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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The messiest story you can have: A Western perspective on the war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine may seem a million miles away, but one doesn’t have to travel halfway across the world…
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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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State will investigate Mark Meadows voter registration as district attorney recuses herself
Former NC-11 Republican Congressman and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has remained adamant that voters cast fraudulent ballots…
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Ready for the worst: Cherokee police receive toolkit to aid AMBER Alert response
When a child goes missing, the first 48 hours are the most critical portion of the response. If it ever…
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KARE recognized for effective, high-quality services to child abuse victims
For more than 30 years, the Robert Forga Family KARE House has served as Haywood County’s evidence-based, collaborative children’s advocacy…
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Big money coming for rural broadband
More than a hundred economic development professionals, elected officials, internet service providers and interested parties from across North Carolina’s seven…
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Jackson sets aside ARPA funds for internet service
“There is a definite and negative impact to lack of broadband in our community.”
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Bryson City buckles down to fix decrepit sewer system
As crumbling infrastructure in small towns across the country becomes a more urgent issue, Bryson City has been saddled with…
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WCU approves master plan
A master plan envisioning campus needs for the decade ahead received unanimous approval from the Western Carolina University Board of…
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No criminal charges filed in Our Place Inn death
A March 17 press release from Maggie Valley Police Chief Russ Gilliland says that no criminal charges will be filed…
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Meet the Macon Matriarch
The Women’s History Trail (WHT), a project of the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County (FHAMC), adopted an activity in…
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Department of Public Instruction creates Parent Advisory Commission
Throughout the pandemic, parents have had a lot to consider when it comes to the education of their children —…
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Tribal Council sets term limit referendum
After tabling it last month for further discussion, on March 3 the Cherokee Tribal Council unanimously approved two referendum questions…
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Attorney General’s Office Had ‘Great Concerns’ Mission-HCA Deal Was Rigged ‘From the Beginning’
The North Carolina attorney general’s office had “great concerns about how HCA was selected” as the purchaser of the Mission…
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Vital VAWA: Act’s reauthorization expands domestic violence protections
It’s hard to believe there was ever a time when reports of stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence and dating violence…
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It takes a village: Strong collaborative partnerships support victims in WNC
In 1978, there were all of two shelters in North Carolina for survivors of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault…
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Investigators say victim safety is top priority
In Suzie Pressley’s 11 years on the job, she’s seen the agony people face trying to leave an abusive relationship…
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VAWA reauthorization expands tribe’s ability to hold abusers accountable
On July 21, 2015, Cherokee resident John Michael Arkansas was convicted of violating a domestic violence protective order. He received…
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Up to the fight: Cherokee’s new police chief aims for big changes
Josh Taylor is seven months into his job as chief of the Cherokee Indian Police Department. Asked how it’s going,…
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Maggie board denies slew of rezoning requests
“The motion passes, three to two,” is becoming an ever more common phrase during Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen meetings.…
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Controversy over food trucks continues in Maggie
The issue of Food Trucks has come up once again for the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen. This latest discussion…
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WCU trustees promise sunset for athletic fee increase
A requested athletic fee increase at Western Carolina University met approval from the University of North Carolina Board of Governors at…
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Waynesville begins research on social districts
After Alderman Anthony Sutton floated the idea near the end of a Jan. 11 meeting, the Town of Waynesville will…
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ABC store opens in Cherokee
Just six months after Cherokee voters said yes in a referendum election , a liquor store is open on the…
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Sylva Fire requests funding for more paid staff
Sylva Fire Department is requesting funding from Jackson County for the salary of additional paid personnel in the split paid,…
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Gov. Cooper returns to Haywood, checks in on flood recovery
On March 15, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper made several stops in Western North Carolina, including one in Waynesville, where…
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Jackson County man pleads guilty to six felonies after impregnating minor
A man who had sex multiple times with an underage teen, impregnating her, will spend at least the next two…
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P.A.W.S. rehouses dogs from Feb. puppy mill rescue
On Feb. 11, 2022, P.A.W.S. traveled to Pickens, South Carolina to provide assistance in a large-scale puppy mill of 166…
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Cherokee exploring dorm housing for casino workers
As the labor shortage at Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos continues to worsen, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is considering dormitory-style…
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WCU lifts mask mandate
In a campuswide email sent this afternoon, Western Carolina University announced that its mask mandate will expire on Saturday, Feb.…
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Remembering Lake Logan
One of the most beautiful settings in Western North Carolina is Lake Logan, a sizable body of water captured between…
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Lake Logan addresses challenges, looks toward future
Lake Logan has come a long way since the Episcopal Church purchased the property in 2000.
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Swimmer sentenced for 2018 murder
A Cherokee man was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison after being found guilty of second-degree murder by…
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Cherokee man faces homicide charge
A Cherokee man is being held without bond after allegedly shooting two people outside McDonald’s in Cherokee on Friday, Feb.…
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