Selling a mountain lifestyle: Haywood housing demand is high but inventory is low
Brian Cagle is vice president and managing broker at Beverly-Hanks in Waynesville. Beverly Hanks doesn’t sell real estate, however; Beverly-Hanks…
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Macon making sustainable growth in real estate market
It hasn’t been a quick or easy recovery, but Macon County real estate is back on the rise and Realtors…
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Real estate rebounding in Jackson: Double-digit growth in Cashiers area; steady increase elsewhere
With the recession nearly a decade in the rearview mirror, the real estate market is once more robust in Jackson…
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Mountain cabins in high demand in Swain
Sherry and Gary Patterson vacationed in Bryson City for the first time about 20 years ago and now they can’t…
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Bryson Senior Living breaks ground
Affinity Living Group held a groundbreaking ceremony recently for its new assisted living community, Bryson Senior Living. Pictured moving the…
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Proposed room tax hike already in jeopardy
A renewed effort to increase Haywood County’s room occupancy tax from 4 to 6 percent has already run into almost…
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Shining Rock receives grant for outdoor classes
Shining Rock Classical Academy will be able to construct an outdoor classroom on its campus this year thanks to a…
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Recreation improvements coming to Waynesville
The active, outdoorsy lifestyle favored by residents of Western North Carolina has long been fostered by the Town of Waynesville,…
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Haywood looks to turn tax collector into appointed position
Haywood County Tax Collector Mike Matthews has been a lightning rod for controversy since before he narrowly defeated veteran incumbent…
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Swain hospital: ‘ER is open 24/7’
Swain Community Hospital is still trying to overcome misperceptions in the community regarding its recent emergency department changes as well…
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FBI raids Qualla Housing Authority
A team of 26 FBI agents descended on Cherokee Feb. 2, filling the Qualla Housing Authority building and wheeling entire…
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‘Indivisible’ citizens group forms in Sylva
There will be a meeting of the Indivisible Sylva NC group at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Jackson…
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Haywood man arrested for murder
Wayne Littrell, 72, of the Coleman Mountain community of Haywood County, was arrested Sunday, Jan. 29, and charged with the…
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Cherokee council votes to impeach Chief Lambert
To the boos of an outspoken audience, the Cherokee Tribal Council voted 9-3 Feb. 2 to begin impeachment proceedings against…
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WNC progressive group gaining momentum
What started as a small group of like-minded people helping each other deal with aftermath of Election Day has now…
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Restoring hope for a community
Until last year, the old house languishing on Academy Street on Bryson City United Methodist Church’s property was seen as…
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Cherokee council considers results of investigation into chief’s administration
Rumors have been flying on the Qualla Boundary since an investigation into contract awards and human resources actions under Principal…
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Huge expansion planned for Hazelwood Ingles
Ingles Markets Inc. is growing in Waynesville again — this time, on Brown Avenue in Hazelwood.
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Federal hiring freeze will have local impacts
A blanket freeze on federal hiring is having a local impact as the agencies tasked with managing Western North Carolina’s…
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Room tax increase isn’t a slam dunk
Every few years, elected officials at the local and county levels of government dribble the ball down the court, passing…
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Transitional district taking shape along Howell Mill Road
The Jan. 24 rezoning of three tracts along Howell Mill Road signals a continued effort by the town of Waynesville…
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Lake Junaluska fire district in the works
The recent addition of eight full-time firefighters to the town of Waynesville — at a cost of $530,000 per year…
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A fix-it list for the record books
Think your honey-do list is long? Wait until you meet Jack Carlisle.
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Lake Junaluska forges go-it-alone path after abandoning merger with Waynesville
After five years of trying to merge with the town of Waynesville, the Lake Junaluska community has given up and…
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Tracing the fire’s path
Now that the wildfires that ravaged Western North Carolina a couple of months ago are no longer active, U.S. Forest…
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The art and activism of Panhandle Slim
Savannah, Georgia-based artist Scott “Panhandle Slim” Stanton was born in Maryland and raised in Pensacola, Florida, but he has been…
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WNC marches for women’s rights
“Care more, judge less,” “Love trumps hate” and “Rise up” were just a few of the battle cries heard in…
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The pink hats are coming
By rain-slicked granite sidewalks they came, early that morning. In rubber boots, sneakers and sandals they came, not knowing exactly…
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Congressman Meadows optimistic about Trump
Although Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, has been Western North Carolina’s Congressman for only two terms, constituents in his heavily Republican…
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North Carolina GOP celebrates inauguration
Inaugurations make for early mornings. Getting into or out of the tangle of security and Humvees blocking the streets of…
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WNC supporters, opponents mark Trump inauguration
• North Carolina GOP celebrates inauguration• Congressman Meadows optimistic about Trump• The pink hats are coming• WNC marches for women’s rights• The art and activism…
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Jackson Health Department project to cost less than expected
Upgrading the Jackson County Health Department could prove a much less expensive undertaking than originally anticipated, if estimates contained in…
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Sylva considers reduced-size residential lots
The town of Sylva took a tentative first step this month toward easing residential zoning restrictions that some credit with…
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Sanitary district policy remains suspended
After listening to the concerns of property managers in its service area, the Junaluska Sanitary District board has decided to…
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Verizon proposes new tower at Lake Junaluska
Verizon Wireless has approached Haywood County commissioners once again about installing a new cell tower near Lake Junaluska to improve…
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Warm weather forces Cataloochee Ski closure
Unseasonably warm weather and the drought have combined to temporarily close Cataloochee Ski Area.
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Inaugural Photo Gallery
Photos from the inaugural week's ceremonies in Washington D.C., Jan 18-21, 2017. All photos by Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News. …
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Casino announces expansion: $250 million project will add fourth hotel tower, event space
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is stepping into its 20th year of operation with plans for a massive expansion that will…
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DC dispatch: Saturday, Jan. 21
What a difference a day makes. After a Friday that left both protestors and police bruised and bloodied – and…
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Public survey could make or break Haywood library expansion
Hopes for a major renovation and expansion of the Waynesville library were temporarily shelved by county commissioners last year and…
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DC dispatch: Friday, Jan. 20
Hillary Clinton emerged from the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building this morning, clad in white and looking out…
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DC dispatch: Thursday, Jan. 19
Amidst heavy security and a conspicuous law enforcement presence, Washington, D.C. is hoping for the best but preparing for the…
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Missing Clyde man found deceased
A Clyde man who has been missing since Jan. 3 has been found deceased.
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Sylva shoe duo upholds the last of a dying trade
Mike Fitzgerald rarely skipped a beat as he darted spryly between his cobbler’s bench and the vintage, grime-coated machines anchoring…
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Macon urges proper disposal of used needles
Sanitation workers in Macon County are worried about dangerous items that could be lurking in the household trash bags being…
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Increased density coming to Howell Mill Road?
An oft-repeated concern expressed during meetings of the Haywood County Affordable Housing Task Force is the scarcity of buildable land…
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Bryson City removes trees on Everett Street
Many Bryson City business owners were caught off guard last week when they noticed massive holes all along Everett Street…
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Street trees replaced in Sylva
The streets of downtown Sylva are newly treeless after town crews excavated the red maples earlier this month, but the…
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Town to pursue Calvary Street purchase
The town of Waynesville will move forward with plans to purchase three vacant, blighted lots straddling Calvary Street, despite interest…
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Russ fuss prompts resolution
After holding two public hearings that drew large crowds of opposition, Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown and the board of aldermen…
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