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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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Press Wars: Community newspapers thrive despite stagnant economy
 

Press Wars: Community newspapers thrive despite stagnant economy

It’s a Monday night in early November and the meeting is, in one word, boring. As a result of the…
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Luncheon changes locales due to interest
 

Luncheon changes locales due to interest

The Healthy Haywood Substance Abuse Action Team will hold a Prescription Drug Abuse Lunch and Learn from noon to 1:30…
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Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho it’s off to home we go
 

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho it’s off to home we go

Farewells and hellos from Commissioner Tom Massie highlighted this week’s lame-duck county board meeting in Jackson County. The ousted elected…
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Waynesville adopts conditional zoning at Ingles’ request
 

Waynesville adopts conditional zoning at Ingles’ request

Ingles is now one step closer to giving their Waynesville store a revamp, thanks to a decision taken by the…
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Does working for the government give workers a free pass to carry a gun?
 

Does working for the government give workers a free pass to carry a gun?

Chances are, the identity of your garbage truck driver doesn’t always cross your mind. You probably give him a friendly…
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Dillsboro Cat-Dash, Nov. 18
 

Dillsboro Cat-Dash, Nov. 18

Guided by tweets and freshly made maps, Western Carolina University students will race against the clock, and each other, in…
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Festival of Trees to be held Monday, Nov.. 22
 

Festival of Trees to be held Monday, Nov.. 22

The Kids Advocacy Resource Effort (KARE) is holding its first Festival of Trees beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov.…
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Dillsboro puts out welcome mat for WCU
 

Dillsboro puts out welcome mat for WCU

The town of Dillsboro will host Western Carolina University faculty, staff and students during a special event called “Destination: Dillsboro!”…
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Haywood schools chart course for future
 

Haywood schools chart course for future

This fall, while Haywood County students are focused on homework, football, the opposite sex and the many other preoccupations of…
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