Free training on domestic violence prevention
REACH of Haywood County is sponsoring a free training for all community leaders, law enforcement personnel, social workers, healthcare professionals…
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Long-awaited aquatic center opens in Jackson
After years of work on the project and more than a decade of planning and advocacy, the new aquatic center…
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Local youth renew Sylva skatepark conversation
Residents of Jackson County have long voiced their support, organized and fundraised for a skatepark with little to show other…
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Macon to explore private solution to animal control
After receiving requests for additional staffing at the Macon County Animal Shelter, commissioners have decided to see if they might…
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Macon still accepting applications for county manager
After previous County Manager Derek Roland announced his resignation in September, Macon County decided to appoint Warren Cabe as interim…
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WCU kicks off $100 million ‘Fill the Western Sky’ fundraising campaign
Western Carolina University officially kicked off the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s 136-year history, an effort to secure…
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Of truth and trust: Lack of accountability haunts charitable hurricane relief efforts
After Hurricane Helene completed its devastating march from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Smoky Mountains, the struggles of…
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An unexpected journey: A look at inauguration weekend through the eyes of a WNC Republican
Friday, as Roxan Wetzel and her husband, Rook, eagerly anticipated their trip to Washington, D.C. to see Donald Trump become…
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Marchers hope for change
While it may be the Republican Party’s moment in the global spotlight, more than 50,000 people from the left turned…
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Tar Heel state had an outsized impact in Republican trifecta
Before he was sworn in on Jan. 20, Donald Trump had a lot to say about the agenda he plans…
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'I'm here for my grandchildren': Asheville People’s March small, but mighty
Despite the hell Asheville and greater Western North Carolina have gone through since flooding caused by Hurricane Helene last fall,…
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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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D.C. Dispatch: a most unusual inauguration
The 2017 inauguration of President Donald Trump was normal in nearly every way — the crowds of enthusiastic supporters, the chants…
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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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