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Joining Waynesville right move for Junaluska
 

Joining Waynesville right move for Junaluska

To the Editor: From my perspective, much of the discussion of whether or not to allow annexation of Lake Junaluska…
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Give McCrory, GOP a chance before piling on
 

Give McCrory, GOP a chance before piling on

To the Editor: Ms. Abel’s letter said that the state’s Democratic ideals are fading fast since the last election (“State’s…
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Making tourism sustainable as economic development
 

Making tourism sustainable as economic development

By Ken Stahl • Guest Columnist There appears to be controversy concerning the proposed 2 percent occupancy tax increase. This…
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Haywood picks up  the torch on landslide hazard mapping
 

Haywood picks up the torch on landslide hazard mapping

A team of laid-off state geologists will soon start mapping landslide hazard zones in Haywood County after a coalition of…
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To map or not to map? Jackson ponders the question amid spate of rain-induced landslides and steep slope rewrite
 

To map or not to map? Jackson ponders the question amid spate of rain-induced landslides and steep slope rewrite

Jackson County planning board members are considering whether to re-start a landslide hazard mapping initiative that was axed by the…
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Cherokee leaders contemplate second casino in Murphy
 

Cherokee leaders contemplate second casino in Murphy

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians could decide soon whether to move forward with a second casino near Murphy, but…
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WCU opens up the door for wine and beer sales at performance venue
 

WCU opens up the door for wine and beer sales at performance venue

People attending productions at Western Carolina University’s John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center may soon have the chance…
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Drinking up the essence of thought, innovation
 

Drinking up the essence of thought, innovation

It’s a room full of strangers, ideas and alcohol. Still in its infancy yet gaining steam, the Drink-N-Think congregation came…
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HCC president finalists to remain off the record
 

HCC president finalists to remain off the record

The Haywood Community College Board of Trustees has decided not to release the names of its finalists for president of…
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Troubling spike in foster children prompts budget shortfalls
 

Troubling spike in foster children prompts budget shortfalls

The number of children in foster care in Haywood County is on the rise, a depressing sign for Department of…
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Proponents of Haywood room tax increase rebut criticism
 

Proponents of Haywood room tax increase rebut criticism

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority board responded to outcries from Maggie Valley business owners about a proposed lodging tax…
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11th-hour deal saves 100 Franklin manufacturing jobs
 

11th-hour deal saves 100 Franklin manufacturing jobs

In a move that could save nearly 100 jobs and keep a Franklin factory from closing, an English-based company struck…
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The harbingers of spring are upon us
 

The harbingers of spring are upon us

As you read this it may well be freezing or even icy outside. But before long you’ll be outside working…
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News from the AT
 

News from the AT

Teachers invited to bring the AT into their classroom Teachers and educators interested in incorporating the Appalachian Trail into their…
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U.S. 441 through park should reopen by May 15
 

U.S. 441 through park should reopen by May 15

Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is expected to be repaired and open by…
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Mountain scramble to Black Rock
 

Mountain scramble to Black Rock

The third annual Assault on Black Rock will test the strength and stamina of trail runners as they try to…
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Hikes of the Smokies series kicks off
 

Hikes of the Smokies series kicks off

A guided hike in the Deep Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be held on Tuesday,…
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Louisiana lagniappe
 

Louisiana lagniappe

I know, I know, we’ve been in Louisiana for two weeks now, but when I look back at some of…
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Follow me, into the wild
 

Follow me, into the wild

The last time I went camping I was 10 or 11. I was in my grandparents’ backyard, snug in my…
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Prepping for the AT 2,184 miles to be ‘in the moment’
 

Prepping for the AT 2,184 miles to be ‘in the moment’

During the next several weeks, thousands of people will leave from Springer Mountain in Georgia and begin the 2,184-mile trek…
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Emotions run high as Lake Junaluska task force votes for merger
 

Emotions run high as Lake Junaluska task force votes for merger

A Lake Junaluska task force voiced overwhelming support last week for merging the 765-home community with the town of Waynesville before a packed audience of homeowners. SEE ALSO: Ongoing coverage The 14-member task force has spent 10 months weighing the…
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Jackson commissioners mull request for deputies in elementary schools
 

Jackson commissioners mull request for deputies in elementary schools

Jackson County commissioners have postponed a decision on hiring deputies to man the county’s elementary schools. The school board and…
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New Haywood sheriff pledges modern, professional leadership
 

New Haywood sheriff pledges modern, professional leadership

There’s a new sheriff in town. Greg Christopher, a 51-year-old former lieutenant in the N.C. State Patrol, assumed the role…
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Re-learning those old, familiar (bird) songs
 

Re-learning those old, familiar (bird) songs

I like “old time rock and roll” too. And I recently got some of my old time records, CDs, iPods,…
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Climbing event at Chimney Rock
 

Climbing event at Chimney Rock

An event called “Climbin’ the Chimney” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 2 is an opportunity to for…
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Duke grants to aid education, environment
 

Duke grants to aid education, environment

Duke Energy is helping to fund new educational and environmental projects as part of its hydropower relicensing agreement in the…
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Taking the polar plunge
 

Taking the polar plunge

Around 30 daring souls splashed and jumped into Lake Junaluska last Saturday for the first annual “Polar Plunge” to raise…
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Loosiana part deaux
 

Loosiana part deaux

What better place to start part deaux than Breaux Bridge along Bayou Teche? Firmin Breaux originally purchased the area that…
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WCU trail system now open to the public
 

WCU trail system now open to the public

Western Carolina University’s new trail system is open and ready for bikers, hikers and runners. About 100 people turned out…
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Honest hunters have little tolerance for renegade tactics
 

Honest hunters have little tolerance for renegade tactics

Shock waves rippled through the mountain hunting community last week as word spread of a sweeping undercover investigation targeting dozens…
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“Operation Something Bruin:” Dozens of rogue hunters busted in illegal mountain poaching ring
 

“Operation Something Bruin:” Dozens of rogue hunters busted in illegal mountain poaching ring

Last week, state and federal wildlife officers began rounding up dozens of suspected poachers in Western North Carolina, bringing to…
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Final volume of Churchill biography a long-awaited gem
 

Final volume of Churchill biography a long-awaited gem

William Manchester, author of a number of best-selling books, including The Death of A President, American Caesar, and Goodbye, Darkness,…
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Liberals arts education enriches one’s life
 

Liberals arts education enriches one’s life

To the Editor: Scott McLeod (Feb. 6 SMN) pays tribute to the value of a liberal arts education. Even though…
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful ... to use local builders
 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful ... to use local builders

To the Editor: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the building boom of million dollar homes in Jackson County supported this…
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Not all doom and gloom in Dillsboro
 

Not all doom and gloom in Dillsboro

To the Editor: The claim of Frank Parrish and others over the past few years that Dillsboro is a ghost…
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Time to be rid of all Cherokee bear zoos
 

Time to be rid of all Cherokee bear zoos

To the Editor: Little has changed in Cherokee since a 1989 Parade Magazine cover story, “Are Our Zoos Humane?” named…
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Writer spouted false facts about Obamacare
 

Writer spouted false facts about Obamacare

To the Editor: A recent letter writer makes a number of unsubstantiated and flat out erroneous claims about Obamacare, otherwise…
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State’s democratic ideals are fading fast
 

State’s democratic ideals are fading fast

To the Editor: Our founding fathers, framing our Constitution, created a representative democracy. They formed a republic, a government where…
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MV Lodging Association opposes TDA tax hike
 

MV Lodging Association opposes TDA tax hike

To the Editor: Contrary to articles recently published in our local papers, there is much opposition to the proposed law…
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Increasing Medicare coverage could lower healthcare costs
 

Increasing Medicare coverage could lower healthcare costs

By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist The United States spends twice as much on health care as most other modern…
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A match made in heaven?
 

A match made in heaven?

Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown has honed his dating and engagement analogies as town leaders weigh whether to tie the knot with Lake Junaluska. They started innocently enough 10 months ago.
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Lake Junaluska a good catch for Waynesville, but light on the dowry
 

Lake Junaluska a good catch for Waynesville, but light on the dowry

Adding Lake Junaluska to its town limits won’t be a windfall for Waynesville despite $775,000 in property taxes it stands to gain each year. Likewise, Junaluska wouldn’t be a financial drain on the town, according to the results of a…
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Sylva and Jackson County can’t agree on joint ABC venture
 

Sylva and Jackson County can’t agree on joint ABC venture

Sylva and Jackson County are at an impasse on the creation of a single Alcoholic Beverage Control board to run…
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With sequestration threat looming, Eastern Band preps for the worst
 

With sequestration threat looming, Eastern Band preps for the worst

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians could see an estimated $2.2 million evaporate from its budget in March if Congress…
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Cork and Bean expansion boosts downtown Bryson dining scene
 

Cork and Bean expansion boosts downtown Bryson dining scene

When a building on a town’s main street sits empty, either because a business closed down or moved away, it’s…
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Wireless internet beamed into rural areas solves high-speed service conundrum
 

Wireless internet beamed into rural areas solves high-speed service conundrum

Jackson County could be going from zero to high-speed in no time. Two internet providers are laying plans to beam…
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Haywood flips for pancake day
 

Haywood flips for pancake day

It’s 6:15 a.m., and Woody Griffin is ready. “It’s the calm before the storm,” he chuckled.
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Isolated and remote, Macon spends a pretty penny to keep Nantahala School afloat
 

Isolated and remote, Macon spends a pretty penny to keep Nantahala School afloat

The far-flung Nantahala School in the remote reaches of Macon County is putting a financial drain on local coffers, prompting…
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Some Maggie lodging owners get hackles up over room tax increase
 

Some Maggie lodging owners get hackles up over room tax increase

The Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen got an earful from hotel and motel owners Monday during a nearly three-hour meeting…
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Main Street Champions recall changing face of downtown Waynesville
 

Main Street Champions recall changing face of downtown Waynesville

When LeRoy Roberson and his wife, Gale, opened an optometric business on Waynesville’s Main Street 35-years-ago, about a quarter of…
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