This must be the place: Ode to Sylva Pride, ode to all the colors of the rainbow

Kudos to the town of Sylva for hosting its inaugural Pride celebration this past Saturday in downtown. A day filled with activities, a parade and drag shows all in the name of showcasing and uplifting the LGBTQ+ community that lives and works (and thrives) in our mountain communities. 

Sylva delays Allen Street funding decision

Sylva Town Manager Paige Dowling presented two options during the town board’s Aug. 26 meeting for funding the $2 million needed to repair landslides on Allen Street, but her ultimate recommendation was that commissioners pass on both and wait for help. 

Complementing the community: New restaurant brings Mediterranean flare to Sylva

Since they set up shop in Sylva just about three and a half years ago, Don and Cecelia Panicko have opened a café and a speakeasy, had a child and got married, all while weathering a global pandemic and the continuing economic fallout within the restaurant industry nationwide. 

Planning for adventure: Sylva, Cherokee to partner on trails plan

The highest-elevation mountain bike trail on the East Coast is on the path from concept to reality after the Cherokee Tribal Council and Sylva Board of Commissioners approved an agreement to begin a joint master planning process for the 912 acres of ridgetop land.

Sylva faces $2 million road repair

Fixing ongoing landslide issues on Allen Street could cost up to $2 million — an amount equivalent to more than 40% of the town’s current budget — Sylva commissioners learned during a discussion at their Aug. 12 meeting  that lasted over an hour. 

Forest therapy trail approved for Sylva

Sylva may soon be home to the first certified forest therapy trail in North Carolina following the town board’s unanimous vote to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Mark Ellison, a certified nature and forest therapy guide who lives in Jackson County. 

Sylva man found guilty of ransacking ambulance

With admissions last week of stealing and breaking into motor vehicles, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said, a Sylva man also violated his probation for an earlier ransacking of an ambulance and Harris Regional Hospital EMS building.

Cosmopolitan country: Sylva restaurant combines fine Italian, Appalachian culinary delights

For several years, the small building at the corner of Main and Mill streets in downtown Sylva has sat dormant. Once the beloved Meatballs restaurant (from 1983-2000), the structure has gone through numerous reincarnations, only to once again remain silent — a space of potential and promise awaiting its next chapter. 

City Lights owner to lead Sylva’s Main Street program

Bernadette Peters, owner of City Lights Café, has been hired to lead economic development efforts in downtown Sylva. 

Sylva board approves agreement with Pinnacle Park Foundation

The Sylva Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an agreement with the Pinnacle Park Foundation during its June 24 meeting aimed at moving along key conservation and recreation projects on the town-owned forest. 

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.