Experience the backcountry during wintertime with a pair of hikes offered over the next week with Haywood Recreation and Parks. 

Ski Cataloochee for less this winter, with discounted night skiing available through Jackson County Parks and Recreation Friday nights, Jan. 26 through Feb. 23. 

Over the next two months, snowboarders are invited to film their best moves at Cataloochee Ski Area and submit them for The Cat Classic, a premiere and contest slated for Saturday, March 9, at Salty Dog’s Seafood and Grill in Maggie Valley. 

Sometimes there are awards that call for two winners, like back in the day before the College Football Playoffs system when two schools would sometimes share a national championship. 

Maggie Valley is gonna Maggie Valley.

It comes with the territory. To win a seat on that town’s board of aldermen one has to endure some contentious moments, likely over a residential development or (gasp) a park. 

Maggie Valley will retain two of its incumbents, including its mayor, for the next four years. 

The Maggie Valley Sanitary District again earned top marks for water quality from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, one of 15 facilities to be recognized with the “Gold Star” honor for systems that have received an award for exceeding drinking water standards for 10 or more consecutive years. 

Maggie Valley will retain two of its incumbents, including its mayor, for the next two years.

With more contentious development on the horizon, residents of the small town of Maggie Valley have plenty to consider at the ballot box this year.

A candidate for Maggie Valley alderman who dropped out and resigned her seat on the town’s zoning board when opponents filed a residency challenge is drawing further scrutiny after an investigation by The Smoky Mountain News revealed that she was not a resident of the town during most or all of her service on the zoning board of adjustment.