Archived (29788)
Children categories
Climate change still an important issue
To the Editor: A critical skill for magicians is to be able to misdirect your attention while executing the deception.…
Read More
We need to oppose fracking in WNC
To the Editor: James Womack, Chairman of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mining and Energy Commission, would…
Read More
Support Sen. Hagan, not Koch brothers
To the Editor: The billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch don’t live in North Carolina. One resides in New York…
Read More
Wildlife officers did a good job for us
To the Editor: Thanks to the wildlife officers for catching the poacher who shot the mother bear on our private…
Read More
Low-wage workers deserve a better deal
By Doug Wingeier • Columnist Debate is picking up these days on help for the unemployed and low-wage workers. Congress is…
Read More
Sales of Smokies plates increased in fourth quarter
Sales of the Friends of the Smokies specialty license plate in North Carolina increased in the fourth quarter, benefiting priority…
Read More
What to do when winning means closing: Parent wants discussion about football-related school closure in Swain
Swain County students may have been cheering when the high school football team’s trip to the state semifinals meant everyone…
Read More
Elected leaders to push again for room tax hike in Haywood
Haywood’s elected leaders plan to invite their three General Assembly representatives to a March meeting in hopes of reviving a…
Read More
Neediest waiting more than three months for benefits: N.C. food stamp delays ‘alarm’ feds
Time has nearly run out for the beleaguered N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to fix the systemic problems…
Read More
Maggie leaders debate how much to underwrite festival grounds event
Maggie Valley town leaders are questioning the amount of money the town plows into its festival grounds each year and…
Read More
County mulls best way to dispose of old DSS building
Haywood County leaders have substantially lowered the asking price for the empty, run-down, old hospital — it’s now free.
Read More
Attorney with strong GOP ties to seek judge’s seat
A fifth attorney has added his name to the list of possible nominees for an open District Court judge position…
Read More
Computing for the future
Waynesville residents will soon be reaping the benefits of an information technology makeover at town hall. While town employees will…
Read More
Waynesville lands free property for new in-town greenway section
Waynesville will soon have a new section of walking path along Richland Creek and, if all goes as planned, public…
Read More
The Kudzu Cocktail, Cat Catch and other bright ideas from WCU students
Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent For as long as he can remember, Austin Brown’s fascination with plants has remained rooted in…
Read More
SBI probes embezzlement allegations at Macon County Board of Elections
By Holly Kays & Becky Johnson • Staff writers An embezzlement investigation at the Macon County Board of Elections locked down…
Read More
Private schools, public money, heated discourse: School stakeholders debate new N.C. voucher program
It’s been six months since the N.C. General Assembly passed a budget earmarking $10 million for school vouchers to low-income…
Read More
Sylva restaurant highlighted for creative use of meat
A Sylva farm-to-table restaurant is featured in the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s (ASAP) Get Local initiative for its additional sourcing…
Read More
WNC Nature Center reaches record attendance in 2013
A whole lot of people visited the WNC Nature Center last year. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center report…
Read More
Keeping track in the Smokies
Tracking elk in Great Smoky Mountains National Park just got a little easier, thanks to a grant from Charter Communications.…
Read More
Good times at Tube World
Tube World in Maggie Valley treated 170 students from Clyde Elementary to a fieldtrip last week as part of a…
Read More
New public river access launched along Tuckasegee
Three new public access sites and boat put-ins have been developed along the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County:
Read More
New fees tacked on to all-electric cars
This year all-electric vehicles registered in North Carolina — about 1,600 of them — are required to pay a $100…
Read More
Grant helps buy feed for abused horses
STAR Ranch Rescue, a refuge for abused and neglected horses and other animals in Haywood County, has received a $750…
Read More
Discovery Place
Looking for something fun for the kids on a cold and/or rainy winter’s day. The Discovery Place in Charlotte has…
Read More
Energy on the horizon: Debate on drilling still hypothetical, but groundwork is being laid
From the oil fields of North Dakota to the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania, the U.S. oil and gas industry is…
Read More
Slave narratives an insightful collection
This remarkable collection of interviews with African-Americans in North Carolina who were once slaves is a fascinating discovery. Conducted by the…
Read More
NC Arts Council grants open call
The deadline for submitting applications for grants from the North Carolina Arts Council is Monday, March 3. The grant programs…
Read More
Haywood County’s ‘Homegrown Picks’ for 2014
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has announced its “Homegrown Picks” for 2014. Buy Haywood, is the only county-specific agritourism…
Read More
Jackson County Arts Council awards grants
Six Western North Carolina artists have received funding from the Jackson County Arts Council to support their artistic endeavors. Regional…
Read More
Cullowhee fire victims fundraiser at WCU
Donations for people affected by a November fire in Cullowhee will be collected at Western Carolina University’s men’s basketball game…
Read More
This must be the place
If Keith Richards had been born below the Mason-Dixon Line, his name might have been Mike Cooley.
Read More
Native art: Bill Eleazer bronze comes home to Waynesville 30 years later
Nearly 30 years after Bill Eleazer put the finishing touches on “Chasing Tadpoles,” a multi-piece bronze sculpture of three children…
Read More
GOP leaders should provide emails
To the Editor: Everybody wants transparency in government — everybody except our Republican legislators in Raleigh. Last year, they passed…
Read More
Keystone Pipeline could help economy
To the Editor: Are you concerned if you are in your 50s or late 40s that the Social Security fund…
Read More
On the way to an imperial presidency
To the Editor: This is what President Barack Obama said this week: “Where I can act on my own without…
Read More
Weaker slope law could lead to lawsuits
To the Editor: After reading the Jan. 15 edition and seeing continued plans to weaken the present Steep Slope Ordinance…
Read More
Awards deserve a little more comment
To the Editor: I always look forward to the “Awards” issue of The Smoky Mountain News. May I make three short…
Read More
Education is alternative to killing more bears
To the Editor: The changes in the five-year black bear management plan currently being proposed by the North Carolina Wildlife…
Read More
Plan for teacher raises a bone of contention
The ramifications of one particularly disturbing directive passed in the last session of the General Assembly is unfolding right now…
Read More
Grant to bring advanced manufacturing training to Swain
The Golden LEAF Foundation and Duke Energy recently funded a trio of advanced manufacturing training grants, totaling $1.3 million, to…
Read More
HRMC labor and delivery unit to be remodeled
The Haywood Regional Medical Foundation has donated $400,000 to MedWest Haywood for a remodel of the fourth floor, which includes…
Read More
Changing of the guard in store for Haywood tourism board
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will see unprecedented turnover on its board this month, with five of the 12…
Read More
Stepping down: Aumen’s departure marks end of an era for Haywood TDA
Editor’s note: Alice Aumen has been a major voice in Haywood’s tourism landscape for more than half a century —…
Read More
Jackson TDA hires trio of marketing firms for trial period
After a split vote that followed nearly an hour of discussion, the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority hired three different…
Read More
Hunters upset about ‘Something Bruin’ tactics
Hunters from all over the mountains came together last weekend to speak out against the tactics used by undercover wildlife…
Read More
In Waynesville, meter readers going the way of milkmen
Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent Some homeowners in Waynesville might have started wondering why a certain visitor who had routinely appeared…
Read More
McCrory to appoint Holt’s successor, but could ignore bar’s counsel
Attorneys in the seven western counties will to be called on in the coming weeks to weigh in on their…
Read More
Local churches lift the lives of homeless, incarcerated
On Sept. 12, Jeff Clontz walked out of Haywood County Jail a free man. It wasn’t his first time, though.…
Read More
Reforming lives on a wing and a prayer
A proposal to convert a closed-down state prison into a halfway house and homeless shelter in Haywood County is gaining…
Read More
