Macon planning board drafts noise ordinance
Macon County Planning Board members are still hashing out the details of a proposed noise ordinance. The board held two…
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Counties facing animal control inadequacies
Commissioners in Western North Carolina counties have been discussing the growing need for better animal control services. While Jackson and…
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Nonprofit employer set to expand in Sylva
Webster Enterprises is growing, and a newly leased building on Harold Street in Sylva is expected to allow the nonprofit…
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Sylva to get an earful over bar noise dispute
A showdown over noise at No Name Sports Pub is on tap for the Sylva Town Board meeting Feb. 5. …
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Dead dog drama
There’s no doubt that No Name has neighbors who are upset about noise. Next-door neighbor James Lupo had approached the…
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Jackson extends county attorney contract, considers creating staff position
Jay Coward will keep his job as Jackson County attorney — for five more months, at least. When a new…
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Year-round homeless shelter could be in Sylva’s future
If all goes according to plan, Jackson County could have a permanent homeless shelter up and running by April. That…
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HCC rolls out rebranded products
Trying to create a small logo that encompasses everything Haywood Community College stands for is no easy task. But with…
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Haywood concedes to tune up — and tone down — emergency playbook
Overbearing language in Haywood County’s emergency management protocols is being revised to make it more palatable to civil liberty watchdogs.…
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Church gets permit to solicit donations from middle of road
The town of Franklin recently passed a Charitable Solicitations ordinance in order to have more control over groups who stand…
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Chick-fil-A in the cards for Waynesville as Ingles expansion plans crystalize
There’s been a new turn in the much-anticipated redevelopment of Ingles’ super market site in Waynesville: Chick-fil-A has joined the…
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Haywood GOP members draw the line over inflammatory emails
Monroe Miller is no stranger to the inbox. Hundreds of emails from Miller have peppered the email accounts of people…
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Schools establish criminal justice articulation agreement
Southwestern Community College students who earn an associate’s degree in criminal justice technology have a new transfer option thanks to…
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CCC honors groups, individuals for community work
The Commission for a Clean County (CCC) has announced the 2014 winners of its annual Community Pride Awards program. This…
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Broadband survey needs more rural responses
Haywood County leaders are still in the process of collecting data on broadband Internet service, but they need help from…
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Cherokee navigate the business side of Internet for all
It’s been more than eight years since the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians made its first move toward creating a…
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Judge tells Jackson County to get moving with courthouse security
The exploration of inadequacies at the Jackson County Justice Center has been years in the making, but it’s looking like…
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Sylva pub launches petition to amend town noise ordinance
A pair of dueling petitions dealing with the question of noise at No Name Sports Pub will likely spar at…
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Swain schools crack the code
“When will I ever use this in real life?” is often the question students have when faced with difficult subjects…
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Faircloth’s lead finding lands him state award
Harold Faircloth was recently named Environmental Specialist of the Year in North Carolina after uncovering widespread lead contamination in private…
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Ghost Town not for sale
Ghost Town owner Alaska Presley was willing to sacrifice a piece of the theme park property to generate some cash…
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To snag a cyberstalker
For most Americans, the Internet has moved from novelty to normal, but translating that shift in norms into law has…
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NC commissioners set legislative priorities
After wading through more than 300 legislative goals presented by more than 500 commissioners throughout the state, the North Carolina…
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Maggie Valley: ‘It’s been a good year’
Maggie Valley officials are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel after experiencing several tumultuous years.…
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Back from rock bottom: Macon Realtors reflect on the past, present and future
June Tassillo loves real estate, but she never knew how exciting it could be until she worked her first all-or-nothing,…
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What you really want to know when new property values arrive in the mail
Mailboxes across Macon County were blanketed with new property value notices this week, the first countywide appraisal since 2007. As…
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Meet Richard Lightner, the eagle eye of Macon’s reval
Richard Lightner isn’t one for nostalgia. For nearly 30 years, he’s been running the property reval show in Macon County.…
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Macon’s reval: unplugged and uncensored
The time of reckoning is finally here. Macon County’s first countywide assessment of real estate values since the bust came…
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The quest for the perfect comp
Some weeks Tommey Allen spends more time behind the wheel than a long-haul trucker. It’s not all driving time though.…
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Walmart Awards $1,500 to The Arc of Haywood County
Jerry Pressley, Walmart manager, presented $1,500 to The Arc of Haywood County for holiday presents and clothes to the individuals…
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Wheel locks now legal in Sylva
Sylva’s parking rules now have a stronger set of teeth with the passage of an ordinance allowing officers to put…
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Jackson County gets new tourism board members
The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority will have some new faces around the table this year after the county commissioners…
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Franklin plant shutting down
Macon County was hit with some tough news last week when Caterpillar Inc. announced that it would be shutting down…
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Welch adjusts to life as a district attorney
After just a couple of weeks, Ashley Welch is quickly learning what it means to be the District Attorney of…
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Macon, Jackson negotiate payment for services
Macon County is asking Jackson County for money to pay for providing services to its residents in Highlands, but Jackson…
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Western plans replacement for burned-out building
Western Carolina University’s slated to get a brand new building on Centennial Drive in place of the one destroyed by…
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Maggie moves forward with recreation plan
Maggie Valley resident June Johnson wants the town’s recreation plan to go far beyond fixing up an old playground behind…
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Caesar’s bankruptcy won’t affect Harrah’s
Caesar’s Entertainment Operating Company, a subsidiary of the same company that manages Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort, announced Jan. 15…
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Cullowhee zoning heads to commissioners
It’s been one-and-a-half years since the Jackson County Commissioners first OK’d a committee to look into doing some zoning in…
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Sylva pub cancels music acts following noise conflict with neighbors
No Name Sports Pub is no longer a music joint, at least not until a dispute between the bar and…
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EPA looks to end 30 years of contamination at old Benfield site
It’s been 32 years since Benfield Industries in Hazelwood burned to the ground, 25 since the Environmental Protection Agency designated…
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Community rallies to keep Evergreen clinic
Evergreen Packaging in Canton plans to close the Evergreen Family Medical Center and pharmacy on March 31, but county officials…
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New Jackson board passes anti-fracking resolution
Applause broke out as Jackson County Commissioners concluded a unanimous vote last week passing a resolution opposing hydraulic fracturing —…
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Revised fracking rules head to Legislature
They’ve plowed through the feedback, and now the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission has in hand a revised version of…
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General Assembly resumes; Local legislators to tackle key issues
North Carolina Legislators are back in session in Raleigh this week with a full agenda, including unfinished items from last…
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Erosion from DOT job concerns Jackson residents
A highway construction project in Jackson County has come under public scrutiny for muddying the Tuckasegee River. Erosion control measures…
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Finding its way: Foundation severs formal ties to hospital, forges new mission
The most affluent, prominent charity in Haywood County has reinvented its mission but hopes to remain on donors’ radar as…
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Student housing developer in hot water
Monarch Ventures, a Charlotte-based student housing company, has been trying to locate a posh 500-bed student housing complex in Cullowhee…
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Franklin pawn dealers now required to digitally report
Secondhand dealers in Franklin will soon be required to report their pawned items electronically to the police department within 48…
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Haywood tourism board loses experience, gains fresh faces
Three new members have been appointed to the tourism board in Haywood County that guides tourism marketing, promotions and development.…
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