Count for Christmas: In 123rd year, annual bird count yields critical conservation data
As Christmas 1900 approached, ornithologist Frank Chapman hatched an idea.
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Word from the Smokies: Reunion brings Cataloochee descendants home to the valley
Shadows and seasons are the main markers of time in Cataloochee Valley, a remote corner of Great Smoky Mountains National…
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Word from the Smokies: Iconic arch returns to downtown Waynesville
The air buzzed with excitement as the crowd gathered in downtown Waynesville, North Carolina, on Saturday, June 1. A standing-room-only…
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Smokies' first dispensary to open: Cherokee's long-awaited marijuana venture to finally generate some green
The path to cannabis legalization on the Qualla Boundary has been riddled with roadblocks, some of which the Eastern Band…
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EBCI Tribal Council approves adult recreational cannabis
About nine months after members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly to legalize the sale of marijuana…
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Recreational marijuana coming next month: Cherokee announces adult-use cannabis date
Beginning, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purcha se and use marijuana on the…
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Trump urges full federal recognition for Lumbee: Eastern band continues its opposition
After over a century since receiving recognition from the state of North Carolina as an Indian Tribe, the Lumbee appear…
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Cherokee celebrates first day of adult recreational cannabis use
It’s been almost a decade in the making, but anyone over 21 with a valid ID can purchase THC products…
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Lawmakers begin work on latest Helene recovery bill
For the fourth time in four months, the North Carolina General Assembly has introduced a bill to address lingering unmet…
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Outgoing Haywood Pathways director recalls seven years with nonprofit
After serving as the executive director of Haywood Pathways Center since 2017, Mandy Haithcox is stepping down. Haithcox and her…
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WCU sees high retention rate, notable increase in enrollment for spring 2025
The spring semester is underway at Western Carolina University and that means looking at how the university’s enrollment is shaping…
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Nominations open for SCC’s Distinguished Alumni Award
Southwestern Community College is now accepting nominations for the SCC Foundation’s seventh-annual Distinguished Alumni Award.
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Jackson TDA board seat remains vacant
Jackson County commissioners chose to delay an appointment to the county’s Tourism Development Authority Board for the third month in…
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Haywood GOP precinct meetings, convention coming
The Haywood County Republican Party will proceed with its regular organizational meetings this year, but with important changes for attendees.…
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Officials discuss I-40 updates, promise quick progress
Officials at all levels of government, including new U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, visited the construction area along I-40 near…
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Interstate 40 on fast track to reopening
A visit from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and comments made by North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein have…
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Bridge Park set for upgrades
After delays due to funding and insufficient bids, Sylva is set to begin work on the Bridge Park Green Infrastructure…
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Junaluska teacher wins statewide award for teaching reading
Each year the North Carolina Department of Education travels across the state to recognize one district or school per region…
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Sober Operator Act to go before General Assembly: Law would lower maximum BAC while driving from .08 to .05
A group of law enforcement officers, elected officials and concerned citizens is renewing its years-long effort to get a series of…
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Haywood TDA looks at tourism, post-Helene
Despite Hurricane Helene’s disruption of the region’s tourism industry, the entity charged with collecting and spending room occupancy taxes in…
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Macon approves additional coaching supplements
The Macon County Board of Education has approved additional coaching supplements for head and assistant coaches in the district, to…
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More river gauges coming to Haywood
Residents of Haywood County will have more information at their fingertips the next time flooding presents a risk, after Haywood…
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Governor Stein Announces small business grant program
On Jan. 31, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, alongside Dogwood Health Trust, unveiled a $30 million grant program to aid…
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Haywood Christian Ministry announces expansion of WNC anti-hunger initiatives
Haywood Christian Ministry’s food infrastructure is moving to a new facility in Bethel. HCM’s new food plan aims to ensure…
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Free training on domestic violence prevention
REACH of Haywood County is sponsoring a free training for all community leaders, law enforcement personnel, social workers, healthcare professionals…
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Long-awaited aquatic center opens in Jackson
After years of work on the project and more than a decade of planning and advocacy, the new aquatic center…
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Local youth renew Sylva skatepark conversation
Residents of Jackson County have long voiced their support, organized and fundraised for a skatepark with little to show other…
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Macon to explore private solution to animal control
After receiving requests for additional staffing at the Macon County Animal Shelter, commissioners have decided to see if they might…
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Macon still accepting applications for county manager
After previous County Manager Derek Roland announced his resignation in September, Macon County decided to appoint Warren Cabe as interim…
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WCU kicks off $100 million ‘Fill the Western Sky’ fundraising campaign
Western Carolina University officially kicked off the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s 136-year history, an effort to secure…
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Of truth and trust: Lack of accountability haunts charitable hurricane relief efforts
After Hurricane Helene completed its devastating march from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Smoky Mountains, the struggles of…
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An unexpected journey: A look at inauguration weekend through the eyes of a WNC Republican
Friday, as Roxan Wetzel and her husband, Rook, eagerly anticipated their trip to Washington, D.C. to see Donald Trump become…
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Marchers hope for change
While it may be the Republican Party’s moment in the global spotlight, more than 50,000 people from the left turned…
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Tar Heel state had an outsized impact in Republican trifecta
Before he was sworn in on Jan. 20, Donald Trump had a lot to say about the agenda he plans…
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'I'm here for my grandchildren': Asheville People’s March small, but mighty
Despite the hell Asheville and greater Western North Carolina have gone through since flooding caused by Hurricane Helene last fall,…
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Attorney General reiterates commitment to Canton
Following up on a campaign promise he made just over a year ago, newly-elected North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson…
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D.C. Dispatch: a most unusual inauguration
The 2017 inauguration of President Donald Trump was normal in nearly every way — the crowds of enthusiastic supporters, the chants…
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Local officials feel good about Pactiv mill parcel sale in Canton
Apprehension over the fate of a huge industrial parcel in the heart of Canton is now transitioning to cautious optimism.
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HERE of Jackson County requests funding for homeless shelter
HERE of Jackson County, the county’s primary homeless services provider, is requesting half a million dollars from the county to…
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Jackson seeks solutions in childcare gap
Jackson County has been working to develop a plan it hopes will mend the multigenerational workforce issue that is impacting communities…
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Gov. Stein promises intensive storm relief measures
Gov. Josh Stein has made it clear that he intends on prioritizing Hurricane Helene relief in Western North Carolina. Shortly…
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Property values increasing in Jackson
A state-mandated, county-wide property reappraisal took effect on Jan. 1 this year. Prior to the appeals process, the reappraisal showing a…
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WCU’s Project Discovery celebrates, reflects on 40th anniversary
Heath Robertson sat at the back of the bus on a college tour trip when he was asked about his…
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Blanket auction to benefit local organizations
Students in the professional crafts fiber program at Haywood Community College created 10 blankets to support the community in response…
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WNC counties to receive broadband upgrades
The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity posted Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program…
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Canton mill sold
A press release just issued by the St. Louis-based developer who’s been pursuing the site of the shuttered Pactiv Evergreen…
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The essence of power is a towel
Editor’s note: This story originally ran in The Smoky Mountain News in November 2018 following Politics Editor Cory Vaillancourt’s trip…
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From low to high: Georgia musicians promote hurricane relief in WNC
Sunny sea-level Savannah, Georgia, is known for a lot of things — historic colonial beauty, low country cuisine and a…
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Man sues EBCI for wrongful prosecution
A man initially convicted in a Cherokee Tribal Court for playing a role in a debilitating December 2019 ransomware attack is…
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Commissioners delay TDA appointment, again
For the second meeting in a row, Jackson County Commissioners chose to table a routine appointment to the Jackson County…
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