Cherokee voters choose Primary Election winners
Tribal Council incumbents fared well in Thursday’s Primary Election, with all six representatives who faced primary contests sailing easily toward…
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Park visitors cited for feeding bear peanut butter
Visitors who fed a bear peanut butter in Cades Cove received a citation from Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers…
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Waynesville funds emergency overnight stays for unsheltered individuals
Just days after a local nonprofit asked the Town of Waynesville to help fund emergency overnight stays for the unsheltered,…
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Cherokee voters choose Primary Election candidates
Tribal Council incumbents fared well in Thursday’s Primary Election, with all six representatives who faced primary contests sailing easily toward…
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Jackson County names new DSS director
After five years heading the agency, Jennifer Abshire will retire as director of the Jackson County Department of Social Services…
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Teacher resigns following alleged sexual activity with student
UPDATED 1/24/2020: Following several meetings with the alleged victim and family, the District Attorney's Office declined to file charges in…
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Group asks for funds to fight homelessness
A local nonprofit group has its eyes set on funding that will be distributed to the Town of Waynesville as…
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Eviction moratorium expiration looms
The Coronavirus Pandemic appears to be winding down and with it, protections designed to ameliorate the ensuing economic devastation that…
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Eviction moratorium strains local landlords
When the Coronavirus Pandemic broke out in the United States in March 2020, Congress passed that CARES Act. Part of…
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Housing cases double for Legal Aid
The amount of time Legal Aid lawyers spend on helping clients with housing issues doubled during the pandemic.
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Mountain Projects receives affordable housing grant
Dogwood Health Trust recently invested in affordable housing initiatives in Haywood and Jackson counties by awarding a $872,671 grant to…
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Home sales double over 2020
With vaccinations underway and COVID-19 restrictions easing, April home sales rose 48.8 percent year-over-year with 1,138 homes sold across the…
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Property tax rates will go down, but property tax bills will go up
Yes, your property tax rate is going down, but no, your property tax bill probably bill isn’t. Wait, what?
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Sizing the force: Sylva debates police staffing needs
Sarah Dearmon was the only person who spoke during the May 27 public hearing for a proposed Sylva town budget…
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Jackson names new economic development director
Tiffany Henry will be Jackson County’s next director of economic development following a unanimous vote from county commissioners May 18.…
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June per capita payments exceed pre-pandemic levels
Despite a raging pandemic, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos’ revenues for October 2020 through March 2021 delivered a larger per capita payment…
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Swain sets public hearing for proposed budget
Swain County will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. June 10 to give residents an opportunity to comment on…
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Staffing a hurdle for Haywood summer school
Students in Haywood County will not be provided normal bus transportation for the robust summer school program intended to address…
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Cullowhee Valley School chooses new mascot
Henceforth, Cullowhee Valley School in Jackson County will be represented as the Cullowhee Valley Wolves.
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Jackson considers $79 million proposed budget
Note: The initial story published May 26 was based on incorrect budget documents from Jackson County that reflected a total…
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Cawthorn’s internal poll measures job performance, approval
After almost five months in office, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-Hendersonville, has his first look into the major political questions that…
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Canton preschool closed due to COVID-19
The Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency has identified a symptomatic COVID-19 case at Silverbluff Early Education & Preschool…
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Swain Middle gets ‘GO’ Grant
The North Carolina Outdoor Heritage Advisory Council announced that Swain County Middle School was awarded a NC Schools Go Outside…
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HCC offers free tuition for Haywood grads
Haywood Community College Foundation’s Tuition Free Guarantee Scholarship is sometimes the deciding factor for Haywood County seniors when deciding where…
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Coming together again: what's next for community events?
Though Oct. 17 was just seven months ago chronologically, it feels like seven years emotionally with all of the social,…
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Folkmoot returns: After a year off, a revamped festival
Folkmoot USA will return with its annual festival for summer 2021.
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Inaugural Juneteenth celebration planned
On June 19, the Smoky Mountain District of the United Methodist Church will host a Juneteenth Freedom Celebration at Lake…
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Ghost Town: a new start for an old favorite
A weekend-long reunion event brought dozens of former Ghost Town in the Sky performers together to share some old memories,…
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Divisive sign catalyzes Back the Blue rally
Maggie Valley Town Hall Pavilion and the surrounding grassy area were ablaze with the black and blue flags of a…
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Tribal Council candidates make their case
During the Primary Election next week, Cherokee voters will decide which candidates vying for seats on Tribal Council and the…
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Bridge cleanup fiasco could result in legal action
A group of concerned citizens conducting a local cleanup effort intended to address the problem of homelessness in Waynesville inadvertently exacerbated…
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Funding approved for Sylva statue changes
The pedestal of the Confederate soldier statue in Sylva will get a $14,000 makeover following a 4-1 vote from the…
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Cherokee appeals Catawba casino decision
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is appealing an April 16 decision from District Court Judge James A. Boasberg that…
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Elevated Mountain to host Ghost Town reunion
Meet, greet and eat with some of your favorite former Ghost Town in the Sky performers on Friday, May 21,…
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Jackson names new economic development director
Tiffany Henry will be Jackson County’s next director of economic development following a unanimous vote from county commissioners May 18.…
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Summer Camp Guide
While summer camps were on hiatus during the height of the pandemic in 2020, many camps in Western North Carolina…
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The Joy of Discovery: Foreign students, host families relish cultural exchange
It’s easy to imagine the ways in which a foreign exchange student’s world is broadened by an experience studying abroad,…
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Jackson considers five additional firefighting positions
During a May 11 work session, Jackson County commissioners discussed a plan to use $400,000 from the general fund —…
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Macon mulls $80 million new high school
Plans to construct a new Franklin High School are back on the table as Macon County commissioners weigh the costs…
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Community shows support for arts education
A packed room of Macon County residents pleaded with county commissioners during a May 13 meeting to provide the school…
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Mask mandates lifted amid plummeting COVID-19 numbers
New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are falling toward the lowest levels seen since the pandemic took root.
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Tribal Council candidates make their case
Early voting is underway for the June 3 Primary Election in Cherokee, which will determine the final slate of candidates…
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AG takes over sex abuse case
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced the state Attorney General’s Office would take over the criminal investigation and potential prosecution…
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Waynesville man charged with insurance fraud
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Keith Brody Parks, 36, Waynesville. Parks was charged with…
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Swain asks for 6 percent room tax
After passing a resolution at its May 13 meeting, Swain County will be asking its state representatives to introduce legislation…
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Independent auditor will evaluate Waynesville electric bills
Despite being the result of a confluence of factors, the true reasons behind some abnormally high electric bills for Town…
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Cawthorn tries to succeed where state broadband bills failed
The Coronavirus Pandemic has lain bare the massive digital divide between those with reliable high-speed internet access and those without,…
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Campaign against new Haywood jail continues
Citing limited drug rehabilitation options, a lack of mental health treatment facilities, an inefficient justice system and overwhelming public opposition,…
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Strong start for SHARE Project
If the newly-formed SHARE Project’s May 16 drug awareness march was any indication, the group can look forward to strong…
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Cherokee scholar awarded honorary WCU doctorate
Cherokee scholar Thomas Belt received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Western Carolina University last week during commencement on…
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