At age 55, Buddy Melton decided to make a major change in his life, which resulted in his recent departure from Haywood County bluegrass juggernaut Balsam Range. 

On Dec. 10, the Burrell conference room on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus was packed full of friends and family as the college’s founding class of Practical Nursing students celebrated their accomplishments during a pinning ceremony. 

Two months after former Maggie Valley Police Chief Russ Gilliland filed a lawsuit against the town for wrongful termination, the town has responded by requesting either a dismissal or a jury trial. 

I’m a ripened 64, and I still love real newspapers. However, my affinity for online browsing is also taking root. Statistics show that many my age are making the same transition. 

It was just about 12 years ago when I first rolled into Waynesville. After a solo 18-hour, 1,000-mile trek from my native Upstate New York to Western North Carolina, I found myself sitting in an office chair awaiting an in-person interview with Smoky Mountain News publisher/founder Scott McLeod. 

Members of the Western Carolina University family will come together to recognize three prominent alumni for their career accomplishments and to honor a longtime proponent of economic development across Western North Carolina as part of the university’s celebration of Homecoming 2023.

I recently went on a girls’ beach trip to Hilton Head Island. It’d been a while since I enjoyed surf and sun with my female tribe. The last all-female excursion was in August of 2016, the same week my mom passed away unexpectedly. She’d been battling cancer but was projected to live much longer, so her death came as a shock. Every time I thought about a girls’ beach trip, my stomach knotted. I associated the timing of my previous experience with my mother’s passing.