Fracking opponents question show of fracking support at hearing
 

Fracking opponents question show of fracking support at hearing

Attendees at Cullowhee’s hearing on the proposed oil and gas rules Sept. 12 were overwhelmingly anti-fracking, but a small contingent…
Read More

Comment

Fretting the PILT jilt: WNC counties could lose out if formula is altered
 

Fretting the PILT jilt: WNC counties could lose out if formula is altered

It’s about that time. Time to worry about PILT money.   After seeing the federal payment in lieu of taxes…
Read More

Comment

New playground will round out Lake Junaluska’s family appeal
 

New playground will round out Lake Junaluska’s family appeal

A new park and playground under construction at Lake Junaluska carries a price tag of more than $200,000.
Read More

Comment

Sewage standoff lands offender in jail
 

Sewage standoff lands offender in jail

The owner of a rental trailer in the Cruso community of Haywood County will be locked up until he complies…
Read More

Comment

Haywood Schools to end cheap childcare incentives for teachers
 

Haywood Schools to end cheap childcare incentives for teachers

An innovative tool to help recruit the best and brightest teachers to Haywood County has become too costly for the…
Read More

Comment

Theft, vandalism spur Forest Service to build gate
 

Theft, vandalism spur Forest Service to build gate

The U.S. Forest Service is planning to install a gate on Wine Spring Road near Franklin after communications equipment housed…
Read More

Comment

Hospital sale over, but when can we get our money?
 

Hospital sale over, but when can we get our money?

Although the ink is dry on the sale of Haywood Regional Medical Center, how much the county will get for…
Read More

Comment

NCCAT leaders breathing easier: Cullowhee teaching center to get recurring funding
 

NCCAT leaders breathing easier: Cullowhee teaching center to get recurring funding

Dr. Richard Thompson is breathing a bit easier this semester. He’s not worrying about funding. Not wondering if the North…
Read More

Comment

UNC board meeting draws governor, congressman to WCU
 

UNC board meeting draws governor, congressman to WCU

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ three-day visit on the Western Carolina University campus came to a close…
Read More

Comment

Town of Sylva makes history
 

Town of Sylva makes history

The Sylva Downtown Historic District was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is administered…
Read More

Comment

Jackson dodges fracking, sans resolution
 

Jackson dodges fracking, sans resolution

Jackson County officials were recently set to discuss the possibility of joining other local governments in the region and consider…
Read More

Comment

Haywood leaders weigh in on fracking fray
 

Haywood leaders weigh in on fracking fray

Haywood County commissioners have joined the growing ranks of local elected leaders to take a stand on fracking.
Read More

Comment

Peeling back the layers: A closer look at proposed fracking regulations
 

Peeling back the layers: A closer look at proposed fracking regulations

Anyone who’s read a newspaper, turned on a TV or listened to chitchat in a grocery store sometime over the…
Read More

Comment

WNC shale gas study cancelled
 

WNC shale gas study cancelled

Western North Carolina is no longer on State Geologist Ken Taylor’s schedule for this fall’s tour de hydrocarbons in North…
Read More

Comment

Fracking opponents prepare for battle
 

Fracking opponents prepare for battle

It was back to school for a group of staunch fracking opponents on Friday, Sept. 5. The corner conference room…
Read More

Comment

District Attorney race: No rest for the weary
 

District Attorney race: No rest for the weary

Few put as much thought into their to-go morning coffee as Jim Moore. Most of us grab whatever’s on the…
Read More

Comment

Pisgah Inn contract renewed
 

Pisgah Inn contract renewed

Bruce O’Connell was pretty surprised to see Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Mark Woods appear at his door Sept. 8. The…
Read More

Comment

Interim CEO of Haywood Regional Medical Center shares take-away impression after first few weeks
 

Interim CEO of Haywood Regional Medical Center shares take-away impression after first few weeks

It hasn’t take long for the interim CEO of Haywood Regional Medical Center to pick up on the hospital’s biggest…
Read More

Comment

Cash mobs Sylva
 

Cash mobs Sylva

More than 100 shoppers flocked to downtown Sylva on Sept. 5, dollars in hand, to flood the fire-damaged district with…
Read More

Comment

Haywood candidates take sides on emergency management ordinance
 

Haywood candidates take sides on emergency management ordinance

Six candidates are vying for three seats in the Haywood County commissioners race. They fall in two tidy camps when…
Read More

Comment

Sylva extends reach, approves ETJ expansion
 

Sylva extends reach, approves ETJ expansion

In an effort to assure aesthetic uniformity beyond town borders, Sylva’s commissioners have begun expanding the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. The…
Read More

Comment

Clash of the titans: The race for Jackson’s big chair
 

Clash of the titans: The race for Jackson’s big chair

This year’s race for Jackson County commissioner chairman is a rematch between two familiar figures. Each have claimed the title…
Read More

Comment

New HCC complex to offer a gamut of response training
 

New HCC complex to offer a gamut of response training

A $4 million public safety facility will be constructed at Haywood Community College over the next two years, providing police,…
Read More

Comment

Fracking panel draws crowd in Franklin
 

Fracking panel draws crowd in Franklin

A walk through the parking lot was all that was necessary to see that a diverse crowd had gathered to…
Read More

Comment

U.S. House candidates square off at WCU
 

U.S. House candidates square off at WCU

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, went head-to-head with Tom Hill, D-Zirconia, his challenger for the 11th District Congressional seat, in a…
Read More

Comment

Cherokee wants Franklin leaders to turn over historic site
 

Cherokee wants Franklin leaders to turn over historic site

Cherokee leaders have formally asked the town of Franklin to turn over Nikwasi Mound, the latest turn of events in…
Read More

Comment

Rooted in history, growing into the future: Dillsboro celebrates its past while working toward a better future
 

Rooted in history, growing into the future: Dillsboro celebrates its past while working toward a better future

Dillsboro sits at the crossroads of U.S. 441 and N.C. 23. Nestled between the past and future, it is a…
Read More

Comment

Sylva ETJ public hearing tomorrow
 

Sylva ETJ public hearing tomorrow

Sylva commissioners will hold a public hearing tomorrow, Sept. 4, on expanding its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. An expanded ETJ…
Read More

Comment

Date set for prison renovation weekend
 

Date set for prison renovation weekend

After winning a nationwide voting contest to land a $50,000 prize, Haywood Pathways Center is looking for volunteers to pitch…
Read More

Comment

Celebration of women in Methodism at Lake J
 

Celebration of women in Methodism at Lake J

A Celebration of Women in Methodism will begin at the World Methodist Museum at 3:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at…
Read More

Comment

Macon alters ball field plans to avoid Cherokee gravesite
 

Macon alters ball field plans to avoid Cherokee gravesite

The Parker Meadows project is taking a slight turn after the discovery of a Cherokee gravesite launched a series of…
Read More

Comment

Shakeup on Main Street: Franklin aims for Main Street Program makeover
 

Shakeup on Main Street: Franklin aims for Main Street Program makeover

The Franklin Main Street Program has been soaking up some criticism lately, and the issues came to a head at…
Read More

Comment

What’s in a name? Town pride muddies selection of new Haywood tourism logo
 

What’s in a name? Town pride muddies selection of new Haywood tourism logo

In a never-ending quest to lure tourists to Haywood County, the county tourism agency has once again changed the logo…
Read More

Comment

Amid controversy, Canton changes alcohol ordinances
 

Amid controversy, Canton changes alcohol ordinances

The Canton Town Board has recently made changes to their alcohol ordinances, allowing for the option of public consumption at…
Read More

Comment

The institution on the corner
 

The institution on the corner

The Jarrett House has stood in Dillsboro since 1884. Since before Dillsboro was Dillsboro. 
Read More

Comment

Celebrating the 125th
 

Celebrating the 125th

The town of Dillsboro, established in 1889, was named after William Allen Dills, a Confederate veteran who was born nearby.…
Read More

Comment

WCU lends Dillsboro a hand
 

WCU lends Dillsboro a hand

Dillsboro’s relationship with Western Carolina University began in 2009, after the economic downturn and as the town struggled to regroup.
Read More

Comment

Sylva businesses make their way after downtown fire
 

Sylva businesses make their way after downtown fire

It’s been a couple of weeks since the downtown Sylva fire. And while most of downtown is humming along nicely,…
Read More

Comment

Dairy whistleblower describes experiences at Osborne Farms
 

Dairy whistleblower describes experiences at Osborne Farms

When Gna Wyatt called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals about the manure piles covering Osborne Farms in Clyde,…
Read More

Comment

French Kirkpatrick: The boy from Laurel Branch
 

French Kirkpatrick: The boy from Laurel Branch

French Kirkpatrick just wanted to play music. “I kind of wanted to be a singer, but I couldn’t sing…
Read More

Comment

Having a cow: PETA accuses local dairy of animal cruelty; inspectors say otherwise
 

Having a cow: PETA accuses local dairy of animal cruelty; inspectors say otherwise

Swarming flies. Cows trudging through knee-deep manure. Lame legs, an overgrown hoof, blood oozing from a nose. Bones protruding from…
Read More

Comment

Evergreen gets its green: Lawmakers approve $12 million for natural gas upgrades in Canton
 

Evergreen gets its green: Lawmakers approve $12 million for natural gas upgrades in Canton

In a last-minute turnaround, North Carolina lawmakers wrapped up their short session last week with passage of a bill granting…
Read More

Comment

Broken, breaking or blossoming? Macon educators discuss state of public schools
 

Broken, breaking or blossoming? Macon educators discuss state of public schools

North Carolina education has seen its share of high-profile issues over the last couple of years. Teacher raises, tenure, vouchers,…
Read More

Comment

Swain bridge to be named in honor of Vietnam veteran, Purple Heart recipient
 

Swain bridge to be named in honor of Vietnam veteran, Purple Heart recipient

A group of Vietnam veterans in Swain County have accomplished their goal. Soon, an Alarka-area bridge will bear the name…
Read More

Comment

Highlands pursues new Verizon tower
 

Highlands pursues new Verizon tower

Highlands residents will soon be seeing better cell phone coverage in town following the town board’s unanimous vote to move…
Read More

Comment

Beyond the wrench: Changing credentials for manufacturing fix-it men lead to new workforce training initative at HCC
 

Beyond the wrench: Changing credentials for manufacturing fix-it men lead to new workforce training initative at HCC

It’s an industrial mechanic’s worst nightmare. A machine on the assembly line goes down, and production screeches to a halt.…
Read More

Comment

Are visitor centers passé? Haywood tourism authority mulls bang for the buck at visitor center sites
 

Are visitor centers passé? Haywood tourism authority mulls bang for the buck at visitor center sites

The Haywood County Tourism Authority is exploring whether to close its two visitor centers in Waynesville and Maggie Valley, questioning…
Read More

Comment

Webster embarks on planning study
 

Webster embarks on planning study

How can Webster be improved? What would make it more walkable? What would encourage community socialization?  Town leaders aim to…
Read More

Comment

Malcolm’s swan song
 

Malcolm’s swan song

Malcolm graced the waters of Lake Junaluska for only a little while. He will be on its shore for much…
Read More

Comment

Swain polling place moves to Cherokee
 

Swain polling place moves to Cherokee

Swain County voters living in Cherokee and Whittier will begin a new routine on Election Day this November. The precinct’s…
Read More

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.