Confederates pushed road over Newfound Gap
 

Confederates pushed road over Newfound Gap

On Jan. 12, 1864, a Confederate battery of artillery and about 650 men under the command of Gen. Robert B.…
Read More

Comment

Steep Canyon Rangers pen song and music for Graveyard Fields
 

Steep Canyon Rangers pen song and music for Graveyard Fields

The Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers gathered on the Blue Ridge Parkway this spring, instruments in hand, to…
Read More

Comment

Libraries bring science and nature to life for kids
 

Libraries bring science and nature to life for kids

Libraries across the mountains are in summer mode with a robust lineup of educational programs for kids. Special guests will…
Read More

Comment

Get your race on with Haywood Waterways
 

Get your race on with Haywood Waterways

Haywood Waterways is now selling “trout” to compete in their annual Trout Race held at 5 p.m. on June 22…
Read More

Comment

Comments open on coyote hunting in red wolf territory
 

Comments open on coyote hunting in red wolf territory

Comments are open regarding a proposed prohibition on coyote hunting in a five-county area in northeastern North Carolina. The area…
Read More

Comment

Foraging field day in Cashiers
 

Foraging field day in Cashiers

Famed Asheville forager Alan Muskat will answer all your burning questions about forest foods during the next installment of the…
Read More

Comment

Synchronous fireflies draw thousands to the Smokies
 

Synchronous fireflies draw thousands to the Smokies

It’s a little after 7 p.m. when the first trolley shows up to Elkmont Campground. Green, red and yellow, the…
Read More

Comment

Old West comes alive in Enger novel
 

Old West comes alive in Enger novel

If you love epic tales that celebrate the American West; if you treasure novels like Trail of the Lonesome Dove,…
Read More

Comment

Science helps us find God’s truths
 

Science helps us find God’s truths

To the Editor: I am writing this letter for the sakes of my fellow creationists and any questioning minds who…
Read More

Comment

GOP works to make Haywood better
 

GOP works to make Haywood better

To the Editor: This is in response to Mitchell E. Powell’s letter to the editor, “‘Group is hurting Haywood GOP,”…
Read More

Comment

Remind leaders that we are tired of political games
 

Remind leaders that we are tired of political games

By Kathy Ross • Guest Columnist In the last few weeks, I’ve been stuck between speaking my mind and doing what…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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.
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

PlottFest returns to Maggie
 

PlottFest returns to Maggie

A benefit for Head Start of Haywood and Jackson counties, PlottFest will be held June 21-22 at the Maggie Valley…
Read More

Comment

‘Oklahoma!’ rolls into Franklin
 

‘Oklahoma!’ rolls into Franklin

“Oklahoma!,” the first musical written by the dynamic duo Rodgers and Hammerstein, will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. June…
Read More

Comment

Cabaret show at The Classic Wineseller
 

Cabaret show at The Classic Wineseller

Singer-songwriter James Hammel will present a cabaret story through song in “Celebrating a Collage of Life — a Journey Through…
Read More

Comment

HCC to offer classes in the Appalachian Music Program
 

HCC to offer classes in the Appalachian Music Program

Haywood Community College’s Appalachian Music Program will be offering a handful of classes funded by a generous grant from the…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place
 

This must be the place

Time sure does fly, eh? It hit me this week that my column recently crossed over the one-year anniversary threshold. How…
Read More

Comment

New state tax hits entertainment venues
 

New state tax hits entertainment venues

When the clock struck midnight this past New Year’s Eve, a new North Carolina state tax took effect. “This isn’t…
Read More

Comment

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…
Read More

Comment

Tourism board divided over festival funding
 

Tourism board divided over festival funding

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is split over a budget for the coming fiscal year that would reduce funding…
Read More

Comment

Battered berries
 

Battered berries

Those who’ve participated in my natural history workshops know that that I’m not a very good source for information regarding…
Read More

Comment

Paddlers will not do damage to the Chattooga
 

Paddlers will not do damage to the Chattooga

By Bruce Hare • Guest Columnist In response to your article (“Tug of War over the Chattooga River,” May 31…
Read More

Comment

So how far have we come?
 

So how far have we come?

Each year as summer dawns, when children begin counting the days until shoes become something they just have to keep…
Read More

Comment

Mythbusters: Tree hunters scout Wildes Knob for hidden old-growth forest
 

Mythbusters: Tree hunters scout Wildes Knob for hidden old-growth forest

Josh Kelly looked up from his topo map, took a step back and eyed the steep bank in front of…
Read More

Comment

When paddle comes to shove
 

When paddle comes to shove

The only thing rippling more than the water through the rocky headwaters of the Chattooga is the controversy regarding the…
Read More

Comment

History and wildflowers
 

History and wildflowers

By Ed Kelley The burning sensation on the back of my heels made me wish I had packed some moleskin.…
Read More

Comment

Telling a better story
 

Telling a better story

By Michael Beadle There’s a heavy heat inside Mountainside Theatre’s rehearsal studio even with fans blowing and the lights turned…
Read More

Comment

Sweet vinegar sounds
 

Sweet vinegar sounds

By Chris Cooper Claiming influences as far apart stylistically as Iron Maiden and Ravi Shankar, Mother Vinegar lean further toward…
Read More

Comment

Recommended diversions
 

Recommended diversions

Records As in old school phonograph records, not world records or dental records. After collecting thousands of CDs over the…
Read More

Comment

Scenes of redemption: Gallery 86 in Waynesville features paintings by Luke Allsbrook
 

Scenes of redemption: Gallery 86 in Waynesville features paintings by Luke Allsbrook

By Michael Beadle Luke Allsbrook has a voice as soothing as his paintings. He explains his craft with the calm…
Read More

Comment

The Second Act: ‘Unto These Hills’ opens with a new look that aims to draw big crowds and give a more authentic account of Cherokee history and culture
 

The Second Act: ‘Unto These Hills’ opens with a new look that aims to draw big crowds and give a more authentic account of Cherokee history and culture

By Michael Beadle It’s a story 10,000 years in the making. And now Cherokees and Native Americans from all over…
Read More

Comment

Spill the beans
 

Spill the beans

Confession is good for the soul. As any practicing Catholic will tell you, that old tune still plays true. You…
Read More

Comment

Elected officials meet to hear tourism complaints
 

Elected officials meet to hear tourism complaints

Elected town and county leaders will be dragged into the Haywood County tourism saga this week. They will be asked…
Read More

Comment

Feelin’ festive: Local event planners examine festival trends
 

Feelin’ festive: Local event planners examine festival trends

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer June through October is known as festival season in the mountains, and its no…
Read More

Comment

Becoming art smart: The 11th Annual Studio Gallery Open House and Walking Tour in Waynesville gives people a chance to create and learn more about art
 

Becoming art smart: The 11th Annual Studio Gallery Open House and Walking Tour in Waynesville gives people a chance to create and learn more about art

By Michael Beadle Waynesville art gallery owners don’t just want to sell art. They want people to ask lots of…
Read More

Comment

Folkmoot photo ops: International festival revamps, ramps up for 2006 season
 

Folkmoot photo ops: International festival revamps, ramps up for 2006 season

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Folkmoot USA, the annual international dance festival with performances held throughout Western North Carolina,…
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.