Fireworks: the economics of the intangibles
This Fourth of July there will be plenty of places from which to watch a fireworks display. North Jackson County…
Read More
Partial reopening at Haywood hospital
Haywood Regional Medical Center is on its way to recovery after a small fire in its power room earlier this…
Read More
County leaders debate community college funding
A budget-trimming effort in Macon County has leaders in multiple counties talking about what’s fair when it comes to community…
Read More
Recession be damned: Waynesville stands behind nonprofit contributions
To some, they might seem like pet projects, budgetary fat in tough times, or frivolous earmarks. But Waynesville leaders are…
Read More
Sylva addresses Main Street traffic concerns
The one-way stretch of Main Street running through the heart of downtown Sylva has a new traffic pattern. The left…
Read More
Down by the river: Swain farmers market makes a move
The Swain County Farmers Market recently enjoyed its final Friday alongside Main Street in Bryson City. After taking a break…
Read More
Considering a cell tower in Whiteside Cove
The Jackson County Planning Board has of late been engaged in a discussion about the revision of the county’s ordinance…
Read More
Merger bill moves forward in Raleigh
Lake Junaluska’s bid to merge with the town of Waynesville flickered to life in the state legislature last week after…
Read More
Canton budget passes, with hesitation
Though unanimously passed 4-0, Canton town board members approved the 2014-2015 budget with some hesitation. The budget came in at…
Read More
Firing range sparks outcry in budget meeting
It was suppose to be Canton’s wrap-up budget meeting. But community members showed up to voice concerns about a specific…
Read More
Cherokee Bear Zoo lawsuit moves forward
Cherokee Bear Zoo hoped a federal civil lawsuit alleging it mistreats grizzly bears in its care would be tossed out.
Read More
Social enterprise: business with a mission
What began as a vision to convert a shutdown state prison in Waynesville into a halfway house, homeless shelter and…
Read More
NAACP gets Haywood organizer
Haywood County’s fledging chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is getting a little help this…
Read More
Waynesville leaders choose property tax hike over budget cuts
Saddled by a higher cost of doing business and hits to its bottom line, Waynesville aldermen were poised to pass…
Read More
Fire causes electrical failure in Haywood hospital
The campus of Haywood Regional Medical Center is full of cars coming and going, staff walking toward or returning from…
Read More
ECU opens dental center in Sylva
There’s a new option for dental care in the region. “We call it a community service learning center,” explained Michael…
Read More
Ghost Town opening delayed
Ghost Town in the Sky, the seemingly ever-limping amusement park in Maggie Valley, did not open on June 20 as…
Read More
New logo pulls into Bryson Chamber, TDA approve train-themed logo
A new logo will soon chug onto the marketing landscape of Bryson City following the Swain County Tourism Development Authority…
Read More
Highlands to undertake $2.5 million project on Lake Sequoyah
Lake Sequoyah will disappear for a few months in the coming year as Highlands plans to drain the reservoir to…
Read More
Pigeon Center rebounds from the downward spiral of a leaky roof
The Pigeon Community Center in Waynesville has once again been rescued from the brink. Haywood County has pledged $47,000 to…
Read More
Presnell pulls Maggie Valley de-annexation bill
Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, has pulled a bill she introduced last month to de-annex a 3.5-acre property from the town…
Read More
Glenville explores planning area
Jackson County may have another community planning project on the horizon. Glenville residents have approached the county about possibly embarking…
Read More
CuRvE gets ARC grant
The nonprofit community group known as the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor (CuRvE) has been awarded an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant…
Read More
General session prayer delivered in Cherokee language
A tribal elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians delivered the opening prayer in the Cherokee language at the…
Read More
Senior Life Solutions offers psychiatric help
Swain County Hospital offers Senior Life Solutions, a program that facilitates intensive outpatient psychiatric care for adults and seniors with…
Read More
Jackson chamber gets new assistant director
Kelly Donaldson, 42, of Cullowhee, began work June 9 as the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center new…
Read More
Nurse team to assist disadvantaged mothers
An initiative to educate first-time, low-income mothers in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties on how to raise healthy, school-ready…
Read More
SCC engineering program hits 100 percent employment rate
Jeanette White, coordinator of Southwestern Community College’s Civil Engineering Technology program, keeps getting calls from employers looking for graduates who…
Read More
Supporters confident Wingate will be exonerated
When Danny Wingate agreed five years ago to set up a credit line for the Haywood County Schools maintenance department,…
Read More
Ashe cruises by Cruzan in sheriff race
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In a landslide win, Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe held off challenger and former…
Read More
Holland, Jenkins to face off in November for sheriff
Former North Carolina Highway Patrolman C.D. Jenkins emerged from a field of three Democrats to win the Macon County Sheriff’s…
Read More
Incumbents hold ground in Swain commissioner race
Despite a slate of challengers campaigning for change in the Swain County commissioners race, all but one incumbent running for…
Read More
Sylva voters pass liquor by the drink
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Sylva residents have decided — it’s time for a good stiff drink. Voters approved…
Read More
Newcomer, incumbent win in Macon
Political newcomer Ronnie Beale and incumbent Bob Simpson beat two other Democrats in Tuesday’s primary and will move on to…
Read More
Pro-planning group wins in Jackson
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County will usher in a new board of commissioners committed to addressing the…
Read More
Swanger upset; Kirkpatrick, Curtis top vote getters
By Michael Beadle Incumbent Kirk Kirkpatrick and newcomers Charles “Skeeter” Curtis and Bill Upton have won the top three slots…
Read More
Tips for B&B guests
• Costs — Before you book a reservation at a B&B, be sure you check the fine print and know…
Read More
A Quiet Industry: The quaint charm of Victorian bed and breakfast inns have captivated generations of tourists
By Michael Beadle Western North Carolina prides itself as a tourist destination — the mountain getaway where you can hike…
Read More
Breaking the code: Merchants hope study provides reliable data about customers
For two and a half years, David Erikson at Twigs and Leaves has offered a monthly drawing for a gift…
Read More
One for the books: Steep slope hearing encapsulated in print
The public hearing on Jackson County’s steep slope regulations struck Dave Waldrop as special. “It was so unbelievable,” Waldrop said.
Read More
Waynesville’s slow march to a better South Main
A group of vacant, ramshackle buildings at an anchor intersection on South Main Street in Waynesville has been purchased, signaling…
Read More
Front row seat to history
Randall E. Murff remembers the guns shooting at him. “The Germans really could shoot those guns, they were good,” he…
Read More
Franklin passes property tax hike
Franklin residents will be paying a bit more on their property taxes next year following a unanimous decision by the…
Read More
The good ole days: Former Macon commissioners draw lessons from the past
A group of past Macon County Commissioners spent an hour reminiscing about their triumphs and reflecting on lessons learned in…
Read More
Tribal board eliminates Murphy construction management position
Two months after a management shake-up in which the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise removed construction manager Sneed, Robertson and Associates…
Read More
WCU awaits state budget, bemoans staff retention
Western Carolina University is sweating out the North Carolina General Assembly’s budgetary process, but perhaps not as much as some…
Read More
Tax trade-off: New tax law brings bevy of sales tax expansions, eliminates business fees
Consumers will start seeing some extras added to their subtotals as a result of a state law adding sales tax…
Read More
Haywood business community rallies around new economic development model
A cross-section of Haywood County business leaders took over the reins of economic development this month, with county government passing…
Read More
Commissioners field trip to Haywood justice center
Sitting in the judge’s seat, Jackson County Commissioners Chairman Jack Debnam took a look around. He absorbed the courtroom, glanced…
Read More
Petition drive steers toward education funding
Advocates calling for increased state education funding made a stop in Haywood County Monday as part of a statewide tour…
Read More
