‘We’re just lucky to be alive’: Flood survivor recounts day of destruction
It’s late Friday morning. With cloudy skies above and a cool breeze swirling around her, Aubrey Ford gazes out onto…
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State and federal officials respond to Haywood flooding
As Haywood County continues to assess damage from the Pigeon River flooding associated with excess rainfall from Tropical Storm Fred…
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Many still missing in Haywood after last night’s floods
More than 30 people remain unaccounted for and search and rescue operations continue at this hour after heavy rainfall from…
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Making sense of the unimaginable: Floodwaters ravage the tightly-knit mountain community of Cruso
It’s about a mile past Jukebox Junction, down along U.S. 276 heading towards the small mountain community of Cruso, when…
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Labor market impacts college hiring season
Amid a nationwide struggle to fill open positions in a multitude of sectors, higher education institutions in Western North Carolina…
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Shining Rock begins school year in new, permanent home
The quiet calm of a bright summer morning dissipates like dew off the freshly manicured lawn upon entering Shining Rock…
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Pandemic pivot: Some used lockdown to reach educational goals
Kaitlyn Nelson was three-and-a-half months into living her Australian dream when the Coronavirus Pandemic hit, forcing her and her partner…
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As COVID cases rise, schools reverse mask decisions
As COVID-19 cases rise, in large part due to the spread of the new Delta variant, school boards across the…
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Residents file suit against Mission Health
A group of Western North Carolina residents has filed a class action lawsuit against Mission Health System and its parent…
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Zoning change could result in sale of Waynesville parcels
A pair of undeveloped parcels at the southwest corner of Asheville Highway and Howell Mill Road have undergone a zoning…
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Down Home N.C. fire local organizers
Over the past few years, political action group Down Home North Carolina has made a name for itself in Western…
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First responders ‘Tired, frustrated, angry, fearful’
The resurgent Delta variant of COVID-19 has created a dangerous situation across the country and across the state, and now…
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Sylva faces $2 million road repair
Fixing ongoing landslide issues on Allen Street could cost up to $2 million — an amount equivalent to more than 40%…
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Downtown Waynesville Association narrowly survives contentious hearing
The Downtown Waynesville Association has been in the fight of its 36-year political life since Waynesville aldermen refused to renew…
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More COVID cases, deaths in Haywood
In the week since the last press release, Haywood County Public Health has received notice of 206 new cases of COVID-19. As…
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After emergency meeting, Haywood Schools still won’t require masks
Almost three weeks after controversially voting to start the school year with optional masks for students, the Haywood County Schools…
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Cherokee establishes medical cannabis program
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will establish a medical marijuana program on tribal lands even as the drug remains…
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Masks back at college
With case numbers surging and fall semester beginning, local colleges and universities are reinstituting indoor masking requirements that had been…
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Parents petition Haywood school board to require masks
A petition to start the school year with universal masking in Haywood County Schools has over 630 signatures. This comes…
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Haywood amends school calendar
The Haywood County Schools Board of Education voted to amend the 2021-22 school calendar during its Aug. 9 regularly scheduled…
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Sarah Thompson joins Dogwood Health Trust
Dogwood Health Trust hired seasoned economic and community development executive Sarah Thompson to join the organization’s Impact Team on Sept.…
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Haywood Hospice honors volunteers
Volunteers with Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care were honored at a recent luncheon held at the First Presbyterian Church in…
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A new phase for Pathways Center
It’s been nearly seven years since Haywood Pathways Center served up its first meals to the needy, after the then-prison…
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Haywood highway dedicated to fireman
The N.C. Board of Transportation unanimously approved a resolution Thursday to dedicate a section of U.S. 276 in Haywood County…
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Medical cannabis advancing through General Assembly
Now that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has decided to move forward with a medical cannabis initiative, the rest…
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Swain will mandate masks in schools
Swain County Schools will start the year with a mask mandate, reversing a previous decision to make masks optional for…
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Businesses impacted by COVID-19 cases
A couple of Haywood County businesses have had to shut their doors temporarily after several employees were exposed to COVID-19.
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As hospitals mandate staff vaccines, Mission Health resists
By Peter H. Lewis • Asheville Watchdog | The largest health care providers in Western North Carolina, including Mission Hospital…
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Forest therapy trail approved for Sylva
Sylva may soon be home to the first certified forest therapy trail in North Carolina following the town board’s unanimous…
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Macon woman wielding machete video goes viral
A video showing two white men and one Black woman wielding a machete in the middle of Georgia Road in…
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Waynesville homeless task force meeting cancelled over COVID concerns
A meeting designed to gather public input on draft recommendations made by the Waynesville Task Force on Homelessness scheduled for…
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Cherokee to consider same-sex marriage law in September
After twice refusing to grant the legislation a perfunctory first reading, during its Aug. 5 meeting the Cherokee Tribal Council…
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Democrat Jay Carey brings perspective to NC11 field
With a father in the Navy and a mother from Poland, Jay Carey grew up in a middle-class family in…
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Cherokee elections around the corner
On Thursday, Sept. 2, Cherokee voters will select the next Tribal Council, three School Board representatives and answers to three…
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After a brief pause, eviction moratorium returns
A Trump-era policy designed to protect renters impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic was allowed to expire on the last day…
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Axe & Awl honors past with modern twist
By Diana Conard • Contributing writer | Courtney and Spencer Tetrault established Axe & Awl Leatherworks six years ago as…
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As COVID rages, Canton Labor Day events debated
After the Canton Board of Aldermen/women spent nearly three hours on Aug. 9 going back and forth with Haywood County…
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Sylva man found guilty of ransacking ambulance
With admissions last week of stealing and breaking into motor vehicles, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said, a Sylva man…
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COVID-19 Outbreak at Haywood nursing home
The Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency has identified a COVID-19 outbreak at Maggie Nursing & Rehabilitation in Maggie…
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Highway dedicated in honor of Beloved Cherokee man
Jerry Wolfe’s voice crackled across the speakers telling one more story.
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New CEO hired at Angel Medical Center
Mission Health has hired Clint Kendall to serve as the new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nursing Officer at Angel…
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COVID-19 cluster found at Canton PD
Haywood County Health and Human Services have identified a COVID-19 cluster connected to the Canton Police Department. Six employees, at…
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Cherokee legalizes medical marijuana
The Cherokee Tribal Council today approved a 42-page ordinance that will establish a system to support legalized medical marijuana on…
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Highlands Road Safety Project Underway
FRANKLIN – A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation recently started a safety project along a stretch of Highlands Road…
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Cawthorn’s first Republican challenger appears
There’s been lots of speculation since very early in Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s tenure in Congress that he’d face a Republican…
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Another Democrat begins campaign for Madison Cawthorn’s seat
Army veteran and 2020 state House candidate Josh Remillard, of Mills River, has officially entered the race for North Carolina’s…
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Buncombe Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara wants Madison Cawthorn’s seat
Some people will say a gay woman who’s a Christian minister just can’t get elected in the South.
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Masks back at WCU
With case numbers surging, Western Carolina University has announced that it will ask members of the campus community to report…
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Tourism businesses engage in legal battle
Two of Swain County’s largest tourism brands — Nantahala Outdoor Center and Great Smoky Mountains Railroad — are engaged in a…
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UPDATED: Report reveals Cawthorn gun gaffe
Congressman Madison Cawthorn attempted to bring a firearm though airport security this past February, but the freshman Western North Carolina…
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