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Canton secures land for wastewater plant, launches bold bid for economic revival
In a move more than a half-century in the making, the Town of Canton has announced the pending purchase of…
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Jackson County votes to leave Fontana Regional Library system
Editor's note: this story has been updated with a statement from Cynthia Mason Womble, acting chair of the Fontana Regional…
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Ready for the ‘Great American Bash’?
The second annual “Great American Bash” will feature Americana/rock sensation The Brothers Gillespie and The Borrowed Band (country/western) on Saturday,…
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Haywood County confronts addiction crisis with ambitious public health response
It starts the same way, most times — sirens in the distance, a frantic call, a body on the floor…
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Pitt praises DWI pretrial program in Waynesville, calls for Haywood to act
Ellen Pitt has dedicated the last two and a half decades to combatting drunk driving in Western North Carolina, and…
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Koonce receives ‘Heroic Hands’ award
Haywood County Emergency Management Officer Zack Koonce has been named a 2025 recipient of the “Heroic Hands” Award, presented by…
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I-40 closed near state line
Heavy rains on the afternoon of June 18 led to a substantial rockslide on the Tennessee side of the state…
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Needs survey available for Haywood business owners
Haywood County is reminding local business owners that the county’s tourism development authority is conducting a survey to assess recovery…
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Paddlers converge on WNC for Week of Rivers
It’s the week paddlers from across the state and even the nation look forward to all year; it’s also the…
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Highland Games set to return to Grandfather Mountain’s MacRae Meadows
The long and storied tradition that is the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games returns to MacRae Meadows on Thursday, July 10,…
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NCDEQ awards more than $1.1 million for stream restoration, water management, recreation projects
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has awarded more than $1.1 million in grants…
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North Carolina is drought-free for the first time since October 2024
North Carolina is drought-free in the latest advisory issued Thursday by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC), marking…
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Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation expands efforts to enhance tourism economy
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has secured a three-year, $750,000 grant from the Dogwood Health Trust to support regional strategies…
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State launches ‘Beat the Heat’ campaign
The summer heat is here. Labor Commissioner Luke Farley and the N.C. Department of Labor are reminding employers and workers…
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Word from the Smokies: New ranger crew works to stop emergencies before they start
It’s not yet 9 a.m. on a weekday, but Alum Cave Trail is already bustling. With parking scarce, hikers might…
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Face to face: Jackson County meets Fontana board amid library controversy
Finally face to face amid a simmering standoff over library governance and subjectively inappropriate material in a regional library system…
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Joint meeting tonight to probe Jackson’s library concerns — but without public comment
When Jackson County commissioners and the Fontana Regional Library Board sit down together this evening for a rare joint meeting,…
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Jackson commissioners delay budget adoption
Faced with a mounting backlog of infrastructure needs, Jackson County commissioners have failed to agree on a basic annual budget…
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‘Thunder in the Smokies’
The annual “Thunder in the Smokies” summer motorcycle rally will be held June 27-29 at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds. The…
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Haywood Waterways hosts fishing tournament
The nonprofit Haywood Waterways Association will host its second annual fishing tournament on the West Fork of the Pigeon River.…
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Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation awarded $5 million grant for regional tourism
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has secured a three-year, $5.13 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to support…
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Paddleboard at Wolf Lake
Jackson County recreation is hosting a stand-up paddleboarding event on Wolf Lake. Beginners and seasoned paddlers alike are welcome to…
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Join Franklin Bird club for walks
The Franklin Bird Club leads walks along the Greenway on Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. through September. Walks start at…
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One more show: Ric Savage’s last pinfall
Heavy Metal Ric Savage couldn’t stand it. He was helpless, sidelined while his tag-team partner, Shane Austin, took a beating…
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Spirit of America celebration brings Republican senate candidates to Haywood
Last weekend, Haywood County’s Republican Party hosted a fundraiser at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds that featured music, professional wrestling,…
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Sylva Town Council rejects resolution of support for Fontana Library system
A proposed resolution that expressed support for the Fontana Regional Library system didn’t survive the first four minutes of the…
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WCU breaks ground on massive stadium project
Leaders from Western Carolina University kicked off a massive $37 million renovation to the school’s E.J. Whitmire Stadium last Thursday.…
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Decorate Bone Valley and Hall cemeteries
With the help and cooperation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the North Shore Cemetery Association will be hosting…
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Hurricane relief cashflow loans released
The Department of State Treasurer has notified local governments of their second round of interest-free loans for Hurricane Helene relief.…
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Word from the Smokies: Bryson City painter reflects on a lifetime of art inspired by nature
Elizabeth Ellison was dealing almost strictly in watercolors when a logistical challenge transformed her painting career. It was 2013, and…
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‘No Kings’ movement sweeps through Appalachia
Since 1932, the ashlar veneer of the Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville has borne silent witness to memorable events in…
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A note about numbers
I get asked about it after every protest I’ve been to, from Andrews to Asheville, from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and everywhere…
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Pless TDA, deannexation bills advance
A pair of local bills pushed by Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) — one welcomed by most, another, not so much —…
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WCU official describes secret ‘strategy’ to skirt DEI ban in undercover video
A senior administrator at Western Carolina University was secretly recorded describing how the school is continuing to promote diversity, equity…
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‘Islands in the Sky’ launch to highlight Helene survivors, amplify Appalachian voices
Next week, award-winning graphic novelist Andrew Aydin will return to Haywood County to help kick off an ambitious new creative…
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Wildlife Commission offers measures to protect animals from black bears
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is providing guidance to livestock owners on methods to protect their animals from becoming prey…
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Smokies announces Cades Cove vehicle-free days
Great Smoky Mountains National Park will offer the first Cades Cove vehicle-free day of the year on June 18. Vehicle-free…
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Smokies Life releases first-ever audiobook
Smokies Life is thrilled to announce its first audiobook, a narrated adaptation of the 2021 release for middle-grade readers, “A…
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A burning question: Jackson commissioners still considering library withdrawal
In a year when Jackson County commissioners are proposing a substantial property tax hike, outside agitators are still pushing commissioners…
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The cost of ‘free:’ Americans are surviving not because of the system, but in spite of it
Squeezed into a corner room on the ground floor of what was once a grade school in a quiet Waynesville…
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Haywood recovery court graduates third and fourth participants
There are few, if any, occasions that take place in a Haywood County courtroom that are as joyous as a…
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Corbin named 2025 legislator of the year
Westernmost North Carolina Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) has been named the legislator of the year by the North Carolina Community…
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Haywood ‘Pride on Main’ Returns to Waynesville
From June 27 to 29, IDEA Haywood will present the second annual “Pride on Main” celebration in Waynesville under the banner,…
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Mountain Projects celebrates 60 years of service, calls for community action
As Mountain Projects celebrates its 60th anniversary serving Haywood and Jackson Counties, the organization is marking a season of both…
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Multi-county drug investigation nets several WNC arrests
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation SBI, in partnership with the Henderson County Drug Interdiction and Criminal Enforcement unit,…
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Waynesville church offers local coupon book
The First Presbyterian Church of Waynesville has created a coupon book offering discounts to Waynesville merchants who lost business due…
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Amid Pisgah logging plans post-Helene, Forest Service shuts out public
In early April, a U.S. Forest Service office in East Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest issued a memo inviting the public…
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Lonesome wind: Upstream Rebellion to play Folkmoot Center
At the recent MerleFest, the nation’s premier Americana/bluegrass festival in Wilkesboro, an emerging act from our region, Upstream Rebellion, not…
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Blow the tannery whistle: Bradbury still burns, 72 years later
I first read “Fahrenheit 451” around 1953 when we were dealing with the McCarthy era. This country was in the grips…
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A comic read that defies pigeon-holing
In the course of human events, there does come a time when comedy is in order. Such was a time…
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