Stormwater overhaul plan eyes future flood fixes for Waynesville
In the months before Hurricane Helene, the Town of Waynesville initiated a comprehensive stormwater master planning process. Now that the project is about at the halfway point, consultants checked in with Town Council to give a progress update on some capital projects that could help mitigate damage during the region’s next extreme weather event.
Coming home: Following his departure from Balsam Range, Buddy Melton looks ahead
At age 55, Buddy Melton decided to make a major change in his life, which resulted in his recent departure from Haywood County bluegrass juggernaut Balsam Range.
Tar Heel state had an outsized impact in Republican trifecta
Before he was sworn in on Jan. 20, Donald Trump had a lot to say about the agenda he plans to pursue during his final term as president.
Giving the present to the future
No book review today. Instead, some words about the importance of words — yours.
If you’re reading these words and live in Western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, or parts of Georgia and South Carolina, then you survived the Great Flood of 2024.
Teaching teens in a tumultuous world
Recently I had the privilege of sitting and talking with a group of adolescents who weren’t my own children or my friends’ children. These were teens who I knew well enough to where they felt comfortable with me, but not so well that I was privy to their ongoing emotional patterns or personal stressors.
The Olympics: a beacon of hope in challenging times
Just when global news hit a fever pitch and there was little to hang onto in the way of goodness and humanity, the 2024 Paris Olympics began, which has offered many of us a much-needed reprieve and countless reminders of hope and triumph.
Paddling ahead: Nantahala Outdoor Center enters new chapter
It’s not lost on Colin McBeath how unique and cherished the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) is to locals and visitors alike.
Looking forward to SMN in 2049
This week SMN is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a business. As we mark the milestone, this industry is changing so fast it’s dizzying.
Afterlife: Tentative mill deal provides a peek at what could be next
On May 24, 2023, Canton Mayor Pro Tem Gail Mull sat on a bench in Sorrels Street Park, waiting to hear the shrill shriek of the steam whistle at Pactiv Evergreen’s century-old paper mill at the heart of town blow for the last time.
One year later, Canton displays remarkable progress
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
— Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
