Race for Jackson County School Board
Ten candidates are running for three open seats on the Jackson County Board of Education this spring. Only one incumbent…
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Haywood commission candidates face significant challenges
Haywood County’s growing, and with that growth comes change – change not everyone is happy to see. Traditional hot-button issues…
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Alaska Presley, business titan and longtime Ghost Town owner, dead at 98
Small in stature but towering in her decades-long influence on Haywood County, Alaska Presley passed away on April 7 at…
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Smokies proposes park-wide parking fee
A visit to the nation’s most popular national park could cease being free if a groundbreaking proposal put forth by…
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Shooting case will test limits of qualified immunity
In 2020, a trial court accepted the qualified immunity defense of Macon County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Anthony Momphard for the…
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High stakes, high expectations in Senate race
Redistricting brought small changes to many of Western North Carolina’s legislative districts, but nowhere are those minor changes more major…
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HCS budgets for declining student population
During the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina schools did not incur budget cuts due to lower student populations across the board.…
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HCAE proposes policy changes to review of parental complaints
Haywood County Association of Educators has put forth suggested amendments to the school board policy regarding parental inspection of and…
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Waynesville aldermen ponder projects
It’s a critical time in the Town of Waynesville. Legacy problems like aging sewer and water infrastructure and a malfunctioning…
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Downtown Sylva to test social district
The Sylva Social District test period is one step closer to launch following input from a community task force.
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SCC Health Science Center open for learning
Though students have been enjoying the amenities of the new Health Sciences Center at Southwestern Community College since the start…
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Local family donates $1.5 million to Haywood County Schools Foundation
Students at Pisgah High School will have greater opportunities for higher education funding, after a new $1.5 million scholarship was…
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UNC System extends waiver for SAT, ACT requirement
Through at least fall 2024, applicants to University of North Carolina System schools won’t have to sit for SAT or…
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Tribe eyes property in D.C.
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribal leaders frequently travel to Washington, D.C., to make their case to lawmakers on a…
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Maggie aldermen vote to remove zoning board member
During the regularly scheduled Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen meeting on Tuesday, April 6, Alderman John Hinton made a motion…
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‘Still plenty to do’: Continual curiosity key for awarded botanist
When Ron Lance found out he’d been chosen for a prestigious Southern Appalachian Botanical Society award, he was astonished.
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Sylva man sentenced for drug trafficking
A Sylva man who arrived an hour late to court, appeared to nap through his trial, admitted to using methamphetamine…
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Tuckasegee man pleads guilty to knife assaults
A Tuckasegee man who twice used knives to slash the necks of two men on separate occasions is headed to…
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Sylva grieves young shooting victims
The friends and family of two Sylva boys who died following a tragic shooting incident Sunday, March 27, gathered in…
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Clyde assistant fire chief, wife, charged with embezzlement
The Clyde Fire Department’ assistant chief and his wife have been charged with embezzling money from the department.
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High-stakes Supreme Court primary sees little attention
A recent poll commissioned by the N.C. Values Coalition found that most prospective Republican primary voters know who they’ll likely…
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Haywood recreation plan approved
Haywood County is known for its outdoor recreational opportunities that drive both tourism and the local economy. Now, with the…
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Sylva lays out budget priorities
The town of Sylva will likely see several upgrades to its public spaces in the coming year if last week’s…
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Commissioners advance new Haywood jail project
Haywood County commissioners took an important step forward on April 4 by selecting Moseley Architects of Charlotte as the preferred…
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Dedication with dignity: the future of Haywood Christian Ministry
For more than 50 years, Haywood Christian Ministry has served as a safety net for some of Haywood County’s most…
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New tribal laws aim to empower victims, speed up justice
Victims of crime on the Qualla Boundary will now have a defined list of rights to rely on as they…
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Holy Cow! Pathways’ food truck is back – with a major twist
Haywood Pathways Center’s Holy Cow Food Truck returned to action earlier this week, but customers may notice something slightly different…
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Fast moving brushfire in Maggie contained thanks to firefighting efforts and rain
A fire that began Monday afternoon on Sheepback Mountain in Maggie Valley and initially spread quickly was 100% contained as…
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Crews quell fires as new weather system arrives
The wildfires that ripped through the mountains last week are now mostly under control, but as of Tuesday afternoon, April…
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Fire continues to burn past sundown in Maggie
A fire that began on Sheepback Mountain in Maggie Valley Monday afternoon has grown to 50-75 acres as of 8:40…
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Wildfire threatens homes in Maggie Valley
Update 4:20 p.m.: Aerial support in the form of a spotter plane and a helicopter carrying a bucket is now…
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Draft food truck ordinance on the table in Maggie
Maggie Valley is a step closer to allowing food trucks after the board of aldermen reviewed an updated working draft…
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Thomas Divide fire cools as Sevier County flames
Crews are getting the Thomas Divide Complex Fire in Swain County and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park under control,…
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High wind warning challenges Smokies firefighting efforts
The Thomas Divide Complex Fire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now 60% contained at 960 acres, but…
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Mountain Projects receives investment from Nantahala Health Foundation
Mountain Projects Community Action Agency has received a $30,000 investment grant from Nantahala Health Foundation to increase home safety for…
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Finding light in the darkness: A conversation with Jane Ferguson
In the realm of foreign journalism, few correspondents are as fearless and compassionate as Jane Ferguson.
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New special enrollment period for marketplace health insurance
A new Special Enrollment Period on the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace has opened for consumers who have projected income of…
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Local Jan. 6 defendant pleads guilty
A Sylva man arrested for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington,…
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Application window extended for $350m grant to expand internet in rural N.C.
The N.C. Department of Information Technology today announced that qualified internet service providers and electric membership cooperatives providing internet service…
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More than 1,000 acres burning in mountain region
High winds over the weekend felled trees and downed power lines, sparking a wildfire that covers 950 acres straddling the…
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Developers discuss potential Bryson City airfield plans
Atop a hill on the western edge of Bryson City, Sossamon Airfield has sat mostly unused for quite some time,…
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Public restrooms likely coming to Spring Street
There is $250,000 available for public restrooms in downtown Sylva. At the March 24 town board meeting, commissioners discussed detailed…
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Jackson County Snack Master Competition
Last week, Jackson County Schools held its 10th annual Snack Master Competition, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19…
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Maggie Valley one step closer to UDO
Maggie Valley is one step closer to completing its unified development ordinance after Town Planner Kaitland Finkle presented a draft…
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Woman missing in Cherokee
UPDATE, March 29: Both Tonya and Tracy Tolliver have been located, and they are safe. On Monday, March 14, at…
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Two Sylva boys dead in shooting
Two boys, ages 15 and 10, are dead following a shooting in Sylva Sunday, March 27.
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More than 1,000 acres burning mountain region
High winds over the weekend felled trees and downed power lines, sparking a wildfire that now covers 950 acres straddling…
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Waynesville Planning Board meeting falls into disarray
Update March 24, 2022: Near the end of a chaotic March 21 meeting of the Town of Waynesville’s planning board, a…
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Rough start for Haywood Commission candidates
There aren’t a lot of differences between the five Republican candidates running for Haywood County Commission this year, but one…
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‘She just slipped through our fingers’
Editor's note: some names in this story have been changed to honor a request from the family of the deceased. At…
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