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Insubordinate public servants
To the Editor: If you were the boss of three employees (let’s call them Mark Meadows, Thom Tillis, and Richard…
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Trump still holds the upper hand
To the Editor: The media is crowing over this so-called big loss for Trump by having to postpone the elimination…
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A fox sighting is always a delight
In the natural world here in the Blue Ridge, there are certain visual images that rivet the attention of human…
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A perfect place: Walking Lake Junaluska fuels Hill’s fight against cancer
Ron and Chrissy Hill were all set for their retirement in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee, having bought a house…
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Museum receives historic donation
The Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians received the largest single donation it’s ever seen when Georgia resident Bob…
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An ancient story well told
In Jennifer Frick-Ruppert’s statement of intent at the back of her book, The Legend of Skyco, she states “While this…
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This must be the place: The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
It was familiar, yet weird. Over the last two weeks I’ve crossed paths twice with my immediate family. Once down…
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The art of being in ‘the now’: Tony Award nominee, WCU professor Terrence Mann on acting, life
When you’re in the presence of Terrence Mann, you find yourself within reach of an energy — a vibe, perhaps…
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Lake Junaluska wins six awards
Lake Junaluska has won six awards from the United Methodist Association of Communicators for video production, publications, social media, photography…
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Haywood GOP leaders overthrown
A power struggle has embroiled the Haywood County Republican Party over the past several months, culminating in the mass overthrow…
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Patriot faction of Haywood GOP blindsided by ousting
Eddie Cabe suspected something big was afoot in the weeks leading up to the annual precinct gathering of the Haywood…
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Resolution targets Presnell partisan bill
After expressing his outrage early last month over a bill that would make school board elections partisan in Haywood County,…
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Cost could keep Franklin aldermen from changing their name
“What’s an alderman?” is a common question town officials hear when trying to explain what they do to members of…
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Strange bedfellows emerge in HB2 ‘repeal’
An admittedly imperfect compromise that could end the tempest of controversy surrounding North Carolina’s HB2 has been reached, but not…
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More Trump budget cuts hit home
Renewed concerns about the local impact of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts and his attempts to repeal the Affordable…
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Jackson ponders $20 million health building
A new health sciences building at Southwestern Community College would allow an additional 288 students to prepare for in-demand health…
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Folkmoot’s Cultural Conversations: Identifying identity
Hundreds, if not thousands of “civic ambassador” programs begin each month in cities and counties across the nation, including in…
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Town denies train’s request for Fry Street closure
Kim Albritton was visibly shaken up when she walked out of Bryson City Town Hall on Monday night.
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Election season begins for Cherokee council race
The race for Cherokee Tribal Council will feature 45 candidates competing for 12 seats around the horseshoe table when the…
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Sylva to vote on funding for Mill Street lane reduction
A plan to turn two-lane Mill Street in Sylva into a one-lane road will soon move forward if town commissioners…
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High hopes in Hazelwood hang on revamped parking lot
A small assortment of businesses in the 400 block of Hazelwood Avenue have been flourishing of late despite suffering through…
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Dillsboro river park gets unanimous approval
A new river park in Dillsboro is no longer just a proposal after the Jackson County Commissioners voted unanimously April…
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If Trump fails, there is always 2020
To the Editor: Regarding Mr. Martin Dyckman’s op-ed published in the March 8 issue of The Smokey Mountain News, I…
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Never forget the past
To the Editor: The other day I read something that chilled me to the bone, especially considering the direction the…
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Thank the EPA for WNC’s success
To the Editor: I was born in a steel town in 1948. When I was 2, we moved to a…
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Like mercury on slick glass
To the Editor: Please don’t even try to convince most people that Republicans are slow to change due to some…
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There are more than cornfields in the Midwest
I’m severely under-acquainted with the Midwest. My older son has a game on his Kindle that asks him to identify…
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Meadows makes his mark in the swamp
Where’s Mark? As in Rep. Mark Meadows, our Republican congressman who reportedly represents the rural and economically challenged residents of…
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Stories from mountains: Cherokee man keeps old stories alive, one hike at a time
The last known footprint of the slant-eyed giant Judaculla is not easy to get to. First, there’s the drive to…
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Assault on Blackrock draws high turnout
Despite some negative publicity last month when spikes were planted along the trails at Pinnacle Park in Sylva, turnout was…
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Nature Center to ramp up education efforts
The WNC Nature Center will launch a regional education outreach program thanks to a $52,000 grant Friends of the WNC…
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The Naturalist's Corner: It really is spring
I was reconnoitering the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens on Monday March 27, with Brent Martin, Southern Appalachian regional director at…
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David Joy’s new book is a dark gem
Just after I bought The Weight of the World, I ran into an old friend of mine who is extremely…
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Hand-me-down reasons: The DuPont Brothers return to Waynesville
It’s needed now more than ever before. The place of the singer-songwriter in a modern world is a tricky spot.…
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This must be the place: Just when you found me, I’m gone
You don’t know me. In recent weeks, I’ve found myself saying that exact statement above to folks I love and…
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Out of sight: Macon, Swain departments largely off-cam
Smaller cities and counties with smaller tax bases can’t always afford the capital expenses of their wealthier neighbors — it’s…
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Haywood cop cam use low, may grow
A variety of law enforcement agencies serve the 60,000 residents speckled about the 555 square miles of Haywood County, and…
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Jackson law enforcement navigates new age of police video
On Aug. 9, 2014, an encounter between Officer Darren Wilson and 18-year-old Michael Brown on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri,…
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The tools of truth
As the digital revolution proceeds unabated and technology exponentially shrinks in size and cost, law enforcement agencies have more tools…
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Police cameras in WNC
The increasing use of body-worn and dash-mounted police cameras in Western North Carolina has sparked privacy concerns from citizens and…
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Memorial service planned for Rev. Jimmy Carr
Lake Junaluska will hold a memorial service for Rev. Dr. Jimmy Carr at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in Stuart…
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Dillsboro river park vote planned in Jackson
With an April 3 vote on a proposed river park in Dillsboro just days away, all five members of the…
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Consolidated health department under discussion in Jackson
The Jackson County Commissioners got some food for thought during a meeting last week exploring the possibility of consolidating some…
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Following Tribal Council decision, former vice chief’s widow will lose her home
The widow of former Vice Chief Bill Ledford is refusing to move after Tribal Council’s January vote to strike the…
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Classroom size uncertainty to impact budgets
School systems in Western North Carolina were hoping a proposed piece of legislation regarding class size requirements would make it…
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Meadows in the middle of repeal and replace
Republicans under President Barack Obama voted more than 40 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no luck. Now,…
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App-alling: Trump budget gut shot to down-and-out Appalachia
Many rural Americans who voted for Donald Trump last November did so based on his promise to cut the federal…
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Empowering women to run for office
Women have a lot of internal dialogue when considering a run for public office — I don’t have time. I…
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Search for new Canton town manager begins
The sudden but amicable resignation of Canton Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss came as a surprise to many, but as the…
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The perfect game come round again
I found them in the corner of the basement, hidden like Easter Eggs underneath a blue tarp which was itself…
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