Make no mistake, it would be a stretch to say a partnership between Western Carolina University and the town of Sylva’s Police Department  is the model for the future of policing in small-town America.

As one of Waynesville’s three “urban” cores, Frog Level holds an identity as distinct as any other. Of late, that identity has not been all that good. 

A new nonprofit expanding its services into Haywood County is challenging the status quo when it comes to overcoming addiction. 

By Liam McLeod • Rumble Contributor | One of the most important things I have come to realize in life is that happiness is something that is earned, not given. It took me a long time to understand that in order to be happy in life, you have to go out of your way every single day and do something that has the chance to bring some sort of light to your day. It took me even longer to realize that the same was true (for me) when it came to dealing with anxiety. 

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | I remember when I was a little girl taking family trips to the beach. My favorite thing to do was to jump waves.  I would get knocked under and hold my breath until I could make my way back to the surface. Sometimes I would twist and turn for what seemed like an eternity waiting for that moment to rise to the surface only to discover that the current had taken me further down the beach than I had expected.  Life can be like this.  It’s exciting and exhilarating until we get pulled into the undertow and then it becomes a quest for survival and feeling somewhat disoriented as we strive to make sense of change.  How do we stay sane when we’ve lost all sense of direction?  

By Scott Hinkle • Guest Columnist | Twenty years ago on September 14, I was one of only two passengers on a U.S. Airways flight from North Carolina to LaGuardia Airport in New York City to volunteer for the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Team, assisting families with processing the deaths of their loved ones. As part of the initial team to develop a rapid death certificate response, we met in Brooklyn and planned our program for completing the official certificates of death for grieving families. 

A video showing two white men and one Black woman wielding a machete in the middle of Georgia Road in Franklin on Aug. 8 circulated on social media, causing misinformation to spread in the community. 

There was once a young girl in Southern India who lived in a house with no electricity. A coiled water hose sat in a corner of the room where she slept. Each night when the sun went down, she convinced herself it was a snake.

Helping Hands of Haywood is a new nonprofit that is making a tremendous difference in the community by reaching out to help those most in need. For Mental Health Awareness Month, Director Nicole Kott shares more about the organization's mission and how experiencing homelessness impacts people's mental health.

Citing limited drug rehabilitation options, a lack of mental health treatment facilities, an inefficient justice system and overwhelming public opposition, a number of residents have again asked the Haywood County Board of Commissioners to rethink the county’s proposed $16 million jail expansion.