Continuing the cleanup: Pigeon River slowly bounces back as mill environmental violations mount
Once Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill shut down for good, people wondered how the Pigeon River and the aquatic life…
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Jackson County Schools receives safety grant
Jackson County Schools will install over 100 new security cameras throughout the school system after it received over a quarter…
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Woody, Jamison win race for Jackson County School Board
Incumbent Wes Jamison and newcomer Gayle Woody have won the race for Jackson County Board of Education.
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Young, Breeden win seats for Macon Commission
The Macon County Commission will see one new member seated in December after newcomer Barry Breeden beat out incumbent Paul…
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Hornsby wins new district court seat
Macon County attorney Virginia Hornsby will be a district court judge at the end of the year.
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Edwards prevails in NC-11
First-term incumbent Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson) will go on to face Democrat Caleb Rudow in the November General Election after…
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Incumbent Parton, newcomer Lawson win Swain County Commission Republican primary
Incumbent Kenneth Parton and newcomer Tanner Lawson have won the Swain County Commission Republican primary.
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Mill Street revitalization plan moves forward
The Town of Sylva is embarking on a five-year plan to revitalize Mill Street with updated façades as part of…
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WCU alumna, Haywood educator is state's 'Beginning Teacher of the Year'
A local teacher has won a prestigious award given to new educators in the field. Abby Bentley, a science teacher…
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Frankly speaking: complaint alleges Edwards abused free postage rules
A complaint filed by the chair of the Henderson County Democratic Party alleges Western North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson) violated…
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Officers in Kloepfer shooting won’t face charges
A special prosecutor tasked with examining the investigation into a 2022 police shooting that severely injured Jason Harley Kloepfer at his home in…
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Wildlife Commission approves bear season expansion, deer season shift
During its Feb. 22 meeting, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission voted to adopt a slate of proposed rule changes for…
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District Court judge one step closer to moving up to Superior Court
Attorneys in Western North Carolina now know who will likely hold the farthest west superior court seat.
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Considerable apprehension haunts Haywood jail expansion project
With several critical deadlines approaching and the cost of construction only going up, Haywood County commissioners spent more than two…
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Housing needs dire and growing in Jackson
The Development Finance Initiative has conducted a housing needs assessment for Jackson County, and while the findings won’t be surprising…
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Brooks returns to Franklin football
Josh Brooks will return as head coach for Franklin High School football after players implored the school board to reinstate…
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Lake Junaluska hosts regional youth groups
Lake Junaluska hosted youth groups from across the Southeast recently during its annual Winter Youth Retreats.
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Sylva opens Tesla Supercharging site
The Sylva Tourism Development Board announced that, following its nomination online to be the next Tesla Supercharging site, the charging…
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Regional hospitals honor staff members for tenure milestones
Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital recently held a special recognition luncheon to honor staff members who reached significant…
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Deadline for affordable housing financing in Haywood hits Friday
The Letter of Interest deadline for the Affordable Housing Development Fund- Haywood County is 5 p.m. Friday, March 1. Until…
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Jackson County appoints new board of elections director
The Jackson County Board of Elections announced the appointment of Amanda Allen as the new director of elections effective Feb.…
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Filling the vacancy: Unique process plays out to replace retiring Superior Court judge
When Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina…
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Glenville man sentenced after shooting into home
A Glenville man, angered by neighbors’ target practice and who, afterwards, fired four times into their residence, is now in…
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Macon budgets for capital, considers quarter-cent sales tax
Capital needs are at the center of Macon County’s budget process for fiscal year 2024-25 and the county is in…
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Two Republicans vie for new district court seat
For the first time in almost two decades, Western North Carolina is getting a new district court judge, and with…
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More than words: New building a center for Cherokee language preservation
A ribbon-cutting ceremony held Friday, Feb. 16, for a building dedicated to preserving the Cherokee language was a celebration of the…
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TABCC member arrested for misuse of tribal funds
George Mitchell Littlejohn, a commissioner on the Tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, is facing 11 charges in tribal court following…
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Strategic plan in focus for Waynesville’s new environmental sustainability board
Waynesville is revving up its eco-efforts with a freshly minted advisory board paving the way for a long-term plan to…
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Substantial economic development planning effort underway in Haywood
Calling the last decade “a period of intensive and dynamic change” for Haywood County, strategic planning consultants in conjunction with…
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Haywood nonprofit seeks greater economic development role
After a quiet couple of years through the uncertainty of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Haywood Advancement Foundation is pursuing closer…
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Woman sentenced to four years in sex abuse case
Rachel Paige Crowe, 33, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison, five years of probation, $5,200 in fines…
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In-person early voting continues through March 2
North Carolina’s 13-day early voting period, where voters can appear at local polling places to cast their votes in person,…
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Candidates for Jackson school board address capital needs
This election season, there are four candidates vying for two seats on the Jackson County Board of Education. With Chairman…
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‘What ... shortage?’: Waynesville zoning member’s opposition to subdividing lot delays final vote
A relatively straightforward request to subdivide a single lot and build an affordably priced long-term rental duplex on it was withdrawn…
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Dodging the honeypot: Local beekeepers feel the sting of counterfeit honey
At a time when natural foods and medicines are becoming more prevalent, the popularity of honey has soared to record…
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Sylva passes panhandling ordinance
The Town of Sylva passed an ordinance addressing panhandling last week by a narrow margin after extensive and contentious discussion…
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Canton glimpses the future of fire, police, town hall buildings
Architects selected by Canton’s governing board to plan renovations on a pair of buildings purchased to replace those damaged in…
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Swain commission primary nears; lone unaffiliated candidate seeks spot on ballot
Two seats are open on the Swain County Board of Commissioners in 2024, and while three Republicans squaring off in…
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Trial term set in police shooting lawsuit
A man who was severely injured in a 2022 police shooting at his home in Cherokee County won’t see a resolution…
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High bacterial concentrations prompt two new violations for Canton mill
A pair of new environmental violations issued this month brings the total for Canton’s shuttered paper mill up to seven since…
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King named Jackson County manager
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners has hired Kevin King as the new manager for Jackson County.
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In-person early voting begins Feb. 15
Thursday, Feb. 15 marks the start of North Carolina’s 13-day early voting period, when voters can appear at local polling…
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Main Street Sylva Association creates Mill Street revitalization plan
Every five years, the Main Street Sylva Association’s Board of Directors creates an economic development plan, and this year, the…
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Women and westerners rare on North Carolina’s statewide ballots
North Carolina’s Primary Election season is underway, and nearly five dozen candidates have filed to run for statewide offices from…
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Haywood selected for Teaching Fellows pilot program
Students in Haywood County who want to be educators will have a new opportunity that could help pay for college…
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State of the schools: JCPS studies health of schools as it plans for the future
A facilities study for Jackson County Schools that will help inform capital improvements for years to come found several schools in…
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Macon schools approve naloxone policy
The Macon County School Board has approved a policy for emergency use of naloxone, an opioid inhibitor, within the school…
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Downtown Waynesville Commission tunes up for ‘24
The Downtown Waynesville Commission has had two years to get on its feet since its predecessor organization imploded.
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Opposition to Haywood jail project, although minor, still lingers
Haywood County commissioners took another step toward their multi-million dollar jail expansion last week, and although much has changed since…
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EBCI approves applications to expand trust lands
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will ask the federal government to take 38.2 acres in Graham and Swain counties…
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