Casino job losses first since Cherokee opening
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino is cutting 100 jobs because of the national economic downturn. The cuts represent about 5 percent of…
Read More
WNC continues to captivate
There’s something about Haywood County. In recent years, the small Western North Carolina community has found itself as the setting…
Read More
Searching for clarity after muddy disaster
It was around 1:30 a.m. on an exceptionally rainy Wednesday that Bruce and Lorraine Donin’s world came crashing down. One…
Read More
Macon leaders struggle with budget shortfall
K-4 school on hold due to economy Due to the national economic downturn the Macon County commissioners have decided not…
Read More
Macon pulls out of fight with Duke over dam mitigation
It appears a piece of property in Nantahala had something to do with Macon County pulling out of a fight…
Read More
The view from the bench: From terrible to touching, retiring judge reflects on years spent in court
For 25 years, Superior Court Judge Marlene Hyatt has often worked as much as 12 hours a day, five days…
Read More
Old Swain courthouse holds promise as museum, visitor center
A visitor center that would showcase the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and a local heritage museum could one day…
Read More
Duke sues Jackson County for holding permits hostage
Duke Energy filed a lawsuit against Jackson County and county Planning Director Linda Cable on Monday (Jan. 5) for failing…
Read More
Smart Roads calls on county to step up in 107 planning
A member of the Jackson County Smart Roads group told county commissioners on Monday (Jan. 5) that there needs to…
Read More
Therapists: Hard times test marriages
The national economic downturn is taking its toll on married couples dealing with financial stress, according to area marriage counselors.…
Read More
Superior Court Judge Hyatt to step down
Superior Court Judge J. Marlene Hyatt, whose district stretches across the western part of the state, will retire from her…
Read More
Who is Ayn Rand?
In 1957, a Russian immigrant burst onto the scene with a novel and philosophy that today remains one of the…
Read More
End in sight for cost overruns on Haywood courthouse
As renovation of Haywood County’s historic courthouse drags on, the county continues to tack on tens of thousands of dollars…
Read More
Who controls what’s taught? Donation sparks debate over academic integrity
Western Carolina University’s College of Business recently secured a $1 million donation from BB&T — but not before discerning faculty…
Read More
The best of 2008
Every year about this time, reporters dig out their old files and back editions and start cruising the headlines for…
Read More
Nurse shortage forces closure of mental health facility
The extraordinarily difficult struggle to find nurses licensed in psychiatric care has forced the state agency that oversees mental health…
Read More
Motive behind Cherokee fire remains mystery
An apparent arson fire that burned the Tribal Operations Program building in Cherokee in the early morning hours of Dec.…
Read More
Jackson board sets sights on historic property
The Jackson County Planning Board is considering establishing a historic preservation commission to help maintain significant landmarks and districts. Such…
Read More
Voters to decide on alcohol sales at Harrah’s
Voters in Cherokee will decide whether alcohol should be sold at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino now that enough signatures have been…
Read More
Dissatisfied, HRMC once more on the hunt for ER docs
Haywood Regional Medical Center will terminate its contract with the corporate physician staffing outfit that supplies doctors for the hospital’s…
Read More
Land use plan review ‘back on track’
Waynesville leaders vowed to speed up a review of the town’s land use plan after an article in The Smoky…
Read More
Chili’s scouts Waynesville as possible location
Even as one national retailer — Home Depot — is pulling its plans for a Waynesville store, the national restaurant…
Read More
Macon, Franklin tourism boards take helm during tough climate
Two recently created tourism boards in Macon County met last week to begin discussing how they can make the area…
Read More
Swanger back in the game with EDC seat
Haywood County Commissioner Mark Swanger is back on the county’s Economic Development Commission five years after he played a critical…
Read More
Holiday transcends economic classes: Family, religion are unifying themes to the season
Charles Phillips of Waynesville may be monetarily poor, but he is rich in the Christmas spirit. Each Christmas Phillips covers…
Read More
Maggie Valley’s Collins picked again to lead TDA
Lynn Collins, the director of Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, was unanimously appointed as the new director of the Haywood…
Read More
Brought on in crisis, extra ambulance shows it’s mettle
When Haywood Regional Medical Center suspended its care of Medicare and Medicaid patients last February, Jim Pressley realized there was…
Read More
Sylva domestic violence shelter not to blame in murder
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit filed against a domestic violence shelter by the family of…
Read More
Franklin development pushes village-style design
The days of suburban sprawl could be coming to an end as a new type of development — mixed use…
Read More
School air data suspect, officials say
Officials from Haywood County and the state Division of Air Quality are disputing a recently released report by USA Today…
Read More
WestCare, Haywood hospitals hunt for partner
The boards of Haywood Regional Medical Center and WestCare Health System are officially seeking proposals from three hospital systems that…
Read More
Verizon cell tower violates county ordinance
A cell tower company jumped the gun by building onto its tower without the necessary permits from Haywood County. Verizon…
Read More
Auto dealers lament Shuler’s ‘no’ vote on bailout
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, voted against the proposed bailout of the auto industry last week. Gary Tallent, manager of…
Read More
Home Depot scraps Waynesville plans
Home Depot has officially yanked plans to build a store in Waynesville next to the town’s new Super Wal-Mart. The…
Read More
There ain’t no shelter here
There aren’t many options for those without a home in Western North Carolina. Sleeping outside is one, but winter nights…
Read More
Trapping rainwater could solve airport slope problems
Although Jackson County and the Airport Authority prevailed in a lawsuit this month blaming them for slope failure at the…
Read More
Macon may be out of money for K-4 school
There may not be enough money to build a new K-4 school in Macon County because of the economic downturn,…
Read More
Lending a hand
Recently, more than 50 members of the Haywood County community gathered in a church fellowship hall to brainstorm ways to…
Read More
The economic downturn hits home — hard
The trickle down effect from the national economic downturn is starting to feel more like a flood to agencies in…
Read More
Cherokee petition closes in on alcohol vote
Organizers of a petition drive in Cherokee believe they have enough signatures to force a referendum by voters on whether…
Read More
Officials stay away from private DOT meeting, stay within bounds of law
It appears local government officials obeyed the Open Meetings Law when they attended a private N.C. Department of Transportation meeting…
Read More
DOT gets earful from public on Southern Loop
Jackson County resident Susan Leveille opposes the construction of a N.C. 107 bypass. “I am very hopeful DOT and all…
Read More
Traffic simulations for 2035 takes leap of faith
As the debate over the Southern Loop rages on, a faceless cadre of number crunchers have been assigned a seemingly…
Read More
Tough times strike dealerships
Scott Rodes’ first job in the automobile industry was 30 years ago washing and selling cars for his grandfather in…
Read More
Commissioners make extra meetings official
The Macon County commissioners on Monday voted to start having two regularly scheduled meetings a month, rather than just one…
Read More
Swain hunts for inmates to fill overbuilt jail
When 400 people poured in to Swain County’s jail one day in late September, Sheriff Curtis Cochran was thrilled. And…
Read More
Slow to start, Waynesville moves on land use plan review
The town of Waynesville has done little to jumpstart a promised review of its land use plan, and critics say…
Read More
Task force seeks answers to water shortages
The newly formed Jackson County Water Study Task Force met for the first time Thursday (Dec. 4) to begin discussing…
Read More
Not a fan of bailouts, Shuler drives a hard bargain
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, said he is unsure if he will support a bailout of the auto industry. The…
Read More
Town settles disagreement over pilfered stone
The town of Franklin has settled a disagreement with a man who took slate and doors that belonged to the…
Read More
