Reroute planned for Blackrock Trail
The infamously steep trail leading up to Blackrock from Pinnacle Park will soon find itself with a gentler incline following…
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Brewery trademark dispute dismissed
The ongoing and exhaustive trademark dispute between Sylva’s Innovation Brewing and Bell’s Brewery is now over.
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Canton wants to help you sign up for Haywood alerts
Haywood County’s new emergency alert system startled many Jan. 11 with a “shelter in place” notification just after 6 p.m.,…
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Life in Limbo: Franklin native fighting to have rights restored
Hannah LeAnn Nix says she’s not the same person she was a few years ago when a judge deemed her…
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Canton water leaks irk public
A series of water line breakages in Canton during a recent period of extreme cold provoked unusually lengthy complaints from…
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Brunch Bill finally passes in Maggie Valley
It was déjà vu all over again in Maggie Valley, where the Board of Aldermen once again passed the controversial…
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Brunch Bill languishes in Maggie Valley
Sunday morning mimosas aren’t yet on the table in Maggie Valley because a proposed ordinance that would allow the sales…
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Contest could help fund adaptive playground
Thanks to Kiwanis International and Landscape Structures Inc., one lucky community will walk away with $25,000 in free playground equipment…
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Three Cherokee councilmembers decide not to run for re-election
Three seats will be up for grabs in Cherokee’s 2017 Tribal Council elections, with incumbent councilmembers from Big Cove, Snowbird…
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ADA compliant park coming to Waynesville
The Town of Waynesville will soon build a very special playground, thanks to a successful Connect N.C. bond application made…
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Girls on the Run: Training girls for a 5K, preparing them for life
Much can be learned through the process of training for a 5K race — physical strength, mental health, focus, determination,…
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Empowering a new generation of strong women
Girls at Junaluska Elementary School seem to have a renewed sense of pride in themselves and their peers after sharing…
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Dillsboro river park proposal draws a crowd
A proposed river park development in Dillsboro drew a crowd of roughly 75 people to a public hearing March 20,…
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Monteith remembered as man of the people
When speaking to the many people in Swain County and beyond who knew David Monteith either personally or professionally, they…
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Proposal would give Qualla area 24-hour ambulance
Harris Regional Hospital Emergency Medical Services is asking the Jackson County Commissioners to make changes to its service that would…
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Finding your ‘shero’: Bryson City woman explores state of women
Which female pioneers have paved the way for you to be where you are today? “Sojourner Truth,” Janice Inabinett answered…
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Oswalt becomes Cherokee’s third living Beloved Woman
Shirley Oswalt (pictured above, left, with sister Geraldine Thompson) was named a Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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Cherokee laughter: Tribe’s newest Beloved Woman reflects on life full of love for language and community
Shirley Jackson Oswalt can still remember the first words she said in English. Her older siblings had prepped her before…
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Businesswoman offers leadership advice
For all the women out there wondering if they can have it all in life — the career, family and…
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Women’s contributions to workforce celebrated
Sometimes it can feel like one step forward, two steps back for women in the workforce, but this year’s theme…
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Honoring Women’s History Month
The Smoky Mountain News will be publishing a series of articles to showcase a number of women in Western North…
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Russ Avenue: growing pains in Waynesville
While most people agree that the $18 million Russ Avenue widening project in Waynesville is much-needed and long overdue, the…
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DOT to ditch ‘suicide lane’ on 441 in Franklin
With safety concerns at the forefront, a project to significantly alter U.S. 441 through Franklin has been ranked as the…
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Franklin considers changing ‘alderman’ title
The term alderman is defined as a member of a city legislative body, but it literally translates as “old man”…
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Kirkpatrick: ‘It feels like we have no representation’
Tensions between Haywood County and a state legislator are on the rise as commissioners called her out at a recent…
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Lawmakers want to make town elections partisan
Republican lawmakers in Raleigh have introduced several bills to make more local elections a partisan affair, and local leaders aren’t…
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Haywood considers investigation into leaked docs
The strange saga of Haywood County Tax Collector Mike Matthews isn’t over, but for the moment the spotlight is back…
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Majority opposed to making school board partisan
A bill set to make school board elections partisan in Haywood County took current school board members — including the…
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Clampitt files legislation to recoup money for Swain
Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, has introduced House Bill 260 in an effort to help Swain County recoup millions of…
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Grants could offset cost of river park project
Jackson County is hoping that grants will offset the $847,000 cost of extending water and sewer connections to a piece…
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Haywood County schools budget reinstates cuts
After scrambling to cut $2.4 million from last year’s budget, the Haywood County School Board has weathered the storm and…
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Increased need prompts change in shelter management
Correction: In the March 1 issue, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported that Jackson Neighbors in Need requested funding from…
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Petition effort seeks Tribal Council term limits
A petition drive is underway in Cherokee aiming to place term limits on Tribal Council members and give tribal members…
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New apartment complex received in Sylva
A 48-unit apartment complex could be built along Savannah Road in Sylva if town commissioners give the green light at…
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WNC communities help redesign their five-lane highways
Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover in the coming years that could reshape the fabric…
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Over and out: a Southern Loop retrospective
With a redesign of N.C. 107 officially in the works, the controversial Southern Loop appears to be toast.
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A windshield tour of the new 107
Years in the making, design options for a new N.C. 107 in Sylva were recently unveiled by the North Carolina…
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Death of the five lane, birth of the boulevard
Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover, reshaping the fabric of these communities for decades to…
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DOT spares part of Walnut Street, for now
A message sent by opponents of the Russ Avenue widening project’s Walnut Street segment appears to have been received loud…
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Canton businesses rebound from crash
A lot is going right in Canton these days, but a driver going left — right into a downtown building…
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Economic diversification continues in Canton
Canton is the archetype of a small southern mill village: the river running through it helps churn the gears of…
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Early college is Haywood’s ‘hidden gem’
A collaborative program designed to help students overcome the familial, financial and social obstructions of attending college lacks room to…
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Cherokee impeachment efforts will continue
Some tribal members are saying their rights were violated after three pieces of legislation that would curtail impeachment proceedings against…
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Possible shots fired near Haywood school
At approximately 11:40 a.m., Haywood County Schools Superintendent Anne Garrett received a call from the Haywood Community Learning Center in…
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Calvary Street lots to become Waynesville park
A new park in Waynesville’s Pigeon Street community can finally move forward thanks to an agreement reached between Haywood County…
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Swain Specialty Clinic opens new space
Swain Specialty Clinic, the longstanding group of specialty physician practices at Swain Community Hospital, has expanded to a new space…
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Cherokee council overturns impeachment veto
Tribal Council will proceed with its efforts to impeach Principal Chief Patrick Lambert following votes to overturn Lambert’s veto of…
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Reynolds Community Center to be a ‘safe haven’
Canton native William McDowell and his wife, celebrity songstress Gladys Knight, have big plans for McDowell’s old alma mater, Reynolds…
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Gladys Knight, husband announce Canton community center
A dilapidated segregation-era high school in Canton purchased by a former student will become a $5 million community center by…
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National Register possible for Pigeon Street
Special recognition could be coming to an overlooked quarter of Waynesville if a recently submitted grant application receives funding.
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