Haywood Tree to serve as Capitol Christmas tree, prompt spruce restoration efforts
Sometime around 1940, a red spruce seedling pushed above the forest floor in southern Haywood County. Its roots drank from…
Read More
Rob Saunooke announces campaign for chief
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Rob Saunooke is banned from practicing law on the Qualla…
Read More
Cherokee Central Schools gets funding for cost-of-living, minimum wage increase
The Cherokee Tribal Council allocated an additional $1.38 million to Cherokee Central Schools during an Oct. 24 Annual Council session,…
Read More
WCU rolls out scholarship guarantee program
This fall, Western Carolina University will launch a pilot program that guarantees undergraduate students up to $3,000 per year in…
Read More
Haywood County Special Olympics receives makeover
Haywood County residents with special needs have long treasured the Special Olympics Spring Games, but now they’ll have a reason…
Read More
Tribe partners on Kentucky horse race track
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a key partner in a $55 million effort to bring the state’s first…
Read More
Republicans sweep Swain County Commission races
The Swain County Board of Commissioners will be shaken up next year.
Read More
Cochran wins re-election, will serve fifth term as Swain County Sheriff
Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran has won his bid for reelection after defeating Doug “Tank” Anthony.
Read More
Republicans win all three Macon Commission seats up for grabs
The results are in, and the Macon County Board of Commissioners is going to look different for the next two…
Read More
Haywood County commission goes fully Republican
Just four years after gaining their first-ever majority on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, Republicans succeeded in booting the…
Read More
Haywood County Operation nets 112 grams of fentanyl
Over four days, Haywood County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and agency partners led a large-scale operation that resulted in the seizure of 63…
Read More
Vecinos awarded grant from Hispanic Federation
Recently, Vecinos, serving a large Hispanic/Latino community in the six western counties of North Carolina, was granted $25,000 by The…
Read More
Cherokee Council updates ethics ordinance
During an Oct. 17 Annual Council meeting, the Cherokee Tribal Council approved an ordinance that strengthens ethics laws for tribal…
Read More
Western counties may combine opioid settlement funds for regional treatment center
No matter how it all shakes out in the end, Nov. 3, 2022 will be looked upon as a historic…
Read More
NC’s Local Government Commission returns to its roots in Western North Carolina
Although little-known, there’s an agency within the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer that has a tremendous impact on everything…
Read More
Haywood student nominated to advise State Board of Education
Lily Seymour has been asked to join the State Board of Education as a student advisor. The Haywood County student’s…
Read More
Another death at the Jackson County Detention Center
For the fifth time in eight years, and the second time since July, someone has died while incarcerated at the…
Read More
NC Supreme Court orders state to fund Leandro Plan
The latest development in the Leandro v. The state of North Carolina court case came last week when the North…
Read More
WCU alumnus providing leadership gifts
Steve Couch, a 1985 graduate of WCU with a degree in industrial technology, is having a major impact on the…
Read More
Republicans gain two seats on N.C. Supreme Court
Republicans have shifted the balance of the North Carolina supreme court.
Read More
Budd beats Beasley
Ted Budd has beat Cheri Beasely to become the next senator for North Carolina.
Read More
Edwards takes 11th Congressional District over Beach-Ferrara
Hendersonville’s three-term Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards is moving up in the world, from Raleigh to Washington, after defeating his Democrat…
Read More
Farmer wins Jackson Sheriff
In another tight race for Jackson County, Republican Doug Farmer has come out on top of the race for sheriff.
Read More
Wilke to become next Haywood Sheriff
Private investigator, retired Army colonel, former Asheville police officer Bill Wilke will be sworn in as the first elected Republican…
Read More
Laseter, Breeden win Macon School Board race; county votes no to quarter-cent sales tax
Stephanie Hyder Laseter and Diedre Kaye Breeden will join the Macon County School Board after winning elections for their respective…
Read More
West out as Haywood tax collector
The state of North Carolina’s only elected tax collector and one of Haywood County's few elected Democrats will lose his…
Read More
Jackson County Commission too close to call
With all precincts reporting, the race for Jackson County Commission is too close to call. Results will not be official…
Read More
Three incumbents, one newcomer for Haywood School Board
All three incumbents in the race for Haywood County School Board will return to their seat on the board alongside…
Read More
Pless survives challenge, will return to Raleigh
Haywood County Republican Mark Pless may have produced his share of controversy during his first term in the General Assembly,…
Read More
Clampitt holds on to reconfigured 119th District
Republican Rep. Mike Clampitt will return to the Republican majority in Raleigh after defeating Transylvania County Democrat Al Platt in…
Read More
Republicans sweep Swain County School Board
With all precincts reporting, unofficial results show Republicans R.L. Taylor and Lisa Loftis have won seats on the Swain County…
Read More
Corbin cruises in North Carolina’s westernmost senate district
Incumbent Republican Sen. Kevin Corbin, of Macon County, will go on to serve another two years in North Carolina’s General…
Read More
A matter of trust: NC-11 seeks stability after Meadows & Cawthorn
Western North Carolina’s last two Republican congressmen, Mark Meadows and Madison Cawthorn, have left behind them a combined decade-long legacy…
Read More
Pless, Remillard face off with GOP supermajority at stake
Although it may look lopsided by the numbers, the race for North Carolina’s 118th House District could be a bit…
Read More
Beasley, Budd battle for U.S. Senate
The race for United States Senate in North Carolina has been dubbed a sleepy one, but with Election Day now…
Read More
Democrats face uphill battle for Corbin’s seat
North Carolina’s 50th Senate District remains a bastion of Republican power in the west; nonpartisan mapping site davesredistricting.org puts it at…
Read More
Supreme Court candidates navigate partisan campaigning and judicial integrity
They may be the most consequential races in North Carolina this year, yet most people don’t even know who’s running.
Read More
Clampitt, Platt look to gain new ground in 119th District
In North Carolina politics, some things change, while others stay the same.
Read More
Local school boards becoming more politicized
Public schools have grappled with constant change over the last several years due to the impacts of COVID-19.
Read More
Four candidates left in race for Swain County School Board
Unique among the Smoky Mountain News’ four county coverage area, the Swain County School Board is a partisan-elected board. This…
Read More
Three newcomers, three incumbents on the ballot for Haywood Schools
On the heels of new academic data showing Haywood County Schools ranking seventh among the state’s 115 districts, school board…
Read More
Macon to vote on new school board members, funding option for new high school
This year, Macon County Schools began the process of building a new high school. The Franklin High School that exists…
Read More
As NC Republicans eye supermajority for abortion restrictions, Edwards calls pro-choice voters ‘evil’
The debate over abortion rights now moves to the General Assembly — and therefore, the ballot box — but both…
Read More
Performance vs. Promise: West, Cothran seek Haywood tax collector position
This is probably the only election story you’ll read about a county tax collector’s race in North Carolina, because Haywood…
Read More
Five vie for three seats on Haywood Commission
Three incumbents, along with two challengers, are all running for the Haywood County Board of Commissioners this year, and there…
Read More
Big changes coming in WNC law enforcement leadership
Earlier this year candidates for sheriff began campaigning across the region, hoping to earn the trust of voters who, in…
Read More
Bryson, Wilke square off in highly anticipated Haywood sheriff race
After nearly 10 years in office, Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher announced his retirement in Mach 2021, giving prospective candidates more…
Read More
Jackson sheriff race down to Buchanan, Farmer
With the impending retirement of Jackson County Sheriff Chip Hall, two candidates will compete for the seat this fall in…
Read More
Cochran seeks fifth term as Swain Sheriff
To be a sheriff in North Carolina is to be the most powerful elected official in a county.
Read More
