Franklin High School cracks down on attendance, tardiness, vaping
The Macon County Board of Education approved revisions to student and staff handbooks for several schools at its July 22…
Read More
Swain mulls what to do with opioid settlement funds
As fiscal year 2024-2025 begins, North Carolina’s county governments are receiving their third installment of the Opioid Settlement Fund. This…
Read More
KidzCare partners with WNC Farm to Table to provide food to families in need
KidzCare Pediatrics Sylva announced a partnership with WNC Farm to Table to provide weekly food bags for patients and their…
Read More
Building back from the brink
After twin tragedies in 2021 and 2023, the town of Canton still has a substantial list of ongoing projects in…
Read More
Macon County Schools to increase pre-K, after school costs
After the sunset of COVID-era child care stabilization grants, Macon County Schools will have to increase costs for both Pre-K…
Read More
Staff shakeup in Canton
Just months after a staff realignment meant to free up then-Town Manager Nick Scheuer to focus on recovery and resiliency…
Read More
Canton lowers restrictions on outdoor special event requests
In the past, Canton required that a request to use public spaces for events be submitted four months in advance.…
Read More
Jackson TDA announces quarterly cycle for Tourism Capital Project Fund
The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority (JCTDA) has announced a new quarterly cycle for the Tourism Capital Project Fund (TCPF),…
Read More
Haywood TDA to Host Community Input Session
Have your say in the future of the county’s tourism industry by attending a community input session for the Haywood…
Read More
Jackson to fund Fairview School construction
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted this month to commit to funding construction and renovation of Fairview School, which…
Read More
WNC at the RNC: Western delegates reflect on historic GOP convention
Eight days is what it took to shock the world and cast the contentious 2024 Presidential race down untrodden paths.
Read More
Macon, Jackson to receive more opioid settlement funds
Macon and Jackson County commissions signed resolutions this month enabling the governments to receive funding from the Kroger opioid settlement,…
Read More
eCourts launches in Western North Carolina
Members of the public interested in Western North Carolina court cases now have better access than ever to criminal and…
Read More
Macon Economic Development funds internship program
A historic partnership intended to connect high schoolers with future employment opportunities and further economic development in Macon County has been…
Read More
Construction starting on new U.S. 23/74 turn lane
A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation has begun a safety project on U.S. 23/74 between Hyatt Creek Road…
Read More
Canopy Housing Foundation makes grants for housing, education
The Canopy Housing Foundation continued its longstanding commitment to the communities it serves by giving away more than $25,000 in…
Read More
HRMC doubles mammography capacity with new unit
Haywood Regional Medical Center (HRMC) is thrilled to announce the addition of a new mammography unit that will significantly enhance…
Read More
eCourts coming to Western North Carolina: Officials promise greater public access to judicial system
The public in Western North Carolina is about to have more access to the courts than ever before, assuming all…
Read More
Haywood Dem delegate explains Harris pick
News of President Joe Biden’s exit from the 2024 presidential race may have shocked some observers, but North Carolina’s Democratic…
Read More
Canton mill parcel rezoned
A rezoning of the former paper mill parcel in Canton has replaced an expiring industrial development moratorium, maintaining the town’s limited…
Read More
Haywood awards nearly $6 million for affordable housing developments
Haywood County commissioners approved two funding recommendations from its Affordable Housing Development Committee that will increase affordable housing stock at…
Read More
Whose future? Consultant report ignores Haywood’s working class
Consultants finally delivered to Haywood County commissioners a report on the results of a secretive, long-awaited “listening post exercise” meant…
Read More
Macon tables floodplain ordinance decision
After an outpouring of opposition from members of the public over the course of several county commission meetings, Macon County…
Read More
Pactiv sells Waynesville plant, Pine Bluff facility for $110 million
Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the now-shuttered paper mill in Canton, announced last week that it had agreed to sell its…
Read More
Canton meeting focuses on accountability, transparency
With the eyes of the state, the region and the county on the Town of Canton — flood recovery is…
Read More
Commission on Future of NC elections presents findings on election administration
Leaders from around the state recently found North Carolina Elections to be fair and secure with opportunities for increased funding,…
Read More
Census bureau to conduct 2026 field test in Cherokee
In 2026, the United States Census Bureau is conducting three field tests in “American Indian Areas” to prepare for unique…
Read More
Henley named interim director of athletic bands at WCU
Matt Henley has been named interim director of athletic bands at Western Carolina University and will lead the Pride of…
Read More
HCC signs transfer agreement with Western Governors University
Graduates and employees will have access to personalized learning pathways to higher education On Friday, June 21, leaders from Haywood…
Read More
Swain County Commission weighs code of conduct
Following a lengthy closed session during the Swain County Board of Commission’s July 2 work session, commission chair Kevin Seagle…
Read More
Alzheimer walk welcomes WNC participants
On Saturday, Oct. 5, WNC residents will join the fight against Alzheimer’s disease at the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End…
Read More
Nantahala Health Foundation launches grant cycle to benefit youth
Nantahala Health Foundation will launch its next competitive grant opportunity on July 1 with a focus on investing in educational,…
Read More
Haywood County children, youth need loving foster homes
The COVID pandemic may seem like ancient history to most western North Carolinians, but foster children in Haywood County are…
Read More
Unfunded state mandate will cost local governments more than money
Buried deep within a 40-page regulatory reform bill that became law last week, a new policy handed down by the…
Read More
Haywood man guilty of stalking, pointing pistol at deputy
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch today announced that a Haywood County jury found a defendant guilty of stalking a couple…
Read More
‘What our kids need’: no cost meals in WNC schools
Every student in Haywood and Jackson County Schools can expect no cost breakfast and lunch in the coming school year,…
Read More
Group pushes for strict new DWI laws
Western North Carolina’s regional DWI taskforce has renewed its push to pass several new drunk-driving bills into law during next…
Read More
Mountain Projects: NC Medicaid is not a Welfare Program
Since the state expanded Medicaid last December, 479,153 North Carolinians have signed up for full-coverage insurance and are already seeing…
Read More
Too little, too late: After deadline, child care funding meets only a fraction of the need
A stopgap measure that will partially fund expired federal grants for child care providers finally found Gov. Roy Cooper’s pen, but…
Read More
EBCI reverses stance on ‘hemp shops’
EBCI Tribal Council has reversed its decision to ban “hemp shops” not “wholly owned by the tribe … or one…
Read More
EBCI leaders voice frustration after Braves support unofficial Cherokee tribes
Following the Atlanta Braves’ recognition late last month of several groups in Georgia recognized by that state as Native American,…
Read More
Woody joins Jackson Board of Education
The Jackson County Board of Education will look a little different at its next meeting after Chair Elizabeth Cooper departed…
Read More
Three dead in alleged Haywood County murder-suicide
The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible murder in the Panther Creek area of Clyde.
Read More
SCC Foundation sets date for 10th annual fundraising gala
Ten years ago, the Southwestern Community College Foundation launched a bold new effort to create a fundraising event that everyone…
Read More
Officer-involved shooting in Cherokee leaves one dead
The Charlotte FBI division office announced that the bureau is investigating an officer-involved shooting on the Qualla Boundary that left…
Read More
Red Cross calls for blood and platelet donors amid critical shortage
This July, the American Red Cross continues to stress that blood and platelet donors are critically needed to support lifesaving…
Read More
Swain County BOE hosts voter ID seminar
The Swain County Board of Elections host an educational seminar on North Carolina’s photo ID requirement for voting.
Read More
Haywood TDA announces next round of grants
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority announced last week that it had awarded just over $250,000 in grants to 18…
Read More
Macon County floodplain ordinance debate heats up
A proposed change to Macon County’s floodplain regulation has prompted outcry from the public and rippled across the county government.
Read More
Roundtable sheds light on threat to abortion care
June 24 marked the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. Since…
Read More
