DSA’s future tenuous without more money
Recently, the town of Sylva passed a $1.6 million budget on a 3 to 2 vote. The most contentious line…
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Sylva town board to appoint Graham’s replacement
The Sylva town board is in for another shakeup. The board will vote at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 1,…
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Replacement to Sylva town board sets stage for new voting majority
The make-up of Sylva’s town board shifted this week when board members voted 3-1 to replace outgoing board member Sarah…
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Runoff election for Swain sheriff sets stage for brisk competition come fall
Swain County residents overwhelmingly chose John Ensley in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff for sheriff — those who voted anyway. Ensley,…
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Cashing in the cash settlement for property tax holiday lacks traction among Swain leaders
At a special session of the Swain County board last week, Commissioner David Monteith stood up and stunned the crowd…
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Quarry neighbors square off against workers at public hearing
A packed public hearing last week over a Waynesville rock quarry pitted neighbors opposing an expansion of the mine against…
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Building boom underway in medical field
Every hospital in the MedWest Health System — which covers Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties — will see new construction…
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Tribe moves to implement DNA testing for new applicants to Cherokee rolls
The Tribal Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has passed a new enrollment ordinance that requires DNA testing…
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Quarry regulations fall between the cracks
A Waynesville rock quarry where a major slide occurred last year was operating without rules governing the stability or safety…
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Sylva budget passes on split vote
Funding for the Downtown Sylva Association has caused a rift in the Sylva town board for the fifth year running.…
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Trooper honored with bridge naming
The N.C. Department of Transportation dedicated the bridge at Exit 31 of Interstate 40 in Haywood County in honor of…
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Runoff election for Swain sheriff sets stage for brisk competition come fall
Swain County residents overwhelmingly chose John Ensley in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff for sheriff — those who voted anyway. Ensley,…
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Franklin clinic demonstrates V.A.’s great leap forward
The Veterans Administration’s community-based outpatient clinic in Franklin will be just two years old in August, but it’s already operating…
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Sylva aims to ban downtown workers from parking on main shopping drag
The town of Sylva plans to impose a new parking law to stop shop owners and employees from taking up…
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Swain to hire animal control officer, yet still lacks vehicle and shelter
Long-awaited relief for Swain County’s dire animal control problem has finally arrived. For years, residents had no recourse if a…
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Can’t pop the top
As part of the major renovation of the historic Jackson County Courthouse, workers from Brantley Construction were set to remove…
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Summer poses challenge for feeding low-income kids
Thousands of poor and low-income children across Western North Carolina rely on schools to get least at one square meal…
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Quarry expansion plan fuels residents’ complaints
Jackie Shuler has lived in the shadow of the Waynesville rock quarry most of her life. But as blasts have…
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Longtime legal counsel receives WCU Trustees’ Award
Rich Kucharski, chief legal counsel for Western Carolina University, became the seventh person in university history to receive one of…
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Quarry plays vital role in economy
Harrison Construction’s rock quarry on Allens Creek in Waynesville mines granite for building roads, driveways and concrete house pads. The…
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Employee pay at center of Jackson County budget debate
With the Jackson County budget a few short weeks from completion, a split emerged among commissioners concerning raises for county…
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Democrats in Swain Sheriff race prepare for runoff
On Tuesday (June 22), Swain County voters will decide which Democrat will face Republican Curtis Cochran in the hotly contested…
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Schools watch, wait and plan as Raleigh budget debate plays out
While university leaders are nervously hoping state lawmakers will pass a budget that looks something like the Senate version, many…
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New SCC president had former career at WCU
The Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees has settled on a replacement for outgoing President Cecil Groves. Last week, the…
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Budget crunch deals blow to WCU
Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo fears the budget passed by the General Assembly this year might cast a shadow…
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Macon commissioners whittle away at budget, but tax hike stays
Having already committed to a 1.5 cent tax rate increase to pay for building a new school in the north…
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At long last, Cherokee telling their own story
For decades the story of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians wasn’t their own. Tourists flocked to see Cherokee men…
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Downtown Sylva to get more free parking
Years of complaining by Sylva merchants that there isn’t enough parking downtown has spurred the Sylva town board to lease…
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Public outcry pushes Duke to consider new substation site
Duke Energy wants an option to buy land at the Swain County Industrial Park with the intention of using it…
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WCU grad drowns during tubing trip
A river tubing trip on a sunny day ended in tragedy last week when a recent Western Carolina University grad…
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Apartment complex fills unmet need in WNC
The demand for stress-free, turnkey living was largely an untapped market in the region until the recent debut of VantagePointe…
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Haywood budget cuts pose hardship for some library users
Kaleigh Davis, 12, comes to the Haywood County Public Library with her aunt Marlene Arrington almost every Thursday night. Arrington…
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Trash controversy dominates Haywood budget discussion
When the hour finally arrived for Haywood County commissioners to vote on a budget for the upcoming year, Haywood County…
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Towns demand parity in Haywood trash plan
There was one thing Haywood County commissioners, town officials, private haulers and county employees could all agree upon at last…
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Lake Junaluska at risk of losing most meaningful conference
Despite its peaceful atmosphere and long history as a spiritual center for Methodists, Lake Junaluska may lose the annual United…
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Civil suit targeting Jackson sheriff fails
“The only reasonable verdict here is for Sheriff Ashe,” Patrick Flanagan told the jury. “He did not commit any wrongdoing…
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Strand project kick started with state grant
Hidden behind 16 feet of Main Street storefront, the inside of The Strand Theater looks like a cave. The floor…
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Perdue gets enthusiastic welcome in Waynesville
Gov. Beverly Perdue visited Main Street Friday to announce that Waynesville received a $300,000 grant from the state’s Main Street…
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Jackson library campaign marks success, new goals
On May 25 the Friends of the Jackson County Main Library marked the completion of their astonishing two-year fundraising drive,…
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Waynesville bookstore changes ownership
Waynesville residents may soon notice the sign on Main Street’s Blue Ridge Books & Café switched out for a new…
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What is Buy Haywood?
Supported by the Golden LEAF Foundation since 2007, Buy Haywood has enjoyed success promoting the county’s farms. Its first project…
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Haywood County 911 director calls for help
Haywood County’s technology director Kristy Wood wasn’t exactly latching onto the hope that commissioners would grant her $2.8 million budget…
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Cherokee passport checkpoint a fun reminder
Martie Hoofer was driving her motorcycle into Cherokee from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when an Anikituhwa warrior dressed…
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Swain County to air proposed zoning ordinance
In March Swain County commissioners voted to enact a moratorium that put a halt to Duke Energy’s substation project on…
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County power struggle surfaces in Finn v. Ashe trial
“Putting Mr. Finn out of business is not a duty of the Jackson County sheriff. Is that a fair statement?”…
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Linking farmers to restaurants not always easy
On one side are local farmers, toiling from dawn to dusk, trying to compete in an increasingly globalized economy. On…
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New venture welcomed by downtown business community
Downtown Waynesville merchants hope a plan to remodel the old Strand theater as an entertainment venue, restaurant and microbrewery will…
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Students take lettuce from greenhouse to cafeteria
It doesn’t get much fresher than this. Horticulture students at Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva are helping to feed…
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From garden to table in Sylva
In Sylva, the buy local mantra is being reinterpreted as grow your own. Volunteers at the Community Table, a nonprofit…
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Men who built Blue Ridge Parkway recount hard work, dangerous conditions
Lorin Shaw was barely 16 when he landed a job with a crew building the Blue Ridge Parkway in the…
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