Archived (30269)
Children categories
We can atone for our sins
To the Editor: Donald Trump talks about making America great again. But he ignores two sins that haunt America. Those…
Read More
Parkway visitors generated $1.1 billion in 2019, report finds
A new report from the National Park Service shows that the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 14.9 million 2019 visitors spent $1.1…
Read More
N.C. climate plan released
After 11 months of stakeholder engagement and collaborative work, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has submitted the N.C. Climate…
Read More
Grant bolsters Burke County park project
A $464,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Forest Program will support the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina’s ongoing…
Read More
Final decision reached on Buck Project
The U.S. Forest Service has signed the final decision notice for the Buck Project, which will encompass more than 32…
Read More
Conservation purchase complete in McDowell
A 38-acre conservation purchase on the North Fork Catawba River in McDowell County will add to the body of public…
Read More
Parkway reopens facilities
Several previously closed facilities along the Blue Ridge Parkway reopened June 13.
Read More
Dragging Canoe was Cherokee’s greatest military leader
Historian E. Raymond Adams has maintained that the warrior with the curious name of Dragging Canoe was “the greatest military…
Read More
Story delves into illicit affair and its fallout
About halfway through Kate Russell’s My Dark Vanessa (William Morrow, 2020, 372 pages), I nearly put the novel aside. Like…
Read More
Confederate memorials still a monumental issue
For the second week in a row, many small Western North Carolina communities have seen demonstrations in response to the…
Read More
One-way Main Street proposal on hold
The proposal to temporarily turn Main Street in downtown Waynesville into a one-way street has been shelved for now.
Read More
Against the narrative: WNC protests avoid polarization, violence
By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | Type “George Floyd Protests, Police” into your Google images search bar. What comes…
Read More
Swain chamber, TDA finances called into question
Swain County commissioners are going to be giving more consideration to who they appoint to county boards after hearing a…
Read More
I-40 paving near Pigeon River Gorge continues
More than half of the construction is complete on a major project to rehabilitate the westernmost 15 miles of Interstate…
Read More
Macon sees largest COVID-19 spike in the region
Macon County has seen the largest spike in COVID-19 cases recently, with 230 confirmed cases as of June 15.
Read More
Mau suggests a property tax decrease in Jackson County
Over the past week the Jackson County Board of Commissioners has been discussing whether to pass the 2020-21 fiscal year…
Read More
QuickDraw fundraiser goes viral to support arts education
By Andrew Dundas • Contributing writer | Paper, a folder and pencils — both colored and No. 2. These are…
Read More
Hear the sounds that carry you: A conversation with Andrew Scotchie
At just 27 years old, singer-songwriter Andrew Scotchie has already become a beloved fixture and voice of reason in the…
Read More
This must be the place: Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go
Somewhere between finishing my column last Tuesday morning and lunchtime, it was decided by my mother that she and I…
Read More
WNC elected officials reluctant to speak on monuments
WNC elected officials reluctant to speak on monuments By Cory Vaillancourt Staff Writer On Wednesday, June 10, The Smoky Mountain…
Read More
Foundation funds expanded health care in Highlands-Cashiers
Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation has announced a formal agreement to expand access to primary care on the Highlands-Cashiers plateau by…
Read More
Haywood County COVID-19 cases up to 67
Haywood County Public Health received notice on June 12 that another two Haywood County residents have tested positive for COVID-19,…
Read More
Another COVID-19 cluster identified in Macon
Macon County Public Health has identified another COVID-19 cluster in an area business.
Read More
Downtown AVL businesses, some vandalized, show their support
By Sara Frazier AVL Watchdog One by one, they arrived at their downtown businesses this week to find shattered storefronts…
Read More
Officials to improve existing route for Corridor K
N.C. Department of Transportation officials have selected a recommended alternative for improvements to Corridor K in Graham County. The alignment chosen…
Read More
Cove Creek Road to Cataloochee reopens
A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation has opened Cove Creek Road in Haywood County to traffic after completing…
Read More
WCU chancellor, trustees chair respond to protests
Western Carolina University Chancellor Kelli R. Brown and Bryant Kinney, chair of the WCU Board of Trustees, set aside the…
Read More
Cherokee Center presents Jerry Wolfe 'Gadugi' Award
By Aaliyah Swimmer WCU Cherokee Center intern Western Carolina University's Cherokee Center recently selected Class of 2020 Cherokee High…
Read More
Man pleads guilty to Sylva break-ins
A man faces a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty Wednesday in Jackson County to a string of break-ins and…
Read More
Harris hospital eases visitor restrictions
Harris Regional Hospital announced that it is transitioning from a zero-visitor protocol to limited visitor restrictions as the hospital gradually…
Read More
Expanded business counseling offered at HCC
The Haywood Community College Small Business Center has announced an expansion in business services. Beginning June 1, the SBC will…
Read More
Toxic plants of Appalachia
From time to time, I’ve discussed in this space various plants the Cherokees and early settlers utilized for medicinal, edible…
Read More
Wildlife Commission hires new director
Major Cameron Ingram has been selected as the new executive director of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and will transition…
Read More
Land trust closes on 448 acres for outdoor rec in Canton
After a year of planning, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has closed on a 448-acre purchase in Haywood County that…
Read More
An old book for today’s mayhem: The True Believer
Let’s take a look at fanatics, particularly political fanatics. Heaven knows there are enough of them around these days, most…
Read More
Graduates, you’ll miss this place we call home
By Liam McLeod • Guest Columnist | To the high school Class of 2020, congratulations! There is nothing more exciting than completing…
Read More
Language has changed but racism remains
Though we are as divided as we have ever been as a country, the one thing we seemed to be…
Read More
Bill of Rights born in June
To the Editor: On June 8, 1789, James Madison (who is considered by many historians to be the Father of…
Read More
Local authority paramount
To the Editor: Gentlemen, I understand that you voted to allow bars to open with restrictions which apparently surpasses the…
Read More
Life on the road: WNC photographer embarks on adventure of a lifetime
Now 31, Steve Yocum was just 22 years old when he moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the mountains of Western…
Read More
Support small business
As small businesses across Western North Carolina work toward reopening while meeting new guidelines during the COVID-19 Pandemic, residents are…
Read More
One-way traffic proposed for Main Street in Waynesville
As small businesses begin to reopen following the Coronavirus Pandemic, some cities and towns are finding creative ways to help…
Read More
Jackson animal shelter project moves forward
After a unanimous vote from the Jackson County Commissioners, an architecture contract with McMillan Pazden Smith Architecture for a planned…
Read More
Constituents concerned with Haywood commissioner’s stance on drugs
Haywood County Commissioner Mark Pless spent 15 years as a paramedic. He’s responded to more drug overdose calls than he…
Read More
Removing the stigma: Spreading Hope and Awareness with the SHARE Project
By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | “I’m looking for a personal trainer who also knows kickboxing.” An innocuous Facebook recommendation post by…
Read More
Indoor pool question likely to appear on Jackson ballot
A proposal to include a referendum question on the November ballot asking voters to approve funding for an indoor pool…
Read More
Demonstrations come to small-town Western NC
Waynesville. Sylva. Murphy. Canton. Bryson City. Franklin. Demonstrations associated with the death of George Floyd aren’t solely a big-city phenomenon, nor…
Read More
Frogs Leap Public House celebrates 10 years
Coming into this spring, Executive Chef Kaighn Raymond was looking forward to his restaurant hitting the 10-year mark. What he…
Read More
This must be the place: Home is where I want to be, pick me up and turn me around
It started with a text message. While making a sandwich for lunch in my parents’ Upstate New York farmhouse the…
Read More
