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Panthertown seeks input through survey
Friends of Panthertown is hoping to learn more about the people who do — or may someday — serve as…
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Fires Creek conservation project still needs $25,000
A $500,000 pledge has brought Mainspring Conservation Trust within sight of the finish line to conserving 50 acres of private…
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Chimney Tops Trail reopens
For the first time in nearly a year, the Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is…
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All’s well that ends with an elk
I had the pleasure of leading a birding trip for Alarka Expeditions on Friday September 29. I had been in…
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My list of notable books set in WNC
This past summer, I reviewed The Leader’s Bookshelf for The Smoky Mountain News. After seven years of interviewing many of…
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What should I say? Greensky Bluegrass returns to WNC
Why not? Why not include Greensky Bluegrass in the sacred — sometimes stale and stuffy — pantheon that is bluegrass…
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This must be the place: ‘What a way to ride, oh what a way to go’
Three pickup trucks. One stretch of highway. Since 2005, I’ve routinely traversed a never-ending stretch of Interstate 81 from north-central…
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New director named for Lake Junaluska Singers
Mary Wannamaker Huff has been named the director of the Lake Junaluska Singers, a choral group that has been a…
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Symposium draws on tradition, looks to future
The eighth annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium at Western Carolina University brought concepts of Cherokee philosophy and living wellness…
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Save your crude posts for other websites, please
Something newspaper editors never say: “I wish that fewer people responded to that piece in last week’s paper.” Well, thanks…
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Apply for open seat on Haywood school board
Following the resignation of Beaverdam school board member Scott Smith, Haywood County School Board Chairman Chuck Francis revealed the procedure…
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If I had a purple crayon…
Last night I read Harold and the Purple Crayon to my 5-year-old. He sat wide-eyed with an expression of intrigue…
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Tax reform plan won’t help middle class
To the Editor: Now that the drama over the ACA is done, it’s time to move on to tax reform.…
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Planned Parenthood kills, not the NRA
To the Editor: When a deranged person like Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter, randomly kills and wounds hundreds of …
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Tweet shows that Trump is unfit
To the Editor: After reading that this is Newspaper Week in the U.S., I happened to see an article about…
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Swain parents want more from recreation center
Several parents made it clear during a recent Swain County commissioners meeting they want to have more recreational opportunities for…
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Spate of county resignations raises questions
Several well-known Haywood County employees in high-ranking positions have terminated their own employment over the past few months, leading to…
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Haywood manager Dove was valued public servant
Although Ira Dove’s tenure as Haywood County manager was relatively short, his long service to the county and the contributions…
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Court upholds runoff in Cherokee
A lawsuit seeking to overturn a Board of Elections decision to hold an Oct. 10 runoff election for Birdtown Tribal…
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Skyland Drive to get sidewalks
Sidewalks are coming to Skyland Drive in Sylva along a 0.7-mile section stretching from the Old Asheville Highway to its…
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WCU student dies in shooting; Two teens arrested in connection
A late-night shooting near the Western Carolina University campus Friday, Oct. 6, has left a student dead.
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Staying in the game: New policies could define Waynesville economic development for decades
After realizing small but consistent gains in local business development over the past few years, the town of Waynesville has…
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Candidate forums next week in Canton, Maggie Valley
To mark the start of early voting, The Smoky Mountain News will host a pair of free candidate forums in…
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Developer takes Jackson to court over permit denial
Denial of a permit to build a 388-bed student housing complex in Cullowhee will land Jackson County in court after…
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Bryson Senior Living close to completion
When Bryson Senior Living, an assisted living facility in Swain County, opens in January, a major void in the community…
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Bryson City secures new maintenance property
After months of negotiations, the town of Bryson City has finally closed on a piece of property that will allow…
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Pedaling toward Mitchell: Biking and biology go hand-in-hand for WCU professor
Darby Harris is going on a bike ride Saturday, Oct. 7, but how far he’ll pedal will be a mystery…
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Proceeds grow from Smokies plates
Sales of Friends of the Smokies license plates brought in $230,000 over the first half of 2017, a 6 percent…
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Grant funds to protect farmland
Three Western North Carolina properties are among those to be protected through $3.28 million in grants recently awarded by the…
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Dam removal to boost native species
A recent dam removal on Santeetlah Creek in the Nantahala National Forest is allowing native fish to return to high-quality…
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Scouts bring in the apple harvest
More than 600 pounds of apples wound up in the pantries of people in need thanks to the efforts of…
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When they bloom, ‘fall’s a-coming’
Late summer has slid into early autumn. The end of summer officially arrived with the autumnal equinox of Sept. 23,…
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Books that transcend the divisiveness
From Thanksgiving dinners to football games, from the floors of Congress to Joe’s Bar & Grill, from universities to kindergartens,…
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After tragedy in Vegas, where to from here?
I’ve never shot a gun. Nope. Not once. I come from a family of gun owners. I’ve held plenty of…
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A part of my generation’s soundtrack
We were pretty full of ourselves, I guess. Barely 19, barely finished with our freshman year in college, having left…
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We can survive the Trump era
To the Editor: President Trump never ceases to amaze me on his downward spiral to be the worst president in…
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Children’s healthcare must be supported
To the Editor: Last week the US Congress failed to reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Plan — CHIP — known…
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Air Force Academy general deserves praise
To the Editor: All men and women who have served in the armed forces can hold their heads high when…
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So retirees should relinquish rights?
To the Editor: I am completely mystified by a recent letter writer’s response to my letter questioning the legitimacy of…
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Business dedicated to saving bees
Spriggly’s Beescaping is a new small business located in Waynesville that offers workshops, products, and services to create environments that…
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Haywood County manager resigns
Haywood County Manager Ira Dove has resigned; a resignation letter was sent out the morning of Oct. 4 from Candace Way,…
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Déjà vu: candidates walk familiar path
A spate of early announcements by local candidates hoping to gain seats in the North Carolina General Assembly may have…
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Jackson restricts some referendums to high-turnout elections
The Jackson County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Sept. 18 that will limit referendum votes on sales tax increases and…
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Swain installs Charters of Freedom
Swain County officials came together last week to dedicate the Charters of Freedom monument that can now be seen just…
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Swain elections director to sue county
Swain County Elections Director Joan Weeks recently informed the board of elections that she hired a lawyer and planned to…
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Waynesville inclusive playground approved
Play, it is said, is the work of children. But a substantial population of disabled kids who’ve up until now…
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Election Board orders runoff race in Birdtown; candidate files suit in Tribal Court
Uproar over the results of an election recount in the race to represent Cherokee’s Birdtown community on Tribal Council has…
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Cherokee’s attorney general resigns
The attorney general of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians appointed during the administration of Principal Chief Patrick Lambert has…
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Cherokee outlaws backpay with Council pay hikes
During its last days before swearing in newly elected members, the Cherokee Tribal Council unanimously passed an ordinance amendment that…
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