Childcare openings fall far short of demand in Macon
Macon County Chairman Ronnie Beale knew the county had a problem when two young working mothers contacted him directly following…
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Sun power supplies a path to simplicity
Lydia Aydlett first moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina during the height of the back-to-the-land movement, and it’s…
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Quick facts
• The mill is operating within state pollution limits on most counts. The current permit allows a variance in two…
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Back to the old homestead
Sometimes you have to go away to come home again. Way up Coweeta Gap in south Macon County is a…
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SCC’s Cecil Groves to retire at end of year
Cecil Groves, president of Southwestern Community College since 1997, informed the board of trustees and college faculty and staff that…
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Jackson County board race to meter voter confidence
Jackson The Jackson County board consists of four commissioners and one chairman. This year, the two commissioner seats and chairman…
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Finances likely to dominate Haywood commissioner race
Haywood The Haywood County board has five commissioner seats. Three seats are up for election this year. A party primary…
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Dillsboro, WCU move forward with marketing relationship
Leaders of the town of Dillsboro and members of Western Carolina University’s faculty unveiled the framework for an ongoing partnership…
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Emotions run high at hearing on paper mill pollution
Two contrasting images of the Pigeon River emerged at a public hearing on a controversial new water pollution permit for…
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Road to Nowhere crusade over at last
A defining moment in the decades-long debate over the North Shore Road will play out in Swain County this week.…
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Two wide-open seats will define Swain race
Swain The Swain County board has four commissioner seats and one chairman. All five seats are up for election every…
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Court ruling bars county endorsement of Christian prayer
County commissioners in Western North Carolina face a fork in the road after a federal judge in Forsyth County made…
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All three incumbents to run again in Macon
Macon The Macon County board has four commissioners and one chairman. This year, the seats of two commissioners and the…
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Ski, Worship and Grow with your friends and MYP at Lake Junaluska
Get ready to hit the slopes and participate in meaningful worship at Lake Junaluska’s Ministries with Young People (MYP) annual…
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Small-time theft by travel agent a big-time violation of trust
William Maney, owner of Fantasy Travel in Sylva, allegedly defrauded an elderly woman from Franklin out of $7,000 last year…
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Macon comprehensive plan stutters as work begins
Comprehensive planning is supposed to be, well, comprehensive. But as Macon County leaders are finding out, it’s not that easy…
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Life on the rock
Workers on the rockslide slope are laboring around the clock. There’s a day crew and a night crew, ranging from…
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Family farm builds Brasstown Beef brand
It’s a slogan even the slickest New York ad firm couldn’t top if it tried: “Real Beef. Raised Right. Around…
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Waynesville producer wins national award
Producer, editor and videographer John Kenyon of Waynesville has been selected to receive the Award of Excellence in the slide…
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Public art to celebrate Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Waynesville Public Art Commission recently issued a Call for Artists for its fourth public art project. The proposed art…
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A new rockslide on I-40 over the weekend may take up to three weeks to clear
Another rockslide struck along the already closed section of Interstate 40 over the weekend. The new slide is nothing like…
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Historic Cherokee letterpress carries exciting potential for new art
The newest addition to Southwestern Community College’s Oconaluftee Institute of Cultural Arts holds a piece of Cherokee history. OICA will…
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Jackson finally folds in long feud with Duke
The seven-year battle between Jackson County commissioners and Duke Energy has come to a close. After losing a critical court…
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Chinese teacher adapts and thrives in Swain County
After making the journey to Western North Carolina from China, Niu Jun discovered Bryson City was nothing like she imagined.…
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Harrah’s Cherokee Casino building for big future
With the rest of the region’s construction economy at a standstill, Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino is in the midst…
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How to fix a mountainside
In the first days following the rockslide on Interstate 40 last October, Jody Kuhne had the unenviable job of rappelling…
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Balsam Mountain Preserve foreclosure now official
Balsam Mountain Preserve, a mega-development in Jackson County, was sold to the highest bidder on the courthouse steps Monday (Jan.…
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Struggling cattle farmers await new auction house
If all goes according to plan, a new regional livestock market will open in Canton by late May to more…
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All about tea
Editor’s Note: Since January is National Tea Month, The Smoky Mountain News talked to some of the tea connoisseurs in…
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Haywood to buy old Wal-Mart to replace aging DSS, Health Department buildings
Year after year, Haywood County commissioners recognized the social service and health department buildings were falling apart. Yet they passed…
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I, Church Mouse: The Day and Life of a Church Mouse
NOTE: Gracie Mayer won the Building Small Essay Contest held in conjunction with the N.C. Arboretum's Building Small exhibit and…
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Close-up of a crumbling facility
Fire code violations, compromised client confidentiality, leaking roofs, freezing pipes, lack of energy efficiency, severely limited space, windows that won’t…
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Kimmel bankruptcy threatens construction management donation to WCU
The bankruptcy of one of Western Carolina University’s largest supporters will hurt the school’s fast growing construction management program. In…
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Elk delisting draws ire of protectors
“Elk don’t know how many feet a horse has.” That’s the advice Bear Claw Chris Lapp gave Jeremiah Johnson as…
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Jackson loses critical court case over Dillsboro dam
Duke Energy could start tearing down the Dillsboro Dam any day after Jackson County lost a final and critical legal…
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Congregation backs leaders’ stand on prayer
Responding to a Smoky Mountain News article covering the debate over prayer at public meetings, a group of Macon County…
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Lawyer’s actions aroused suspicion among clients, law enforcement community
An attorney that forged judges’ signatures was caught thanks to the sharp eyes of a law enforcement officer, a fellow…
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Soldiers face a second battle at home
Citizen soldiers. The National Guard’s moniker evokes the best of American values and hearkens back to a Greek ideal. The…
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Commissioners commit to former Wal-Mart site
After a marathon five hours of discussion on Wednesday (Jan. 13), Haywood County commissioners voted unanimously to buy the abandoned…
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Antenna users left in the lurch
Television viewers in Jackson and Macon counties who get their reception the old-fashioned way — with an antenna — have…
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Three new developments move forward in Waynesville
At a time when Waynesville’s appearance standards are under scrutiny for being too strict, three proposed developments cruised past the…
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License plates take off during Smokies 75th anniversary
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park received a record $385,000 from drivers sporting the special “black bear” license plate…
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Video gambling industry undeterred by steep fees for “sweepstakes” machines
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently upheld a state law that bans video gambling everywhere but the casino in…
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DOD-funded programs support local counseling initiatives
For the first time in history, the government, the military and private healthcare providers are working together to deliver the…
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Haywood County poised to buy abandoned Wal-Mart
Haywood County Commissioners are expected to vote this week to buy the abandoned Wal-Mart shopping center near Lake Junaluska and…
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Golf club to restore Upper Cullasaja
The Upper Cullasaja Watershed Association and the Cullasaja Club are pursuing state funding to restore the headwaters of the Cullasaja…
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Training effort bolsters enforcement of elder abuse
Elder abuse takes many forms and, thanks to a national grant program, law enforcement officers in Western North Carolina now…
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Plastic bottle ban tough to police, but getting results
It may be illegal to throw away plastic bottles in North Carolina these days, but don’t expect a landfill patrol…
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Canton Mill pursues new pollution permit
Evergreen Packaging, a large paper mill in Canton, is seeking a new water pollution permit for the Pigeon River. The…
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Attorney admits forging judges’ signatures to help clients
A 31-year-old attorney in Jackson County pleaded guilty this week to forging judges’ signatures and creating phony court documents. John…
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