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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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.
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
Tourism change could cost chambers
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer As Macon County officials work to create a new tourism development association, the financial…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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.…
Read More
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…
Read More
Southern Loop opposition mounts
Jackson County residents opposed to the construction of the Southern Loop — a new major highway that would bisect Jackson…
Read More
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 —…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
WATR tries to stay active
By Joel Adams • Contributing Writer Strong public interest in the aftermath of the dam break at Balsam Mountain Preserve…
Read More
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…
Read More
How it might work
Jackson County commissioners sanctioned a feasibility study on whether a new library would fit on the hill behind the historic…
Read More
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…
Read More
Waynesville PD net 6 arrests in Internet sex sting
When Crystal Shuler posted an ad on Craig’s List this summer offering a full-service massage in Waynesville, she was flooded…
Read More
Courthouse site doable for new Jackson library
Years of wrestling over a location for a new Jackson County library will come to a close next month. Jackson…
Read More
Southern Loop on priority list, committee says it wasn’t them
Jackson County leaders might be lending their tacit endorsement, albeit unintentionally, to the proposed Southern Loop, a controversial highway that…
Read More
Waynesville seeks solutions to Russ traffic problems
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Nearly two years after receiving a grant to…
Read More
Duke seeks permit for new coal plant
A public hearing on whether Duke Energy should be allowed to build a new coal-fired power plant in the Shelby…
Read More
Voter interviews reflect close race
Interviews with Cherokee voters exiting the polling booths last week revealed just how divided the tribe is over who will…
Read More
Making the grade: Schools strain under pressure of misguided expectations
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Much like a band-aid on a kid’s scraped elbow, No Child Left Behind was…
Read More
Maggie mayor’s zoning request still up in the air
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A petition by Maggie Valley Mayor Roger McElroy to re-zone a 90-acre tract of…
Read More
EDC says marketing study not worthwhile
An $18,000 marketing study conducted for Jackson County by consultants from Texas fell short of what the firm promised, according…
Read More
Incumbent Hicks wins in tight Cherokee election
The election for chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians came down to a mere 30 votes last week,…
Read More
What Sylva is and isn’t: you be the judge
Buxton, a consulting firm that analyzes a community’s demographics, has 60 some population classes that it uses to describe the…
Read More
Recreation plan attracts mostly supporters to bond hearing
A public hearing Monday on a $64 million bond for various construction projects in Macon County attracted relatively few naysayers.…
Read More
Group forms to bring about revitalization of Cullowhee
A new community group dedicated to revitalizing Cullowhee will host an open house at the Cullowhee Café from 10 a.m.…
Read More
Swain to put land transfer tax on November ballot
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Swain County residents will vote November 6 on whether to enact a new tax…
Read More
Bond hearings planned in Macon
Macon County leaders will get their first real taste of how the public feels about a $64 million bond vote…
Read More
Childcare center’s closing surprises community
First United Methodist Church’s Child Development Center in Waynesville suddenly closed its daycare and after-school programs two weeks ago, leaving…
Read More
SCC ranks fourth among all U.S. community colleges
Southwestern Community College ranks fourth in the nation in a new listing of America’s best community colleges and was the…
Read More
Jackson’s Green Energy Park undergoes expansion
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The Jackson County Green Energy Park is slated to get even greener with the…
Read More
Fontana Lake businesses close for the season
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Two of the three boat docks on the Swain County side of Fontana Lake…
Read More
When to teach, when to tell? Sexual exploration among pre-schoolers is normal, but some activities cross the line
When a workshop on proper and improper sexual behavior in preschoolers premiered at a childcare conference in the region a…
Read More
