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Vacated library could become new home for Sylva police
 

Vacated library could become new home for Sylva police

The Sylva Police Department may find a new home in the Jackson County Public Library on Main Street once the…
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New Swain jail continues to rack up costs
 

New Swain jail continues to rack up costs

Weeks following an escape at the brand-new Swain County jail, county commissioners agreed to an emergency appropriation of $139,000 at…
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Jackson ordered to relinquish permits that pave way for dam removal
 

Jackson ordered to relinquish permits that pave way for dam removal

Despite losing yet another court battle over the Dillsboro dam, the majority of Jackson County commissioners have vowed to continue…
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State wants assurances before approving loan for Sylva fire department
 

State wants assurances before approving loan for Sylva fire department

The town of Sylva continues to be plagued by a financial mistake made last year in which $2 million in…
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Alpacas: Furry, friendly and in 23 colors
 

Alpacas: Furry, friendly and in 23 colors

The group that Joe Moore hangs out with most days is an eclectic one, with names like Jack Straw, Reuben,…
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All airport documents requested in lead up to runway lawsuit
 

All airport documents requested in lead up to runway lawsuit

An environmental group out of Asheville plans to sue the Macon County Airport Authority and other parties involved in the…
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Fired jail employee says he warned of relationship between murder suspect and jailer
 

Fired jail employee says he warned of relationship between murder suspect and jailer

The Swain County sheriff and jail administrators were warned that a jailer who freed a double murder suspect March 21…
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Haywood proposes incentives for green business
 

Haywood proposes incentives for green business

Economic development officials have adopted a policy that will give business incentives to clean, renewable energy projects that locate in…
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Canton has new town manager: Lengthy search ends back where it started — with interim manager Matthews
 

Canton has new town manager: Lengthy search ends back where it started — with interim manager Matthews

After a search that has dragged on for more than a year, the Canton Board of Alderman has finally selected…
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New Sylva manager’s salary below state average of similar-sized towns
 

New Sylva manager’s salary below state average of similar-sized towns

Though some are complaining that the salary for the recently hired Sylva town manager is high for her level of…
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New face on Waynesville board: Funeral home director fills Kenneth Moore’s seat
 

New face on Waynesville board: Funeral home director fills Kenneth Moore’s seat

One would be be hard-pressed to find someone uttering anything but praise for new Waynesville Alderman Wells Greeley. The 6-foot,…
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Tight budget forces libraries to trim hours
 

Tight budget forces libraries to trim hours

In the latest tangible consequence of countywide budget cuts, the Haywood County Library system is scaling back hours at each…
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Haywood tourism board debates ‘Smokies’ slogan
 

Haywood tourism board debates ‘Smokies’ slogan

Haywood County is having a bit of an identity crisis. The Tourism Development Authority touts the county as a place…
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Job hunt gets harder under double digit unemployment
 

Job hunt gets harder under double digit unemployment

Sitting in the Job Link site in Sylva looking for jobs on a computer database, Kathleen Codon of Cullowhee hit…
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Swain residents lock and load in wake of escaped murder suspect
 

Swain residents lock and load in wake of escaped murder suspect

Swain County residents are locking their doors and loading their guns after a suspect in a double homicide escaped from…
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Civil suit following toddler’s death blames DSS for failing to intervene
 

Civil suit following toddler’s death blames DSS for failing to intervene

A lawsuit filed against the Haywood County Department of Social Services charging the agency could have prevented the death of…
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Heath Shuler: Too conservative for his party or right on the money?
 

Heath Shuler: Too conservative for his party or right on the money?

He was endorsed by the Family Research Council for his pro-life stance and by the NRA for his support of…
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Ghost Town coaster opening faces big hurdles
 

Ghost Town coaster opening faces big hurdles

Ghost Town investors are banking on finally getting the park’s Cliffhanger rollercoaster up and running in order to attract visitors…
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Cause of quarry slide undetermined
 

Cause of quarry slide undetermined

Federal investigators with the Mine Safety and Health Administration have still not determined the cause of a slide last week…
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New Sylva town manager brings planning background to the table
 

New Sylva town manager brings planning background to the table

The Sylva Town Board on Friday voted 3-2 to hire a new town manager with a background in planning. The…
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Precarious boulder prompts creative action by DOT
 

Precarious boulder prompts creative action by DOT

There’s a big problem looming over a rural Swain County road — literally — and exactly how to solve it…
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Macon eyes steep slope ordinance
 

Macon eyes steep slope ordinance

The Macon County Planning Board is in the beginning stages of developing an ordinance that would regulate development on steep…
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Macon runway likely to clear hurdle of cash shortfall
 

Macon runway likely to clear hurdle of cash shortfall

It appears an $853,000 shortfall facing the Macon County airport runway extension may be covered with additional state and federal…
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Airport officials hold private meeting about runway
 

Airport officials hold private meeting about runway

Local, state and federal officials involved in the controversial Macon County Airport runway extension held a private meeting last week.…
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Duke Energy, Jackson argue cases in court
 

Duke Energy, Jackson argue cases in court

Duke Energy and Jackson County appeared in court Monday (March 16) to argue over permits related to the removal of…
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WCU announces faculty layoffs
 

WCU announces faculty layoffs

Under a budget cut scenario announced last Friday (March 13), 31.75 employees will be laid off from Western Carolina University…
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Agencies, departments reeling from county budget cuts
 

Agencies, departments reeling from county budget cuts

Non-profit agencies and county departments in Haywood County are still reeling from massive budget cuts announced by commissioners last week.…
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Troubled park hopes to get back on feet
 

Troubled park hopes to get back on feet

The dire state of finances at Maggie Valley Ghost Town in the Sky led the amusement park to file for…
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Jackson ponders solutions to dry wells
 

Jackson ponders solutions to dry wells

A Jackson County task force appointed last fall to develop solutions to water shortages caused by the drought presented its…
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Runway extension faces funding shortfall
 

Runway extension faces funding shortfall

The Macon County Airport Authority is short about $853,000 of what it needs to pay for a controversial runway extension,…
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Moonshiner dead in apparent suicide
 

Moonshiner dead in apparent suicide

Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, 62, was found dead of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in a car near his Parrotsville, Tenn., residence,…
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Board members confused about McDevitt contract
 

Board members confused about McDevitt contract

Questions continue to follow former Smoky Mountain Center for Mental Health director Tom McDevitt — who resigned amid scrutiny last…
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Swain pushes Bryson fire department aside in turf war
 

Swain pushes Bryson fire department aside in turf war

Prominently displayed in the window of the Bryson City Fire Department last week were several signs with the same defiant…
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Churches pool to offer refuge for homeless in Sylva, Waynesville
 

Churches pool to offer refuge for homeless in Sylva, Waynesville

A homeless shelter has opened in Sylva to provide an escape from the frigid nights. The shelter, located at Lifeway…
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Waynesville mourns passing of long-time alderman
 

Waynesville mourns passing of long-time alderman

Waynesville Alderman Kenneth Moore passed away Monday (March 2) after a heart attack. He was 74. Moore was the former…
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Canton town manager search drags on
 

Canton town manager search drags on

There are just two candidates left in the bid to be Canton’s next town manager, but Mayor Pat Smathers said…
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Franklin man banned from bringing knife to church
 

Franklin man banned from bringing knife to church

A member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Franklin is prohibited from bringing his hunting knife to church after another…
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Artifacts endangered by airport project
 

Artifacts endangered by airport project

When Neal Hoppe dies he wants his body cremated and his ashes spread over the Macon County Airport. “When I…
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Canton stuck in bidding quagmire
 

Canton stuck in bidding quagmire

A flawed bidding process for a demolition job that left a local company out of the loop is causing a…
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Airport runway battle heats up in Macon: Cherokee fight to save artifacts from destruction
 

Airport runway battle heats up in Macon: Cherokee fight to save artifacts from destruction

Emotions are sizzling over a plan to extend the Macon County Airport runway over Cherokee burial grounds and artifacts. At…
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New polling place to end Cherokee voters’ commute to Bryson
 

New polling place to end Cherokee voters’ commute to Bryson

People in Cherokee will no longer have to drive or hitch rides into Bryson City to cast ballots during early…
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Angry residents call nuisance ordinance ‘a bunch of garbage’
 

Angry residents call nuisance ordinance ‘a bunch of garbage’

A proposed Haywood County ordinance that prohibits various kinds of waste and junk was harshly criticized by speaker after speaker…
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MedWest celebrates local athletes
 

MedWest celebrates local athletes

MedWest Health System will recognize outstanding athletes from Haywood, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Cherokee Reservation. The…
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Corbin to replace Davis on Macon board
 

Corbin to replace Davis on Macon board

Kevin Corbin has been named by the Macon County GOP to fill the seat on the county board of commissioners…
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Haywood book recognized by statewide historian society
 

Haywood book recognized by statewide historian society

“Haywood County: Portrait of a Mountain Community,” was awarded the Willie Parker Peace History Book Award and the President’s Award…
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Local leaders try to protect small farms
 

Local leaders try to protect small farms

By Quintin Ellison and Colby Dunn William Shelton knows one positive aspect about losing his bid for re-election to the…
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Public input sought in chancellor search
 

Public input sought in chancellor search

Members of the public will have an opportunity to have their voices heard by the search committee that will help…
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Mast helps share the warmth this winter
 

Mast helps share the warmth this winter

With many neighbors being unemployed or underemployed and winter on the horizon, there’s even more need to share the warmth…
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Around and around they might go — Macon County eyed for roundabouts
 

Around and around they might go — Macon County eyed for roundabouts

It’s a dizzying prospect, but a group looking at future traffic patterns and demands in Macon County is considering including…
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Haywood Realtors weighing merger with Asheville board
 

Haywood Realtors weighing merger with Asheville board

It’s no secret that real estate isn’t what it used to be. It would be difficult to find an industry…
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