Officers push boundaries in quest for probable cause
A big one got away in Cherokee earlier this year when the case against a drug dealer was thrown out…
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No more Mr. Nice Guy
With the bottomed-out real estate market still stagnant, some property owners are having trouble seeing the point of paying property…
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Haywood chamber to drive economic development
The daunting challenge of courting industry, cultivating entrepreneurs, helping businesses expand — and ultimately adding new jobs to the economy…
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Appointment process for advisory boards comes under fire
The informal process for picking people to serve on the planning board in Jackson County has come under scrutiny, prompting…
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Schools rebut charge of impeding efforts to start secular club
Haywood County Schools’ attorney has countered accusations that Pisgah High School administrators allegedly hampered a student’s attempt to form a…
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Jackson’s optimistic cheerleader
After a few months on the job, Jackson County’s economic development director laid out the landscape for community leaders. He…
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Beachcombers find parts of lost research balloon equipment
The seventh Western Carolina University physics research balloon to be launched to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere – Cat…
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Statewide races
U.S. Congress About the race: This used to be a toss-up district, but clever redrawing of voting boundaries by the…
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Macon hopes for home run
Macon County commissioners decided in a split vote this month to spend $3 million building a tournament-scale baseball and softball…
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Jackson public delivers message loud and clear: uphold steep slope rules
A standing-room only crowd turned out for a public hearing on steep slope rules in Jackson County last week and…
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State rejects former Swain DSS director’s appeal of firing
A wrongful firing claim by the former director of the Swain County Department of Social Services has been rejected by…
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Mad Batter to reopen in Sylva
From the ashes of a recent fire, Mad Batter Bakery & Café will reopen. But, instead of returning to the campus…
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$1 million gift to Highlands-Cashiers Hospital Foundation matched by Mission
The Highlands-Cashiers Hospital Foundation is $2 million richer thanks to a $1 million donation by philanthropist Jane Woodruff and a…
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WCU professor studies healthy eating demographics
Green space and gardens dominate much of the Western North Carolina landscape, but what determines whether people here actually eat…
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Car charging stations to be installed in Waynesville
Electric car owners will soon have the option of charging their vehicles in downtown Waynesville.
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Waynesville looks to diversify fuel use
The town of Waynesville plans to convert half of its fleet of police cars — 15 in all — to…
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Law enforcement lobbies for speedy, dependable fleets
Equipment replacement schedules were some of the first line items on the chopping block for local governments when the economy…
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Parks and rec grants decrease across state
Macon County can count itself lucky for landing a $500,000 state recreation grant to help pay for a softball and…
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The quest for perfection: Smoky Mountain basketball team heads into playoffs 24-0
There is no “I” in team for Jimmy Cleaveland. “Listen, I don’t know where you’re going with this story,” he…
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Fired Swain DSS director steered aid to relatives
A wrongful firing suit by Tammy Cagle, the former director of Swain County Department of Social Services, has shed light…
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What was said: take a drive-by tour of some steep slope comments
“A hundred years from now everybody in this room will have passed on but the mountains will still be baring…
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Born to care: Olson looks back on 40 years of nursing
When Becky Olson first began making house calls, she was barely old enough to walk. She spent her childhood following…
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Pisgah student persists, forms secular club
A club for non-religious students is being formed at Pisgah High School after a freshman enlisted the help of a…
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Maggie businessman charged with child sexual abuse
A Maggie Valley restaurant owner who was also a figure in town politics has been charged with sexually abusing two…
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Macon sheriff wants more money for drug buys
Sheriff Robert Holland is looking to ramp-up his department’s crackdown on drug dealers in Macon County, requesting that the county…
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Group hatches a plan for local products co-op in Sylva
A group of Jackson County locavores is hoping to bring the Ramp-Berry Community Market Co-op, a store that will sell…
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Sapphire knows how to throw a ‘potty’
Sitting on a toilet, Kyle Iezzi is ready for victory. “The main thing is that I hope we go straight,”…
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New NAACP chapters spawned by protests against Raleigh legislation
Political backlash against the new conservative policies of state lawmakers has given rise to two local chapters of the National…
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Jackson eyes courthouse expansion
Just shy of a decade after county offices moved into a brand-spankin’ new Haywood County Justice Center, Jackson County is…
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Macon County requests auditing assistance
As the State Bureau of Investigations continues to probe embezzlement allegations in Macon County, the county is calling in the…
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Jane Hipps officially kicks off Senate campaign
Jane Hipps of Waynesville will officially kick off her campaign to run against Sen. Jim Davis at an “Announcement Celebration”…
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CCC gives out annual Community Pride Awards
The Commission for a Clean County (CCC) has announced the winners of its annual Community Pride Awards program, who will…
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Jackson and Macon poised to lose their cash cow in wake of second-home real estate crash
When inflated real estate values in the second-home market came back down to earth, the touchdown wasn’t gentle. It was…
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Steep slope redux: A pocket guide to proposed revisions in Jackson’s steep slope ordinance
Limits on mountainside development and standards for steep slope building are once again in the spotlight in Jackson County. The…
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Jackson fire tax goes up in smoke
Jackson County commissioners have nixed the idea of making volunteer fire departments financially autonomous.
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Farm Bill secures 2014 payments for counties home to federal land
County leaders in Western North Carolina breathed a collective sigh of relief after the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into…
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Cherokee Bear Zoo fined by OSHA
Cherokee Bear Zoo has been fined by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violating worker safety regulations. Cherokee…
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Wild ride with a log splitter leads to larceny arrests
Four Asheville residents were arrested after an attempt to steal a logsplitter from Lowe’s in Waynesville drew the attention of…
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2014 election filing season opens
The 2014 election season officially got underway this week. Candidates could begin signing up to run for office on Monday.…
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Franklin merchants want bigger voice in gazebo make-over
By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent A design for a new gazebo on the town square in downtown Franklin has been…
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Ghost Town gunfight negotiations finalized
A compromise has been reached between Ghost Town in the Sky and state inspectors over a violation and fine stemming…
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Eighth Macon school officer position goes to Nantahala
Robert Holland has been pushing to place a resource officer in every school for years — long before the Sandy…
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Districts grapple with directive to identify top 25 percent of teachers
Usually, you’d expect a school system to jump at the chance to give its teachers a raise, but superintendents statewide…
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Melange of the Mountains caters to food fans with bigger lineup
Restaurants in Haywood County are being encouraged to jump on the Melange of the Mountains train, which will return this…
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Canton debates alcohol policy at armory
A request to serve keg beer at an event in the Canton Armory prompted a broader discussion of the town’s…
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Mixed feelings among residents on new plans for old prison
By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent Haywood County leaders have all but signed off on plans by a pair of faith-based…
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Steep slopes on the rocks: Relaxed building rules try to strike a balance
David Brooks grew up dirt poor. His dad farmed corn, apples and tobacco, always with a plow and mule, never…
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Macon election office assesses damage in emergency meeting
After discovering $50,000 worth of unauthorized checks had disappeared from its budget and placing director Kim Bishop on paid investigatory…
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Moving forward: Commissioners express support for use of old prison by trio of ministries
A plan to turn the old state prison campus in Hazelwood into an epicenter for changing lives is moving forward…
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Step up and be counted: Public could tip scales in steep slope rewrite
Who shows up and speaks out at a steep slope public hearing in Jackson County next week could alter what…
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