Haywood reports 6 more deaths at Silver Bluff
Haywood County Health and Human Services are reporting six more deaths as confirmed by death certificates received within the past week.…
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WCU launches coronavirus dashboard
A new COVID-19 dashboard for Western Carolina University is now available online at www.wcu.edu/coronavirus/reporting.aspx.
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Heath Shuler previews tonight’s Dem convention
While the big news out of the Democratic National Convention thus far may be the formal nomination of Joe Biden…
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Jackson schools purchase School Pass app
At a special called Jackson County School Board meeting on Aug. 11, the board approved the purchase — upon final…
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Suffrage was slow for Black voters
When the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, women throughout the nation began to vote for the first time. But for…
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For the Cherokee, disenfranchisement was locally controlled
In 1930, a young man named Henry Owl traveled to the Ravensford election precinct in Swain County to register to…
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Haywood mourns COVID-19 losses
A COVID-19 outbreak at Silver Bluff Village in Canton has resulted in 24 deaths in the last couple of weeks,…
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Canton Labor Day events
The Coronavirus Pandemic may have left plans for Canton’s historic Labor Day festival up in the air, but a new…
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Jackson purchases School Pass app
At a special called Jackson County School Board meeting on Aug. 11, the board approved the purchase — upon final…
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DA will not press charges in Sylva Zoom bomb
After a July 23 Town of Sylva meeting was cut short following a barrage of racial slurs and other offensive…
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Input sought on Waynesville comprehensive plan
The window for the public to provide input on an important planning document is drawing to a close, but given…
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Land deal could bolster Canton’s Chestnut Mountain project
A critical piece of the Chestnut Mountain puzzle could soon come under control of the Town of Canton after town…
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Fall sports postponed at WCU, Southern Conference
Western Carolina University will postpone all fall sports this year following an Aug. 13 decision from the Southern Conference Council…
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New billboards oppose Confederate statue
A pair of newly erected billboards along U.S. 441 in the Savannah area are calling attention to continued opposition to…
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Best in the West: Blue Ridge Public Radio, Mountain Xpress and Smoky Mountain News to host two-day NC11 candidate forum
Republican Madison Cawthorn and Democrat Moe Davis, candidates for the North Carolina congressional seat left vacant by White House Chief…
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Haywood reports 70 new COVID cases, 7 deaths
Haywood County Public Health received notice of 70 new cases of COVID-19 since the last press release on Aug. 7.…
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Cawthorn responds to sexual assault allegations
An Aug. 13 Instagram post alleges improper behavior by North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn during a date six…
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TVA reverses course on outsourcing tech jobs
KNOXVILLE – The union representing information technology workers at the Tennessee Valley Authority applauded the federally owned utility’s decision to reverse…
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South Main buildings to be demolished
Three run-down properties in front of the Hazelwood Ingles were recently purchased by a firm called Hazelwood Corners LLC for…
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WCU chancellor sworn in
Western Carolina University Chancellor Kelli R. Brown was sworn into office today, five months later than originally planned due to…
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Women celebrate a century of suffrage
In recognition of the 19th Amendment’s centennial anniversary this month, The Smoky Mountain News highlights the historic events leading up to…
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After Anthony: NC women still struggle for representation
It’s been almost exactly 100 years since the 19th Amendment — often called the Anthony Amendment — was ratified on…
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Lassie Kelly: Franklin’s most influential suffragette
It’s fun to imagine what the people of Macon County must have thought of Lassie Kelly. Born in 1881, she…
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‘We believe in democracy’: For commissioner’s wife, winding road leads to citizenship, voting rights
With the 19th Amendment’s passage now 100 years in the rearview, most American women alive today have been eligible to…
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The Anthony Amendment: Women’s suffrage in NC and beyond
When the United States Constitution was adopted in 1787, left to the states was the power to determine who should…
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Schools balance safety, learning
Public schools and colleges are being forced to develop plans, contingency plans and worst-case scenarios as they prepare for the…
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Bowling receives Chief Junaluska Award
Long-time Lake Junaluska supporter the Rev. Dr. Robert “Bob” C. Bowling is the 2020 recipient of the Chief Junaluska Award,…
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Final admin shuffle at Haywood schools
At the Aug. 10 Haywood County Schools Board of Education meeting the school board heard the last round of introductions…
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COVID-19 deaths in western counties continue to rise
Although the seven-day rolling average of positive COVID-19 tests continues to trend downwards across the state of North Carolina, western…
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Commissioners vote to keep Sylva Sam, with some changes
Jackson County Commissioners voted 4-1 Aug. 4 to keep Sylva Sam in his place overlooking downtown Sylva, but according to…
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Harm reduction — enabling people to change their lives
Michelle Mathis, chairwoman and interim director of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, admits the organization does enable drug users.
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Resistance to harm reduction grows in Haywood
Tensions ran high at the Aug. 3 Haywood County Board of Commissioners meeting as harm reduction critics become more vocal…
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Women sentenced for stealing Lake Junaluska vehicle
A Waynesville woman must serve in prison a minimum of six months to a maximum of 17 months for stealing…
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University employees sue UNC System, Gov. Cooper
Seventeen employees at University of North Carolina System schools — including two from Western Carolina University — are suing the…
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In narrow vote, WCU Faculty Senate opposes reopening
In a nearly split vote held during a special-called meeting Aug. 10, the Western Carolina University Faculty Senate passed a…
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Franklin’s female employees making more on average
The town of Franklin may employ a majority of men, but the women are making more on average than their…
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Pay equality a priority in Macon
Pay for Macon County employees is constantly on the mind of Macon County Manager Derek Roland, and every year putting…
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Women running Bryson City Town Hall
Bryson City is a small town with a lot of big responsibilities and limited financial resources. While it is a…
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Women take on important roles in Swain government
Swain County might still be led by men, but women are key contributors in the day-to-day operations of the county…
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Status of the pay gap
The Equal Pay Act, which mandates equal pay for equal work and forbids employers from paying men and women different…
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Women rule the roost in Sylva
Sylva is a town that’s run by women, both on the board of commissioners and among staff positions in town…
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Female leadership key in Jackson government
While men hold the highest-paying and highest number of jobs in most Western North Carolina governments, Jackson County is a…
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Waynesville takes steps to address gender balance, pay
As the largest North Carolina town west of Asheville, Waynesville often sets the bar for how other municipal governments handle…
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Local governments show room for improvement in gender pay equality
From the very birth of this nation, the words “All men are created equal” never really meant all men, and…
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Governments work toward equal pay
In recognition of the 19th Amendment’s centennial anniversary this month, The Smoky Mountain News is doing a series of stories to…
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Cawthorn Takes a Hard-Right Turn
‘Pro-Trump,’ defends use of symbols tied to white nationalism By Tom Fiedler AVL Watchdog When then 24-year-old Madison Cawthorn easily…
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COVID-19 cluster identified at Haywood Regional
The Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency has identified a COVID-19 cluster connected to Haywood Regional Hospital. Currently, fewer…
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Waynesville comprehensive plan nears adoption
After more than two years of planning and public presentations the Town of Waynesville’s new comprehensive land use plan is…
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Jackson allows student athletes to resume practices
As of Tuesday, Aug. 4, Jackson County schools entered phase two for school athletics. The North Carolina High School Athletic…
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