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
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
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
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
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’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 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
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 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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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 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
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?
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
A homeless shelter has opened in Sylva to provide an escape from the frigid nights. The shelter, located at Lifeway…
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