My brain was working overtime this morning, and I woke a little before 5 a.m. That was it, couldn’t get back to sleep. That quote above about change from the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was on rewind in my brain as I pondered my day. Why, I don’t know. 

The moon was bright and lit up a cloud hanging over our mountain, and a light mist greeted me as I slid into my truck.

The Shining Rock Classical Academy Board of Directors on March 10 unanimously accepted the resignation of Head of School Joshua Morgan, approving 90 days of severance pursuant to an attorney-drafted agreement. After a five-year tenure as Shining Rock school director, Sara Jenkins will serve as the school’s interim executive director, effective immediately.

 Chair Alyson Weimar made both announcements at a March 11 special called meeting, adding that the board will move forward with the support and guidance of Leaders Building Leaders.

At some points, engulfed in the rush of the ride, “your head feels like it’s going to pop off your shoulders,” said 2026 Remember the Removal mentor Freida Saylor. 

Saylor participated in RTR in 2025, a three-week, approximately 950-mile bike ride that traces the northern route of the Trail of Tears — one path of forced removal of the Cherokee people to Oklahoma from their Southern Appalachian homelands — following the 1830 Indian Removal Act signed by President Andrew Jackson.  

The Sylva Herald and The Smoky Mountain News last Friday received anonymous emails threatening both publications if the papers, specifically The Herald, do not report on the Fontana Regional Library kerfuffle the way the author of the email wants.

The Smoky Mountain News is hosting a forum for the three candidates running for Haywood County Sheriff in 2026. 

Sheriff Bill Wilke was first elected to the office in November 2022 and will run as an incumbent. Challenging Wilke in the primary is fellow Republican Mark Mease, who served under former Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher, and Waynesville Police Department Detective Tyler Howell, a Democrat who is running unopposed in the primary. 

Candidates will offer opening and closing statements, in addition to answering a series of questions, which will not be provided ahead of time. Candidates will also have chances to provide rebuttals.

The forum, moderated by SMN News Editor Kyle Perrotti, will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at Haywood County's historic courthouse. It is open to the public and will also be streamed on the SMN Facebook page.

To the Editor:

My wife and I are part-time residents of Western North Carolina, and regardless of where we are we rely on The Smoky Mountain News to keep up with what is happening locally. We make a (very) nominal monthly contribution to the newspaper, recognizing that it is the best source of local and hyper-local news in the region.

In the wake of two devastating floods just three years apart, Western North Carolina’s resiliency didn’t come from government agencies. While FEMA and state emergency teams provided vital aid, three regional nonprofits — Dogwood Health Trust, Mountain Projects and The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina — stepped beyond their missions to fill critical gaps. 

To the Editor:

I have been a weekly reader of The Smoky Mountain News since its inception in 1999. I am proud of (Publisher/Editor) Scott McLeod. He welcomes dialogue. He presents opinions that most Americans can accept (most of the time). 

A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say they at least sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet, including 57% who say they do so often.….

Americans turn to radio and print publications for news far less frequently. In 2024, just 26% of U.S. adults say they often or sometimes get news in print, the lowest number our surveys have recorded. 
— Pew Research Center 

A judge has ordered Shining Rock Classical Academy to turn over public records at the center of a civil bench trial heard in Haywood County Superior Court over a month ago.