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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Massage program clinic opens for spring semester
The Therapeutic Massage program at Southwestern Community College has opened its learning clinic for the spring semester to allow its…
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Canton mill earns two new water quality violations
Despite being closed for months, the Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton continues to rack up environmental violations, with two…
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Haywood Sheriff: No foul play in Clyde crawlspace death
A Clyde man who'd been missing since Oct. 29 of last year and was found dead in a crawl space…
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Human remains found in Cherokee; police decline to release identity
The Cherokee Indian Police Department has determined the identity of the person whose remains were found in an open field…
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Tribal member to lead Kituwah LLC
Following the departure of Mark Hubble, who has led Kituwah LLC as its CEO since it was formed in 2018,…
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MCSO affidavits offer strange and heinous details of alleged kidnapping, homicide
A man currently in jail on charges of kidnapping and assault may soon be charged with murder if search warrants…
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From risk to resiliency: State waters summit highlights red tape, funding deficiencies
An annual waters summit hosted by a pair of North Carolina congressmen brought together local, state and federal administrators, experts…
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Canton eyes Bethel Christian Academy for flood project
The Town of Canton has taken a major step toward long-term flood recovery with an economic development project at a…
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New covid variant, flu spike in December
Haywood County hadn’t logged a coronavirus-related death in the better part of a year. But since Dec. 19, 2023, it…
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‘Cowboy’ Coward, Deliverance actor and local legend, killed in wreck
Herbert “Cowboy” Coward, a Haywood County native who shot to stardom after his hair-raising performance as a villain in the…
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Macon receives $62 million grant for new high school
Macon County is one step closer to a new Franklin High School after state leaders awarded $62 million for the…
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Guaranteed college scholarship program launches in N.C.: Affordability efforts come at a critical time for higher education
Starting in the fall, North Carolina students whose families make less than $80,000 a year will receive a guaranteed scholarship…
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Sylva starts budget process with needs vs. wants
Sylva began its budget process last week with presentations from department heads about what they need in the budget, as…
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Public hearing scheduled for Sylva solicitation ordinance
The Town of Sylva is once again considering a solicitation ordinance for the streets and sidewalks section of its code…
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Primary Election voter registration deadline draws near
The civilian voter registration deadline for the March 5 Primary Election is rapidly approaching, so now’s a good time to…
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‘NC-11 People’s Forum’ Saturday at A-B Tech
William R. Robinson, a columnist for Newsmax, will moderate a Primary Election debate be-tween 11th Congressional District Republican candidates Christian…
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Coming down the pipe: EPA mandate could soak local utility customers
A recent update to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule directs nearly all of the nation’s water systems…
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WCU sees record-high interest from female job applicants
Diversity within the Western Carolina University workforce has been inching up, with the latest report showing that the last year’s…
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SCC teams up with Franklin High School to train new EMTs
At a time when emergency services agencies across the country are facing a dire staffing shortage, here in Western North…
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Swain secures funding for library expansion
Marianna Black Library is set for a major expansion and renovation thanks to funding from several parties, including a large…
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Elder abuse criminal law strengthened in Cherokee
In a unanimous vote, the Cherokee Tribal Council has approved an ordinance change aimed at protecting victims of elder abuse…
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