2024 A Look Back: Hometown hero award
When Tropical Storm Fred cut a half billion-dollar swath of destruction through the eastern part of Haywood County and killed…
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2024 A Look Back: Big Brother award
In May, Payton McNabb shrouded herself in the cloak of Big Brother when she took to a Western Carolina University…
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2024 A Look Back: Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree award
This one goes out to the North Carolina General Assembly and Congress, but it will take a little explaining.
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2024 A Look Back: Ready to throw down award
It’s nice to have an elected board of representatives who care about their county and are willing to fight for…
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2024 A Look Back: Keep quiet award
Rep. Chuck Edwards has refused to speak to The Smoky Mountain News since shortly after he was elected in 2022.…
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2024 A Look Back: Public engagement award
You might think people don’t care about local government, but sometimes you’re reminded that they absolutely do. Bryson City’s town…
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2024 A Look Back: The steamroller award
We hate to belabor one topic, but we have more than one marijuana-related award to hand out this year. The…
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2024 A Look Back: If at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again award
Sylva first considered a proposal to address panhandling in November 2022 but ultimately decided against it after a majority of the board…
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2024 A Look Back: On the up and up award
Haywood County Schools’ stock just keep rising. This year the school system was ranked sixth out of 115 school districts…
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2024 A Look Back: Audacity award
It makes potheads giggle and cops roll their eyes, and in Western North Carolina this year, the stoner holiday 4/20…
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2024 A Look Back: First in flight award
After Hurricane Helene rocked the eastern reaches of Western North Carolina, Crystal Cochran sprang into action. A resident of Sylva,…
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2024 A Look Back: If it ain’t broke award
Following this year’s budget season, Macon County maintains its position with the lowest property tax of any county in the…
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2024 A Look Back: Building the future award
This year both Jackson and Swain counties received state grants of $52 million to build new middle schools. For Jackson County, this…
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2024 A Look Back: Maconians united award
Maconians are known among the citizens of Western North Carolina for robust and regular public input at local government meetings…
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Fake News Freakout: Episode 9
I started this annual feature nearly a decade ago to poke fun at the emerging scourge of fake news — lies, really…
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A moment to celebrate: Haywood’s Recovery Court graduates second participant
Last Friday wasn’t Mark Beam’s first time facing a judge at the defendant’s table in Haywood County District Court, but…
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After fiasco, Congress fails to meet North Carolina’s hurricane recovery needs
Hurricane Helene victims in Western North Carolina have eagerly been awaiting an expected holiday gift in the form of federal…
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School board considers options for Jackson Community School
Jackson Community School — Jackson County’s alternative learning center — is the most expensive school in the district per pupil,…
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Macon animal control in need of staff
After a team of volunteers converged on a Macon County Board of Health meeting to express concerns about the state…
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Macon County couple endows fund to diversify WCU Fine Art Museum collections
The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center will be broadening…
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Additional Slide Delays I-40 Reopening
An additional chunk of asphalt fell away from an eastbound lane of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge this…
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Board approves athlete transfer policy without path for implementation
Despite having no recommendation to do so from its policy committee, legal advice outlining the complications of such a move,…
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Haywood Commissioners press on against misinformation
Two weeks after an unusual meeting where Commissioner Terry Ramey was told to resign over lies he helped spread about…
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Attorney General Stein recognizes heroism in Canton
A couple of people from Canton were recognized by Attorney General and incoming governor Josh Stein for their actions during the…
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WCU’s GivingTuesday nets $6 million
Friends and alumni contributed more than $6 million to Western Carolina University during the 2024 GivingTuesday initiative, nearly quadrupling the…
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Methodist Church donates to Mountain Projects
The North Carolina Conference of the Global Methodist Church has made a transformative donation of $150,000 to Mountain Projects, demonstrating…
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Lumbees double down against EBCI: Incoming governor faces tough political decision amid federal recognition fight
The bitter battle between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Lumbee as the Lumbee seek federal recognition has…
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General Assembly overrides governor’s veto of controversial flood relief bill
After decades of paying for hurricane recovery operations along the North Carolina coast, Western North Carolina taxpayers finally had a…
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The exit interview: Roy Cooper looks back, looks forward
On Jan. 11, 2025 at 10 a.m., North Carolina will have a new governor for the first time in eight…
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Saving the storm's silent victims: Helene stressed animal care infrastructure to its limits
Mary Garrison and her husband, Fairview Fire Department Battalion Chief Tony Garrison, awoke around 4 a.m. on Sept. 27 to…
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Pactiv merger leaves questions about Canton mill site
According to a press release issued Dec. 9, a merger between Pactiv Evergreen and Charlotte-based Novolex will provide better customer…
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Maggie Valley responds to former chief's lawsuit
Two months after former Maggie Valley Police Chief Russ Gilliland filed a lawsuit against the town for wrongful termination, the…
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Commissioners claim conflict of interest in TDA board appointment
When a routine appointment to the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority came up last week, commissioners decided to table the…
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SCC Executive VP Thom Brooks announces retirement
As a young boy, maybe 10 or 11 years old, Thom Brooks set foot onto Southwestern Community College’s campus in…
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Jackson appoints two new members to library board
The Jackson County Commission, with two new commissioners seated this month, chose to appoint two new members to the public…
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Jackson considers investments in walkability
Two projects underway in Jackson County are set to expand walkability and access to green spaces for residents. “The park…
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New Century Scholars inducted at SCC
Walking across the same stage on which they’ll one day receive their college degrees, seventh graders from Jackson, Macon and…
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Pactiv merger leaves questions about Canton mill site
According to a press release issued Dec. 9, a merger between Pactiv Evergreen and Charlotte-based Novolex will provide better customer…
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Group discusses hazards of drunk driving, potential new laws
The day before Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as “Blackout Wednesday,” a nod to the fact that it is one…
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HCS considers change to student athlete transfer policy
The Haywood County Board of Education is considering a change to its policy that governs transfers by student athletes between…
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Breeden sworn in, Young appointed chairman
The first commission meeting of December after an election usually comes with a change in leadership, and such was the…
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WCU appoints Henley as director of the Pride of the Mountains and Athletic Bands
Western Carolina University announced the appointment of Matt Henley as the next director of Athletic Bands and director of the…
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Haywood commissioner Ramey rebuked
Editor’s note: this story contains strong language. Since his election in 2022, Haywood County Commissioner Terry Ramey has been known…
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You are not alone: Macon housing needs assessment tells familiar story
When Patrick Bowen, president of Bowen National Research, presented a housing needs assessment to the Macon County’s board of commissioners…
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Veto override: Lawmakers expand funding for private school vouchers
Lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly voted last week to override Governor Roy Cooper’s veto and pass a mini…
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Cooper taps Wijewickrama for superior court seat
Judge Roy Wijewickrama has been appointed to fill the recently vacated senior resident superior court seat in the district made…
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The Pigeon Center responds to community’s disaster needs: Support needed to make up fundraising shortfall
The Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center quickly became a storm recovery hub in Waynesville just days after Hurricane Helene devastated…
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WNC law enforcement aims to turn ‘Blackout Wednesday’ blue
In some areas, Thanksgiving Eve is one of the biggest drinking days of the year, and it is known the…
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Rental assistance available for homeowners, renters
Homeowners and renters in North Carolina may be eligible for FEMA Rental Assistance if they cannot live in their homes because…
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Sham Helene relief bill riles western leaders: Contentious veto override vote likely looms
To be, rather than to seem; North Carolina’s aspirational state motto evokes notions of determination and the desire for substance…
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