Macon considers floodplain moratorium
A countywide moratorium on floodplain and watershed development in Macon gained some momentum following the town of Franklin’s decision to…
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Homeowner hassles: As developments evolve, many homeowner associations find themselves woefully unprepared for the future
Last week was more than the season for fireworks and cookouts. As second-home owners descended on the mountains to kick…
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Foy, Brown vying for mayor of Waynesville
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The big race to watch in this year’s Waynesville town elections is between Alderman…
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Jackson adds finishing touches to regulations
Jackson County is in the final countdown to approving what appear to be the toughest development regulations in the state…
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Haywood wades into bidding wars for two properties
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood County commissioners are currently ensnarled in bidding wars for two separate properties that…
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Preserve’s sediment woes pre-date dam break
Balsam Mountain Preserve, a 4,500-acre development in Jackson County, has been fined $300,000 for ongoing sediment and erosion control violations…
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Counties struggle to recruit teachers
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Paula Ledford is getting worried. With a little over a month to go before…
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Seven western counties share land-use ideas
Slope and ridgetop development, protecting waterways, and farmland and open-space preservation emerged as the top land-management concerns of those responsible…
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Maggie studies potential growth, regulations
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The surprisingly large crowd at a presentation on Maggie Valley’s proposed land-use plan seemed…
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Swain sets hearing on North Shore Road
Just when the fate of the Road to Nowhere through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seemed sealed, road supporters…
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Money vs. quality of life an easy choice for some
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Two newly licensed teachers with ties to Western North Carolina offered a very different…
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Mill buyer amasses large share of juice carton market
Mill workers at Blue Ridge Paper Products are optimistic about their future under a new owner. The buyer, a billionaire…
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Commissioners weigh in: More flexibility proposed as Jackson board scrutinizes development regulations
Jackson County commissioners are poised to make numerous changes to a slate of proposed development regulations billed as the most…
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Courthouse – again – slated as possible library site
The hilltop above Sylva that’s home to the iconic historic courthouse is back on as a potential site for a…
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Whittier golf course to re-open
Following months of course reconstruction, Smoky Mountain Country Club in Whittier will re-open 9 holes of golf this weekend.
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New life for an old Sylva graveyard
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer After decades of neglect, an overgrown hill in Jackson County holding the remains of…
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The mysterious art of dowsing
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Searching for the term “dowsing” on the Internet will bring up all kinds of…
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Rise in dog bites sparks concerns
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Walking his dog in a Waynesville neighborhood one summer evening several weeks ago, fear…
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Unrealized dreams: Much heralded 1999 agreement fails to deliver for workers
When Howard Taylor heard what workers at Blue Ridge Paper Products were being offered as part of a pending buyout…
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Bryson City touted as third best ‘Outdoor Town’ in America
Bryson City’s tourism leaders have long touted this Swain County town as the Outdoor Adventure Capital of the Great Smoky…
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Rash of private dams altering WNC landscape
The damming of creeks and streams by private developments is on the rise in Western North Carolina — so much…
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Parking downtown: Tickets cause controversy in Waynesville
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Parking for free Public parking for as long as you want in downtown Waynesville:
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A great look, but too expensive
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Architects last week unveiled plans for a new three-level building that will house the…
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Ghost Town’s economic ripple has hopes high
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer It appears that the re-opening of Ghost Town in the Sky on Memorial Day…
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Gauging the fallout: Opinions vary on effect of Jackson’s proposed development rules
As Chuck Bennett rang up a sale at his electrical supply store in Cashiers, he showed no fear of the…
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Franklin studies upgrades to 1950s zoning laws
Unlike most town and county governments in Western North Carolina, Franklin’s elected leaders had the foresight more than five decades…
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Dam Break: Scale of disaster leaves community reeling
A dam broke on an irrigation pond at Balsam Mountain Preserve in Jackson County two weeks ago unleashing hundreds of…
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Chief’s race pits incumbent against gaming official
A tight race could be in store for the two candidates vying for principal chief of the Eastern Band of…
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Blue Ridge workers hopeful after buyout
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer In the end, the acquisition of Blue Ridge Paper Products by the New Zealand-based…
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Study puts values on working easements
A recent study in the Bethel Community revealed that “working land conservation easements” would be valued as high as $7,900…
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REACH funding called into question by commissioners
A non-profit that helps abused women escape domestic violence could be facing a budget cut by Jackson County commissioners this…
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Maggie Valley unveils new land-use plan
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer After months of rigorous planning sessions, Maggie Valley town officials are finally ready to…
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Library a go, probably at Jackson Plaza site
After years of the public waiting for a new library in Jackson County, county commissioners last week pledged to set…
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Desire for regulation may boil down to personal philosophy
Ray Trine eased past the gatehouse guarding the entrance of a Cashiers development and turned up a gentle road landscaped…
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Activists demand a cleaner Pigeon from Blue Ridge
By Julia Mrchant • Staff Writer A decades-long battle between advocates for a clean Pigeon River and the Canton-based company…
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Western counties to share land-use ideas
County commissioners, planners and planning board members from the state’s seven westernmost counties will meet this month in a first-of-its-kind…
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Victim’s family sues REACH for negligence
REACH of Jackson County, a non-profit that aids victims of domestic violence, is being sued by the family of a…
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Macon planning efforts gaining momentum
Susan Ervin has served on Macon County’s Planning Board for so long she can’t actually remember how many years it’s…
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Haywood leaders voice support for test farm
The region might be at risk of losing an important agricultural research station in Haywood County if a proposed state…
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Haywood bids for recreation tract in Jonathan Creek
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood County officials are jumping at the chance to purchase 22 acres of land…
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County OKs $3 million for immediate HCC needs
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood Community College is finally on track to receive some much needed funding after…
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Consultant recommends Jackson library site
Where to put a new Jackson County library is no closer to a resolution following a $20,000 study by a…
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Bryson City seeks citizen input in land-use plan
Want to build anything you want in a downtown location that receives a ton of visitors each summer? Then Bryson…
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Judge rules Realtors’ loss is not irreparable
A group of Realtors and developers challenging the legality of Jackson County’s five-month moratorium on new subdivisions lost the first…
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What they’re saying
“It’s well past time to bury this boondoggle and resolve the issue in this positive way for the park and…
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Ghost Town goes silver screen
Dean Teaster’s Ghost Town “The Movie” will premiere at the Eaglenest Entertainment Center in Maggie Valley at 7 p.m. on…
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History of Ghost Town in the Sky
Businessman R. B. Coburn, who was inspired to build a park with a western theme after visiting several ghost towns…
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Fun Facts about Ghost Town
• Ghost Town in the Sky first opened its doors to the public in June 1961. Construction began in September…
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Ghost Town re-opens
After being closed for five years, a North Carolina icon, Ghost Town In The Sky, is re-opening on May 25.
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Proposed election law change follows Swain nursing home irregularities
The General Assembly is considering a bill that could solve a Catch 22 in election law: how to legitimately help…
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