×

Warning

JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 885
JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 887
Cherokee election politics fixed on looming casino debt
 

Cherokee election politics fixed on looming casino debt

In the current political debate, the word ‘debt’ has become ubiquitous. Cherokee is no exception, where discussion of the debt…
Read More

Comment

Scattered county offices could find new home in old lumber yard in Jackson
 

Scattered county offices could find new home in old lumber yard in Jackson

Jackson County commissioners are considering whether to renovate the former Southern Lumber Co. building to get the county out of…
Read More

Comment

Jackson manager wants more say in hiring, firing
 

Jackson manager wants more say in hiring, firing

Chuck Wooten’s wings are still clipped as Jackson County’s manager, at least for now, but it looks like he’ll get…
Read More

Comment

A new life in the cards for Haywood’s prison?
 

A new life in the cards for Haywood’s prison?

The oft-threatened closure of the state prison in Haywood County has finally come to pass, but by now, it hardly…
Read More

Comment

State prisons, county jails play musical chairs with inmates
 

State prisons, county jails play musical chairs with inmates

Counties with jail beds to spare will soon be able to make a little cash housing state prison inmates. Under…
Read More

Comment

Haywood prison  gets death sentence: Community laments loss of inmate work crews
 

Haywood prison gets death sentence: Community laments loss of inmate work crews

Western North Carolina is losing one of its strongest municipal work forces. And a quick look at their record of…
Read More

Comment

WCU students have  mixed emotions about  countywide alcohol vote
 

WCU students have mixed emotions about countywide alcohol vote

Western Carolina University and the Cullowhee area could prove the decisive battleground in the coming debate about whether alcohol sales…
Read More

Comment

Meth lab cleanup costs sloughed onto counties
 

Meth lab cleanup costs sloughed onto counties

In what promises to become an increasingly expensive proposition, county taxpayers must now pick up the tab for cleaning up…
Read More

Comment

Pilot on pot patrol hits the jackpot
 

Pilot on pot patrol hits the jackpot

After hours of scouring the ground for renegade marijuana plants from the air last Thursday, the pilot of a Highway…
Read More

Comment

Workshops help artists get their game on
 

Workshops help artists get their game on

Two Handmade in America Craft Labs are coming to Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center in Graham County. Learn how to…
Read More

Comment

Sylva artist headlines art society gathering
 

Sylva artist headlines art society gathering

The next meeting of the Blue Ridge Watermedia Society will be held from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. on August…
Read More

Comment

Festival to celebrate moonshiner, minus the notorious merchandise
 

Festival to celebrate moonshiner, minus the notorious merchandise

The Popcorn Sutton Summer Jam is scheduled for noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, at the Maggie Valley…
Read More

Comment

Narnia’s magical world behind the wardrobe comes to life in Franklin
 

Narnia’s magical world behind the wardrobe comes to life in Franklin

The Overlook Players will present Narnia at 7:30 p.m. from August 4-6, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, August…
Read More

Comment

Kaleidoscope artist to make appearance at Junaluska craft show
 

Kaleidoscope artist to make appearance at Junaluska craft show

Phil Coghill, a professional kaleidoscope artist and woodturner, will be one of the newest artists to participate in the Creative…
Read More

Comment

Art After Dark gallery stroll is August 5
 

Art After Dark gallery stroll is August 5

Art After Dark returns to downtown Waynesville from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, August 5. Working studios and galleries…
Read More

Comment

Hundreds of dogs to take to the streets of downtown Waynesville
 

Hundreds of dogs to take to the streets of downtown Waynesville

The Downtown Waynesville Dog Walk will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 6, at the Haywood County Courthouse, and…
Read More

Comment

Ever popular Balsam Range to give free concert in Sylva
 

Ever popular Balsam Range to give free concert in Sylva

Balsam Range, a renowned bluegrass band across the region, will play Sylva’s Concerts on the Creek series at 7:30 p.m.…
Read More

Comment

Franklin’s Mountain High BBQ festival offers shot at state title
 

Franklin’s Mountain High BBQ festival offers shot at state title

Franklin will be hopping with all things barbecue at the Mountain High Barbecue Festival and Car Show on August 12…
Read More

Comment

Take a stroll down Tomato Alley at Canton’s Mater Fest this weekend
 

Take a stroll down Tomato Alley at Canton’s Mater Fest this weekend

For the last seven years, Canton has celebrated Haywood County’s biggest crop with a festival in its honor. This year,…
Read More

Comment

Chess as a metaphor for life
 

Chess as a metaphor for life

When you think chess club, the quintessential picture that comes to mind probably doesn’t include a cowboy or a retired…
Read More

Comment

2008: A look at all involved
 

2008: A look at all involved

By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer From playing a girl with big dreams that go nowhere in Haywood Arts Repertory…
Read More

Comment

The best of 2008
 

The best of 2008

Every year about this time, reporters dig out their old files and back editions and start cruising the headlines for…
Read More

Comment

Haywood Waterways lauds water quality heroes
 

Haywood Waterways lauds water quality heroes

The Haywood Waterways Association announced its water quality heroes for the year at its annual banquet in December. Here’s who…
Read More

Comment

It’s past time for land use review to get started
 

It’s past time for land use review to get started

The acknowledgement by Waynesville’s leaders that they let a review of the town’s much-heralded land use plan languish and now…
Read More

Comment

Nurse shortage forces closure of mental health facility
 

Nurse shortage forces closure of mental health facility

The extraordinarily difficult struggle to find nurses licensed in psychiatric care has forced the state agency that oversees mental health…
Read More

Comment

It’s all about the kids, right?
 

It’s all about the kids, right?

We stood looking at the dinosaur for quite awhile. As parents of children ages 7 and 3, we are more…
Read More

Comment

Public lands feel the pressure: a recurring theme
 

Public lands feel the pressure: a recurring theme

Conflicts over public land continued to heat up in 2009 as more people turn to outdoor recreation in WNC. More…
Read More

Comment

Bad economy leads to a few good things
 

Bad economy leads to a few good things

By John Beckman • Guest Columnist A lot of attention lately has been focused on how bad the economic downturn…
Read More

Comment

Boars and otters among Wildlife Commission changes
 

Boars and otters among Wildlife Commission changes

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is now taking public comment on several proposed changes to hunting and fishing regulations. The…
Read More

Comment

A look back at the year’s top environmental stories
 

A look back at the year’s top environmental stories

The past year has been marked by some good and not so good news for the environment in Western North…
Read More

Comment

The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

Snowbirds are here No, I’m not talking about your Uncle Bernie and Aunt Esther from New York City. I’m talking…
Read More

Comment

Winter wear
 

Winter wear

(Note: A version of this essay will appear in an upcoming issue of “Chinquapin: The Newsletter of the Southern Appalachian…
Read More

Comment

Best wishes for Sylva in 2009
 

Best wishes for Sylva in 2009

By Chris Cooper Last year I wrote a “suggested Christmas play list” for the holiday. It may have been a…
Read More

Comment

Today’s boys
 

Today’s boys

The Trouble With Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators…
Read More

Comment

Motive behind Cherokee fire remains mystery
 

Motive behind Cherokee fire remains mystery

An apparent arson fire that burned the Tribal Operations Program building in Cherokee in the early morning hours of Dec.…
Read More

Comment

Save the planet by changing your diet
 

Save the planet by changing your diet

By Rudy Beharrysingh • Professor, Southwestern Community College Editor’s note: This series of green living tips is provided by Sustainable…
Read More

Comment

With each visit home, college daughter is more grown up
 

With each visit home, college daughter is more grown up

By David Curtis Just a short two weeks ago I was texting my daughter, who was in the process of…
Read More

Comment

Alma
 

Alma

(poem from Wildwood Flower by Kathryn Stripling Byer) Two dead leaves on the table and ice floats on milk like…
Read More

Comment

Jackson board sets sights on historic property
 

Jackson board sets sights on historic property

The Jackson County Planning Board is considering establishing a historic preservation commission to help maintain significant landmarks and districts. Such…
Read More

Comment

Dressing right for winter weather
 

Dressing right for winter weather

By Doug Scarborough • Contributing writer With the winter season here, dressing appropriately to prevent cold injuries is often overlooked.…
Read More

Comment

Voters to decide on alcohol sales at Harrah’s
 

Voters to decide on alcohol sales at Harrah’s

Voters in Cherokee will decide whether alcohol should be sold at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino now that enough signatures have been…
Read More

Comment

Dissatisfied, HRMC once more on the hunt for ER docs
 

Dissatisfied, HRMC once more on the hunt for ER docs

Haywood Regional Medical Center will terminate its contract with the corporate physician staffing outfit that supplies doctors for the hospital’s…
Read More

Comment

A stellar year for Cataloochee’s elk
 

A stellar year for Cataloochee’s elk

When the first batch of 25 elk were released in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seven years ago, it…
Read More

Comment

Land use plan review ‘back on track’
 

Land use plan review ‘back on track’

Waynesville leaders vowed to speed up a review of the town’s land use plan after an article in The Smoky…
Read More

Comment

That’s me on the couch, counting my blessings
 

That’s me on the couch, counting my blessings

The holidays are upon us, I’m walking almost normal, and I’m ready to sit on the couch and count my…
Read More

Comment

Chili’s scouts Waynesville as possible location
 

Chili’s scouts Waynesville as possible location

Even as one national retailer — Home Depot — is pulling its plans for a Waynesville store, the national restaurant…
Read More

Comment

Sustainable travel makes sense
 

Sustainable travel makes sense

By Cynthia Deale • Western Regional Representative, Center for Sustainable Tourism Editor’s note: This series of green living tips is…
Read More

Comment

Macon, Franklin tourism boards take helm during tough climate
 

Macon, Franklin tourism boards take helm during tough climate

Two recently created tourism boards in Macon County met last week to begin discussing how they can make the area…
Read More

Comment

DOT meeting should have been advertised
 

DOT meeting should have been advertised

By James McCarthy • Guest Columnist Did the N.C. Department of Transportation hold an illegal meeting on Dec. 4 at…
Read More

Comment

For the love of language and song: NC composer and poet laureate intertwine arts
 

For the love of language and song: NC composer and poet laureate intertwine arts

By Christi Marsico • Staff Writer North Carolina’s poet laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer listens to the CD “Alma,” composed by…
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.