The EBCI enrollment audit at a glance
What is the enrollment audit? A review of the nearly 14,000 people on the tribe’s roll to determine whether they…
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Proposed road calls for bridge over N.C. 107 in Jackson
A new road that would traverse the campus of Southwestern Community College and provide a new link between two of…
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Haywood commissioners take heat for planned overhaul of trash and recycling
Haywood County commissioners are fighting opposition on all fronts after a county task force recently recommended major changes to trash…
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Cherokee enrollment quandary leads to talk of DNA testing
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is talking about moving to DNA testing as a way of verifying the blood…
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Bear gets put down after close encounter with Smokies visitor
A visitor in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park got nipped on the foot by a bear after getting too…
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Sylva cardboard box venture collapses
Stonewall Packaging, a cardboard plant in Sylva, laid off 43 workers last week and shut down operations after coming on…
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Farmers markets welcome the growing season
While the summer bounty of tomatoes, corn and green beans are still a couple of months away, there is still…
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Haywood commissioners balk at state plan for secondary roads
Counties usually have no choice but to accept unfunded mandates from the state, but this time, Haywood County commissioners are…
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HCC building feud persists unresolved
Haywood Community College leaders have chipped away more than $430,000 worth of features from its proposed creative arts building, but…
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Tribe plans to expand gambling reach
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians plans to build a Class II gaming facility in Cherokee County, but the project…
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Maggie slide victims still living in limbo
More than three months have come and gone since a major mudslide crashed through Maggie Valley’s Rich Cove community, and…
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Ghost Town owner Harper daunted but not deterred
As Al Harper watched the national recession undermine ticket sales at Ghost Town amusement park over the past two years,…
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Ghost Town saga reaches deeper into WNC
Western North Carolina is a patchwork of small communities, close-knit groups operating independently to make their own town or area…
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Cecil Groves leaves SCC with a legacy of regional growth
In 1970, Cecil Groves was the 30-year-old provost of Delgado College. The city of New Orleans was on fire, rent…
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Quest for cost savings leads Haywood to outsource trash and recycling
Faced with a tall and growing stack of bills in the solid waste department, Haywood County commissioners are seriously considering…
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Welsh TV crew visits Cherokee
Iolo Williams is one of the Wales’ most recognized TV personalities. “Wildlife” Williams, as he is known by some fans,…
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Friedman fails to give Haire a green scare
Phil Haire is a fortress as a state candidate. The seven-time incumbent is head of the General Assembly’s appropriations committee,…
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Ghost Town liability insurance lapsed prior to Feb. 5 mudslide
Ghost Town in the Sky failed to make timely payments on its liability insurance policy, and as a result it…
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$7 million investment rescues Ghost Town from bankruptcy
Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park in Maggie Valley will emerge from bankruptcy under a new corporate structure. One…
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Low voter turnout in primary elections
Mid-term election primaries are normally characterized by poor voter turnout, and that held true this year as only 14 percent…
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Macon primary shows strength of incumbents
Going into the primary elections in Macon County, every candidate stressed the need for a fiscally conservative mindset as the…
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Republicans suit up for race against Shuler
Republicans faced a major decision in the primary election: who is the best man to go head to head with…
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Cochran hammers Dover in sheriff race
Despite widespread criticism of the job he’s done, Swain Sheriff Curtis Cochran proved unstoppable in this year’s Republican primary. Cochran…
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Sylva cleans up town one property at a time
For the past year or so, Sylva Mayor Maurice Moody has been focused on cleaning up his town. “We’ve been…
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Ashe holds on in Democratic primary
Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe proved he could survive a tough race during the Democratic primary, defeating challenger Robin Gunnels…
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No Wal-Mart for Cherokee
Wal-Mart will not build a new Supercenter in Cherokee. After months of speculation that the deal between the tribe and…
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Lake Logan dredging could reduce flood danger
Removing sediment from Lake Logan would not only benefit its owner, Evergreen Packaging, it could potentially save homes and businesses…
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Peace for the World’s Children: 2010 Lake Junaluska Peace Conference
Join children’s advocates from across the United States at the third annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference September 18-21, 2010, as…
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Queen to face new challenger
After three straight match-ups with the same Republican challenger, Sen. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, will face a new opponent on…
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Neighbors draw the line over latest rock quarry expansion
A grassroots effort to halt a mine expansion in west Waynesville jumped its first hurdle last week. Citizens have convinced…
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Crowded judge field narrowed
District Court judge candidates who made it past the primary hope the race will become more digestible to voters now…
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Shelton beats Brown in Jackson primary
Incumbent William Shelton beat challenger James Bo Brown by almost a two-to-one margin to win the Democratic spot on the…
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Haywood challenger emerges as top vote-getter
With the county budget on everyone’s mind, two Haywood commissioners received a vote of confidence on the job they’ve done…
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Debate over Duke power lines shifts to second front
Imagine buying an idyllic piece of land in the mountains only to learn you’ll be living under a giant, humming…
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A huge pile of good intentions
Haywood County Solid Waste Director Stephen King did not spend his interview with The Smoky Mountain News sitting at an…
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Rallying around a historic tree
Against all odds, a 250-year-old scarlet oak tree still stands on N.C. 110 south of Canton, despite being struck by…
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Ambitious development going nowhere
All visible signs of the grandiose megadevelopment known as Cataloochee Wilderness Resorts have vanished from public view in Haywood County.…
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WCU students teach business owners to use social media
When John Miele, co-owner of the Golden Carp, left a social media class recently taught by Western Carolina University students,…
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Key candidates missing at Swain forum
Swain County citizens might have been more thrilled about a candidate forum that was held Thursday, April 22, than the…
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Enrollment audit a slow, uneasy process for Cherokee
In a 2002 referendum, the members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted to authorize an audit of the…
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Haywood schools, HCC struggle to meet needs as revenues plummet
With Haywood County’s revenues down by 4 percent, schools are looking at another year of disappointing budget allocations at the…
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I-40 opens at last
Interstate 40, closed since October due to a massive rockslide, reopened with little fanfare on Sunday evening. For the people…
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Grassroots effort aims to make Jackson County greenest
What if the driveway to the county’s administration building were lined with blueberries? It was January, and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin and…
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Jackson County schools hope for no more job cuts
On Monday evening, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners met with leaders from Jackson County Schools to talk about next…
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Politicking illegal at county meetings
At the last Haywood commissioners meeting, a citizen asked Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick and Commissioner Bill Upton to answer a political…
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Meet the candidates
Three District Court judge seats are up for election in the seven western counties. The race for judge isn’t partisan,…
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Early voting off to slow start
Early voting began last Thursday, April 15, and runs through noon on Saturday, May 1. As of press time Tuesday,…
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Demand for referendums impractical, says county attorney
Haywood County Attorney Chip Killian had his response ready for the citizen activists who have incessantly demanded referendums on a…
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Jackson EDC debate is over, again
Anyone who thought the discussion over the Jackson County Economic Development Commission’s missing audits was over when the board closed…
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Swain manager’s decision-making under fire as campaign heats up
In the lead-up to the primary elections on May 4, criticism of the current administration is stewing underground in Swain…
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