Smart Roads Alliance seeks answers on Southern Loop
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer In their fight to stop progress to the proposed Southern Loop, members of the…
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Shelter plan irks Hall Top residents
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer It’s a typical neighborhood with houses, trees, bikes in the yard, a basketball goal…
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Ample options, no decision yet on Franklin Town Hall relocation
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer The possibility of relocating Franklin’s town hall has been a topic of debate among…
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Decision expected soon on quarry permit
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Tuckasegee community members will learn next week if a rock quarry gets state approval…
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Who’ll pay the price?
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer It’s lunchtime in downtown Hazelwood, and the small area’s only parking lot of roughly…
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Transfer tax would help Swain schools
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer After several years of trying to secure funding for school improvements, Swain County officials…
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Elections board investigates school bond activities
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer A complaint filed against the Macon County School Board over questionable campaign actions has…
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Siler Road timeline
The benefits to private development of the Siler Road project in Macon County figured prominently in early planning documents and…
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Four options considered for the new road
The N.C. Department of Transportation is mulling four options for a new road in Macon County that would facilitate future…
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Watershed logging remains election issue
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer An issue that caused a firestorm of controversy for Waynesville’s current town board is…
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Residents debate motives behind proposed road
Some Macon County residents are questioning the need for a proposed $11.5 million road project billed by the N.C. Department…
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Tax opponents organize in Macon, Swain
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A property transfer tax that could potentially bring nearly a million dollars a year…
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Jackson library group needs to raise up to $1 million
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Now that a site has been chosen for the new Jackson County library, the…
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Railsback retraces ride to commemorate Honors College anniversary at WCU
The dean of Western Carolina University’s Honors College hopes to replicate a successful fundraiser from a decade ago when he…
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Chief’s newspaper decree leads to free speech debate
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer The removal of an anonymous opinion column in the Cherokee One Feather has sparked…
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Two more seek 11th District GOP nomination
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Last week, John Armor, a Highlands attorney, became the third candidate to declare his…
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Two more seek 11th District GOP nomination
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Spence Campbell, chair of the Henderson County Republican Club, declared his intentions two weeks…
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The BCCCP Program: As women struggle to pay for cancer treatment, the funds to help them are drying up
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A mammogram costs $200 out of pocket. A round of radiation is close to…
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Crowded field seeks Canton seats
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Five candidates are stepping up to challenge the four incumbents on Canton’s town board,…
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New owners cut 150 jobs at paper mill
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A round of layoffs struck Evergreen Packaging (formerly Blue Ridge Paper) last week when…
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Canton banks, businesses prepare for buyout infusion
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The town of Canton will experience an infusion of dollars Oct. 12 when Blue…
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Growth roundtable has guidelines, but now must decide how to use them
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer What to do with advice to give, but no audience to receive it? That’s…
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Growth a major concern for Highlands hopefuls
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Six candidates are vying for three spots on the Highland’s Town Board of Commissioners.
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Candidates reveal their take on land use plan
Four years ago, the Waynesville town board passed a revolutionary land-use plan that elevated Waynesville to a state example of…
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Candidates: Review necessary to keep land use plan viable
All the candidates running for Waynesville town board and mayor seem to agree on one thing when it comes to…
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Ghost Town hires new general manager
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Ghost Town in the Sky has named Kevin Bailey as its new general manager…
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Most Waynesville candidates support Russ Avenue fix
The vast majority of candidates running for the Waynesville town board say they would support a major traffic redesign on…
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Tourism change could cost chambers
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer As Macon County officials work to create a new tourism development association, the financial…
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Waynesville candidates make their cases
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Over 50 people came out to hear Waynesville’s next mayor speak at the this…
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What magazines would work best for Swain?
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Advertising was the hot topic of discussion at the second meeting of the recently…
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Haywood’s League of Women Voters fosters non-partisan involvement
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Voters can thank the recently formed Haywood County League of Women Voters for the…
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The new face of Waynesville: Town’s land use plan holds firm under pressure
When Doug Anderson unfurled the blueprints for his latest assignment — a new Bojangles’ going up in Waynesville — he…
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Swain urged to tap into motorcycle tourism
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The roar of motorcycles is a familiar sound in the mountains of Western North…
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Jackson library to go atop courthouse hill
A decade of debate over where to build a new library in Jackson County was put to rest this week.…
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Hicks declared winner in contested Cherokee vote
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Supreme Court ruled Saturday that a new election…
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Southern Loop opposition mounts
Jackson County residents opposed to the construction of the Southern Loop — a new major highway that would bisect Jackson…
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Changing electorate could shake up Sylva election
The race for the Sylva town board this fall could speak volumes about the changing demographics of the town —…
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The Super Wal-Mart land rush: Discount retail giant brings rising property prices
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Roger Winge knew a good deal when he spotted one. Before Super Wal-Mart had…
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State says mill discharge does not require public notification
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A clean water advocacy group is questioning why an accidental discharge of a paper-making…
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Mumpower first to formally challenge Shuler
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer With no word yet from former U.S. House Rep. Charles Taylor on his decision…
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Vote on Southern Loop postponed
Opponents of the Southern Loop have questioned whether the controversial highway should be included on a list of top priority…
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Maggie Valley mayor’s race pits long-time foes
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Forget the presidential election — the biggest race to watch in the coming months…
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Initial North Shore Road payment clears Senate
Swain County inched a notch closer this month toward seeing a cash settlement in lieu of the long-promised North Shore…
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Future big-box stores, strip malls to face scrutiny in Franklin
Franklin will soon have a new slate of comprehensive guidelines regulating development and promoting smart growth principles. An overhaul of…
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Swain voter fraud investigation sent to feds
The North Carolina State Board of Elections has concluded its investigation into allegations of voter fraud in Swain County, but…
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Haywood to create farmland protection plan
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood County commissioners have agreed to pay for the creation of a farmland protection…
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WATR tries to stay active
By Joel Adams • Contributing Writer Strong public interest in the aftermath of the dam break at Balsam Mountain Preserve…
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Arrests made for soliciting at park
The Internet sex sting conducted by the Waynesville Police Department was part of an undercover operation dubbed “Summer Heat,” which…
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How it might work
Jackson County commissioners sanctioned a feasibility study on whether a new library would fit on the hill behind the historic…
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Swain nearly ready to vote on road rules
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Swain County’s first-ever planning board is nearly finished with its first project — drafting…
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