This must be the place: No regrets, coyote, we just come from such different sets of circumstance
 

This must be the place: No regrets, coyote, we just come from such different sets of circumstance

I looked at my smart phone. Monday evening. It nearing 9 o’clock and it was high time I made it…
Read More

Comment

Cowee School awards art grants
 

Cowee School awards art grants

The Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center recently announced the 2020-21 NC Arts Council Artist Support Grant Recipients for Region…
Read More

Comment

New virus outbreak reported in Sylva
 

New virus outbreak reported in Sylva

A total of 37 people at Morningstar Assisted Living in Sylva have tested positive for COVID-19, making the facility the…
Read More

Comment

Seven more nursing home residents die in Haywood
 

Seven more nursing home residents die in Haywood

Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, Haywood County Public Health has received notice of 107 new cases of COVID-19 and…
Read More

Comment

Cheryl Moss apologizes Thursday in Jackson County Superior Court to her former law-firm colleagues.
 

Moss pleads guilty to embezzling charges

A would-be lawyer found herself in handcuffs and headed to prison Thursday after pleading guilty in Jackson County Superior Court…
Read More

Comment

With sales tax strong, Jackson considers budget increase
 

With sales tax strong, Jackson considers budget increase

The 2020-2021 budget Jackson County passed in June was a slimmed-down plan adopted in reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis…
Read More

Comment

Whittier man dead following shooting incident
 

Whittier man dead following shooting incident

A Whittier man is dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a 911 call that the Jackson County Sheriff’s…
Read More

Comment

Graham County Clerk of Court closed due to COVID
 

Graham County Clerk of Court closed due to COVID

The Graham County Clerk of Superior Court’s office will be closed through Friday, Dec. 18, due to COVID-19 exposure.
Read More

Comment

District Court judges (left to right) Donna Forga and Kaleb Wingate, along with NCGOP 11th District Chairman Aubrey Woodard count ballots.
 

Haywood Republicans fill commission vacancy

After several public meetings where intensive questions were posed by the Haywood County Republican Party to seven candidates, the party…
Read More

Comment

Greening Up the Mountains moved to summer
 

Greening Up the Mountains moved to summer

The beloved Greening Up The Mountains Festival will once again be absent from its traditional date of the last Saturday…
Read More

Comment

Mountain Projects seeks emergency fund donations
 

Mountain Projects seeks emergency fund donations

Mountain Projects 31 Days of Giving Campaign is seeking holiday contributions to support the well-being of families experiencing poverty in…
Read More

Comment

Nonprofit Mission Made Lots of Profits — Especially for Bosses
 

Nonprofit Mission Made Lots of Profits — Especially for Bosses

Pay for top executives rose faster than for doctors, nurses By Peter H. Lewis and Barbara Durr, Asheville Watchdog For…
Read More

Comment

WCU will require students to take COVID-19 test
 

WCU will require students to take COVID-19 test

Western Carolina University students living in residence halls will be asked to submit documentation of a negative COVID-19 test result…
Read More

Comment

Asheville Chef Ashleigh Shanti will present on different ways to eat collards.
 

Going Green For Collards Week

Nationwide and virtual, in collaboration with the Culinary Breeding Network, The Heirloom Collard Project is excited to announce Collard Week.
Read More
Holiday Events
 

Holiday Events

Holiday Events:
Read More
Heather Boyd
 

Boyd hired to lead affordable housing effort

Help Mountain Projects match a $25,000 donation Heather Boyd, a resident of Pisgah Forest, has been hired to serve as…
Read More
Reason For the Season — Winter Solstice
 

Reason For the Season — Winter Solstice

By Dee Burrell At the end of the year, a lot of different celebrations are happening for various reasons. Hanukkah,…
Read More
Birenbaum's family lights the menorah to celebrate Hanukkah
 

Celebrating rich traditions on Hanukkah

Hylah Birenbaum of Waynesville shares how she and her two sons celebrate Hanukkah traditions that have been passed down in…
Read More
Local government-run broadband a bad idea
 

Local government-run broadband a bad idea

By Patrick Gleason • Guest Columnist | In times like these, with public resources scarce and taxpayer dollars facing tremendous…
Read More

Comment

Standardized testing in a non-standard time
 

Standardized testing in a non-standard time

To the Editor: As a public middle school teacher in the great state of North Carolina, I could expound for…
Read More

Comment

Trump just keeps money rolling in
 

Trump just keeps money rolling in

To the Editor: All the hype about President Donald Trump claiming voter fraud and the Rudy Giuliani’s traveling legal circus…
Read More

Comment

Presidential pardons not handed out lightly
 

Presidential pardons not handed out lightly

To the Editor: It seems that Ali Baba Don intends to pardon his 40 thieves. 
Read More

Comment

Please adhere to safety protocols
 

Please adhere to safety protocols

To the Editor: Doctors across America are literally begging people to mask, maintain safe distances, avoid large and small gatherings,…
Read More

Comment

Bees buzz around a feeder at Fred Rovecamp’s home in Balsam. Holly Kays photo
 

For the love of bees: Bee feeding is a pastime with a purpose

For Ash Rovecamp, keeping honeybees has never been about honey. “I don’t really consider myself a beekeeper,” he said. “I’m…
Read More

Comment

The Little Tennessee River winds through a property in southern Macon County that is part of the conservation grants awarded to Mainspring Conservation Trust. Eric Haggert photo
 

Conservation projects receive $1.25 million

A total of $1.25 million for six projects in far Western North Carolina received funding in this year’s round of…
Read More

Comment

Honoring the old ways
 

Honoring the old ways

“I make a prayer for words. Let me say my heart.” — M. Scott Momaday As the winner of almost all…
Read More

Comment

‘Darkest before the dawn’: Sylva doctor contracts COVID amid rising cases, hospitalizations
 

‘Darkest before the dawn’: Sylva doctor contracts COVID amid rising cases, hospitalizations

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Sylva resident Ben Guiney was spending the morning decorating the Christmas tree with…
Read More

Comment

COVID-19 vaccine begins to roll out
 

COVID-19 vaccine begins to roll out

The first COVID-19 vaccines have already been administered overseas as FDA approval is still underway in the U.S. 
Read More

Comment

COVID-19, a difficult problem for nursing homes
 

COVID-19, a difficult problem for nursing homes

As the holiday season progresses, Western North Carolina has seen a sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases. This rising spread has…
Read More

Comment

People urged to comply with contact tracing efforts
 

People urged to comply with contact tracing efforts

County health officials are urging residents to comply with COVID-19 contact tracing efforts if contacted by the health department. 
Read More

Comment

Walter S. Jackson.
 

Forest Hills supports Jackson County namesake change

While the issue has not yet come before county commissioners, the Village of Forest Hills has passed a resolution supporting…
Read More

Comment

Tribal Council removes casino board chairman
 

Tribal Council removes casino board chairman

In a closely divided vote following an at-times tense discussion Thursday, Dec. 3, the Cherokee Tribal Council removed Tribal Casino…
Read More

Comment

NPS investigates sexual assault case
 

NPS investigates sexual assault case

The National Park Service Investigative Services Branch continues to seek information related to sexual assaults that may have occurred within…
Read More

Comment

New members join Macon County School Board
 

New members join Macon County School Board

Macon County School Board has two new members following the 2020 election and a special appointment to fill a recent…
Read More

Comment

Haywood Schools central office relocates
 

Haywood Schools central office relocates

Haywood County Schools Central Office began the process of relocating to Central Elementary last week. 
Read More

Comment

Mike Cooley.
 

Compelled, but not defeated: A conversation with Mike Cooley

For the better part of the last 25 years, the Drive-By Truckers has remained a melodic beacon of truth and…
Read More

Comment

This must be the place: Turn your head to the cries of loneliness in the night
 

This must be the place: Turn your head to the cries of loneliness in the night

Stepping out of my truck, it was a cold wind rolling off the nearby mountains late Monday afternoon. A stiff…
Read More

Comment

NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandi Cohen presents the state's increasing COVID-19 numbers during a Dec. 8 press conference.
 

Gov. Cooper presents grim coronavirus numbers, new restrictions

Calling the stakes dire and the situation “a matter of life and death,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced a…
Read More

Comment

Conspiracy theorists continue to spread misinformation in Haywood
 

Conspiracy theorists continue to spread misinformation in Haywood

Weeks after controversy erupted due to a mischaracterization of a routine local government housekeeping measure in Waynesville, conspiracy theorists continue…
Read More

Comment

Haywood Regional Medical Center Suspends Visitation
 

Haywood Regional Medical Center Suspends Visitation

Haywood County is currently experiencing a rapid increase in positive cases of COVID-19, indicating unchecked community spread. Thus, with the…
Read More

Comment

Contact tracing crucial as COVID case spike
 

Contact tracing crucial as COVID case spike

Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 3, Haywood County Public Health received notice of 79 new cases of COVID-19. As of…
Read More

Comment

Screens will be key at The Book, the new sports betting lounges planned for casinos in Cherokee and Murphy. JCJ Architecture rendering
 

Governor, tribe approve sports betting agreement

After a yearlong delay, the effort to bring sports betting to Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos is finally moving forward following Gov.…
Read More

Comment

Trio of Paving Contracts Awarded in WNC counties
 

Trio of Paving Contracts Awarded in WNC counties

N.C. Department of Transportation officials recently awarded three separate contracts totaling more than $6.7 million to resurface more than 26.2…
Read More

Comment

Hernandez pleads guilty in motorcycle death
 

Hernandez pleads guilty in motorcycle death

Jorge Hernandez, arrested last year after crashing into a motorcyclist on N.C. 107 near Glenville, killing him, pleaded guilty Tuesday…
Read More

Comment

Outgoing commissioners Ron Mau (right) and Mickey Luker receive plaques commemorating their service. Chairman Brian McMahan (left) holds the plaque for Luker, who attended the meeting virtually. Jackson County photo
 

Jackson says goodbye to Mau and Luker

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners said goodbye to outgoing Commissioners Ron Mau and Mickey Luker on Tuesday, Dec. 1,…
Read More

Comment

Cookie Season
 

Cookie Season

It’s cookie season. And with all that 2020 has thrown at us, I am so glad we have finally arrived…
Read More
Fat Shaming Has To Stop
 

Fat Shaming Has To Stop

I had a doctor tell me at 24 years old I was obese. After only spending a few minutes talking…
Read More
Two COVID-19 deaths reported in Haywood nursing home
 

Two COVID-19 deaths reported in Haywood nursing home

Two people have died related to a COVID-19 outbreak at Maggie Valley Nursing Home and Rehabilitation, bringing Haywood County’s total…
Read More

Comment

Q & A with local mom and teacher Kristie Easler
 

Q & A with local mom and teacher Kristie Easler

Rumble: What motivated you to get healthier and work on a physical transformation?  Kristie: I was motivated by turning 38!…
Read More
I like calling North Carolina home
 

I like calling North Carolina home

When the Lyft driver asked where we were from, our answer was, “outside Asheville, in the mountains.” His reply: “Wow,…
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.