Charges dropped against police shooting victim
Jason Harley Kloepfer left his home near Murphy on Dec. 13, 2022, with bullets in his body and criminal charges…
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Eating an elephant: Canton, county will solve huge mill problems by taking small bites
No one living can remember a time when there wasn’t a paper mill at the heart of Canton. Now, after…
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‘It means everything’: Former worker reflects on career amid Canton mill closure
At 94 years young, Ben Best is proud of several things in his long, bountiful life — a marriage of…
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Area manufacturers, colleges could help laid-off mill workers write their next chapter
When the Pactiv-Evergreen packaging plant in Canton closes this spring, 1,000 people who thought they’d secured steady work to last…
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‘We’re still here’: Canton businesses, residents react to mill closure
It’s 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Southern Porch restaurant in the heart of downtown Canton. Less than 24 hours ago,…
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Canton mill will close by summer
After more than a century of serving as the cultural, economic and geographical center of the tiny Haywood County town…
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Schools support calendar flexibility
School boards across Western North Carolina are signing resolutions in support of flexibility and local control when it comes to…
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Five years later, residents still mourn the loss of Angel Medical Center’s maternity unit
Before the sun rises on a Tuesday morning in December, Amelia Cline smooches her partner goodbye and heads out the…
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Parker wins special election in Cherokee
During a special election Thursday, March 2, Wolfetown and Big Y voters chose Mike Parker to fill the Eastern Band…
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Jackson applies for medication-assisted treatment grant
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has applied for a grant to fund a Medication Assisted Treatment program in the county’s…
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Transitioning from Medicaid to marketplace coverage in 2023
The process of termination (unwinding) of Medicaid coverage for those enrolled in the program because of the Covid Public Health…
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It’s party time – Pless again files bill to make Haywood, Madison municipal elections partisan
Despite strong opposition last year, Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) has again filed a bill that if passed would bring partisanship…
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Final forest management plan draws mixed reactions from stakeholder groups
The Pisgah and Nantahala national forests are now operating under a new management plan, ending an arduous, 11-year process to…
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Franklin High project moves forward
Progress will continue on the new Franklin High School after a vote by the Macon County Commission to enter into…
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Haywood schools announce new leadership
Haywood County Schools has new leaders at several schools after the resignation of the Tuscola High School Principal left a…
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Suit against district attorney challenging Giglio order dismissed
A lawsuit filed by a former deputy against District Attorney Ashley Welch and Assistant District Attorney John Hindsman has been entirely…
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All the world’s a stage: Broadcasting meetings a tough call for Waynesville
All the world’s a stage, Shakespeare wrote, and all the men and women merely players. But with the recent uptick…
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Sylva selects new town commissioner
The Sylva Board of Commissioners selected Brad Waldrop as its newest member, filling a seat that had been vacant since…
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A rose by any other name: Waynesville mulls dropping gendered titles for aldermen
When is an alderman not an alderman? When that alderman happens to be a woman.
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Cooper visits TWSA, announces funding
Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority received a visit from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper last week as he announced $462.9…
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Cherokee man sentenced to 15 years for child sexual abuse
David Green Edwards, 32, of Cherokee, was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release…
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TDA welcomes Kara Addy as Social Media Manager
The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority announced the hire of Kara Addy as its new Social Media Manager.
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Town of Waynesville will pursue staggered terms for aldermen
Waynesville is Haywood County’s only municipal government that elects all of its members at once, but that will likely change…
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Working on Waynesville: Aldermen look to avoid budget crunch
The Town of Waynesville’s municipal expenditures and revenue streams have all come in as expected during the 2022-23 fiscal year,…
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Enrollment dips again at WCU
Spring 2023 enrollment at Western Carolina University is down 3.6% compared to the spring semester last year, according to a…
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Waynesville considers more incentives for affordable housing development
Two years after a nonprofit affordable housing developer was granted incentives by the Town of Waynesville, the project is finally…
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SCC grad inspires latest New Century Scholars
Jake Tallent vividly remembers the impact that the New Century Scholars program had on his life.
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Town of Waynesville will pursue staggered terms for aldermen
Waynesville is Haywood County’s only municipal government that elects all of its members at once, but that will likely change…
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Sylva selects new town commissioner
The Sylva Board of Commissioners selected Brad Waldrop as its newest member today, filling a seat that had been vacant…
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Meet the candidates for Wolfetown special election
On Thursday, March 2, Wolfetown voters will head to the polls for a special election to replace a Tribal Council…
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Pigeon Center rebounds from COVID, carries on mission
Like a lot of Americans, Lyn Forney remembers exactly what she was doing when the whole world shut down.
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Residents object to LGBTQ literature at Macon library
A group of Macon County residents and library patrons attended a Feb. 7 library board meeting to air a plethora of…
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Haywood jail financing plan pays off
Haywood County commissioners made the right call on jail financing according to County Manager Bryant Morehead, and will proceed with…
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Tribe will now receive half of Indiana casino profits
After owning Caesar’s Southern Indiana Casino for a year and a half, EBCI Holdings LLC will increase the share of…
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Medicaid expansion passes house
After years of infighting and obstruction, the North Carolina General Assembly is closer than ever to expanding Medicaid after the…
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Folkmoot’s hit education program expands culture and learning in second semester
Folkmoot USA has announced the second semester of its “Life Long Learning” education initiative. Conceived and sponsored by Dr. Darryl…
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Hung jury leads to mistrial in police-involved wrongful death case
After a seven-day trial and several hours of jury deliberations, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North…
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Haywood TDA names new executive director
Haywood County’s Tourism Development Authority will enter a new era with the announcement of an executive director to replace the…
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Candidates announced for Wolfetown special election
Six people will run to fill the seat vacated by Wolfetown Rep. Bo Crowe during Cherokee’s second special election in…
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Former Tuscola football coach may land new gig
Less than a month after resigning from his position as head football coach at Tuscola High School following allegations of…
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‘A Warrior’s Way’ to fight cancer
In a few short weeks, 47 people will charge from the shores of the island home to the infamous Alcatraz…
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Following allegations of sexual harassment in Haywood, Brookshire lands position in Swain Schools
Just over a month after resigning from his position as head football coach at Tuscola High School following allegations of…
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Former Rep. Bill Taylor shares struggle with alcoholism
Appearing in Tribal Council chambers for the first time since facing criminal charges in October, former Wolfetown Rep. Bill Taylor gave…
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Finishing the job: Canton budgets for the future 18 months after Fred
When Canton officials and administrators met for their annual budget retreat last year, Town Manager Nick Scheuer’s presentation was riddled…
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Investigations cause shake-up on tribal alcohol board
A pair of reports investigating issues at the Tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission has resulted in turnover on the board and…
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WNC officers, activists gather to craft DWI legislation
Western North Carolina has one of the most proactive anti-drunk driving forces in the state, and now a contingent from…
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Fentanyl dealer pleads guilty in federal court
Megan Emily Tate, 28, of Sylva, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf last month and pleaded guilty to…
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Cherokee man sentenced for arson
An act of arson will cost James Ralph Brady, 55, of Cherokee, four years in prison, five years of supervised…
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Canton mill slowdown could be tied to union contract negotiations
Last week, reports obtained exclusively by The Smoky Mountain News revealed that Canton’s Pactiv-Evergreen Packaging would scale back production by…
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Canton’s Evergreen Packaging scales back production
A leaked, undated internal memo from Evergreen Packaging’s Canton General Manager John McCarthy says that the mill will idle one…
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