In-person instruction suspended at Macon schools

After students and staff were exposed to positive cases of COVID-19, Macon County Board of Education decided to suspend face-to-face instruction at Union Academy, Mountain View Intermediate School and Macon Middle School beginning Aug. 26 through Sept. 11.

Haywood reports 6 more deaths at Silver Bluff

Haywood County Health and Human Services are reporting six more deaths as confirmed by death certificates received within the past week. The individuals all died at Silver Bluff Village.

WCU launches coronavirus dashboard

A new COVID-19 dashboard for Western Carolina University is now available online at www.wcu.edu/coronavirus/reporting.aspx.

Haywood mourns COVID-19 losses

A COVID-19 outbreak at Silver Bluff Village in Canton has resulted in 24 deaths in the last couple of weeks, bringing the virus’s devastation too close to home as families have lost their loved ones. 

Canton Labor Day events

The Coronavirus Pandemic may have left plans for Canton’s historic Labor Day festival up in the air, but a new idea launched by town officials Aug. 13 means things are looking up. 

Haywood reports 70 new COVID cases, 7 deaths

Haywood County Public Health received notice of 70 new cases of COVID-19 since the last press release on Aug. 7. As of 5 p.m. Aug. 13, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recorded 445 cases in Haywood County.

Fall sports postponed at WCU, Southern Conference

Western Carolina University will postpone all fall sports this year following an Aug. 13 decision from the Southern Conference Council of Presidents to cancel conference competitions due to COVID-19. 

Western Carolina University is ready to meet the challenges of a fall semester during unprecedented times

By Kelli R. Brown • Guest Columnist | These are uncertain and challenging times. Our communities, our state and our nation are grappling with an unprecedented set of issues that affect each and every one of us. 

As Chancellor of Western Carolina University, your regional public university, I believe that institutions of higher education can help prepare our citizens to live through times like these – how to cope, how to manage and perhaps not just survive, but thrive. 

A strange back-to-school season for everyone

From my earliest memories, the back-to-school season has been a flurry of excitement. Both my parents were teachers. I worked in the field for 10 years and have two children who have been in the public education system for seven years. Shopping for new outfits and backpacks, anxiously awaiting supply lists and taking last minute summer trips have been a part of my life forever. 

COVID-19 deaths in western counties continue to rise

Although the seven-day rolling average of positive COVID-19 tests continues to trend downwards across the state of North Carolina, western counties are beginning to see huge upticks in both cases and deaths. 

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.