From Staff Reports

Patrick Willis is a history buff of the first order, so when he landed a part-time job staffing the front desk at the Canton Area Historical Museum while working on his masters in history from Western Carolina University, it was a perfect fit.

Waynesville has once again denied Haywood County’s proposition for extending its sewer lines several miles beyond the town limits toward Balsam along U.S. 23/74.

The county has asked the town to augment its sewer lines near the rest stop a couple of times before, specifically to serve a roadside rest area. But, new sewer lines would also bring the possibility of new and potentially uncontrolled commercial development along that stretch of highway.

The medical community in Jackson and Swain counties has renewed its call to part ways with Haywood Regional Medical Center less than three years after forging an alliance under the MedWest banner.

By Shannan Mashburn • SMN Intern

Wood carver Cliff Hannah is deeply rooted in Western North Carolina.

The internationally renowned artist is from Sandy Mush and has family ties to Cataloochee, the pioneer community in Haywood County that is now part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Maggie Valley town leaders plan to relax the town’s strict limits on video sweepstakes machines despite the town planning board’s recommendation to maintain the status quo.

By Peggy Manning • Correspondent

Dave and Judy Russell pride themselves on being among the first in line at the annual book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library in Waynesville.

To some, it might seem like luck. But Waynesville’s rise as one of the state’s preeminent small towns has been anything but.

The quality-of-life magnetism Waynesville has become known for during the past two decades is instead largely owed to an intelligent design set in motion by its methodical town manager, Lee Galloway.

A Tuscola football player charged with a felony cross burning targeting a biracial classmate will remain on the team, at least for now.

Ben Greene, a rising junior and running back on the varsity football team, will have to sit out two games and do 25 hours of community service, according to school board policy. He can continue to practice and train with the team and is free to take the field again after sitting out the requisite number of games.

Four teenagers in Haywood County were recently charged with burning a cross in the yard of a biracial classmate.

The act is considered a hate crime, a severe form of intimidation that is classified as a felony. All four students charged with the crime attend Tuscola High School.

The popular Folkmoot international festival will become a shadow of its current self in 2014 if its financial outlook doesn’t take a quick turn for the better.