Canton budget – a tangled web?
When Alderman Zeb Smathers opened the Canton Board of Aldermen meeting on May 26 with an invocation decrying the “venom…
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Edwards: Canton paving delay ‘ridiculous’
Canton Town Board Member and Mayor Pro-Tem Carole Edwards had a hard time concealing her dismay at news that Canton’s…
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Jackson tourism signs new marketing contract
Tourism folks in Jackson County are feeling hopeful after hiring a new marketing firm to spread the word about the…
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New Haywood Visitor Center opens in Maggie Valley
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will celebrate the grand opening of its new visitor center with a ribbon cutting…
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Maggie to hold tax rate steady for 2016-17
Maggie Valley residents and businesses won’t have to worry about paying a higher property tax rate for the next year,…
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Group forms to support Pisgah District
When John Cottingham, then working as — in his words — a “stuffy, corporate lawyer,” walked into the Pisgah District…
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Waynesville mulls adding eight firefighters
Waynesville town leaders will decide this month whether to raise property taxes to hire additional firefighters, and if so, by…
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Town manager hiring pool narrows
The Waynesville town board met Tuesday for a third stab at narrowing down their pool of applicants for the town…
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Moral Monday coming to Sylva
A coalition of organizations led by the Jackson County Branch of the NAACP are coordinating a Moral Monday gathering to…
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Waynesville split over proposed food truck rules
An ongoing debate over food trucks and pushcart vendors in Waynesville made its way to the town board last week,…
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Cheap tuition proposal could cost WCU millions
How would you like to pay a mere $500 a semester to attend Western Carolina University?
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The phoenix rises: Haywood County’s real estate market gets back in the game
After years of a sluggish real estate recovery, the home market in Haywood County is on a noticeable upward swing.…
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Cherokee communities debate representation
A request to change the way tribal members in the westernmost reaches of the Qualla Boundary are represented on Tribal…
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Increases cause Jackson to ponder EMS contract
When a funding request for Emergency Management Services came in for more than double what Jackson County is paying now,…
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New president settles in at Angel Medical
For someone who has spent most of her life in Ohio, moving to the mountains of Western North Carolina has…
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Contract commits county to pay for central office move
A little-known contract crafted in 1980 will take center stage in coming months as Haywood County school officials and county…
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Haywood’s central office move contingent on fate of old hospital
Haywood County School officials could be ousted from their central office by early spring 2017 to make way for an…
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Jackson to vote on tax for education projects
When the polls open June 7, Jackson County voters will have a choice to make — whether to OK a…
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Wrong bear euthanized in Smokies incident
The case of a 400-pound bear euthanized after a hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was bitten in…
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Camera crazy: Downtown Sylva comes alive during filming of big-budget movie
An air of excitement and expectation reigned over downtown Sylva last week as crews and stars alike rolled in to…
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The long road to the big screen
Getting a movie to come to town isn’t something that happens overnight.
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‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Three Billboards,’ and economic ripples
“Three Billboards” isn’t the only major filming project going on in Jackson County this month. Last week, ABC wrapped up…
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New stage to open next month
Sitting on a bench one recent sunny afternoon, Steven Lloyd gazes to his right, a big smile immediately rolling across…
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Seasoned administrator to take helm at HRMC
Rod Harkleroad has been named as the new chief executive officer of Haywood Regional Medical Center.
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World Methodist Museum to mark 60 years
A celebration will be held May 22 to mark the 60th birthday of the World Methodist Museum, which is located…
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Waynesville rolls out compromise in ongoing food truck debate
New rules for where and how food trucks can set up shop in Waynesville attempt to balance the popular and…
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Haywood’s dropout program rescued
An innovative high school dropout program in Haywood County was rescued from the chopping block this week after county commissioners…
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Obscure budget stats a ‘bellwether’ of economic recovery
Haywood County could be turning a corner after a slow, stubborn climb out of the recession, according to some obscure…
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For a change, Haywood isn’t facing a dire budget year
Haywood County commissioners were greeted with silence at their meeting Monday night when they asked if anyone in the audience…
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Bear euthanized following backcountry bite
Campers at the Spence Field Appalachian Trail Shelter in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park spent a harrowing evening in…
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Predatory attack or ill-fated dinner search?
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is terming an incident that left a Las Vegas man with a puncture wound…
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Cherokee pays off millions of debt
A massive load of debt left the shoulders of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians last week following enactment of…
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Making the grade: Educator reinvents dropout prevention, but budget cuts jeopardize program
Kyle Ledford spent years working with at-risk youth and high school dropouts in the Haywood school system. Saving kids was…
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TVA gives houseboats a 30-year sunset
Opposition from local, state and federal politicians, a petition with 3,500 signatures and more than three hours’ worth of poignant…
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Surgery successful for WCU chancellor
David Belcher may not have appeared at Western Carolina University’s commencement ceremonies last week, but the university’s chancellor was there…
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As volunteer fire cavalry wanes, quick response hinges on a core of paid staff
Waynesville town leaders heard something they didn’t necessarily want to hear last week.
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Dropout program in jeopardy
Despite wild success rescuing high school dropouts and turning their lives around, the Haywood Community Learning Center is on the…
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Caught in life’s crosshairs, students struggle not to dropout
The trials of adulthood came early for Nicole Ferguson.
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Trying to put a square peg in a round hole? Kyle Ledford’s your man
If there’s one thing Kyle Ledford is good at, it’s pushing boulders uphill.
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Even with higher tax rate, Sylva budget a squeeze
Sylva residents will likely see their tax rate skyrocket 42 percent this year, but town commissioners say that even the…
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EMS costs and revaluation are catalysts for Jackson’s tax rate
With a drop in county value and increase in emergency response costs, Jackson County is looking at a draft budget…
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Franklin budget proposal focuses on infrastructure needs
Franklin’s proposed budget prioritizes a number of long-range infrastructure projects without increasing the tax rate.
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More firefighters needed, but is it worth a tax increase?
Waynesville leaders will face a big decision this budget year: whether to increase property taxes by 10 percent to pay…
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Cherokee moves toward marijuana legalization
Cherokee took another step along the road toward legalizing medicinal marijuana with a vote last week to start drafting legislation…
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Farmers lease old Drexel factory in Whittier
After years of sitting empty, the old Drexel Furniture factory in Whittier will now enter a new phase of useful…
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Gaming machines seized from local businesses
An undercover investigation into illegal gambling resulted in the seizure of more than 300 gaming machines from convenience stores across…
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Shining Rock stalled on mobile classroom contract
Shining Rock Classical Academy is considering legal action against a modular building company for not being able to honor its…
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Haywood Schools to make layoff announcements this week
Budget cuts are forcing Haywood County Schools to lay off 10 teachers and staff at the end of this school…
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Haywood Schools dispute allegations surrounding Central Elementary
Haywood County school leaders went on record this week patently disputing the allegations in a lawsuit filed last week questioning…
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