Feds allege bail bondsman accepted sex in lieu of loan repayments
 

Feds allege bail bondsman accepted sex in lieu of loan repayments

Cherokee’s only bail bondsman is facing federal charges for allegedly having sex with female clients in lieu of loan repayment,…
Read More

Comment

Mapping conflicts of interest
 

Mapping conflicts of interest

On Monday, May 22, the Cherokee Tribal Council will preside over a hearing to consider impeachment charges against Principal Chief…
Read More

Comment

Impeachment hearing scheduled for May 22
 

Impeachment hearing scheduled for May 22

In the last minutes of a daylong session Thursday, May 11, the Cherokee Tribal Council voted to set a new hearing date for impeachment charges against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert. The vote scheduled the hearing for Thursday, May 18, but the date was later changed to 10 a.m. Monday, May 22, to accommodate the chief’s travel schedule.
Read More
Cherokee court allows impeachment to continue
 

Cherokee court allows impeachment to continue

The Cherokee Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings last week that paved the way for impeachment efforts against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert to continue. However, the order left several key points of contention unaddressed, meaning the issue will likely continue to appear on the court schedule.
Read More
Major retail development clears first hurdle
 

Major retail development clears first hurdle

With nearly two years of prep work already under their belts, developers have cleared the first major hurdle for bringing…
Read More

Comment

Franklin asks for face time with Mission
 

Franklin asks for face time with Mission

It’s been more than two weeks since Mission Health announced Angel Medical Center would stop delivering babies as of July…
Read More

Comment

Haywood County school bus rear-ended
 

Haywood County school bus rear-ended

On Friday, May 12, at approximately 6:50 a.m., Haywood County Schools bus 52 was making a passenger stop in the…
Read More

Comment

Cherokee court lifts impeachment stay
 

Cherokee court lifts impeachment stay

A court-ordered stay over impeachment proceedings against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert has been lifted following an order filed at 5:09 p.m. Wednesday, May 10.
Read More
Cherokee court hears arguments in impeachment lawsuit
 

Cherokee court hears arguments in impeachment lawsuit

Two days of hearings in the Cherokee Supreme Court wrapped up today, with the three-justice panel now charged with deciding whether to order a halt to impeachment proceedings against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert until the court can come to a final decision on the lawsuit challenging Tribal Council’s actions.
Read More
Trump right about Andrew Jackson
 

Trump right about Andrew Jackson

To the Editor: In his incessant, sophomoric screeds to diminish Trump, Chris Cox fails once again. He attempts to ridicule…
Read More

Comment

Sylva festival is a bad idea
 

Sylva festival is a bad idea

To the Editor: Thomas Jefferson once stated “I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple.” Yet, these wise words…
Read More

Comment

Perhaps we need ‘climate ambassadors’
 

Perhaps we need ‘climate ambassadors’

To the Editor: The series of articles you have recently been publishing on “Folkmoot’s Cultural Conversations” have been most enlightening…
Read More

Comment

Corporations are not people
 

Corporations are not people

To the Editor: A recent letter writer opined that corporations function as groups of people. One single sentence in that…
Read More

Comment

Tastes great, can’t take the smell
 

Tastes great, can’t take the smell

When I read about Wicked Weed Brewing getting bought by AB InBev (formerly Budweiser) — one of the world’s largest…
Read More

Comment

The first Mother’s Day without her
 

The first Mother’s Day without her

I’ve tried hard to keep grief out of my columns lately. There’s only so much melancholy and broken-heartedness readers can…
Read More

Comment

Sylva’s carnivorous plant man: After nearly 30 years and thousands of plants, carnivorous plants still fascinate
 

Sylva’s carnivorous plant man: After nearly 30 years and thousands of plants, carnivorous plants still fascinate

When it comes to carnivorous plants, Darwin Thomas knows what he’s talking about. It doesn’t take much to get him…
Read More

Comment

Learning at Graveyard Fields gets a boost
 

Learning at Graveyard Fields gets a boost

New educational panels are now on display at Graveyard Fields, a popular hiking area along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Read More

Comment

A.T. hikers get a warm welcome
 

A.T. hikers get a warm welcome

Thru-hiker season is just about over in Western North Carolina, with most folks who are attempting the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail…
Read More

Comment

The Naturalist's Corner: Even bad days can be good
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Even bad days can be good

This past weekend, May 6-7, was the 34th annual installment of the Great Smoky Mountains Birding Expedition (GSMBE.) The expedition…
Read More

Comment

A fresh look into an enduring classic
 

A fresh look into an enduring classic

After finishing the last pages of Libertarians On The Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place: That face in the mirror? Own it.
 

This must be the place: That face in the mirror? Own it.

I didn’t know what to say. Standing in the doorway of the music venue, he said it so casually. 
Read More

Comment

Turning to face yourself: Comedian Dave Stone comes to Franklin
 

Turning to face yourself: Comedian Dave Stone comes to Franklin

It’s brutal honesty. Within the wide-spectrum of creative mediums, standup comedy may just be the most vulnerable and jarring of…
Read More

Comment

Thrill of the dig: Gem mining alive and well in Macon County
 

Thrill of the dig: Gem mining alive and well in Macon County

Susan Boyette and her mother Martha Drew drove down from Tennessee early Friday morning to Rose Creek Mine outside of…
Read More

Comment

Franklin museum a real ‘gem’
 

Franklin museum a real ‘gem’

At first glance, the Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum may seem like a hokey tourist attraction, but visitors willing to…
Read More

Comment

Community fights to keep babies born in Franklin
 

Community fights to keep babies born in Franklin

When Macon County residents joined together in 1971 to raise money to buy Angel Hospital and make it a community…
Read More

Comment

Meadows: ACA repeal will offer better flexibility, lower premiums
 

Meadows: ACA repeal will offer better flexibility, lower premiums

The Affordable Health Care Act got a bit closer to repeal last week as the U.S. House of Representatives passed…
Read More

Comment

What’s in the cards? Chamber, EDC try to stack the deck in Haywood’s favor
 

What’s in the cards? Chamber, EDC try to stack the deck in Haywood’s favor

Among the various organizations involved in economic development, one often finds a Chamber of Commerce and some development organization.
Read More
Distillery hopes to pack economic punch
 

Distillery hopes to pack economic punch

If all goes well, Maggie Valley will soon be known as a place where some of the finest spirits in the world are crafted.
Read More
Public hearing slated for new Publix site
 

Public hearing slated for new Publix site

Although speculation has been rife over the past year, plans for a Publix grocery store in Waynesville have finally been…
Read More

Comment

Wake-up call: Fry Street closure sparks involvement from local business
 

Wake-up call: Fry Street closure sparks involvement from local business

A recent debacle between the town of Bryson City and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad has been a wake-up call…
Read More

Comment

Town board welcomes more community input
 

Town board welcomes more community input

Bryson City aldermen are quite aware of the rift created in the community over the Fry Street closure issue, but…
Read More

Comment

Waynesville park acreage to grow by almost 20 percent
 

Waynesville park acreage to grow by almost 20 percent

As summer approaches, Waynesville’s green spaces are getting greener, but they’re also getting greater — in size. 
Read More

Comment

Jackson talks capital: Five-year plan maps spending for school, health, animal shelter and courtroom projects
 

Jackson talks capital: Five-year plan maps spending for school, health, animal shelter and courtroom projects

From softball fields to health buildings to animal shelters, funding requests have been arriving hot and heavy to the Jackson…
Read More

Comment

Stalled student housing project could revive
 

Stalled student housing project could revive

Two years have passed since developers first got approval to build a student housing complex along South Painter Road in…
Read More

Comment

Developer to extend water and sewer access in Cullowhee
 

Developer to extend water and sewer access in Cullowhee

The Jackson County Commissioners have unanimously approved an easement through county land that will allow plans for a 72-bedroom development…
Read More

Comment

Meadows: Obamacare repeal provides ‘net of protection’ for vulnerable
 

Meadows: Obamacare repeal provides ‘net of protection’ for vulnerable

Obamacare is one step closer to repeal as the U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation that would provide a…
Read More

Comment

Student assault at Tuscola caught on video
 

Student assault at Tuscola caught on video

On Wednesday, May 3, a male student assaulted another student at approximately 9:30 a.m. at Tuscola High School. The assault…
Read More

Comment

Weigh in on WNC transportation planning
 

Weigh in on WNC transportation planning

The N.C. Department of Transportation wants your feedback on its Draft 10-Year State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which identifies the…
Read More

Comment

Let commissioners hire tax collector
 

Let commissioners hire tax collector

To the Editor: I read the recent letter by Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and would just like to say…
Read More

Comment

Mental health should be covered
 

Mental health should be covered

To the Editor: While the ACA is being re-considered I am asking why did we allow the insurance industry to…
Read More

Comment

Party fracturing not necessarily bad
 

Party fracturing not necessarily bad

To the Editor: We know that the modern newspaper, in fact all media, feeds on controversy, some of it made…
Read More

Comment

‘Born in Franklin’ may never be heard again
 

‘Born in Franklin’ may never be heard again

At some point in the future, here’s something you might never hear again: “I was born in Franklin.” Look no…
Read More

Comment

This just isn’t going to get any better
 

This just isn’t going to get any better

“What? Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans…
Read More

Comment

N.C. Senate back dangerous measure that could re-write U.S. Constitution
 

N.C. Senate back dangerous measure that could re-write U.S. Constitution

By Martin A. Dyckman • Guest Columnist Russian paratroopers dropping on the White House lawn could scarcely do more damage…
Read More

Comment

Moonshine stills weren’t the only stills
 

Moonshine stills weren’t the only stills

All this spring, golden birch catkins were dangling throughout the woodlands of the Smokies region. These are the male, pollen-carrying…
Read More

Comment

Voices from the trail: A.T. thru-hikers talk about trail names, motivations, and the on-trail experience
 

Voices from the trail: A.T. thru-hikers talk about trail names, motivations, and the on-trail experience

My pack was plenty heavy as I set out north on the Appalachian Trial from Carvers Gap, but with my…
Read More

Comment

Cataloochee volunteers needed
 

Cataloochee volunteers needed

Volunteers are needed to help rangers manage traffic and establish safe wildlife viewing areas in the Cataloochee Valley area of…
Read More

Comment

Drought beats a retreat
 

Drought beats a retreat

Severe drought is nearly vanquished in North Carolina, with the number of counties in that designation the lowest it’s been…
Read More

Comment

The new local food guide is here
 

The new local food guide is here

The new Local Food Guide from the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project is here, including more than 800 listings of places…
Read More

Comment

Smokies trails see status changes
 

Smokies trails see status changes

Closures and openings have resulted in status changes for some trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Read More

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.