NCCAT searches for salvation in Raleigh
The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching is sweating out the legislative short session. Gov. Pat McCrory didn’t…
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Ministries gear up to convert state prison
Plans are moving forward to convert the old state prison in Hazelwood to a resource center for the hurting, homeless…
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‘God is not fair’: Former Waynesville pastor talks themes of mercy and fairness in pages of new book
For George Thompson, the struggle to understand how a supposedly good God could be so unfair began with his birth.…
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GOP comes to Cherokee for state convention
The North Carolina GOP generally holds its annual conventions in places like Raleigh or Greensboro. This year, state Republicans will…
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Evergreen paper mill, union in negotiations
Union employees at Evergreen Packaging’s Canton and Waynesville factories are currently engaged in contract negotiations.
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Jackson County looks to neighbors in search for nonprofit funding policy
From animal shelters to free clinics to food banks, nonprofit organizations of all stripes make a yearly knock on county…
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Flat budget recommended for Macon schools
As this year’s budget talks kicked off, Macon County Schools presented its petition for a $500,000 funding increase to pay…
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Schools grapple with three doors and a tough choice
Haywood County Schools may have a tough choice to make in coming weeks: add additional teachers or give existing teachers…
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Grant recipients announced in Haywood
The first grants from the Mib and Phil Medford Endowment Fund, established by their family last July, have been announced…
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WCU campus leaders explore WNC from Murphy to Asheville
Thirty campus leaders from Western Carolina University crisscrossed the mountains of Western North Carolina for a weeklong tour May 12-16…
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Maggie Valley amusement park shoots for June opening
Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, and Ghost Town in the Sky still appears much as the name implies.…
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A trip back in time: New heritage museum tells the story of Swain’s people, by Swain’s people
The Smoky Mountain News recently got a sneak peek of the new Swain County Heritage Museum and Visitor’s Center. Leading…
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New visitor center to serve as tourist magnet for Swain
The new Swain County Heritage Museum slated to open in downtown Bryson City this weekend not only honors Swain County’s…
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Back to the future: Preppers learn old-time skills to ready themselves for times ahead
Fire, smoke, and efforts to make more of both fill the event pavilion at Haywood County Fair Grounds on a…
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State stance on more Medicaid for the poor unlikely to shift
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are standing by their controversial decision last year to deny Medicaid expansion to 500,000 low-income…
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Two unfortunate consequences: a one-two punch for hospitals and the working poor donut hole
Hospitals in North Carolina face a catch-22 of the worst kind: the $600 million kind, the kind they have no…
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July 4 Fireworks fizzle in north Jackson
The northern portion of Jackson County will go without fireworks again this Fourth of July. Last year’s display in Dillsboro…
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SCC seeks DENR input in shooting range management
Southwestern Community College is gearing up for some soil testing following a meeting with Robin Proctor, environmental chemist with the…
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Vandals spur Sylva to put more cameras in parks
Vandalism is apparently still a problem in Sylva public parks.It’s a problem that cost the town about ten grand last…
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Education funding tops legislature’s short session list
North Carolina legislators have returned to Raleigh for the General Assembly’s short session. In the weeks ahead, lawmakers will wrestle…
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Local educators cheer ruling: Judge declares 25 percent law unconstitutional
Local school leaders and educators are celebrating last week’s court ruling declaring a 2013 law that doles out a small…
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Voucher program still in play
School vouchers are back on the table for the 2014-15 school year following a ruling in the North Carolina Supreme…
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Local NAACP chapters elect officers
Both the Haywood and Jackson county chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have elected officers. …
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Macon considers $50K for REACH
REACH of Macon County won’t find out for another month or so whether its application for a $909,000 grant toward…
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Money on the books: Jackson libraries request increased funding
Jackson County Librarian Tracy Fitzmaurice recently pitched her first proposal for library funding before county commissioners. She asked for a…
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Feature film to shoot in Haywood
Three Haywood County towns will be used as filming sites for an upcoming feature movie. The film — a Catalyst…
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ConMet to lease old Tuckaseigee Mills building
The mostly vacant Tuckaseigee Mills factory in Jackson County will soon become a warehouse and shipping site for ConMet, a…
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Hope is on the horizon for partial Road to Nowhere settlement
A $4 million payment to Swain County for the so-called Road to Nowhere cash settlement may soon be freed of…
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Capital from the crowd: Artists, entrepreneurs go online for a financial head start
A soda bottling operation. An original children’s book. A new music album. A mural downtown. Pallets and pallets of Mason…
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Dog survives shot, Canton man charged
A Haywood County terrier is earning points for toughness after surviving a gunshot to the face. “The dog is alive…
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Student jailed following alleged threats at Tuscola High
It was a pretty normal Wednesday morning was for most students at Tuscola High School last week, but as the…
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Grid failure sparks shooting, car chase
A man shot up the outside of a Verizon Wireless store in Waynesville last week following a town wide outage…
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WCU athletic professor gets top honor
James Scifers, professor of athletic training at Western Carolina University, received the North Carolina Athletic Trainers’ Association Educator of the…
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Downtown Waynesville a model of success
Downtown Waynesville was recently recognized as a model of success at the annual NC Main Street Conference this year, titled…
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Swain students attend advanced manufacturing expo
About 200 Swain County students recently got an up-close look at emerging technologies at a manufacturing expo at the Swain…
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Telecomm outage rattles public, but emergency services keep humming
A telecommunications outage hit the Waynesville area last Thursday evening, knocking out cell phones, TV, Internet and even landlines for…
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Application withdrawn for Forest Hills drug recovery home
Kingdom Care Ministries, a faith-based recovery home for women that had been looking to locate in the village of Forest…
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Incumbent shake-up: Bushyhead leads Swain revolution
With two of four incumbents losing their seats during the primary election, there will soon be some new blood on…
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Jane Hipps’ cakewalk ends, fight for N.C. Senate begins
Jane Hipps was quickly anointed front-runner status in the Democratic primary for N.C. Senate — from the day she entered…
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Donation gets ball rolling for new Swain library
Karen Wallace knows the importance of a library. “In a rural area, the library is the single greatest man-made resource offered…
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New portal to indulge public passion for planning debates in Jackson
Public outcry over a proposal to weaken steep slope rules in Jackson County has led to the creation of an…
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Republican runoff called in Jackson sheriff race
A single primary wasn’t enough to clear out the crowded field of candidates for the sheriff’s seat in Jackson County.…
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Cullowhee plan inches toward finish line
Don Kostelec stood in front of a flip pad in the cafeteria of Cullowhee Valley Elementary School. He asked for…
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Horse course: Horse therapy pilot program to be offered at South Macon Elementary
When summer school starts up at South Macon Elementary this year, a pair of horses will be standing in a…
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Graduation, and beyond
Alumni Tower is enjoying a late-semester afternoon on the Western Carolina University campus. Its clock keeps watch over students as…
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Cullowhee prepares for 2014 spring commencement ceremony
Western Carolina University will hold a trio of commencement ceremonies over a two-day period – Friday and Saturday, May 9-10…
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The Fund for Haywood announces $12,000 in grants
Three grants totaling $12,110 were recently awarded by The Fund for Haywood County. The grants include: • $5,000 to…
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Rabbit Creek Pottery wins Dillsboro business plan contest
As part of the Dillsboro Business Plan Competition, roughly a half dozen aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small business owners transformed…
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The lowdown on the high end
The vibe in the Cashiers library was thick with polite tension as Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten recently stood before…
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Quid pro quo, or just due?
Cashiers area property owners have long complained that they pay more than their fair share when it comes to property…
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