Smokies' first dispensary to open: Cherokee's long-awaited marijuana venture to finally generate some green
The path to cannabis legalization on the Qualla Boundary has been riddled with roadblocks, some of which the Eastern Band…
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EBCI Tribal Council approves adult recreational cannabis
About nine months after members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly to legalize the sale of marijuana…
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Recreational marijuana coming next month: Cherokee announces adult-use cannabis date
Beginning, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purcha se and use marijuana on the…
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Cherokee celebrates first day of adult recreational cannabis use
It’s been almost a decade in the making, but anyone over 21 with a valid ID can purchase THC products…
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Bridge Park set for upgrades
After delays due to funding and insufficient bids, Sylva is set to begin work on the Bridge Park Green Infrastructure…
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Attorney General reiterates commitment to Canton
Following up on a campaign promise he made just over a year ago, newly-elected North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson…
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Local officials feel good about Pactiv mill parcel sale in Canton
Apprehension over the fate of a huge industrial parcel in the heart of Canton is now transitioning to cautious optimism.
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HERE of Jackson County requests funding for homeless shelter
HERE of Jackson County, the county’s primary homeless services provider, is requesting half a million dollars from the county to…
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Jackson seeks solutions in childcare gap
Jackson County has been working to develop a plan it hopes will mend the multigenerational workforce issue that is impacting communities…
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Gov. Stein promises intensive storm relief measures
Gov. Josh Stein has made it clear that he intends on prioritizing Hurricane Helene relief in Western North Carolina. Shortly…
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Property values increasing in Jackson
A state-mandated, county-wide property reappraisal took effect on Jan. 1 this year. Prior to the appeals process, the reappraisal showing a…
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WCU’s Project Discovery celebrates, reflects on 40th anniversary
Heath Robertson sat at the back of the bus on a college tour trip when he was asked about his…
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Blanket auction to benefit local organizations
Students in the professional crafts fiber program at Haywood Community College created 10 blankets to support the community in response…
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WNC counties to receive broadband upgrades
The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity posted Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program…
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Canton mill sold
A press release just issued by the St. Louis-based developer who’s been pursuing the site of the shuttered Pactiv Evergreen…
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The essence of power is a towel
Editor’s note: This story originally ran in The Smoky Mountain News in November 2018 following Politics Editor Cory Vaillancourt’s trip…
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From low to high: Georgia musicians promote hurricane relief in WNC
Sunny sea-level Savannah, Georgia, is known for a lot of things — historic colonial beauty, low country cuisine and a…
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Man sues EBCI for wrongful prosecution
A man initially convicted in a Cherokee Tribal Court for playing a role in a debilitating December 2019 ransomware attack is…
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Commissioners delay TDA appointment, again
For the second meeting in a row, Jackson County Commissioners chose to table a routine appointment to the Jackson County…
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School board to consider additional coaching supplements
After a request for an assistant JV volleyball coach prompted a review of coaching supplements in the school system, the…
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Helene assistance deadline extended
At the request of Gov. Josh Stein, FEMA has granted North Carolina an extension for local governments and certain types…
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Practical Nursing class celebrates pinning ceremony
On Dec. 10, the Burrell conference room on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus was packed full of friends and family…
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The essence of power is a towel
There, in Sumter County, Georgia, not far from the Alabama line lies the tiny town of Plains (pop. 784), a…
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Stein moves quickly on Hurricane Helene relief
Newly elected Gov. Josh Stein wasted no time addressing some of the state’s biggest challenges after being sworn in on…
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2024 A Look Back: Continuous groan award
The fallout immediately following the disaster wrought by Hurricane Helene was tragic and traumatizing, but as time has gone on…
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2024 A Look Back: Least influential YouTube influencer award
The last few years have been a helluva ride for Haywood County Commissioner Terry “double down” Ramey. Prior to his…
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2024 A Look Back: Trailblazer award
By the end of the 1900s, groups of marginalized Americans like women, Blacks, Hispanics and others had made great strides…
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2024 A Look Back: Hometown pride award
Evy Leibfarth was welcomed home in style this summer after her medal-winning performance at the Olympics. In her second Olympic…
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2024 A Look Back: Hometown hero award
When Tropical Storm Fred cut a half billion-dollar swath of destruction through the eastern part of Haywood County and killed…
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2024 A Look Back: Big Brother award
In May, Payton McNabb shrouded herself in the cloak of Big Brother when she took to a Western Carolina University…
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2024 A Look Back: Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree award
This one goes out to the North Carolina General Assembly and Congress, but it will take a little explaining.
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2024 A Look Back: Ready to throw down award
It’s nice to have an elected board of representatives who care about their county and are willing to fight for…
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2024 A Look Back: Keep quiet award
Rep. Chuck Edwards has refused to speak to The Smoky Mountain News since shortly after he was elected in 2022.…
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2024 A Look Back: Public engagement award
You might think people don’t care about local government, but sometimes you’re reminded that they absolutely do. Bryson City’s town…
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2024 A Look Back: The steamroller award
We hate to belabor one topic, but we have more than one marijuana-related award to hand out this year. The…
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2024 A Look Back: If at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again award
Sylva first considered a proposal to address panhandling in November 2022 but ultimately decided against it after a majority of the board…
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2024 A Look Back: On the up and up award
Haywood County Schools’ stock just keep rising. This year the school system was ranked sixth out of 115 school districts…
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2024 A Look Back: Audacity award
It makes potheads giggle and cops roll their eyes, and in Western North Carolina this year, the stoner holiday 4/20…
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2024 A Look Back: First in flight award
After Hurricane Helene rocked the eastern reaches of Western North Carolina, Crystal Cochran sprang into action. A resident of Sylva,…
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2024 A Look Back: If it ain’t broke award
Following this year’s budget season, Macon County maintains its position with the lowest property tax of any county in the…
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2024 A Look Back: Building the future award
This year both Jackson and Swain counties received state grants of $52 million to build new middle schools. For Jackson County, this…
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2024 A Look Back: Maconians united award
Maconians are known among the citizens of Western North Carolina for robust and regular public input at local government meetings…
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Fake News Freakout: Episode 9
I started this annual feature nearly a decade ago to poke fun at the emerging scourge of fake news — lies, really…
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A moment to celebrate: Haywood’s Recovery Court graduates second participant
Last Friday wasn’t Mark Beam’s first time facing a judge at the defendant’s table in Haywood County District Court, but…
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After fiasco, Congress fails to meet North Carolina’s hurricane recovery needs
Hurricane Helene victims in Western North Carolina have eagerly been awaiting an expected holiday gift in the form of federal…
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School board considers options for Jackson Community School
Jackson Community School — Jackson County’s alternative learning center — is the most expensive school in the district per pupil,…
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Macon animal control in need of staff
After a team of volunteers converged on a Macon County Board of Health meeting to express concerns about the state…
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Macon County couple endows fund to diversify WCU Fine Art Museum collections
The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center will be broadening…
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Additional Slide Delays I-40 Reopening
An additional chunk of asphalt fell away from an eastbound lane of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge this…
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Board approves athlete transfer policy without path for implementation
Despite having no recommendation to do so from its policy committee, legal advice outlining the complications of such a move,…
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