Macon joins other participants in drug discount program
 

Macon joins other participants in drug discount program

Sarah Kucharski • Staff writer A new prescription drug discount card soon will be available to Macon County residents.
Read More

Comment

Haywood leaders mull prison recruitment: Minimum-security site reportedly needed in western part of state
 

Haywood leaders mull prison recruitment: Minimum-security site reportedly needed in western part of state

Haywood County commissioners are once again pondering the idea of recruiting a state prison.
Read More

Comment

Swain chairman accused of handling absentee ballots
 

Swain chairman accused of handling absentee ballots

Clerk talks: Dennis Stephenson, a clerk at the Bryson City post office, supplied the following statement in an affidavit taken…
Read More

Comment

Voter intimidation alleged in Swain election
 

Voter intimidation alleged in Swain election

Two Swain County residents claim they were victims of illegal voter intimidation during the November election.
Read More

Comment

Voter testimony
 

Voter testimony

The following testimony was provided by Rhonda Bedsaul, 47, of Swain County. A similar account was provided by Bedsaul’s husband,…
Read More

Comment

Everybody wants on the TDA: Recent publicity and problems are likely catalysts
 

Everybody wants on the TDA: Recent publicity and problems are likely catalysts

A record number of applicants are seeking seats on the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, likely spurred by the ongoing…
Read More

Comment

Sylva downtown group to hire executive director
 

Sylva downtown group to hire executive director

Downtown Sylva Association members have voted unanimously to hire an executive director, setting the organization up to more actively advocate…
Read More

Comment

Hike in early voters strains Swain election office
 

Hike in early voters strains Swain election office

The surge in early voting witnessed in the last election has prompted the Swain County election board to hunt for…
Read More

Comment

Maggie alderman profits from land sale to town
 

Maggie alderman profits from land sale to town

An elected board member in Maggie Valley has collected $6,500 in commission from the town after acting as the town’s…
Read More

Comment

Blue Ridge Heritage grants total $340,000
 

Blue Ridge Heritage grants total $340,000

Dillsboro and Southwestern Community College’s Heritage Arts Institute in Swain County were among the 18 grant recipients from the Blue…
Read More

Comment

Franklin hires planner, GIS specialist
 

Franklin hires planner, GIS specialist

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff writer The Town of Franklin is taking steps toward implementing its recently adopted Principals of Growth,…
Read More

Comment

Land-use planning takes center stage in Jackson
 

Land-use planning takes center stage in Jackson

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County commissioners have set in motion a strategy to make up for the…
Read More

Comment

Green Energy Park earns EPA recognition
 

Green Energy Park earns EPA recognition

Jackson County’s Green Energy Park has received the Environmental Protection Agency’s Project of the Year award, giving the one-of-a-kind methane…
Read More

Comment

Cherokee heads into election with absentee  limits in place
 

Cherokee heads into election with absentee limits in place

As the Cherokee election season gets under way in the race for chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,…
Read More

Comment

DSA plans series of meetings to discuss downtown taxing district
 

DSA plans series of meetings to discuss downtown taxing district

The Downtown Sylva Association will hold a series of public meetings in January to answer questions about a proposed municipal…
Read More

Comment

Principles of Growth for the Town of Franklin
 

Principles of Growth for the Town of Franklin

Preamble What can we do now to ensure that in 20 years Franklin will still be recognized as a great…
Read More

Comment

WLOS no longer available on Mediacom
 

WLOS no longer available on Mediacom

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Local Mediacom cable subscribers up late Friday night saw their ABC affiliate WLOS Channel…
Read More

Comment

Support builds for Haywood land trust
 

Support builds for Haywood land trust

Dave Curphey’s story is a dime a dozen. Fed up with the urban sprawl that ruined his small town in…
Read More

Comment

Speaking out
 

Speaking out

More than 300 people attended a public hearing on Land For Tomorrow in Asheville last week, overwhelming the expectations of…
Read More

Comment

Self-preservation
 

Self-preservation

Land For Tomorrow is a statewide initiative launched last year to set aside $1 billion for land conservation over the…
Read More

Comment

Details of the new policy
 

Details of the new policy

A new public comment and meeting policy has been adopted by the Swain County Board of Commissioners. Here are some…
Read More

Comment

Phoenix says transition smooth despite patient complaints
 

Phoenix says transition smooth despite patient complaints

A corporate entity took over emergency room operations at Haywood Regional Medical Center last week, and so far it hasn’t…
Read More

Comment

Haywood pushes legislative agenda
 

Haywood pushes legislative agenda

Creation of a one-half cent local option sales tax to support building needs at Haywood Community College and tax relief…
Read More

Comment

The EDC question: Comparing and contrasting various models, as Jackson  looks toward the future
 

The EDC question: Comparing and contrasting various models, as Jackson looks toward the future

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer If there’s one thing economic development officials agree on, it’s that there’s no one…
Read More

Comment

A brief history of a complicated situation
 

A brief history of a complicated situation

By Sarah Kucharski In January 2005, Jackson County Commissioners called in more than $1.2 million in loans issued to six…
Read More

Comment

Doctors criticize board’s decision and its process
 

Doctors criticize board’s decision and its process

The current falling out between Haywood Regional Medical Center and the ER doctors is a symptom of a larger problem…
Read More

Comment

The news of 2006
 

The news of 2006

2006 was a big year for news in the mountains. From the economy to the world of politics, there’s been…
Read More

Comment

Emergency physicians air concerns, hear public input at community forum
 

Emergency physicians air concerns, hear public input at community forum

Haywood Emergency Physicians expressed concern at a public forum last Tuesday night (Dec. 19) about the turnover of emergency room…
Read More

Comment

Jackson commissioners take control of airport authority appointments
 

Jackson commissioners take control of airport authority appointments

Jackson County Commissioners last week strategically deferred making a decision about who would become the newest member of the Jackson…
Read More

Comment

Hospital board stands by ER decision
 

Hospital board stands by ER decision

Despite outcry from the medical community and general public, the hospital board of Haywood Regional Medical Center has stood by…
Read More

Comment

Hospital board stands by ER decision
 

Hospital board stands by ER decision

A new set of doctors will take over emergency room operations at Haywood Regional Medical Center at midnight on the…
Read More

Comment

Moratorium stops high-rises
 

Moratorium stops high-rises

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Macon County Commissioners unanimously approved a moratorium on high-rise development Monday, giving county planning…
Read More

Comment

Mediation needed, says medical staff: Doctors vote 50-2 to ask HRMC administration to find ‘win-win’ solution
 

Mediation needed, says medical staff: Doctors vote 50-2 to ask HRMC administration to find ‘win-win’ solution

The Haywood County medical community sent a strong message at a countywide meeting of doctors last Tuesday night (Dec. 12).…
Read More

Comment

Land for Tomorrow wins Jackson support
 

Land for Tomorrow wins Jackson support

Jackson County Commissioners passed a resolution Monday night (Dec. 18) encouraging the state General Assembly to provide funding for the…
Read More

Comment

Jackson County mulls EDC participation
 

Jackson County mulls EDC participation

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Two years have passed since the Jackson County Commissioners suspended their participation with the…
Read More

Comment

Doctor's resolution
 

Doctor's resolution

Here is a copy of the resolution, which was passed by the Medical Executive Committee on Dec. 6 and affirmed…
Read More

Comment

Biodiesel station opens in Cullowhee
 

Biodiesel station opens in Cullowhee

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The delivery of 3,000 gallons of B-20 biodiesel manufactured by Smoky Mountain Biofuels made…
Read More

Comment

Q&A with Haywood ER doctors
 

Q&A with Haywood ER doctors

Haywood Emergency Physicians held a two-hour town hall style meeting Tuesday night to answer questions about the termination of their…
Read More

Comment

What are the issues, and what’s being done about them?
 

What are the issues, and what’s being done about them?

Emergency room doctors at Haywood Regional Medical Center have been on a collision course with hospital administration since a brand-new…
Read More

Comment

WCU students help with Cullowhee church plans
 

WCU students help with Cullowhee church plans

The competition between Western Carolina University students to win a building contract at a Cullowhee church was just for fun,…
Read More

Comment

Sylva discusses downtown parking woes
 

Sylva discusses downtown parking woes

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Parking along Sylva’s downtown Main Street is a challenge.
Read More

Comment

Physicians seek solution to HRMC-ER dispute
 

Physicians seek solution to HRMC-ER dispute

The Haywood County medical community was expected to voice its disatisfaction Tuesday night with a move by Haywood Regional Medical…
Read More

Comment

Phoenix says doctor recruitment going well
 

Phoenix says doctor recruitment going well

Phoenix Emergency Physicians is making progress rounding up a new set of emergency room doctors to work at Haywood Regional…
Read More

Comment

Mayor wants windfall from watershed invested
 

Mayor wants windfall from watershed invested

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has begun surveying the Fisher Creek watershed in anticipation of…
Read More

Comment

Divided Franklin board OKs Super Wal-Mart
 

Divided Franklin board OKs Super Wal-Mart

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With the announcement of plans to bring a new Wal-Mart Supercenter to Franklin, some…
Read More

Comment

Community Assurance Statement
 

Community Assurance Statement

The following statement was provided to The Smoky Mountain News following a meeting of the Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospital…
Read More

Comment

Campaign kicks off to replace historic Francis Mill’s waterwheel
 

Campaign kicks off to replace historic Francis Mill’s waterwheel

The Francis Mill Preservation Society in Haywood County is gearing up for a major campaign to replace the metal wheel…
Read More

Comment

Turf war leads to ousting of ER docs
 

Turf war leads to ousting of ER docs

An ongoing power struggle between Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice and doctors in the emergency room came to…
Read More

Comment

Sylva librarian resigns as of Jan. 31
 

Sylva librarian resigns as of Jan. 31

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County Librarian Michael Cartwright will be resigning from his post by the end…
Read More

Comment

Rapp promotes regional approach to address slope development
 

Rapp promotes regional approach to address slope development

A regional effort is afoot to address mountainside and slope development as a region rather than relying on individual counties…
Read More

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.