Commissioners give HRMC board vote of confidence
 

Commissioners give HRMC board vote of confidence

All three Haywood Regional Medical Center board members were reappointed this week for another three years by the Haywood County…
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Swain leaders tout river access, horse ring upgrades
 

Swain leaders tout river access, horse ring upgrades

Not that many years ago, anglers and boaters wanting to gain access to the Tuckasegee River in Swain County essentially…
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Studio 33 wins $10,000 start-up award from Haywood Chamber
 

Studio 33 wins $10,000 start-up award from Haywood Chamber

Custom jewelry business Studio 33 and its owner Diannah Beauregard won the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Business Start-up Competition…
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Road standards would help rescue vehicles
 

Road standards would help rescue vehicles

When a roaring forest fire whipped through a mountainside development in Swain County two months ago — burning nine homes…
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New WCU business dean has academic, business experience
 

New WCU business dean has academic, business experience

Ronald A. Johnson, who holds the JP Morgan Chase Chair in Finance in the Jesse H. Jones School of Business…
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TDA quiets some critics with festival funding hike
 

TDA quiets some critics with festival funding hike

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority gave out twice as much money in grants for festivals this year, quelling some…
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Downtown Sylva gets free wireless access
 

Downtown Sylva gets free wireless access

When Rhonda Williams fired up her laptop in the Sylva library a couple of weeks ago, she was pleasantly surprised…
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State considers controls on steep slope construction
 

State considers controls on steep slope construction

Local governments balking at controlling development on steep mountainsides would be forced into action if the General Assembly passes a…
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New ER director says transition going well
 

New ER director says transition going well

The board of the Haywood Regional Medical Center heard a glowing report last week on how the hospital’s emergency department…
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Jackson citizens asked to ‘imagine ... a library’
 

Jackson citizens asked to ‘imagine ... a library’

A coffee shop. That’s one of the more unique but interesting ideas that emerged during a series of public input…
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Affordable housing on the plateau
 

Affordable housing on the plateau

Each weekend, Carol Austin figures out what meals her family is going to eat during the upcoming workweek. She shops…
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Tribe helps preserve Cowee Mound in Macon
 

Tribe helps preserve Cowee Mound in Macon

As a child growing up in Oklahoma, Tom Belt often heard that there were reasons a group of Cherokee had…
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Leaders, citizens demand input as road plan progresses
 

Leaders, citizens demand input as road plan progresses

After a two-year lull, debate over a controversial expressway through Jackson County known as the Southern Loop could soon re-emerge.
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Shuler touts Heritage Area funding
 

Shuler touts Heritage Area funding

Representative Heath Shuler announced Monday that the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area has been allocated a federal appropriation of $748,955…
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Nurses need more support, applicants say
 

Nurses need more support, applicants say

One of the top issues that emerged during county commissioner interviews of hospital board applicants last week was the need…
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Law provides few protections for Indian mounds
 

Law provides few protections for Indian mounds

When it comes right down to it, the good will of private landowners is often what stands between saving Indian…
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Deteriorating perception of HRMC a focus of interviews
 

Deteriorating perception of HRMC a focus of interviews

The rift between Haywood Regional Medical Center administration and the medical community needs to be repaired, and public confidence in…
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Access management
 

Access management

Access management deploys numerous design techniques to reduce congestion on clogged roads, five-lane drags being the primary candidate.
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Traffic footprint of Super Wal-Mart could reach far and wide
 

Traffic footprint of Super Wal-Mart could reach far and wide

Brace yourself, West Waynesville: a new Super Wal-Mart and Home Depot complex due to open next summer will bring an…
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Despite delays, Macon SCC campus almost ready
 

Despite delays, Macon SCC campus almost ready

Southwestern Community College officials anticipate holding classes this fall at a new satellite campus in Macon County, more than a…
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What should a new library look like?
 

What should a new library look like?

The Sylva library is favorite destination for Kim Mathis and her four children. There’s just one problem. “The library has…
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Haywood commissioners still split on Mountain Projects deal
 

Haywood commissioners still split on Mountain Projects deal

Haywood County commissioners continue to disagree on what kind of deal to give Mountain Projects on a tract of county…
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What the new road will look like
 

What the new road will look like

About $1.5 million in roadwork is planned to accommodate the increased traffic on South Main Street and Hyatt Creek Roads…
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Crowded field seek seats in Cherokee
 

Crowded field seek seats in Cherokee

Seven people have plunked down the necessary $500 filing fee required to campaign for principal chief of the Eastern Band…
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Legality of Job Corps votes questioned
 

Legality of Job Corps votes questioned

When Mike Clampitt was making get out the vote calls during his campaign for Swain County commissioner last fall, he…
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Reasons for closing Jobs Corps still unclear
 

Reasons for closing Jobs Corps still unclear

Three weeks after federal officials rolled into town and abruptly shut down the Oconaluftee Jobs Corps Center in Swain County,…
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Jackson planners consider open space for new developments
 

Jackson planners consider open space for new developments

Developers in Jackson County could be asked to designate 25 percent of new developments as conserved open space under a…
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Ghost Town has a deluge of job applicants
 

Ghost Town has a deluge of job applicants

When Ghost Town in the Sky recently held auditions to fill its entertainment needs, about 40 potential cowboys competed for…
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Clean and renewable, biodiesel takes off in WNC
 

Clean and renewable, biodiesel takes off in WNC

When Greg Kidd saw his odometer hit 250,000 miles last spring, he knew he would reluctantly be catapulted into the…
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Still on the table
 

Still on the table

Jackson County planning board meetings likely will get even more interesting as members move on to the nuts and bolts…
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Service providers: As housing costs escalate, regional hospitality businesses look for ways to cushion the blow for the working class
 

Service providers: As housing costs escalate, regional hospitality businesses look for ways to cushion the blow for the working class

When the well heeled are in need of a pampered retreat in Western North Carolina, they often look toward the…
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Old roots, new focus for soil and water district
 

Old roots, new focus for soil and water district

For decades, soil experts like Duane Vanhook have been showing farmers how a crop of winter wheat can recharge soil…
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New market ignites biofuel expansion
 

New market ignites biofuel expansion

Less than six months after cranking out their first batch of biodiesel, Alan Begley and Sam Gray have sealed the…
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Katie Couric can get help from local reporter
 

Katie Couric can get help from local reporter

By John Armor Who are these people? Katie Couric used to be on the Today Show, then she fell off…
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Swain tourism board faces changes
 

Swain tourism board faces changes

Swain County commissioners are moving forward with a plan to reshape the county’s tourism board despite some opposition.
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Small town success: Retiring DWA Director Ron Huelster talks about his days on Capitol Hill, the scourge of malls, and his vision for small town America
 

Small town success: Retiring DWA Director Ron Huelster talks about his days on Capitol Hill, the scourge of malls, and his vision for small town America

By Michael Beadle When Waynesville Town Manager Lee Galloway meets fellow town managers from across the state, he inevitably hears…
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River island project raises concerns
 

River island project raises concerns

The possibility that a 40-acre island in the Little Tennessee River might be developed has sparked outrage among conservationists and…
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Planning a new future for Jackson’s business growth
 

Planning a new future for Jackson’s business growth

The town of Sylva is embarking on a smart growth plan that could reshape some of the town’s more unsightly…
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New director wants to grow Swain chamber
 

New director wants to grow Swain chamber

Lucretia Stargell, the new director of the Swain County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, said her goals include…
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Grants aim to preserve and promote Cherokee culture
 

Grants aim to preserve and promote Cherokee culture

Cherokee Preservation Foundation has awarded 29 grants totaling $3.6 million during its spring cycle.
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A how-to crash course in smart growth
 

A how-to crash course in smart growth

Ginny Faust, a professional planning consultant, posed a tough question to members of the Sylva Town Board and planning board…
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Brochure highlights militia’s march against Cherokee
 

Brochure highlights militia’s march against Cherokee

A military expedition against Cherokee villages at the onset of the Revolutionary War has been documented with the publication of…
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Waynesville Recreation Center keeps abreast with growth
 

Waynesville Recreation Center keeps abreast with growth

Jo Glover joined the Waynesville Recreation Center after moving to Haywood County from Alabama in December. She likes the recreation…
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Saying goodbye: Job Corps staff will miss their work
 

Saying goodbye: Job Corps staff will miss their work

Sinquarious Graham, a 16-year-old Job Corps student from Alabama, was pulling on his coat to go to breakfast at 6:30…
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New Zealand group eyes Blue Ridge Paper
 

New Zealand group eyes Blue Ridge Paper

Blue Ridge Paper Products might have found a buyer — a New Zealand-based paper company called The Rank Group that…
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Hospital board appointments could be litmus test
 

Hospital board appointments could be litmus test

Many in the community will be watching closely in April when the Haywood County Board of Commissioners appoint three members…
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Federal agencies long ignored needed repairs
 

Federal agencies long ignored needed repairs

The federal government has long been aware of run down buildings at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Center but failed to…
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Closing campus: Job Corps site slated to close
 

Closing campus: Job Corps site slated to close

Local leaders and employees of the Oconaluftee Job Corp Center are questioning the motives behind a sudden shutdown of the…
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Life in the blogosphere
 

Life in the blogosphere

Go to scoopscott.squarespace.com on the Internet and you enter the world of Macon County resident Bob Scott.
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Cashiers librarian takes Sylva post
 

Cashiers librarian takes Sylva post

A new director has been hired for the Jackson County library system — Dottie Brunette, currently the head librarian at…
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