Wildlife refuge lands grant
 

Wildlife refuge lands grant

The increasing number of wildlife requiring aid in Western North Carolina will benefit from a $5,000 grant that the N.C.…
Read More

Comment

A search for Horace Kephart’s alcove
 

A search for Horace Kephart’s alcove

The setting for Horace Kephart’s posthumous novel Smoky Mountain Magic (2009) is the Cherokee Indian Reservation, Bryson City and Deep…
Read More

Comment

Books about the American South will delight
 

Books about the American South will delight

Let’s go exploring. More specifically, let’s explore the American South.
Read More

Comment

Creating a community: Haywood Arts celebrates 40 years
 

Creating a community: Haywood Arts celebrates 40 years

In her short tenure, Executive Director Lindsey Solomon has righted the unknown direction of the ship that is the Haywood…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place: You want the house, I want the road
 

This must be the place: You want the house, I want the road

I had just enough water left. Squeezing the last of my water bottle onto my dry toothbrush, I managed to…
Read More

Comment

The art and activism of Panhandle Slim
 

The art and activism of Panhandle Slim

Savannah, Georgia-based artist Scott “Panhandle Slim” Stanton was born in Maryland and raised in Pensacola, Florida, but he has been…
Read More

Comment

WNC marches for women’s rights
 

WNC marches for women’s rights

“Care more, judge less,” “Love trumps hate” and “Rise up” were just a few of the battle cries heard in…
Read More

Comment

The pink hats are coming
 

The pink hats are coming

By rain-slicked granite sidewalks they came, early that morning.  In rubber boots, sneakers and sandals they came, not knowing exactly…
Read More

Comment

Congressman Meadows optimistic about Trump
 

Congressman Meadows optimistic about Trump

Although Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, has been Western North Carolina’s Congressman for only two terms, constituents in his heavily Republican…
Read More

Comment

North Carolina GOP celebrates inauguration
 

North Carolina GOP celebrates inauguration

Inaugurations make for early mornings. Getting into or out of the tangle of security and Humvees blocking the streets of…
Read More

Comment

WNC supporters, opponents mark Trump inauguration
 

WNC supporters, opponents mark Trump inauguration

• North Carolina GOP celebrates inauguration• Congressman Meadows optimistic about Trump• The pink hats are coming• WNC marches for women’s rights• The art and activism…
Read More

Comment

Jackson Health Department project to cost less than expected
 

Jackson Health Department project to cost less than expected

Upgrading the Jackson County Health Department could prove a much less expensive undertaking than originally anticipated, if estimates contained in…
Read More

Comment

Sylva considers reduced-size residential lots
 

Sylva considers reduced-size residential lots

The town of Sylva took a tentative first step this month toward easing residential zoning restrictions that some credit with…
Read More

Comment

Sanitary district policy remains suspended
 

Sanitary district policy remains suspended

After listening to the concerns of property managers in its service area, the Junaluska Sanitary District board has decided to…
Read More

Comment

Verizon proposes new tower at Lake Junaluska
 

Verizon proposes new tower at Lake Junaluska

Verizon Wireless has approached Haywood County commissioners once again about installing a new cell tower near Lake Junaluska to improve…
Read More

Comment

Warm weather forces Cataloochee Ski closure
 

Warm weather forces Cataloochee Ski closure

Unseasonably warm weather and the drought have combined to temporarily close Cataloochee Ski Area.
Read More

Comment

Casino announces expansion: $250 million project will add fourth hotel tower, event space
 

Casino announces expansion: $250 million project will add fourth hotel tower, event space

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is stepping into its 20th year of operation with plans for a massive expansion that will…
Read More

Comment

Public survey could make or break Haywood library expansion
 

Public survey could make or break Haywood library expansion

Hopes for a major renovation and expansion of the Waynesville library were temporarily shelved by county commissioners last year and…
Read More

Comment

Inaugural Photo Gallery
 

Inaugural Photo Gallery

Photos from the inaugural week's ceremonies in Washington D.C., Jan 18-21, 2017. All photos by Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News.  …
Read More

Comment

Image Credit Todd Scalise/Higherglyphics, copyright 2017
 

DC dispatch: Saturday, Jan. 21

What a difference a day makes. After a Friday that left both protestors and police bruised and bloodied – and…
Read More

Comment

Image Credit Todd Scalise/Higherglyphics, copyright 2017
 

DC dispatch: Friday, Jan. 20

Hillary Clinton emerged from the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building this morning, clad in white and looking out…
Read More

Comment

Image Credit Todd Scalise/Higherglyphics, copyright 2017.
 

DC dispatch: Thursday, Jan. 19

Amidst heavy security and a conspicuous law enforcement presence, Washington, D.C. is hoping for the best but preparing for the…
Read More

Comment

The probably not so — Big Year
 

The probably not so — Big Year

The 2011 movie “The Big Year” — a comedy starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson — didn’t ruffle…
Read More

Comment

Braving the storm: Backcountry rescuers save lost hikers in snow, frigid temps
 

Braving the storm: Backcountry rescuers save lost hikers in snow, frigid temps

It was around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, when the two hikers stepped out of their red Ford Edge and…
Read More

Comment

Smokies sets new visitation record
 

Smokies sets new visitation record

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park reeled in 11.3 million visitors in 2016, a 5.6 percent increase over the previous…
Read More

Comment

Haywood Gleaners logs 30,000 pounds of produce donations
 

Haywood Gleaners logs 30,000 pounds of produce donations

Fifteen tons of food that would otherwise have gone to waste found their way to hungry mouths in 2016, thanks…
Read More

Comment

A vow to open a few more books
 

A vow to open a few more books

New Year’s resolutions and I make for poor company. Like many reading this column, I have in the past made…
Read More

Comment

A song for young love: The Lettermen roll into Franklin
 

A song for young love: The Lettermen roll into Franklin

It was a 1963 station wagon with six musicians and their equipment. When Tony Butala reminisces about the beginning of…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place: Five years ain’t nothing, darling
 

This must be the place: Five years ain’t nothing, darling

Has it really been that long? When I looked at the calendar this week, I realized it said 2017, which…
Read More

Comment

What’s the value of a mural?
 

What’s the value of a mural?

The Appalachian Mural Trail has developed a long-range plan to include these priceless murals and all future murals into a…
Read More

Comment

Parenting nostalgia during a big birthday week
 

Parenting nostalgia during a big birthday week

It’s birthday week for the Barbee boys. Our two boys are exactly three years and one day apart, one born…
Read More

Comment

Celebrating the wit of Robert Burns
 

Celebrating the wit of Robert Burns

Although many poets and musicians have won awards, there is only one person who has a world-wide celebration every year…
Read More

Comment

We all need to get informed
 

We all need to get informed

To the Editor: Scott McLeod’s recent editorial “Looking more for ideology, less politics” (www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/19140) truly resonated for me and I…
Read More

Comment

Why are white males left out?
 

Why are white males left out?

To the Editor: When you write “Looking for more ideology, less politics,” what exactly does that imply? And when you…
Read More

Comment

Please keep your dogs leashed
 

Please keep your dogs leashed

To the Editor: I am writing this letter in hopes that people walking their pets will be more considerate to…
Read More

Comment

Appreciate the opinion
 

Appreciate the opinion

To the Editor: Mr. McLeod, am writing to commend your timely Opinion piece. You made a number of excellent points.…
Read More

Comment

Sylva shoe duo upholds the last of a dying trade
 

Sylva shoe duo upholds the last of a dying trade

Mike Fitzgerald rarely skipped a beat as he darted spryly between his cobbler’s bench and the vintage, grime-coated machines anchoring…
Read More

Comment

Missing Clyde man found deceased
 

Missing Clyde man found deceased

A Clyde man who has been missing since Jan. 3 has been found deceased.
Read More

Comment

Macon urges proper disposal of used needles
 

Macon urges proper disposal of used needles

Sanitation workers in Macon County are worried about dangerous items that could be lurking in the household trash bags being…
Read More

Comment

Increased density coming to Howell Mill Road?
 

Increased density coming to Howell Mill Road?

An oft-repeated concern expressed during meetings of the Haywood County Affordable Housing Task Force is the scarcity of buildable land…
Read More

Comment

Bryson City removes trees on Everett Street
 

Bryson City removes trees on Everett Street

Many Bryson City business owners were caught off guard last week when they noticed massive holes all along Everett Street…
Read More

Comment

Street trees replaced in Sylva
 

Street trees replaced in Sylva

The streets of downtown Sylva are newly treeless after town crews excavated the red maples earlier this month, but the…
Read More

Comment

Town to pursue Calvary Street purchase
 

Town to pursue Calvary Street purchase

The town of Waynesville will move forward with plans to purchase three vacant, blighted lots straddling Calvary Street, despite interest…
Read More

Comment

Russ fuss prompts resolution
 

Russ fuss prompts resolution

After holding two public hearings that drew large crowds of opposition, Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown and the board of aldermen…
Read More

Comment

Painting helps Swain County artist heal
 

Painting helps Swain County artist heal

Barbara Robinson can find artistic inspiration wherever she may be.  Sometimes it’s looking out over Frye Mountain from her art…
Read More

Comment

Illegal dumping plagues Swain
 

Illegal dumping plagues Swain

Swain County recently spent more than $350,000 in order to better secure its trash site and cut down on sanitation…
Read More

Comment

Former gaming enterprise chairwoman to rejoin board
 

Former gaming enterprise chairwoman to rejoin board

The Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise’s newest member will be anything but new to the business of casino management when she…
Read More

Comment

Cherokee hospital will see funding cut due to infection rates
 

Cherokee hospital will see funding cut due to infection rates

According to a recent ranking from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority is one…
Read More

Comment

Board member removed from TWSA mid-term
 

Board member removed from TWSA mid-term

Joe Ward’s term on the Tuckasegee Water and Sewer Authority board came to an abrupt end last week when newly…
Read More

Comment

SMN reporter to cover Presidential Inauguration
 

SMN reporter to cover Presidential Inauguration

Starting this week, The Smoky Mountain News will begin issuing a steady stream of coverage from the nation’s capital as…
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.