Canton budget passes, with hesitation
 

Canton budget passes, with hesitation

Though unanimously passed 4-0, Canton town board members approved the 2014-2015 budget with some hesitation. The budget came in at…
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Firing range sparks outcry in budget meeting
 

Firing range sparks outcry in budget meeting

It was suppose to be Canton’s wrap-up budget meeting. But community members showed up to voice concerns about a specific…
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Cherokee Bear Zoo lawsuit moves forward
 

Cherokee Bear Zoo lawsuit moves forward

Cherokee Bear Zoo hoped a federal civil lawsuit alleging it mistreats grizzly bears in its care would be tossed out.
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Social enterprise: business with a mission
 

Social enterprise: business with a mission

What began as a vision to convert a shutdown state prison in Waynesville into a halfway house, homeless shelter and…
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NAACP gets Haywood organizer
 

NAACP gets Haywood organizer

Haywood County’s fledging chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is getting a little help this…
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Waynesville leaders choose property tax hike over budget cuts
 

Waynesville leaders choose property tax hike over budget cuts

Saddled by a higher cost of doing business and hits to its bottom line, Waynesville aldermen were poised to pass…
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Fire causes electrical failure in Haywood hospital
 

Fire causes electrical failure in Haywood hospital

The campus of Haywood Regional Medical Center is full of cars coming and going, staff walking toward or returning from…
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ECU opens dental center in Sylva
 

ECU opens dental center in Sylva

There’s a new option for dental care in the region. “We call it a community service learning center,” explained Michael…
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Ghost Town opening delayed
 

Ghost Town opening delayed

Ghost Town in the Sky, the seemingly ever-limping amusement park in Maggie Valley, did not open on June 20 as…
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New logo pulls into Bryson Chamber, TDA approve train-themed logo
 

New logo pulls into Bryson Chamber, TDA approve train-themed logo

A new logo will soon chug onto the marketing landscape of Bryson City following the Swain County Tourism Development Authority…
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Highlands to undertake $2.5 million project on Lake Sequoyah
 

Highlands to undertake $2.5 million project on Lake Sequoyah

Lake Sequoyah will disappear for a few months in the coming year as Highlands plans to drain the reservoir to…
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Pigeon Center rebounds from the  downward spiral of a leaky roof
 

Pigeon Center rebounds from the downward spiral of a leaky roof

The Pigeon Community Center in Waynesville has once again been rescued from the brink. Haywood County has pledged $47,000 to…
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Presnell pulls Maggie Valley de-annexation bill
 

Presnell pulls Maggie Valley de-annexation bill

Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, has pulled a bill she introduced last month to de-annex a 3.5-acre property from the town…
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Glenville explores planning area
 

Glenville explores planning area

Jackson County may have another community planning project on the horizon. Glenville residents have approached the county about possibly embarking…
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CuRvE gets ARC grant
 

CuRvE gets ARC grant

The nonprofit community group known as the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor (CuRvE) has been awarded an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant…
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General session prayer delivered in Cherokee language
 

General session prayer delivered in Cherokee language

A tribal elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians delivered the opening prayer in the Cherokee language at the…
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Senior Life Solutions offers psychiatric help
 

Senior Life Solutions offers psychiatric help

Swain County Hospital offers Senior Life Solutions, a program that facilitates intensive outpatient psychiatric care for adults and seniors with…
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Jackson chamber gets new assistant director
 

Jackson chamber gets new assistant director

Kelly Donaldson, 42, of Cullowhee, began work June 9 as the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center new…
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Nurse team to assist disadvantaged mothers
 

Nurse team to assist disadvantaged mothers

An initiative to educate first-time, low-income mothers in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties on how to raise healthy, school-ready…
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SCC engineering program hits 100 percent employment rate
 

SCC engineering program hits 100 percent employment rate

Jeanette White, coordinator of Southwestern Community College’s Civil Engineering Technology program, keeps getting calls from employers looking for graduates who…
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Supporters confident Wingate will be exonerated
 

Supporters confident Wingate will be exonerated

When Danny Wingate agreed five years ago to set up a credit line for the Haywood County Schools maintenance department,…
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Ashe cruises by Cruzan in sheriff race
 

Ashe cruises by Cruzan in sheriff race

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In a landslide win, Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe held off challenger and former…
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Holland, Jenkins to face off in November for sheriff
 

Holland, Jenkins to face off in November for sheriff

Former North Carolina Highway Patrolman C.D. Jenkins emerged from a field of three Democrats to win the Macon County Sheriff’s…
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Incumbents hold ground in Swain commissioner race
 

Incumbents hold ground in Swain commissioner race

Despite a slate of challengers campaigning for change in the Swain County commissioners race, all but one incumbent running for…
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Sylva voters pass liquor by the drink
 

Sylva voters pass liquor by the drink

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Sylva residents have decided — it’s time for a good stiff drink. Voters approved…
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Newcomer, incumbent win in Macon
 

Newcomer, incumbent win in Macon

Political newcomer Ronnie Beale and incumbent Bob Simpson beat two other Democrats in Tuesday’s primary and will move on to…
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Pro-planning group wins in Jackson
 

Pro-planning group wins in Jackson

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County will usher in a new board of commissioners committed to addressing the…
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Swanger upset; Kirkpatrick, Curtis top vote getters
 

Swanger upset; Kirkpatrick, Curtis top vote getters

By Michael Beadle Incumbent Kirk Kirkpatrick and newcomers Charles “Skeeter” Curtis and Bill Upton have won the top three slots…
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Tips for B&B guests
 

Tips for B&B guests

• Costs — Before you book a reservation at a B&B, be sure you check the fine print and know…
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A Quiet Industry: The quaint charm of Victorian bed and breakfast inns have captivated generations of tourists
 

A Quiet Industry: The quaint charm of Victorian bed and breakfast inns have captivated generations of tourists

By Michael Beadle Western North Carolina prides itself as a tourist destination — the mountain getaway where you can hike…
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Breaking the code: Merchants hope study provides reliable data about customers
 

Breaking the code: Merchants hope study provides reliable data about customers

For two and a half years, David Erikson at Twigs and Leaves has offered a monthly drawing for a gift…
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One for the books: Steep slope hearing encapsulated in print
 

One for the books: Steep slope hearing encapsulated in print

The public hearing on Jackson County’s steep slope regulations struck Dave Waldrop as special.  “It was so unbelievable,” Waldrop said.
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Waynesville’s slow march to a better South Main
 

Waynesville’s slow march to a better South Main

A group of vacant, ramshackle buildings at an anchor intersection on South Main Street in Waynesville has been purchased, signaling…
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Front row seat to history
 

Front row seat to history

Randall E. Murff remembers the guns shooting at him. “The Germans really could shoot those guns, they were good,” he…
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Franklin passes property tax hike
 

Franklin passes property tax hike

Franklin residents will be paying a bit more on their property taxes next year following a unanimous decision by the…
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The good ole days: Former Macon commissioners draw lessons from the past
 

The good ole days: Former Macon commissioners draw lessons from the past

A group of past Macon County Commissioners spent an hour reminiscing about their triumphs and reflecting on lessons learned in…
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Tribal board eliminates Murphy construction management position
 

Tribal board eliminates Murphy construction management position

Two months after a management shake-up in which the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise removed construction manager Sneed, Robertson and Associates…
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WCU awaits state budget, bemoans staff retention
 

WCU awaits state budget, bemoans staff retention

Western Carolina University is sweating out the North Carolina General Assembly’s budgetary process, but perhaps not as much as some…
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Tax trade-off: New tax law brings bevy of sales tax expansions, eliminates business fees
 

Tax trade-off: New tax law brings bevy of sales tax expansions, eliminates business fees

Consumers will start seeing some extras added to their subtotals as a result of a state law adding sales tax…
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Haywood business community rallies around new economic development model
 

Haywood business community rallies around new economic development model

A cross-section of Haywood County business leaders took over the reins of economic development this month, with county government passing…
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Commissioners field trip to Haywood justice center
 

Commissioners field trip to Haywood justice center

Sitting in the judge’s seat, Jackson County Commissioners Chairman Jack Debnam took a look around. He absorbed the courtroom, glanced…
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Petition drive steers toward education funding
 

Petition drive steers toward education funding

Advocates calling for increased state education funding made a stop in Haywood County Monday as part of a statewide tour…
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Alaska’s dream: Ghost Town in the Sky opens for the season
 

Alaska’s dream: Ghost Town in the Sky opens for the season

“See that up there?” asked Alaska Presley as she piloted her Mercedes up a back road to the top of…
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Prison conversion project needs votes
 

Prison conversion project needs votes

Haywood Pathways Center, the working title for the trio of Christian ministries working to make the old prison in Hazelwood…
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Another Swain sheriff candidate joins race
 

Another Swain sheriff candidate joins race

A new candidate has joined the field of potentials for the Swain County sheriff’s race. In addition to Republican Sheriff…
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Folkmoot USA holds June 26 open house
 

Folkmoot USA holds June 26 open house

Folkmoot USA will host an Open House from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, to celebrate Haywood County’s…
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Festival funding models vary among WNC counties
 

Festival funding models vary among WNC counties

As Haywood struggles with the best use of room tax money collected from tourists to fund tourism promotion, one area…
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Delving into dialect
 

Delving into dialect

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Gary Carden was in fifth grade when he learned to be ashamed of his…
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One-liners and the warpath: State Republicans relax, ready for revolution at Cherokee convention
 

One-liners and the warpath: State Republicans relax, ready for revolution at Cherokee convention

Thom Tillis has a recurring daydream. The Republican Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and candidate for the…
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Sylva mother questions park ban
 

Sylva mother questions park ban

After her teenage daughter was banned from Poteet Park for a year, a Sylva mother sought an audience with the…
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