motivator for enrollment

The calendar had declared the start of fall two weeks prior, but that didn’t stop the sun from shining hot…
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Swain schools need expensive upgrades

Swain County Schools are looking at a long list of capital improvement needs to keep students safe and plan for…
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Important voting deadlines approach

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. Make sure you’re ready to vote by following the simple flowchart below. 
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Body of missing woman found in the Smokies

A week-long search for a missing woman in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park ended in tragedy Tuesday, Oct. 2,…
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New board leadership for Folkmoot

Folkmoot will say goodbye to one board president but welcome another after a late September meeting where new board members…
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Tribal budget looks to shrink spending

As the 2019 fiscal year begins for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the tribe is operating under a recently…
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‘Poverty simulation’ to be held at Mountain Projects
 

‘Poverty simulation’ to be held at Mountain Projects

Mountain Projects, in conjunction with the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency and the North Carolina Community Action Coalition,…
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Mountain Projects finds funds for health care enrollment

Worries last month over the potential defunding of local social service agency Mountain Projects’ Obamacare Navigator program became real when…
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New group forms to oppose N.C. 107 plan

During an Aug. 6 public hearing on the future of N.C. 107 in Sylva, Kel-Save owner Robert Kelley was the…
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Bethel student diagnosed with chickenpox
 

Bethel student diagnosed with chickenpox

On the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 3, Haywood County Schools administration was notified by public health officials that a student…
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Building on something good: Educational remedies for workforce deficiencies

Heaters that won’t heat. Lights that won’t light. Pipes that won’t pipe. The modern conveniences most people have taken for…
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No more emissions testing in Haywood
 

No more emissions testing in Haywood

The Environmental Protection Agency recently approved a reduction in North Carolina counties required to perform yearly vehicle emissions tests. 
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Jarrett House re-opens in Dillsboro

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce held a STIR Business After Hours event at the newly re-opened Jarrett House in…
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WCU resumes chancellor search

After more than two months in limbo, the search for Western Carolina University’s next leader has re-launched with the goal…
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Health, social services changes upheld in Jackson

There was no discussion as the Jackson County Commissioners voted 3-2 Oct. 1 to uphold a vote they took in…
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Joint opioid task force leads to 75 arrests in WNC

A major law enforcement operation targeting drug trafficking in and around the Qualla Boundary has resulted in the arrest of…
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Two sentenced for drug trafficking in Macon County
 

Two sentenced for drug trafficking in Macon County

Macon County Superior Court recently saw guilty pleas and lengthy prison sentences of two drug trafficking defendants. In unrelated cases,…
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Economic development agency defunded; longtime director retires, earns state’s highest honor

Mary Ann Morgan was a one-woman show with a shoestring budget for more than 40 years but still, she managed…
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University of the streets: With new book, WNC writer chronicles the Baby Beat movement

At 69, Thomas Rain Crowe feels pretty good, considering. “I’m not looking forward to 70, it’s kind of a psychological…
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Haywood tourism continues to grow

The fiscal year for Haywood County’s Tourism Development Authority ended June 30, and now that all the data are in,…
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Jackson schools see gains and losses in school performance

Jackson County Schools showed mostly level performance over last year with the release of statewide school performance data for 2017-18…
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Cherokee widens window 
for election law changes

Tribal Council extended its deadline to complete a slew of amendments to its election ordinance with a unanimous vote during…
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Pretrial release program comes to Western NC

Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, Haywood and Jackson counties will be the first judicial district in the state to pilot a…
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Bridge over Lake Junaluska now open

The bridge over the Lake Junaluska dam is now open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. All are invited to attend…
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District Attorney under fire for ‘mishandling’ cases

District Attorney Ashley Welch doesn’t have an opponent in the 2018 election, but an online petition to remove her from…
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Waynesville mayor takes plea deal in forgery case

Waynesville attorney Gavin Brown pled guilty Sept. 18 to two felony counts stemming from an incident in which he forged…
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Obamacare navigator funding eliminated

Jan Plummer is the Obamacare Navigator program coordinator at Mountain Projects, but probably not for much longer. Unsurprisingly, after a…
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Workforce housing coming to Sylva

Work will begin next year on a new apartment complex in Sylva aimed at providing housing rates affordable to working-class…
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Community comes together to offer veterans services

It’s no secret homelessness across the region is a problem, but as in most parts of the country, it’s a…
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Haywood Schools wants you to help plan future

When Dr. Bill Nolte was promoted to superintendent of Haywood County Schools this past summer, one of the first things…
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Cherokee from the heart: Beloved Woman reflects on a wandering life rooted in Cherokee language

If anyone ever had an excuse to leave her hometown and never return, it would be Myrtle Driver Johnson.  Born…
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SCC grad receives prestigious award

Although Yesenia Navarro grew up with few material possessions, she always believed one catalyst for change was within her grasp…
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It’s OK to not be OK: Suicide prevention takes center stage at Folkmoot

Imagine this — you’re atop a hundred-story building, and it’s on fire. As the flames and smoke close in, you…
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