After delay, schools getting lottery dollars
By Julie Ball • Correspondent Some lottery money used to pay the debt on local school projects is coming to…
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Landslide maps one component of steep slope planning
The Macon County committee charged with proposing regulations for building on steep slopes is still swimming in a sea of…
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County settles Cameron lawsuit for $75,000
Haywood County is shelling out $75,000 for an out-of-court settlement that resolves an ongoing lawsuit by a landowner over the…
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The new caretakers: Through job losses and other factors, number of stay-at-home dads on the rise
By Julia Merchant • Contributing Writer A year and a half ago, Fatie Atkinson spent most of his time in…
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Peace conference aims to foster multi-faith dialogue
With much controversy circling around how to conduct the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a conference at Lake Junaluska this…
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Swain makes cuts to plug million dollar shortfall
The recession has finally caught up with Swain County. While other counties began bracing for declining revenues in late 2008,…
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Duke countersues Jackson
Duke Energy has fired back at Jackson County’s attempt to seize the Dillsboro Dam with a counterclaim of its own.…
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Judge refuses to dismiss Mathis slander case against Council on Aging board chair
Three years later, Denise Mathis, former director of the Haywood County Council on Aging, is still fighting to restore her…
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Sheriff, Swain point fingers over budget shortfall
The on-going tension between Swain County commissioners and the sheriff has surfaced yet again, this time over the root cause…
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Permit lapses for proposed Jackson County golf course
Plans for a 300-acre golf course on Cullowhee Mountain in Jackson County have been temporarily sidelined after developers failed to…
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Sign snatching a futile effort to enforce ordinance without teeth
Illegal temporary signs are so commonplace in Waynesville that Byron Hickox — the town’s land use manager — does a…
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Watershed assessment still underway
The team of experts conducting an ecological assessment of Waynesville’s 8,600-acre watershed has collected so much data that they have…
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Dam fight between Duke, Jackson goes to federal court
Jackson County’s lawsuit against Duke Energy to seize the Dillsboro Dam and surrounding river shore through eminent domain has been…
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Macon wades gingerly toward transportation plan
As the main coordinator of a comprehensive transportation plan for Macon County, Ryan Sherby faces a long road ahead of…
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A seven-year vigil for peace
A quiet gathering of people stood outside Haywood County’s courthouse on a recent Wednesday afternoon holding colorful signs and flags…
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Emotional healthcare debate brings out both sides in Sylva
The battle over healthcare reform hit home in Sylva last week. A crowd of more than 50 people gathered on…
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Business expert to offer tips in three WNC downtowns
With an economy still recovering from a recession, local businesses are reaching for ways to keep customers coming. Downtown associations…
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Lake J seeks state help for dam, sediment
Lake Junaluska Assembly is asking Haywood County commissioners to help it land state grants for maintenance on the lake and…
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WCU to pass on electric rate hike
Those who buy their power from Western Carolina University have historically enjoyed cheaper electric bills than their neighbors, but that…
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Haywood gets rolling on methane project
Haywood County commissioners have taken the first step in constructing a more than $1 million methane collection system at two…
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Borrowing bikes a big hit at university
Ever since the launch of the Yellow Bike Project in late August, a new bike culture has quickly sprung up…
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Macon group takes aim at day care shortage
By Julie Ball • Correspondent Working parents in Macon County have few choices when it comes to child care for…
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Player death prompts sickle cell testing for Western Carolina student athletes
Western Carolina University has enacted mandatory testing for the sickle cell trait among all student athletes following the death of…
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State workers group chastises Shuler for health care opposition
Health insurance reform has garnered a seemingly incongruous ally: the already well-insured workers of the State Employees Association of North…
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Free clinics feel recession’s pinch
Amy Street thought she could finally afford health insurance this year. But that was before Street’s employer slashed 25 hours…
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Spinning tales, weaving dreams: Storyteller hopes to preserve craft and WNC history under one roof
By Julia Merchant • Contributing writer As a professional storyteller, Tim Hall is no stranger to spinning yarns — but…
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Graham jerks the rug out from Swain County in Deal’s Gap
Graham County has thrown a curve ball in an ongoing debate with Swain County over ambulance service in Deal’s Gap,…
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Niche tourism strategy debuts ‘micro’ Web sites
Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is employing an ambitious new marketing strategy to lure tourists, and their dollars, to the…
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Pooches pose problem in Sylva
A debate has erupted in Sylva over whether dogs should be allowed in the town’s new Bridge Park, a small…
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Cell company dashes hopes new tower will mimic pine tree
A new cell phone tower has been proposed on the south-facing side of Utah Mountain above Lake Junaluska. It would…
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Woman claims officers denied her medication during DWI incident
An epileptic woman in Macon County is alleging that she did not receive proper medical attention after being arrested for…
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Old timers recall Roosevelt’s trip to the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park staged a reenactment this week of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s dedication of the newly…
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Junaluska deals with same dog issue
Sylva isn’t the first place to wrestle with the not-so-pleasant by-product of dogs in public areas. The wildly popular two-mile…
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Library supporters close to $1.6 million fundraising goal
Fundraising for the new Jackson County library may have entered the home stretch, but is far from home free. Friends…
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Graham, Swain still squabbling over emergency coverage in isolated area
Swain and Graham county commissioners agreed Monday to let their respective county managers look at solid numbers before deciding on…
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Land sales challenge basis for vested rights, some argue
When the 3,500-acre Legasus development won exemptions from Jackson County’s development regulations two years ago, it raised the hackles of…
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WCU welcomes freshman class
Probably very little about freshmen move-in day at Western Carolina University has changed over the years: the “nervous but excited”…
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A popular road reveals a dark side
An inspiration for songs, poems, and pilgrimages by motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world, the challengingly curvy stretch of U.S.…
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Coalition builds momentum for Nikwasi park
A proposed park at the site of the Nikwasi mound in Franklin would provide a quiet place for residents to…
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Big decisions ahead in debate over land-use plan
A steering committee tasked with examining and recommending possible changes to Waynesville’s land-use plan is finally getting down to brass…
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Ghost Town still in the red despite $1.53 million in revenue
Ghost Town in the Sky did not bring in enough revenue from its amusement park operations during the months of…
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Jackson EDC says new direction key to future
A comprehensive economic development strategy would go a long way toward solving the quagmire that is holding back progress on…
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Forest Hills mayor misses deadline, will run write-in campaign
Jackson County poll workers will contend with write-in ballots from at least two towns on election night this fall. One…
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WCU ranks highly among master’s degree universities
The latest U.S. News & World Report guide to “America’s Best Colleges” ranks Western Carolina University 10th among public universities…
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Bulb crusher helps recycling efforts
The state will ban plastic bottles, motor oil filters, and wooden pallets from landfills starting this October. The ban aims…
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Maggie board OKs assisted living facility in town limits
The Maggie Valley Zoning Board of Adjustments approved a special zoning exception to make way for a 114-bed assisted living…
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Q&A with Congressman Shuler
SMN: What did you learn from the teletown meeting? Anything new? Heath Shuler: “The meeting reinforced my belief that most…
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Healthcare debate civil at tele-town meeting
Against the backdrop of a nation embroiled in an emotional, high-stakes debate on health care reform, the voices of Western…
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Proposed apartments denied tax breaks
Neighbors of a proposed 64-unit apartment building to serve low-income seniors in Waynesville have renewed hope that their fight to…
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The long fight: Road debate nears final chapter
Since its creation, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has loomed over Swain County. Its massive peaks flank life itself:…
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