WCU to exhibit contemporary photos of Appalachia
 

WCU to exhibit contemporary photos of Appalachia

The changing face of Appalachia is the subject of an upcoming photography exhibit at the Fine Art Museum at Western…
Read More

Comment

FPAC marks five years with Oct. 22 gala
 

FPAC marks five years with Oct. 22 gala

Western Carolina University will mark five years of art and entertainment beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22, at…
Read More

Comment

WCU’s ‘Rooted in the Mountains' features regional music and speakers
 

WCU’s ‘Rooted in the Mountains' features regional music and speakers

A concert and free symposium to raise awareness of the intersection of environmental, health and indigenous issues related to mountain…
Read More

Comment

Waynesville Public Art Commission seeks members
 

Waynesville Public Art Commission seeks members

Are you artsy or interested in art? Want to engage the community and enrich public spaces through original art that…
Read More

Comment

ColorFest returns to Sylva Oct. 23
 

ColorFest returns to Sylva Oct. 23

ColorFest, Art of the Blue Ridge, will be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Oct. 23 in downtown…
Read More

Comment

His time to shine: Stillwell’s Jackson County roots run through his music
 

His time to shine: Stillwell’s Jackson County roots run through his music

By Brittney Burns • SMN Intern Sylva native Matt Stillwell spent the last week of September as the opening act…
Read More

Comment

Mountain Farm Museum comes to life
 

Mountain Farm Museum comes to life

“An Evening on the Farm” will be held at the Mountain Farm Museum on Thursday, Oct. 14, from 5 to…
Read More

Comment

Stimulus money funds exotic plant eradication
 

Stimulus money funds exotic plant eradication

A team of a dozen people will spend the next three years scouring the Cheoah River corridor in Graham County…
Read More

Comment

Workshop for environmental activists
 

Workshop for environmental activists

A three-day workshop called “Inspiring Ourselves to Save the Planet: Courage in the Face of Melting Glaciers” will be held…
Read More

Comment

Poetry and wine on the farm while helping the Little Tennessee
 

Poetry and wine on the farm while helping the Little Tennessee

A poetry reading accompanied by local wines and foods will be held as a fundraiser for the Little Tennessee Watershed…
Read More

Comment

Author to recount old hunting tales of the Smokies
 

Author to recount old hunting tales of the Smokies

Author Bob Plott, an expert on the cultural heritage of the Smokies, will share stories of life during the past…
Read More

Comment

Birds of prey on display in the Smokies
 

Birds of prey on display in the Smokies

Naturalist Doris Mager, also known as the Eagle Lady, will introduce the public to some of her favorite birds of…
Read More

Comment

Exhibit journey’s into life and times of famed plant explorer
 

Exhibit journey’s into life and times of famed plant explorer

A new exhibit on the early natural history explorer William Bartram is on display at the Macon County library. The…
Read More

Comment

Grants encourage new ways of farming
 

Grants encourage new ways of farming

Mountain farmers are encouraged to tap into two different grants to expand and diversify what they grow, as well as…
Read More

Comment

Conservation makes strides in the mountains
 

Conservation makes strides in the mountains

Blue Ridge Forever, a coalition of nine land trusts in the mountains, will exceed its five-year goal of protecting 50,000…
Read More

Comment

Reunion brings back memories of Fontana town
 

Reunion brings back memories of Fontana town

The children of workers who constructed the Fontana Dam in the 1940s are holding their annual reunion this week, returning…
Read More

Comment

Live wolves coming to Maggie
 

Live wolves coming to Maggie

A program on wolves, featuring a couple of live wolves, will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 19,…
Read More

Comment

Peregrines have much better year in 2010
 

Peregrines have much better year in 2010

According to a recent report from Chris Kelley, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Mountain Wildlife Diversity Biologist, seven of 12 nesting…
Read More

Comment

Watershed forestry back on the table
 

Watershed forestry back on the table

Waynesville town leaders are weighing whether to conduct selective logging of an old white pine plantation in the Waynesville watershed,…
Read More

Comment

The smells of autumn
 

The smells of autumn

Fall is the odiferous time of the year. I don’t possess a very discriminating sense of smell, but certain fragrances…
Read More

Comment

Young writers win recognition
 

Young writers win recognition

Western North Carolina students captured most of the prizes in the Student Laureate Awards sponsored by the North Carolina English…
Read More

Comment

Upcoming events at City Lights in Sylva
 

Upcoming events at City Lights in Sylva

David Watkins of Cullowhee will offer a free personal budgeting workshop at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva at 1 p.m.…
Read More

Comment

A new collection of mountain writers
 

A new collection of mountain writers

Many of us have attended a Methodist or Baptist “dinner on the grounds.” At these events, once popular across the…
Read More

Comment

Jackson commissioners responsive to veterans
 

Jackson commissioners responsive to veterans

To the Editor: In a few days, Jackson County voters will be choosing the leadership of the county for the…
Read More

Comment

Jackson challengers don’t have good ideas
 

Jackson challengers don’t have good ideas

To the Editor: Over the course of the past year or so our Jackson County commissioner have been faced with…
Read More

Comment

Sylva’s cool factor rising, and keeping Annie’s helps
 

Sylva’s cool factor rising, and keeping Annie’s helps

I’ve been thinking recently about what makes Sylva so cool. In my view, it has only been in the last…
Read More

Comment

Celebrate Halloween with dodgeball tournament
 

Celebrate Halloween with dodgeball tournament

Sign-up for teams is now under way for Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center’s Night of Fright Dodgeball Tournament, to…
Read More

Comment

Franklin Chamber to hold e-mail seminar
 

Franklin Chamber to hold e-mail seminar

The Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a seminar entitled “The Power of Email Marketing” from 3-5 p.m. on…
Read More

Comment

Groves said goodbye, but comes back again
 

Groves said goodbye, but comes back again

Cecil Groves, former president of Southwestern Community College, is the new CEO of BalsamWest FiberNet. Groves, who had moved to…
Read More

Comment

Sylva stays in-house for new police chief
 

Sylva stays in-house for new police chief

Davis Woodard, a veteran law enforcement officer in Jackson County, has been selected as Sylva’s new police chief.
Read More

Comment

Gummi bears and Kool Aid? State says not at daycares
 

Gummi bears and Kool Aid? State says not at daycares

A new state bill aims to encourage children to put down the sugary juices and frolic on the playground outside.
Read More

Comment

Canton grant empowers citizens to develop revitalization plan
 

Canton grant empowers citizens to develop revitalization plan

Canton may be looking toward a new era of revitalization, thanks to a grant from the North Carolina Rural Center.…
Read More

Comment

Swain sheriff receives federal grant
 

Swain sheriff receives federal grant

The Swain County Sheriff’s Office has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice under the 2010 COPS Hiring…
Read More

Comment

New Choices moves to REACH thrift store
 

New Choices moves to REACH thrift store

The job training and life skills program, sponsored by REACH of Jackson County, has moved from its original location at…
Read More

Comment

Golf tournament to benefit REACH
 

Golf tournament to benefit REACH

A golf tournament will be held Monday, Oct. 18, at Highlands Falls Country Club in Highlands. Registration begins at 9…
Read More

Comment

Haywood Hospice volunteer training
 

Haywood Hospice volunteer training

Training for hospice is scheduled for the end of this month at Lake Junaluska First Baptist Church. Haywood Regional Medical…
Read More

Comment

Candidates forum held in Franklin
 

Candidates forum held in Franklin

A forum for Macon County Commissioner candidates will be hosted by the League of Women Voters of Macon County at…
Read More

Comment

As American as apple pie
 

As American as apple pie

On a chilly Wednesday night in early October, the small parking lot of the North Hominy Community Center in Haywood…
Read More

Comment

Big lot mandate hampers housing growth in Sylva
 

Big lot mandate hampers housing growth in Sylva

Residential density is coming under scrutiny in Sylva after town leaders learned they require larger lots than most similar-sized towns.
Read More

Comment

Sylva merchant fights back against employee parking ban downtown
 

Sylva merchant fights back against employee parking ban downtown

Dodie Allen might be an unlikely hero for those business owners and downtown employees in Sylva who believe a new…
Read More

Comment

Brazilian energy company to set up shop on WCU campus
 

Brazilian energy company to set up shop on WCU campus

A partnership between Western Carolina University and a Brazilian-based company could eventually result in up to 300 new jobs for…
Read More

Comment

Search for new chancellor could be silent process
 

Search for new chancellor could be silent process

A national search for a new Western Carolina University chancellor will start immediately following longtime leader John Bardo’s announcement this…
Read More

Comment

WCU chancellor to retire
 

WCU chancellor to retire

John Bardo, chancellor of Western North Carolina since 1995, announced this week he would step down. It’s been an extraordinarily…
Read More

Comment

Franklin gets reprieve from oversized radio tower
 

Franklin gets reprieve from oversized radio tower

A radio tower that caused an outcry in Franklin because of its height — 471 feet — and its location…
Read More

Comment

Late-night shuttle to keep  drunken WCU students off the road
 

Late-night shuttle to keep drunken WCU students off the road

The “buzz bus” soon will be ferrying students from bars in Sylva back to the Western Carolina University campus.
Read More

Comment

Western caught in crosshairs of First Amendment battle
 

Western caught in crosshairs of First Amendment battle

A First Amendment battle is not what Western Carolina University senior Justin Caudell expected when he returned to campus this…
Read More

Comment

WCU student paper accused of plagiarism
 

WCU student paper accused of plagiarism

Though The Sylva Herald and the Western Carolinian are still at odds about whether plagiarism occurred this summer, The Smoky…
Read More

Comment

Lake Junaluska Multicultural Conference early registration approaches
 

Lake Junaluska Multicultural Conference early registration approaches

A conference at Lake Janaluska Dec. 2-4 will be, “Embracing Christ’s Multi-Ethnic Body: Breaking Down Barriers and Building Bridges.” This…
Read More

Comment

Few takers step up to run Haywood’s landfill
 

Few takers step up to run Haywood’s landfill

Selling space in the Haywood County landfill might not be the windfall some county leaders were hoping for.
Read More

Comment

Homeowners in limbo as sides volley blame in Maggie landslide lawsuit
 

Homeowners in limbo as sides volley blame in Maggie landslide lawsuit

The latest filing in a lawsuit over the massive landslide in Maggie Valley last winter claims the collapse of the…
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.