My family will miss the Shoney’s on the hill
 

My family will miss the Shoney’s on the hill

If someone had told me 30 years ago that someday I’d be sentimental about a Shoney’s restaurant closing down, I…
Read More

Comment

Macon County requests auditing assistance
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Hospital sale pushes foundations into new territory
 

Hospital sale pushes foundations into new territory

The clock is ticking for the fundraising foundations of Haywood Regional Medical Center and Harris Regional Hospital to spend earmarked…
Read More
Jackson eyes courthouse expansion
 

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…
Read More

Comment

New NAACP chapters spawned by protests against Raleigh legislation
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Will we extinguish another beautiful light?
 

Will we extinguish another beautiful light?

A river of burnt umber flows every year from southern Canada through the U.S. to the oyamel fir forests in…
Read More

Comment

Sapphire knows how to throw a ‘potty’
 

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,”…
Read More

Comment

Group hatches a plan for local products co-op in Sylva
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Jane Hipps officially kicks off Senate campaign
 

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”…
Read More

Comment

Macon sheriff wants more money for drug buys
 

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…
Read More

Comment

CCC gives out annual Community Pride Awards
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Maggie businessman charged with child sexual abuse
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Pisgah student persists, forms secular club
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Jackson sheriff’s race shapes up
 

Jackson sheriff’s race shapes up

With campaign season barely off the ground, the Jackson County sheriff’s race has already drawn a hefty list of candidates…
Read More

Comment

Born to care: Olson looks back on 40 years of nursing
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Robin Thicke comes to Harrah’s
 

Robin Thicke comes to Harrah’s

Pop sensation Robin Thicke will perform at 8 p.m. March 14 at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. Born in Los Angeles,…
Read More

Comment

Chili competition heats up in Maggie Valley
 

Chili competition heats up in Maggie Valley

The Maggie Valley Chamber “Chili Challenge” will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at the Maggie Valley…
Read More

Comment

Penland School plans open house
 

Penland School plans open house

The Penland School of Crafts Community Open House will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 1. 
Read More

Comment

WCU exhibit of artwork by local students
 

WCU exhibit of artwork by local students

An exhibit of artwork by local students in kindergarten through 12th grade will run Feb. 28 through March 21 in…
Read More

Comment

Chocolate Drops to perform at WCU
 

Chocolate Drops to perform at WCU

Grammy Award-winning black string band Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 3, in the John W.…
Read More

Comment

Squirm Burpee Circus to perform at WCU
 

Squirm Burpee Circus to perform at WCU

The Squirm Burpee Circus will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 2, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place
 

This must be the place

I ski in jeans. There, I said it. And I’ve been doing it for years — as far back as I…
Read More

Comment

Bridging faith, music and Appalachia — Mountain Faith
 

Bridging faith, music and Appalachia — Mountain Faith

Summer McMahan remembers the exact moment her life changed. “Mountain Heritage Day [at Western Carolina University], 14 years ago,” she…
Read More

Comment

Let it snow! Area photographers capture winter beauty in WNC
 

Let it snow! Area photographers capture winter beauty in WNC

For every degree of cold or inconvenience, wintry weather adds two of beauty. Members of Waynesville’s Lens Luggers photography club…
Read More

Comment

Jackson and Macon poised to lose their cash cow in wake of second-home real estate crash
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Remembering the glory of sports radio
 

Remembering the glory of sports radio

Let’s talk some sports radio. I began thinking about this piece the afternoon before the Super Bowl. The Panthers were…
Read More

Comment

HCC Wildlife Club to host wild game dinner fundraiser
 

HCC Wildlife Club to host wild game dinner fundraiser

The Wildlife Club at Haywood Community College is hosting the 8th annual Wild Game Dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, March…
Read More

Comment

Sports for youth
 

Sports for youth

Girls volleyball prep league at Waynesville Recreation Center A volleyball development league for girls in fourth through sixth grade will…
Read More

Comment

Learn to grow mushrooms in a log
 

Learn to grow mushrooms in a log

Learn to grow shiitake mushrooms from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Macon County Environmental Resource…
Read More

Comment

Teaching farmers to be businessmen
 

Teaching farmers to be businessmen

Boosting sales at farmers’ markets, marketing to restaurants, finding farmland and tapping agritourism are just a few of the topics…
Read More

Comment

Commissions wants input on how to manage Needmore game land
 

Commissions wants input on how to manage Needmore game land

A public meeting on management plans for the Needmore game land in Macon and Swain counties will be held from…
Read More

Comment

New reference book on Unicoi and Snowbird mountains available
 

New reference book on Unicoi and Snowbird mountains available

Owen Link McConnell liked the Unicoi and Snowbird mountains so much, he wrote a book about them. And not just…
Read More

Comment

Mailer — a man of his time and shaper of it
 

Mailer — a man of his time and shaper of it

In the Prologue to Norman Mailer: A Double Life (978-1-4391-5019-1, 2013, $40), biographer J. Michael Lennon writes that “Mailer’s desire…
Read More

Comment

Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival wants artists
 

Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival wants artists

The Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association is currently looking for artisans for the 6th annual Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival, which…
Read More

Comment

Waldroop family benefit in Franklin
 

Waldroop family benefit in Franklin

A benefit for Sam Waldroop will be at 4 p.m. Feb 15 at South Macon Elementary School in Franklin. On…
Read More

Comment

Celtic dance troupe steps into Franklin
 

Celtic dance troupe steps into Franklin

The National Dance Company of Ireland’s “Rhythm of the Dance” hits the stage 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at the…
Read More

Comment

Exhibit of rare pottery at WCU
 

Exhibit of rare pottery at WCU

Pottery from the private collection of Joan Byrd and George Rector will be on display Feb. 17 through May 9…
Read More

Comment

The Drifters to bring doo-wop to Franklin
 

The Drifters to bring doo-wop to Franklin

Bennie Anderson and The Drifters will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14, at the Smoky Mountain Center for…
Read More

Comment

‘Sunday Concert Series’ in Waynesville, Canton
 

‘Sunday Concert Series’ in Waynesville, Canton

The Sunday Concert Series continues at 3 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Waynesville and Canton libraries.
Read More

Comment

This must be the place
 

This must be the place

My first time was in a navy blue 1991 Toyota Camry. My first time hearing The Beatles, that is. Like…
Read More

Comment

Country boys can survive
 

Country boys can survive

Zach Haney looks at obstacles as opportunities. “I wasn’t even supposed to walk, but here I am,” he said.  Guitarist…
Read More

Comment

Visualizing the options for growth
 

Visualizing the options for growth

By Ben Brown • Guest Columnist Think of it as a starter kit for a comprehensive business plan for North Carolina’s…
Read More

Comment

Democratic whining ignores progress
 

Democratic whining ignores progress

To the Editor: Some parts of Western North Carolina are loaded with socialist agenda people, especially in Asheville and Cullowhee. …
Read More

Comment

Article misstated my views on slope rewrite
 

Article misstated my views on slope rewrite

To the Editor: I want to thank The Smoky Mountain News for the  article in the Feb 5 edition (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/12419)…
Read More

Comment

Moral March is not a moment, but a movement
 

Moral March is not a moment, but a movement

By Doug Wingeier • Columnist As I write this, I have just returned from a tiring but exhilarating day participating in the Moral…
Read More

Comment

Jackson fire tax goes up in smoke
 

Jackson fire tax goes up in smoke

Jackson County commissioners have nixed the idea of making volunteer fire departments financially autonomous.
Read More

Comment

Farm Bill secures 2014 payments for counties home to federal land
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Cherokee Bear Zoo fined by OSHA
 

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…
Read More

Comment

Wild ride with a log splitter leads to larceny arrests
 

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…
Read More

Comment

2014 election filing season opens
 

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.…
Read More

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.