News Headlines
Macon students speak up about coming NCHSAA changes
Macon County Early College student athletes took to the public comment period during the March 25 school board meeting to speak out against the possibility of not being allowed to play Franklin High School sports, as has long been the norm.
Real estate supply increasing, but so is demand
Critically low housing inventory has been steadily rising across the region since last fall and average sales prices have slipped slightly in some counties, but an uptick in pending contracts — signaling strong buyer demand — means relief from the soaring housing costs in the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area still isn’t on the immediate horizon for buyers.
Two plead guilty to drug trafficking in separate cases
Two people in unrelated cases pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in Cherokee County, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.
Get your Lake Junaluska activity pass
Lake Junaluska Outfitters summer activity passes are now available. The passes provide admission to the lakeside pool all summer long, as well as discounts on recreation, shopping and dining at Lake Junaluska.
Settling for less: Plenty of questions remain over local, national impact of realtor settlement
A recent multimillion-dollar court settlement involving realtor commissions has left many unanswered questions in the real estate industry, especially when it comes to who will benefit and who will be disadvantaged. Those answers will indeed come in time, but for now, at least one thing is clear — and those who say the settlement is key to ending the affordable housing crisis in the United States aren’t going to be happy.
Canton realigns staff to focus on recovery from flood, mill closure
The Town of Canton, still beset with myriad issues related to both natural and human-caused disasters, took an unprecedented step by shuffling one administrator into a newly created position and promoting another — saving taxpayer money and making history at the same time.
A Different Kind of Green: WCU band finds cultural connections in Ireland
Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains marching band recently returned from its first trip across the pond, where it was invited to perform in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland.
All together now: Haywood Tourism Development Authority eyes countywide approach
It’s been a little under a year since Corrina Ruffieux took over for longtime Haywood County Tourism Development Authority Executive Director Lynn Collins, but Ruffieux’s wasted little time bolstering the TDA’s destination marketing strategy with robust and insightful data meant to show the county’s relative strengths and weaknesses while also hedging against uncertainty with new initiatives designed to keep the money flowing into Western North Carolina’s tourism-based economy — especially in post-mill Canton.
New museum exhibition highlights EBCI sovereignty
The Museum of the Cherokee People has opened a new attraction focused on the sovereignty of the Eastern Band.