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Jackson’s support for education appreciated
To the Editor: As an educator and your neighbor, I want to thank the citizens of Jackson County for voting…
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Righteous people take care of their animals
To the Editor: In the article “Sound off: Haywood candidates talk animal shelter” from March 2016, Mr. Rogers wonders if other…
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Death in the afternoon, or my Hemingway day
On the wall by the closet behind my desk is this quotation from Ernest Hemingway: “All good books are alike…
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Pollinate, propagate, cultivate: 2016 garden tour to show off the best beds in Haywood
When Sarah Scott first started work at Haywood County Cooperative Extension in February 2015, planning for the 2016 Haywood County…
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Sylva earns national recognition as a green town
Sylva earned recognition for its efforts to be clean and sustainable when the travel site Expedia.com named it the fourth…
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HCC qualifies for national championship
Haywood Community College’s Bass Fishing Team recently competed in the 2016 Carhartt College Eastern Regional Bassmaster Tournament where teammates Ryan…
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Jackson declared Premier Trout Fishing Destination
Jackson County won’t officially become the North Carolina Trout Capital this year, but legislators expressed their support of the county’s…
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Common ash tree deserves more attention
“How many thousand-thousand of untold white ash trees are the respected companions of our doorways, kindliest trees in the clearing…
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A new voice for Southern Appalachian fiction
To review a book or to write a “book review” is to pinpoint its particular presence and its peculiarities. To…
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Cherokee docudrama reveals untold history: Author takes on directing, producing and composing
Nadia Dean has dedicated the last 10 years of her life to telling a story. It’s a historical account of…
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Gatekeeper to the Smokies: Longtime Western Carolina University Head of Special Collections retires
I was five minutes late. Trying to track down a parking spot outside the Hunter Library at Western Carolina University…
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Rezoning request packs Maggie meeting
There wasn’t an empty seat in the house when the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen met for its public budget…
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Shelter at bear attack site now open
Nearly a month after an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker found his night interrupted by an attacking bear, the backcountry shelter in…
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Rev. Barber preaches love at Sylva rally
Following the recent shooting in Orlando that left 50 dead and more injured, Dr. Rev. William Barber’s keynote address to…
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Haywood School Board restores funding for music, sports
Although the closing of Central Elementary School was met with cheers, jeers, and even a lawsuit, its recent closure is…
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Waynesville board works to plug budget hole
A sparsely-attended special meeting held June 7 at the Waynesville Town Hall was meant to serve as a public hearing…
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Business leaders honored at Chamber dinner
Each year the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce honors local businesses and leaders for their contributions to the community during…
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Defendants in pay raises case ask for dismissal
About 20 tribal members filled the audience benches in Cherokee Tribal Court last week, watching the first court hearing in…
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Taxes remain steady, highest in county, in proposed Canton budget
The Canton Board of Aldermen took another three hours June 9 to conduct a required public hearing on the 2016-17…
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Can bold proposals remake Canton?
The Canton Town Board is considering proposals that could boost Canton’s appeal to residents and tourists alike — especially those…
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Jackson County prepares offer for new manager
The finish line is in sight to choose a new county manager for Jackson County.
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Shelter advocacy group to hold awareness event
Friends of the Haywood County Animal Shelter will host a kickoff reception and informational session in support of the county’s…
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Largest indoor shooting range in WNC set to open soon
Work has begun on a controversial Haywood County indoor shooting range that had some residents at odds last winter.
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Bryson wins June 7 congressional primary
Democrat Rick Bryson will move on to run against U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows in the general election after narrowly winning…
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Sales tax to increase in Jackson
Nearly two-thirds of Jackson County voters who visited the polls last week said yes to a referendum question asking to…
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After investigation, casino board member will keep her seat
A casino board member who came under fire for possible “conduct unbecoming” of a public official will keep her post,…
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If this were the wild, he would already be gone
When next week’s edition of The Smoky Mountain News hits the streets Wednesday, June 15, my youngest will be a…
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Finally got a tattoo, and it’s raising a few eyebrows
I got a tattoo a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t on a whim. I wasn’t intoxicated. I wasn’t in…
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Legislators passed smart coal ash plan
To the Editor: This is a critical time for our community and all North Carolinians. Decisions being made right now…
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Let’s build animal shelter to do the job adequately
To the Editor: I am seeing and hearing various opinions about the need for a new animal shelter in Haywood…
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Trump’s ‘nativism’ is just frightening
To the Editor: For one who has never held an elected office, Donald Trump is a brilliant politician. His TV…
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Hilarious and serious; two different summer reads
Novels that make me laugh aloud are rare. Two novels, Confederacy of Dunces and Freddy and Fredericka, brought laughter, and…
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Keep your salamander away from my newt
I often remind everyone who reads “The Naturalist’s Corner” to remember to look up. But each spring while surveying birds…
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Stories, salad and wildflowers: Plants a passion for Bigelow
Adam Bigelow bears down on the gas pedal of his biodiesel-fueled Jetta, urging it up the steep contours of the…
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Go all-out with Lake Logan races
The Lake Logan Multisport Festival will bring in athletes galore for the 11th year running with its lineup of events…
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Moral Monday comes to the mountains
The Jackson County Branch of the NAACP will host more than a dozen like-minded Western North Carolina organizations in Sylva…
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NAACP gains ground in WNC communities
Katherine Bartel has a long list of reasons why a NAACP branch started in Haywood County a couple of years…
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Local leader represents NAACP’s changing face
As an associate professor of physics at Western Carolina University who specializes in astronomy, Dr. Enrique Gomez may be used…
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Swain aims to avoid tax hike
As Swain County continues to struggle with a decrease in funding from several revenue sources, commissioners hope to pass a…
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Swain’s public pool needs expensive repairs to stay open
While it may not be an immediate need in the upcoming budget, the swimming pool at the Swain County Recreation…
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Cherokee council considers revoking part of former vice chief’s will
The widow of a former Vice Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians may be out of a home…
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$30,000 to expanding businesses provided in Macon
Macon County commissioners have agreed to provide $30,000 toward an economic development project that promises to create 35 new jobs…
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Macon works toward middle ground on school funding
Macon County Schools Superintendent Chris Baldwin came before the county commissioners last week to plead his case for additional funding…
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Planning under way for new science building at WCU
With the N.C. Connect bond passed, Western Carolina University is moving forward with plans to bring a $110 million natural…
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Patience on Canton paving project ‘a virtue’
For the past few months, downtown Canton’s long-awaited repaving and streetscaping projects seemed to be cruising right along in the…
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Quixotic opposition to gun ordinance fails, sort of?
For 21 years, firearms have not been permitted on any county-owned property, except for law enforcement officers on duty. Almost…
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Shelter proposal moves forward
If you’re for the proposed new Haywood County Animal Services facility, it’s called an “animal shelter,” deadpanned Haywood County Commissioner…
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Harris Regional asks county to slash the hospital’s tax value
When Jackson County sent out bucketloads of mail this spring announcing new values for every property in its borders, Harris…
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