Landslide count keeps climbing
In a record year for landslides, yet another one struck this week, this time along U.S. 441 in Great Smoky…
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Arson case thickens plot in sheriff’s race
A fire at the business of a Jackson County sheriff candidate last week has cast a shadow over the race.…
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Swain sheriff under fire from deep bench of challengers
There is, perhaps, no sheriff’s race as hotly contested as the one currently taking place in Swain County. Sheriff Curtis…
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Auto dealer reinvents to stay alive
When Daniel Allison III learned last May that General Motors wouldn’t renew his franchise agreement, he couldn’t believe it. “Shock,”…
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Blackrock brings Sylva its own distinctive BBQ
“Barbecue is all about slow and low,” said Blackrock BBQ owner and pit master James Aust. “The secret’s in the…
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Baseball and soccer battle for space at new Haywood rec park
Haywood County residents have another chance to steer plans for a park in Jonathan Creek at a public meeting at…
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Cherokee leaders take stock of sustainability goals
Four years ago, Principal Chief Michell Hicks issued a proclamation intended to move the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians towards…
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Jackson candidates chose unconventional path to the November ballot
Every so often a dissatisfied electorate injects a third current into the country’s two-party dialogue. It’s happening this year with…
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Engineers stumped on best way to shore up Maggie slide
With federal and state grants in hand, work will soon get underway to stabilize the remnants of a massive landslide…
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Cashiers Historical Society receives family Bible from 1800s
William and Mary Alice Fryar presented the Cashiers Historical Society with the 19th century Zachary family bible earlier this month.…
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For the pregnant and poor, prenatal care can remain out of reach
A pivotal moment arrives every time a pregnancy test turns positive at public health departments across the state. The new…
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Slide sends powerful message to Macon planners
Over the past month a slow-moving landslide behind the Craftsmen Village development in Macon County has worsened, leaving one property…
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Friends of the Smokies to unveil new office space
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, March…
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Planning board sends steep slope proposal to Macon commissioners
The Macon County Planning Board voted unanimously March 18 to forward the recommendations of its steep slope committee to the…
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Community college building costs come under fire
Haywood Community College leaders say county commissioners are unfairly accusing them of overspending on a new $10.2 million complex where…
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Pregnancy support workers find their calling helping women
For many low-income women, pregnancy can lead to more stress than excitement. Most of the expecting mothers who visit local…
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Federal, state taxpayers to fund Maggie slide cleanup
Everything has fallen into place for a government-sponsored cleanup of the Rich Cove mudslide in Maggie Valley, an undertaking pegged…
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HCC not taking no as an answer
Haywood Community College remains hopeful that the county will increase funding to the college, despite reluctance by the county commissioners…
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Maggie eases proposed design standards
The Maggie Valley Planning Board has eased requirements on a proposed set of design standards that would shape the town’s…
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Restaurant ‘ghost’ plays tricks on owners
Cindy Robertson never for a minute believed in ghosts — that is, until she moved into her new restaurant outside…
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Smoky Mountain Center to offload psychiatric services
Smoky Mountain Center has begun the process of transferring its mental health services to private companies in a move that…
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Recurring money problems pit HCC, county against each other
Haywood Community College leaders are at odds with county commissioners over funding for the college. The county slashed capital contributions…
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Swain passes moratorium on utility projects
The setting may have been humble –– a nondescript meeting room in a county administration building –– but the Swain…
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Maggie may get on board with county erosion control
The Town of Maggie Valley recently transferred the responsibility for building inspections to Haywood County. Now, Maggie is considering handing…
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Library friends reveal interior design plans
The construction of the new Jackson County Main Library has been a community-driven project all along, and last week the…
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Sewer dispute could help redefine TWASA’s mission
A Sylva sewer line that overflowed on a residential property last month has sparked a difference of opinion between the…
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Plans underway for second Waynesville ABC store
Buying alcohol will become a lot more convenient for residents in Haywood County. For the first time in 43 years,…
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Ghost Town faces June deadline to stave off foreclosure
Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park could be foreclosed on as early as June unless investors step forward with…
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Elder abuse case shines light on larger issue
If you believe people usually get what they deserve, then the recent conviction of a Jackson County man on elder…
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Cherokee hospital uses art to build community
When the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians took over the Cherokee Indian Hospital from the Indian Health Service in 2002,…
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Cullowhee school grows beyond expectations
Landmark Learning based in Jackson County offers 80 courses a year providing wilderness medical training to 2,000 people across all…
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Haywood health board gets more than it bargains for
A proposed health board rule in Haywood County has reignited a debate about how far officials can go when it…
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Sylva woman shares experience of Chile earthquake
Sylva resident Susannah Patty thought her trip to Chile would be an adventure, but she didn’t count on living through…
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Volunteers fight to save animals from euthanasia
Thousands of animals end up in the shelters of Western North Carolina each year, and a small group of volunteers,…
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No relief for crowded schools
Despite using every nook and cranny available, Swain County schools are still struggling to track down classroom space for its…
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Sylva pedestrian plan takes shape
The Town of Sylva finalized an agreement with the N.C. Department of Transportation last week that clears the way for…
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Fighting hunger, one bowl at a time
Fill a bowl, feed a soul, and help fight hunger with a warm heart and a full stomach. The second…
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Tract with road side views of Cowee Mound conserved
The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee has saved a key tract from development along the Little Tennessee River near…
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Sylva board blesses Community Table move
Community Table, Sylva’s nonprofit community kitchen, has outgrown its existing facility and is targeting a move to the town’s now-vacant…
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Maggie Valley to compel Ghost Town to stabilize lingering slide threat
Ghost Town is far from off the hook for repairing the latest landslide in Maggie Valley. The Rich Cove slide…
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Waynesville on target with sidewalk construction
Waynesville is a leader when it comes walkable communities, according to a consultant hired to develop a long-range pedestrian plan…
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Dixie dog transport saves lives
With the euthanasia rate at area shelters fluctuating between 50 and 70 percent, animal rescue advocates are literally going the…
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SBA spreads the wealth wide and far in I-40 rockslide loans
The U.S. Small Business Administration plans to hand over more than $1.4 million in disaster relief loans to a host…
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County reluctant to foot the bill for Maggie landslide clean up costs
Haywood County commissioners are reluctant to hand over taxpayer money to stabilize the latest landslide in Maggie Valley — even…
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Landowner dismayed N.C. 107 bridge widening will claim archaeology site
A Cherokee archaeological site spanning from at least 6,000 years ago to the 18th century stands in the way of…
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Sylva may be stuck with cell tower
The Sylva Town Board opposes the construction of a 195-foot-high cellular communications tower on the main commercial drag of N.C.…
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Beating bugs the natural way
It all started with a stranger’s death. At the time, Carl Hughes was working as a construction supervisor for the…
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Budget cuts put fairgrounds in a bind, forcing county back to the table
With a large loan payment looming and not enough money to pay it, the fairgrounds turned to Haywood commissioners this…
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Swain County moratorium could stop Duke substation
Swain County has entered the fight over Duke Energy’s proposed electrical substation that would mar views in a rural farming…
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Tapping the power of the sun
Progress Energy customers can now claim a fraction of their power comes from the sun. A new solar farm is…
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