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CSA programs bring together consumers and the hands that feed them
 

CSA programs bring together consumers and the hands that feed them

Walk among the rows and rows of hydroponic butter leaf lettuce growing in William Shelton’s greenhouse, and you’ll notice a…
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New program aims to bring abusers to justice
 

New program aims to bring abusers to justice

Victims of domestic violence in Western North Carolina recently received a powerful new voice to help bring them justice. A…
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HRMC board chair steps down
 

HRMC board chair steps down

The board of Haywood Regional Medical Center bid farewell to chairman Glenn White April 24. White had served on the…
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Survey sheds light on WCU student vision for Cullowhee
 

Survey sheds light on WCU student vision for Cullowhee

What’s a college without a college town? It’s an almost unimaginable scenario to those who love the unique, quirky places…
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TDA debates where to draw line for events that may not benefit entire county
 

TDA debates where to draw line for events that may not benefit entire county

Should a private business receive taxpayer money to stage an event? That was the question of the hour at two…
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Annexation gets more scrutiny as liquor issue comes into play
 

Annexation gets more scrutiny as liquor issue comes into play

Business owners hoping to be annexed by Waynesville in order to serve alcohol be out of luck. At a meeting…
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Swain jailer, murder suspect captured in California
 

Swain jailer, murder suspect captured in California

A jailer and the murder suspect she allegedly freed from the Swain County Detention Center a month ago were apprehended…
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Group, angry with government, descends on Franklin
 

Group, angry with government, descends on Franklin

An angry crowd stormed downtown Franklin on tax day last week, protesting the federal government’s bailouts, high taxes and pork…
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Tourist industry lines up to tap TDA coffers
 

Tourist industry lines up to tap TDA coffers

Requests for Haywood Tourism Development Authority money this year ran the gamut from the predictable to events making their debut…
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Athletes aspire to pro ranks: Small university still packs big punch in spring sports
 

Athletes aspire to pro ranks: Small university still packs big punch in spring sports

Western Carolina University softball star Mollie Fowler painfully remembers the day her shin broke in half playing shortstop. She dove…
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Waynesville could finally see long-awaited make-over of South Main Street
 

Waynesville could finally see long-awaited make-over of South Main Street

Waynesville’s South Main Street — the two-lane thoroughfare that is the major artery between downtown and the new Super Wal-Mart…
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Swain’s tax base just got even smaller
 

Swain’s tax base just got even smaller

Swain County, 86 percent of which is already owned by the federal government, lost a little more land from its…
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Jackson Paper bucks manufacturing trend
 

Jackson Paper bucks manufacturing trend

Last week’s announcement that 61 new jobs are coming to Sylva with the expansion of Jackson Paper is relief for…
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Waynesville land use plan back on the drawing board
 

Waynesville land use plan back on the drawing board

Waynesville leaders will finally kick off the town’s much-anticipated review of its six-year-old land use plan on April 22. Town…
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Macon leaders question Georgia sewer headed their way
 

Macon leaders question Georgia sewer headed their way

Macon County commissioners voiced concern this week over a proposed sewer treatment plant that would discharge into the Little Tennessee…
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Cherokee tackles long-standing problems of housing and drugs
 

Cherokee tackles long-standing problems of housing and drugs

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has announced plans for an affordable housing development and substance abuse treatment center in…
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Cherokee parents protest losses in children’s trust fund
 

Cherokee parents protest losses in children’s trust fund

A throng of about 150 angry members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians turned out to the Birdtown Community…
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Noisy and determined opponents get their way with nuisance ordinance
 

Noisy and determined opponents get their way with nuisance ordinance

Take note — members of the public with an agenda to push could learn a thing or two from the…
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Multi-family unit OK’d by judge, but court rules against proposed expansion
 

Multi-family unit OK’d by judge, but court rules against proposed expansion

The neighborhood covenants of a Maggie Valley homeowners association were put to the test in court recently. A developer sued…
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Affordable senior condos spark opposition among downtown Waynesville neighbors
 

Affordable senior condos spark opposition among downtown Waynesville neighbors

Residents of a downtown Waynesville neighborhood are up in arms about a proposed three-story, 64-unit condo development that would provide…
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Macon airport lands more money for artifact surveys
 

Macon airport lands more money for artifact surveys

Opposition to the airport runway extension in Macon County continues to mount, with a standing-room-only crowd attending last week’s Airport…
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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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