GOP shake-up: Haywood Republicans wrestle with identity crisis, attempt to oust chair
 

GOP shake-up: Haywood Republicans wrestle with identity crisis, attempt to oust chair

A coup within the Haywood County Republican Party was set in motion this week by a group of precinct chairs…
Read More

Comment

Believe it or not, spring is around the corner
 

Believe it or not, spring is around the corner

Despite last week’s chill and blustery snow, we are in the throes of spring migration. Actually, migration never stops. There…
Read More

Comment

Cradle of Forestry to debut old-time skills and new ecology exhibits
 

Cradle of Forestry to debut old-time skills and new ecology exhibits

Cultural heritage demonstrations will kick-off the new season for The Cradle of Forestry in America on Saturday, April 12, along…
Read More

Comment

Sea-level rise documentary features WCU prof
 

Sea-level rise documentary features WCU prof

Learn how communities are dealing with coastal erosion, storms and rising sea levels with a screening of the critically acclaimed…
Read More

Comment

Athletes to converge in Cullowhee for Valley of the Lilies races
 

Athletes to converge in Cullowhee for Valley of the Lilies races

The fourth annual Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5K race are expected to draw an estimated 300 runners…
Read More

Comment

Women’s flyfishing weekend
 

Women’s flyfishing weekend

Women of all skill levels are invited to a women-only weekend of flyfishing from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, offered…
Read More

Comment

Engage in a day-long celebration of science and nature
 

Engage in a day-long celebration of science and nature

The Mountain Science Expo will feature science programs and exhibits designed to interest kids and adults from 10 a.m. to…
Read More

Comment

Appalachian Trail volunteers needed
 

Appalachian Trail volunteers needed

Learn the basics of trail construction and environmental stewardships by volunteering with an Appalachian Trail Conservancy trail crew.
Read More

Comment

Reap the fruits of the backyard
 

Reap the fruits of the backyard

Learn how to grow fruit trees successfully at a fruit tree workshop coming up in Jackson and Swain counties through…
Read More

Comment

Lookin’ good up there: Ozone outlook positive for North Carolina
 

Lookin’ good up there: Ozone outlook positive for North Carolina

Warmer weather is on its way, but along with the sunny afternoons comes the return of ozone season. A bad…
Read More

Comment

Disappearances, nightmares and a sense of terror
 

Disappearances, nightmares and a sense of terror

Some 30 years ago, a science-fiction writer named Whitney Striber wrote a novel called Wolfen, and it frightened me badly. The…
Read More

Comment

Shorelines program to screen ‘Shored Up’
 

Shorelines program to screen ‘Shored Up’

Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines will screen the film “Shored Up” at 4 p.m. Sunday,…
Read More

Comment

WCU to host International Festival
 

WCU to host International Festival

The 35th annual International Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, on the lawn…
Read More

Comment

Workshop on Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina
 

Workshop on Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina

A workshop focusing on regional points of musical interest, entitled “Why and How to Connect to the Blue Ridge Music…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place
 

This must be the place

Kacey Musgraves makes me feel like a teenage boy. Shouts of joy escape my lungs when I find out she’s…
Read More

Comment

'Shining up classic dishes
 

'Shining up classic dishes

The ocean is a long way from Rick Miller’s kitchen. The kitchen is a long way from where his journey…
Read More

Comment

Mélange of the Mountains returns to Haywood County
 

Mélange of the Mountains returns to Haywood County

The Mélange of the Mountains culinary celebration will run from April 10-13 around Haywood County. 
Read More

Comment

Vouchers won’t help low-income families
 

Vouchers won’t help low-income families

To the Editor: Recently, I became curious about the N.C. Opportunity Scholarships (a new name for vouchers) that are being…
Read More

Comment

Voting challenges may overwhelm system
 

Voting challenges may overwhelm system

To the Editor: It should be reassuring that so many groups are concerned about “voter integrity” on Election Day, making…
Read More

Comment

Create Eden, drop animal products
 

Create Eden, drop animal products

To the Editor: TV host Glenn Beck and other stalwarts of the Christian right have attacked the recent blockbuster “Noah”as…
Read More

Comment

Rep. Presnell will get my vote again
 

Rep. Presnell will get my vote again

To the Editor: We must speak out against this proposed room tax increase. The county leaders may want it, but…
Read More

Comment

Has Rep. Presnell lost her memory?
 

Has Rep. Presnell lost her memory?

To the Editor:  In a recent article about the sad state of North Carolina teacher salaries, Rep. Michele Presnell was…
Read More

Comment

There are reasons for Presnell’s opposition
 

There are reasons for Presnell’s opposition

To the Editor: I find it noteworthy that in the March 26 column on Rep. Michele Presnell’s opposition to the…
Read More

Comment

Support fair trade but beware free trade
 

Support fair trade but beware free trade

By Doug Wingeier • Columnist For some years now I have been promoting fair trade products as a means of…
Read More

Comment

Canton selects new town manager
 

Canton selects new town manager

Canton Mayor Mike Ray was happy to see it come to an end. Finally, a decision has been made. “We’ve…
Read More

Comment

Bryson City and Sylva aim to make in-town navigation easier
 

Bryson City and Sylva aim to make in-town navigation easier

Plenty of green is popping up in Bryson City, but it’s not all due to the growing season. Green wayfinding…
Read More

Comment

Trick bikes fall from grace at Waynesville’s skate park
 

Trick bikes fall from grace at Waynesville’s skate park

The Waynesville skate park became an instant rock star after its debut last fall, gaining repute as a wildly popular…
Read More

Comment

A new paradigm
 

A new paradigm

For decades, mountain tourism strategists have concocted catchy ways to state the obvious: come visit us because we are in…
Read More

Comment

Growing a brand: New marketing plan offers the authentic
 

Growing a brand: New marketing plan offers the authentic

Lynn Collins has honed the art of eavesdropping. It began innocently enough, unavoidable even, since nothing but a cubicle separates…
Read More

Comment

Stemming the sequester squeeze
 

Stemming the sequester squeeze

The federal sequester came back to haunt Macon County last month when commissioners voted to spend $13,000 to keep the…
Read More

Comment

Franklin community offers alternative gazebo plans
 

Franklin community offers alternative gazebo plans

When Franklin town leaders meet in April, they will be digesting a number of alternative plans for revamping the downtown…
Read More

Comment

Many moving parts to hospital sale
 

Many moving parts to hospital sale

The sale of the hospitals in Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties to Duke LifePoint has entered the final stages but…
Read More

Comment

Canton paper mill takes on $50 million air emission
 

Canton paper mill takes on $50 million air emission

Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton is embarking on a $50 million natural gas conversion of its coal-fired boilers to…
Read More

Comment

Vision quest: Waynesville officials attempt glimpse into future
 

Vision quest: Waynesville officials attempt glimpse into future

After a full day of brainstorming, the Waynesville Board of Aldermen had thrown a lot of meat onto the table.…
Read More

Comment

WCU fine-tunes its course for Millennial Campus
 

WCU fine-tunes its course for Millennial Campus

Western Carolina University is expected to get the go-ahead this month to place development of the Millennial Campus under the…
Read More

Comment

Occupancy tax supporters hold out hope
 

Occupancy tax supporters hold out hope

A tourism tax increase in Haywood County has virtually no hope of advancing in the N.C. General Assembly this year,…
Read More

Comment

Another storyteller to add to the list
 

Another storyteller to add to the list

For years I’ve been enjoying and sometimes writing about a group of old-time Western North Carolina storytellers I think of…
Read More

Comment

Great Smoky Mountains Association racks up awards
 

Great Smoky Mountains Association racks up awards

Great Smoky Mountains Association earned two first-place awards and four honorable mentions last month for its work in media and…
Read More

Comment

Cherokee fishing tournament to kick off spring season
 

Cherokee fishing tournament to kick off spring season

Anglers will have a chance to compete for $20,000 in tagged fish March 28-30 at the Cast Into Spring Tournament,…
Read More

Comment

Fund supports watershed projects with cut of profits
 

Fund supports watershed projects with cut of profits

 Duke’s profits off the hydroelectric power dam on the Pigeon River in Haywood County have funded another round of environmental water…
Read More

Comment

Duke chips in for projects in hydropower territory
 

Duke chips in for projects in hydropower territory

Ideas are being solicited for riparian habitat enhancement projects in Jackson, Swain and Macon counties as part of Duke Energy’s…
Read More

Comment

Free hiker breakfast in Franklin
 

Free hiker breakfast in Franklin

Appalachian Trail hikers can get a free breakfast in Franklin through April 11. First Baptist Church in Franklin has offered…
Read More

Comment

Celebrate the Appalachian Trail season
 

Celebrate the Appalachian Trail season

Whether you’re roughing it on the AT or just looking for a fun way to spend your Saturday, several upcoming…
Read More

Comment

The AT experience won’t be left behind
 

The AT experience won’t be left behind

It’s been nearly eight years since Amy “Willow” Allen passed through Western North Carolina as a tired-and-hungry AT through-hiker. But…
Read More

Comment

Mann, ‘Les Miserables’ to stage at WCU
 

Mann, ‘Les Miserables’ to stage at WCU

Directed by Broadway star Terrence Mann, the Tony-Award-winning musical “Les Miserables” will be performed at 7:30 p.m., April 3-5 and…
Read More

Comment

Haywood festival gets new name, announces date
 

Haywood festival gets new name, announces date

The Haywood County Arts Council has renamed their outdoor summer festival. Previously known as International Festival Day, the name has…
Read More

Comment

‘Hunger Games’ fans flocking to N.C. film locations
 

‘Hunger Games’ fans flocking to N.C. film locations

In 2011 a large Hollywood film descended upon North Carolina. It was a secret and it went by the name…
Read More

Comment

From trash to treasure, new art exhibit in Highlands
 

From trash to treasure, new art exhibit in Highlands

Artists transform everyday objects into works of art in the exhibit “Out of the Ordinary,” which runs April 5 through…
Read More

Comment

Hugh Morton exhibit to include reception, talk
 

Hugh Morton exhibit to include reception, talk

An exhibit celebrating the work of photographer Hugh Morton will open with a reception and talk March 27 at the…
Read More

Comment

Winners of WCU’s annual Youth Art Month exhibit announced
 

Winners of WCU’s annual Youth Art Month exhibit announced

Budding artists from across Jackson County were recently recognized during the annual Youth Art Month exhibit hosted by Western 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.