Swain Commissioner snapshot
Commissioner Democratic candidates • David Monteith is the longest serving county commissioner with 16 years on the board. Retired Ingle’s…
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Pisgah students get more classrooms, campus security
With a long construction process coming to an end, students and teachers at Pisgah High School are enjoying a bit…
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DA candidates spar over work, family and gender
The race for top prosecutor over the seven counties between assistant district attorneys Jim Moore and Ashley Welch has grown…
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District attorney candidate accused of mishandling extradition order
A Tennessee man in a wheelchair accused of helping bury a dead body in a barrel has emerged as an…
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Franklin passes resolution to keep Nikwasi, allow Cherokee maintenance
Franklin leaders made their intention to keep Nikwasi Mound in town possession clear this week, rejecting a formal call from…
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Library proponents unveil a visual
The new Swain County library isn’t a reality yet — except in the minds of the true believers. Last week,…
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Sylva celebrates its 125th anniversary
The Town of Sylva is celebrating its 125th year since incorporation. To mark the occasion, a slate of activities are…
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Authorities find $1 million in pot plants in Swain
Jerry Monroe Berry and his son, Joshua Monroe Berry, of Swain County have been charged with growing marijuana in the…
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Don’t call it a fracking resolution
Following multiple anti-fracking resolutions passed by local governments around the region, Jackson County commissioners have now taken an action of…
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A helping paw: Guide dogs widen world for Waynesville women
With a visitor in the house and his crate door open, Adam is all kinds of excited. The lanky black…
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Fund for Haywood surpasses $1 million mark
Twenty years after Aaron Prevost and other community leaders provided the seed money to start the endowment, The Fund for…
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Audience turns political debate into rousing spectator sport
A debate between N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and his challenger Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, last week was lively, testy, heated,…
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A drive-by version of the N.C. Senate debate
A candidate debate last week between N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and challenger Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, plowed a lot of…
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Haywood moves forward with landfill remediation
Work is underway on a multi-million-dollar environmental remediation project on the Old Francis Farm landfill near Waynesville. The first load…
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Alternative school gets $1.4 million to offer comprehensive help to struggling youth
Tucked away on the corner of Kentucky and Virginia avenues in the old Hazelwood Elementary School building, the Alternative Learning…
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Sylva allows more time for window replacements
Downtown Sylva property owners will still have to replace any plywood currently covering up windows, but they will be provided…
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Franklin approves residential loop for commercial zoning
The Franklin Town Board unanimously approved a petition to rezone a small piece of property off Clyde Street at its…
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N.C. Senate debate gets dicey when candidates talk race
N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, is known for his direct and unapologetic communication style, but it landed him in hot…
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2014 Election: Snapshot of U.S. House race in WNC
About the race: This used to be a toss-up district, but clever redrawing of voting boundaries by the Republican-led legislature…
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Election 2014: Legislative races, a primer
N.C. House of Representatives, seat 118 Is this my state rep? Yes, if you live in Madison and Yancey counties…
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2014 District Attorney election primer
Do I vote in this race? Yes, if you live anywhere in the seven western counties.
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Community rallies for three-day makeover of Hazelwood prison
It was a scene that any fan — or casual viewer — of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” would find familiar.…
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A conversation with Ty Pennington
Ty Pennington is a celebrity carpenter best known for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” a show that involved lightning-quick remodels of…
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N.C. House candidates Queen and Clampitt draw distinctions during debate
N.C. Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, and Republican challenger Mike Clampitt are on a similar mission. Each is trying to…
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Cullowhee development standards have been drawn up; will the community buy-in?
Cullowhee is the fastest growing area of Jackson County. The growth owes much to Western Carolina University and is evidenced…
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Macon approves final school officer position
All 11 Macon County schools will now have their own school resource officer, called an SRO, after county commissioners voted…
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Dillsboro sells Duke property to Jackson County
The quiet, early morning streets of Dillsboro seemed still asleep as the town board ambled in. They arrived one by…
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Swain sees three-way race for sheriff
With Election Day nearing, Odel Chastain seemed pretty relaxed. “I’m sitting on my porch with my feet thrown up, watching…
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Jackson candidates drill down on fracking
The three Democratic challengers in the Jackson County commissioners race took the sitting commissioners to task for their inaction on…
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Game on: Jackson commissioner candidates go to the mat in three-on-three race
Three challengers for Jackson County commissioner opened with a strong offensive charge at a candidate debate last week, rarely letting…
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District attorney race pits colleagues against each other
Jim Moore and Ashley Welch have been on the same team for years, working side-by-side in the district attorney’s office…
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Old paper mill landfills mostly go unnoticed, un-monitored
More than 200 acres of scattered tracts along the meandering Pigeon River Valley in Haywood County are quiet sentries to…
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Industrial landfills: A better way
The dangers of coal ash have taken center stage in North Carolina in the wake of the Dan River disaster,…
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Wrestling with window dressing: Sylva holds off on plywood-window decree
Manufactured homes, metal siding and unfinished concrete blocks are no longer allowed in downtown Sylva. The plywood coverings blocking out…
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The good, the bad and the silver lining
The Canton paper mill has been an economic anchor in Haywood County since 1908, providing livelihoods for tens of thousands…
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Haywood Habitat welcomes new director
Jamye Cooper will be taking the reins of Haywood Habitat for Humanity, bringing with her 25 years of professional experience…
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Swain graduate serves on Navy ship
Petty Officer 1st Class Chavella Bailey, a 1994 Swain County High School graduate and native of Cherokee, is serving aboard…
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Swan Man Ken Zulla wins Chief Junaluska award
Ken Zulla was called a lot of things during his 30 years as an auditor for the United States government,…
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Some Swain candidates talk change, some want more of the same
Come November, voters will be selecting candidates to fill all four seats on the Swain County Board of Commissioners. They…
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Jackson works to shore up security at judicial center
Late last month, Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts wrote a letter. “He kind of drew a line in the sand,” said…
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Campaign aims to reduce amount of prescription meds in Haywood
There’s a good amount of opioids in Haywood County, more than twice the national average. And apparently there’s a good…
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Macon considers drafting noise ordinance
Noise was the main topic of conversation at the Sept. 18 meeting of the Macon County Planning Board. The county’s…
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Racing towards the sheriff’s seat
The retirement of Jackson County’s current sheriff — and widespread dissatisfaction with the way Jimmy Ashe ran his office —…
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Tribe bans fracking
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has joined a growing number of local governments opposing the state legislature’s decision to…
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Osborne Farms closes: Embattled dairy sells off livestock
Osborne Farms is no longer in the dairy business, according to Joe Reardon, assistant commissioner for consumer protection in the…
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Haywood Pathways prepares for building bonanza, Ty Pennington
It’s going to be an eventful next few days in Waynesville. Haywood Pathways Center is in the final stretch of…
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Mountain Senate race once more in the state political spotlight
Two candidates battling for the state Senate seat representing the seven western counties are heading into the homestretch of what…
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Jackson’s cell tower ordinance revision softens up
Wireless communications companies could ultimately find Jackson County’s revised cell phone tower ordinance considerably more palatable than the stricter version…
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Fracking opponents sweep public hearing
It didn’t take but a glance around the lawn of the Liston B. Ramsey Center at Western Carolina University to…
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Fracking opponents: What they said
“We want unannounced reviews and inspections by DENR. It’s like a drug test. You tell them they’re going to be…
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