The after action report: 50 fast facts from the Haywood election results
 

The after action report: 50 fast facts from the Haywood election results

Two years ago, a Smoky Mountain News analysis of precinct-level elections results painted a portrait of a red county getting redder — at least electorally. This year was almost as rosy for Haywood’s Republican voters, who saw their candidates return to the U.S. House and the N.C. Senate as well as swing the Haywood Commission from a 3-to-2 Democratic majority to a 4-to-1 Republican advantage. 
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Tommy Long (left) and Mark Pless (right).
 

Eastbound and down: GOP gains on Haywood commission run downhill

Results in the Haywood County Board of Commissioners race hit the county like a cannonball, with Republicans taking two of three seats — all previously held by Democrats — while also earning themselves a 4-to-1 majority on the first-ever Republican-controlled commission. 
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Election signs crowd a grassy area in downtown Sylva the week before the election. Holly Kays photo
 

High voter turnout impacts Jackson commissioner race

Robust voter turnout and early voting enthusiasm made the difference in three Jackson County Board of Commissioners races, causing the board to flip from a Republican to a Democratic majority. 
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Sales tax to increase in Swain
 

Sales tax to increase in Swain

Swain County voters have typically been adamantly opposed to any sort of tax hike, whether it’s a property tax or a sales tax, which is why many were pleasantly surprised to see a quarter-cent sales tax increase approved following the Nov. 6 election.
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Pictured are Marty Ramsey, director of Alumni Engagement; (from left) Ed Holland, president of the Alumni Association; Susan Brummell Belcher, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award; Mary Beth Fallin Hunzaker, recipient of the Young Alumni Award; Kenny Messer, recipient of the Professional Achievement Award; Elizabeth Ransom, recipient of the Academic Achievement Award; and Alison Morrison-Shetlar, interim chancellor.
 

Susan Belcher receives WCU service award

Susan Brummell Belcher, wife of late Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher, received one of the top honors bestowed…
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Jackson to purchase old Pepsi-Cola plant for $500K
 

Jackson to purchase old Pepsi-Cola plant for $500K

If all goes as planned, Jackson County will spend $550,000 to buy the old Pepsi-Cola plant in Whittier, following a…
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Sylva to choose new TWSA board member
 

Sylva to choose new TWSA board member

The Sylva Town Board is considering who it should choose to replace Commissioner Harold Hensley on the Tuckaseigee Water and…
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Macon to analyze county space needs
 

Macon to analyze county space needs

Now that the election is over and three incumbents have reclaimed their seats on the Macon County Board of Commissioners,…
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Swain schools earn ‘C’ average
 

Swain schools earn ‘C’ average

Unchanged over last year, all four Swain County Schools earned a ‘C’ on their 2017-18 annual report card handed down…
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Majority of Macon schools meet growth goals
 

Majority of Macon schools meet growth goals

Eight of the 11 schools in Macon County either met or exceeded their academic growth expectations for the 2017-18 school…
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Haywood County Schools’ facility usage could change as development occurs. File photo
 

A fresh look at Haywood school capacity

As the pace of growth and development begins to pick up across Haywood County, demand for basic services like sewer,…
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Amazing Grace, a 2-year-old blue heeler mix, is making a miraculous recovery after being rescued by PAWS in Bryson City. Grace was found with an arrow through her midsection and severe burns on her back, injuries that appear to be acts of animal cruelty. She is temporarily staying with PAWS Director Beth Cline-Stroud who is nursing her back to health. Donated photos
 

Amazing Grace makes a full recovery

Beth Cline-Stroud, the executive director of PAWS in Bryson City, was on her way to an important event when a…
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Organizer Nilofer Couture joins a pro-Meuller rally in Sylva Nov. 8. Holly Kays photo
 

Sessions firing triggers protests

It didn’t take long for protests to spring up across the country, state and region as soon as President Trump…
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Court of Appeals hearing Cherokee cases
 

Court of Appeals hearing Cherokee cases

On Thursday, Nov. 15, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will make history by holding oral…
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Balsam Range. David Simchock photo
 

‘Any old road will take you there’: Balsam Range reflects on successful past, a bright future

In 12 years together, Haywood County-based Balsam Range have played some of the biggest stages in the music industry, and…
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Tom McNish at his Franklin farmhouse. Garret K. Woodward
 

This must be the place: ‘The air was just electric. The air was quivering.’

I was handed a telephone number and told good luck. In the fall of 2007, I was 22 years old.…
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Regional Artist Project grantees announced
 

Regional Artist Project grantees announced

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), administrator of this year’s Regional Artist Project Grant (RAPG), is pleased to announce grantees…
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Grassroots Arts Program subgrants awarded
 

Grassroots Arts Program subgrants awarded

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), serving as a Designated County Partner of the North Carolina Arts Council, is pleased…
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‘Hyper-partisan’ moves threaten UNC’s future
 

‘Hyper-partisan’ moves threaten UNC’s future

The sudden resignation of Margaret Spellings as president of the UNC system should be a wake-up call to every North…
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‘When did we see you, a stranger, and welcome you?’
 

‘When did we see you, a stranger, and welcome you?’

By Autumn Woodward • Guest Columnist The Irish morning was cool. I’d tumbled over a stone wall into the park to…
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Learning to connect with the other world
 

Learning to connect with the other world

The night after my mom died, my dad stepped out on the front porch with my brother-in-law, whose father had…
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A father and son examine their progress at Chimney Rock State Park. Donated photo
 

Making tracks: Kids trails program earns recognition after decade of growth

In 2008, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation launched a new program aiming to get kids and families out exploring the…
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Bote Mountain Trail partially reopen
 

Bote Mountain Trail partially reopen

A 2.9-mile section of the Bote Mountain Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now open to hikers…
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N.C. governor signs climate change order
 

N.C. governor signs climate change order

Gov. Roy Cooper has signed an executive order directed at “North Carolina’s commitment to fight climate change and lead transition…
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Haywood agricultural leader awarded state’s highest honor
 

Haywood agricultural leader awarded state’s highest honor

Longtime Haywood County farmer and agricultural community leader Bill Yarborough has been recognized with the highest honor the state has…
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The Foothills Parkway provides views of the Great Smoky Mountains region. NPS photo
 

Walk the ‘Missing Link’ of the Foothills Parkway

A celebration of the completed Foothills Parkway section known as the “Missing Link” will be held Thursday, Nov. 8, with…
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King Cotton. Don Hendershot photo
 

The Naturalist's Corner: Flashback

It wasn’t long after we crossed the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, headed west into Louisiana, that we began to see…
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Cookbooks make nice holiday gifts
 

Cookbooks make nice holiday gifts

So there I was on a Wednesday afternoon in October in one of my favorite spots in town: the public…
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Local physician honored with scholarship
 

Local physician honored with scholarship

The Haywood Healthcare Foundation, Haywood Regional Medical Center, and Haywood Community College recently held a presentation ceremony for Dr. Bennie…
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The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has selected Dr. William L. Roper — who currently serves as CEO of UNC Health Care, dean of the UNC School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UNC Chapel Hill — as interim UNC system president. Donated photo
 

Interim UNC System president selected

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has selected the man who could well be charged with nominating the…
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Mountain Mediation volunteers Peggy Smith, (from left) Arnold Howell, and John Scroggs speak about communication skills. Donated photo
 

Mediation valuable service in criminal justice system

Mountain Mediation Services has been providing an invaluable service to Western North Carolina’s criminal justice system for more than 20…
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Principal Chief Richard Sneed discusses the Indian Child Welfare Act ruling with Tribal Council Nov. 1. EBCI image
 

Cherokee leaders speak out against Texas adoption ruling

A recent court ruling in Texas has Native American tribes across the country — including the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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WCU music instructor Brad Ulrich poses with some items from his collection of WWI memorabilia. WCU photo
 

WCU to commemorate WWI

Back before incessant war became a hallmark of American foreign policy, U.S. involvement in global affairs was but a shadow…
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Never give up: Franklin native survived years of torture in Vietnam POW camp
 

Never give up: Franklin native survived years of torture in Vietnam POW camp

Just west of the town of Franklin, along a winding back road heading into the mountains surrounding Wayah Bald, sits…
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Valerie Oberle speaks to a group in Maggie Valley earlier this fall. Donated photo
 

Legal troubles mount for Ghost Town, developers

A pair of legal actions filed in Haywood courts during the month of October suggest efforts to redevelop Maggie Valley’s…
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Jackson TDA begins visitor study
 

Jackson TDA begins visitor study

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority, whose mission it is to promote and market the county, is conducting its first…
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Lorna Sterling’s husband benefitted from the in-home hospice services of the Homestead. Cory Vaillancourt photo
 

Haywood hospice patients to move to hospital

A press release issued by Haywood Regional Medical Center on Oct. 26 touted renovations to an existing facility that will…
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Republicans take majority on Haywood commission
 

Republicans take majority on Haywood commission

With the retirement of Democratic Commissioner Bill Upton, one commission seat was up for grabs, with two more being defended by their Democratic occupants, Commissioner Mike Sorrells and Commission Chairman Kirk Kirkpatrick.
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Greg West (left) beat Mike Matthews for tax collector while Democrat Joe Sam Queen beat Rep. Mike Clampitt for the N.C. House seat.
 

Regional roundup of election returns shows mixed results

Any notion of a red tide or blue wave ebbed quickly Nov. 6, as both Republicans and Democrats celebrated victories, mourned defeats, said goodbye to some incumbents, and hello to new ones.
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Jackson Dems win county commission
 

Jackson Dems win county commission

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners will flip to a Democratic majority following a hotly contested election in which three of the five seats appeared on the ballot.
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Jackson sheriff wins second term
 

Jackson sheriff wins second term

Jackson County Sheriff Chip Hall will keep his job for another four years following a decisive victory on Election Day.
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Incumbents get another term on Macon commission
 

Incumbents get another term on Macon commission

Despite challengers’ loud cries for change in Macon County leadership, voters have given incumbents Ronnie Beale (Democrat) and Gary Shields (Republican) another four-year term on the board of commissioners.
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Incumbent wins another term as Macon’s sheriff
 

Incumbent wins another term as Macon’s sheriff

Republican Robert Holland will serve a fifth term as Macon County sheriff after a clear victory Tuesday night.
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Close race in Swain County commission race
 

Close race in Swain County commission race

With six candidates running for three seats on the Swain County Board of Commissioners, it was a close call Tuesday night as election results began to roll in.
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Cochran to continue as Swain sheriff
 

Cochran to continue as Swain sheriff

Incumbent Republican Curtis Cochran has secured his fourth term as sheriff of Swain County after facing off against Democratic challenger Rocky Sampson. 
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Anne Fitten Glenn.
 

Tapping into the past, present of Appalachia

In the six or so years I’ve lived and worked in Western North Carolina, the amount of craft breweries in…
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The 1967 ‘March on The Pentagon.’ Bernie Boston photo
 

We are but a moment’s sunlight, fading in the grass

I was born in the wrong decade.  Or so I often hear from others. Some are musicians or artists, dreamers…
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Late surge in Dem fundraising for WNC General Assembly races
 

Late surge in Dem fundraising for WNC General Assembly races

Third quarter fundraising reports submitted by candidates to the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement last week show most Democratic challengers in Western North Carolina with substantial fundraising advantages over their Republican incumbent opponents.
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Put Schandevel In state House
 

Put Schandevel In state House

To the Editor:  “Meet the real Rhonda Schandevel” was what I read on the latest inaccurate ad I received in…
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Please vote and save democracy
 

Please vote and save democracy

To the Editor: We have been battered with a drumbeat of name calling and blaming over the last two years. It…
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