Musical tiers: Counties receive 2015 economic designations
Each year an economic report card issued by the North Carolina Department of Commerce determines which counties will be given…
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Brick by brick: Fred Baker’s long view crafts Waynesville into model town
Fred Baker’s title isn’t particularly glamorous. For nearly three decades, he kept the potholes patched, the trash picked up, the…
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Insurance agents adjust to industry under ACA
Since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, people have been urged to get signed up for health insurance online…
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Jackson commissioners consider county attorney applicants
Jackson County got plenty of response back when its new board of commissioners put out the word that they were…
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Jackson, Macon work together on transportation
Public transit in Macon County is slated to get a boost as Jackson and Macon counties work out an agreement…
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Cullowhee planning proposals set for Jan. 13 hearing
A final public hearing to solicit public input on a draft set of standards to guide development in Cullowhee will…
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Major tool manufacturers attracted to SCC student’s patented invention
Southwestern Community College student Stanley Kingsberry has landed a patent for his invention of a magnetic wrench system. Though offers…
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Crash course Numbers up in Jackson for alcohol-related crashes
Alcohol-related traffic accidents are on the rise in Jackson County, with rates outstripping those of both North Carolina as a…
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2014: Newsworthy award winners
2014 is all but in the rearview mirror now, and all the stories reported over the last 12 months are…
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Questions continue about Cherokee council raises
Editor’s note: Cherokee Tribal Police would not allow Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Holly Kays entry into the Cherokee Tribal…
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Canton uses crowdsourcing to improve playground
With a focus on improving recreation options for residents with limited funding, the town of Canton is using crowdsourcing methods…
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Canton moves forward with pool project
The town of Canton is moving forward with plans to upgrade its public swimming pool after interviewing several design consultants…
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Macon requests funding for Cherokee gravesite memorial
Plans to memorialize a Cherokee gravesite found earlier this year in the midst of construction for a new baseball tournament…
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Cherokee cuts the ribbon on $26 million justice center, tribe’s first jail
It’s not every day that the scent of barbecue meatballs wafts through the open doors of a jail filled with…
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Planning board discusses noise ordinance for Macon
Two residents shared their horror story experiences dealing with nuisance neighbors during a Dec. 18 Macon County Planning Board meeting. …
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New animal shelter gains traction in Haywood
A movement to build a new animal shelter in Haywood County is in the early conceptual stages. Animal lovers say…
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Park officials consider banning outside firewood
In an effort to protect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park forest from disease-carrying pests, park officials have proposed a…
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Home helps women transition to independent life after prison, substance abuse
The future was looking increasingly frightening to 54-year-old Anita as she got to the end of her six-year prison sentence. …
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Council excludes media from tribal meeting
Though Cherokee Tribal Council meetings are broadcast live online and through tribal television — as well as recorded on DVDs…
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Shouldering the cost of Haywood’s old landfill contamination
Underground contamination leaching from an old, closed-down landfill in Haywood County will cost millions to clean up, a burden homeowners…
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Jackson considers renovations for service centers
The large, cavernous room at the heart of Jackson County’s Community Services Center doesn’t see much action these days. It’s…
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Pisgah High students get inspired by real author
Dr. Donna Glee Williams, author and fellow at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee, recently…
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Mom with deployed son leads card drive
A Christmas card drive on the campus of Western Carolina University netted more than 4,000 cards for soldiers stationed overseas.…
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Waynesville’s electric system is a cash cow for the town, but can the good fortune continue?
If Waynesville has a dirty little secret, it’s this: a cash cow runs through its power lines. Of course, it’s…
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Commissioners get an earful about wilderness resolution
A roomful of hunters and hikers turned out at last week’s Macon County Commissioners meeting. It was the first meeting…
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Forest users debate pros and cons of potential wilderness recommendations
Out of the gate, the U.S. Forest Service’s first stab at listing potential wilderness areas in the Pisgah and Nantahala…
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Ridgetop towers OK’d in draft Jackson ordinance
Cell phone towers will now be allowed on Jackson County ridgetops — at least according a draft ordinance that’s on…
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Tribe’s new justice center opens
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will open its new state-of-the-art, $26 million Cherokee Justice Center on Dec. 17 following…
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Politics aside, county attorney search conducted out of fairness in Jackson
Jackson County commissioners will decide in the coming weeks whether to keep Jay Coward on board as their county attorney.…
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Folkmoot named a Top Ten Festival by USA Today
Folkmoot USA was recently named a Top Ten Festival by USA Today, the only festival in the state of North…
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Noise ordinance in the works for Macon
A noise ordinance could be in Macon County’s future as the planning board starts in on writing a set of…
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‘Play On’ poised to go online
The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority will launch its new website that will support its “Play On” branding campaign at…
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Haywood to patch up Pigeon Center, albeit reluctantly
When Haywood County put up $35,000 to replace a chronicly leaky roof on the Pigeon Community Center in Waynesville, it…
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Former, current tax collectors build rapport
The outgoing and incoming tax collectors in Haywood County appeared shoulder to shoulder at the podium of the Haywood County…
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Macon finalizes property values
Macon County’s tying up the loose ends on a property revaluation that will likely cause tax hikes for some and…
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Bomb threat disrupts WCU graduation
A bomb threat was received by the Jackson County 911 office shortly before the beginning of Western Carolina University’s fall…
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In murky aftermath of bid snafu, truckers jostle for trash contract
A tug of war between two Jackson trucking companies over a high-stakes contract for hauling trash was settled last week…
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Haywood’s tax collector roller coaster is over
The newly elected Haywood County Tax Collector took office Monday, one week later than scheduled after encountering a delay in…
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Confiscated pet monkey won’t settle for standard menu at Haywood animal shelter
An Old World pigtail macaque monkey taken away from its owner in Waynesville now has a new home at a…
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Higher pay the answer to high turnover among deputies
Hoping to combat a steady departure of officers, Haywood County entry-level deputies will see a 5 percent raise starting in…
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Mini library on Main Street promotes reading in Franklin
Those who frequent downtown Franklin may have noticed an odd-looking birdhouse taking up residence outside town hall in recent months,…
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Legal or not? Cherokee council votes themselves a pay raise, public protests
There wasn’t much discussion in the chamber Oct. 14 when Cherokee Tribal Council passed its budget for 2014-15. But as…
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Sylva’s police sensitive to national conversation
Sylva Commissioner Danny Allen had a question. He’d been watching what was happening with the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, and…
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Bust takes down gambling houses in east Haywood
A months-long undercover investigation led to a raid of three underground gambling parlors in Haywood County last week. The private…
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Glenville latest lake confirmed for walleye mercury contamination
A new health advisory was issued this month warning people about mercury levels in walleye fish in Lake Glenville. This…
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Scottish heritage alive in Franklin
Scotland’s roots run deep in Western North Carolina. Since before this country’s inception, Scottish immigrants have been migrating to these…
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WCU board approves tuition hike
The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees approved a schedule of tuition and fees for the 2015-16 academic year that…
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SCC releases SSNs
Southwestern Community College has inadvertently released students’ social security numbers to a private research company. The college is reporting that…
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Greasing the wheels: WNC residents trade petroleum for veggie oil
There’s nothing Adam Bigelow likes better than a full tank of gas in the summertime with an open road ahead.…
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Jackson schedules mercury meeting in Cashiers
The Jackson County Department of Public Health has scheduled a public meeting to discuss increased levels of mercury in walleye…
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