Moratorium stops high-rises
 

Moratorium stops high-rises

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Macon County Commissioners unanimously approved a moratorium on high-rise development Monday, giving county planning…
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Mediation needed, says medical staff: Doctors vote 50-2 to ask HRMC administration to find ‘win-win’ solution
 

Mediation needed, says medical staff: Doctors vote 50-2 to ask HRMC administration to find ‘win-win’ solution

The Haywood County medical community sent a strong message at a countywide meeting of doctors last Tuesday night (Dec. 12).…
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Land for Tomorrow wins Jackson support
 

Land for Tomorrow wins Jackson support

Jackson County Commissioners passed a resolution Monday night (Dec. 18) encouraging the state General Assembly to provide funding for the…
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Jackson County mulls EDC participation
 

Jackson County mulls EDC participation

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Two years have passed since the Jackson County Commissioners suspended their participation with the…
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Doctor's resolution
 

Doctor's resolution

Here is a copy of the resolution, which was passed by the Medical Executive Committee on Dec. 6 and affirmed…
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Biodiesel station opens in Cullowhee
 

Biodiesel station opens in Cullowhee

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The delivery of 3,000 gallons of B-20 biodiesel manufactured by Smoky Mountain Biofuels made…
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Q&A with Haywood ER doctors
 

Q&A with Haywood ER doctors

Haywood Emergency Physicians held a two-hour town hall style meeting Tuesday night to answer questions about the termination of their…
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What are the issues, and what’s being done about them?
 

What are the issues, and what’s being done about them?

Emergency room doctors at Haywood Regional Medical Center have been on a collision course with hospital administration since a brand-new…
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WCU students help with Cullowhee church plans
 

WCU students help with Cullowhee church plans

The competition between Western Carolina University students to win a building contract at a Cullowhee church was just for fun,…
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Sylva discusses downtown parking woes
 

Sylva discusses downtown parking woes

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Parking along Sylva’s downtown Main Street is a challenge.
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Physicians seek solution to HRMC-ER dispute
 

Physicians seek solution to HRMC-ER dispute

The Haywood County medical community was expected to voice its disatisfaction Tuesday night with a move by Haywood Regional Medical…
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Phoenix says doctor recruitment going well
 

Phoenix says doctor recruitment going well

Phoenix Emergency Physicians is making progress rounding up a new set of emergency room doctors to work at Haywood Regional…
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Mayor wants windfall from watershed invested
 

Mayor wants windfall from watershed invested

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has begun surveying the Fisher Creek watershed in anticipation of…
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Divided Franklin board OKs Super Wal-Mart
 

Divided Franklin board OKs Super Wal-Mart

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With the announcement of plans to bring a new Wal-Mart Supercenter to Franklin, some…
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Community Assurance Statement
 

Community Assurance Statement

The following statement was provided to The Smoky Mountain News following a meeting of the Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospital…
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Campaign kicks off to replace historic Francis Mill’s waterwheel
 

Campaign kicks off to replace historic Francis Mill’s waterwheel

The Francis Mill Preservation Society in Haywood County is gearing up for a major campaign to replace the metal wheel…
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Turf war leads to ousting of ER docs
 

Turf war leads to ousting of ER docs

An ongoing power struggle between Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice and doctors in the emergency room came to…
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Sylva librarian resigns as of Jan. 31
 

Sylva librarian resigns as of Jan. 31

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County Librarian Michael Cartwright will be resigning from his post by the end…
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Rapp promotes regional approach to address slope development
 

Rapp promotes regional approach to address slope development

A regional effort is afoot to address mountainside and slope development as a region rather than relying on individual counties…
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Mid-stream contract rewrite
 

Mid-stream contract rewrite

Haywood Regional Medical Center and Haywood Emergency Physicians disagree over whether it was necessary to rewrite the doctors’ contract with…
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Macon prepares high-rise moratorium
 

Macon prepares high-rise moratorium

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A high-rise moratorium is in the works for Macon County. On Monday night (Dec.…
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ER physicians call foul over contract termination
 

ER physicians call foul over contract termination

After a sudden termination of their contract by Haywood Regional Medical Center last week, emergency room doctors say the reputation…
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Recreation could be big winner in TDA shuffle
 

Recreation could be big winner in TDA shuffle

The tax on overnight lodging in Haywood County could be increased next year pending approval by the state legislature.
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Plug may be pulled on WLOS Dec. 1
 

Plug may be pulled on WLOS Dec. 1

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The deadline for Mediacom and Sinclair Broadcast Group to reach an agreement that will…
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A long paper trail
 

A long paper trail

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson Paper Engineer Chas Mathis strides confidently through the company’s used cardboard warehouse, up…
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Motive questioned in budget cut
 

Motive questioned in budget cut

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A 3 to 1 vote by the Swain County Board of Commissioners last week…
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Legal wrangling could slow decision on  high-rise condos
 

Legal wrangling could slow decision on high-rise condos

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A lawsuit over deed restrictions that could prevent a controversial high-rise condominium near Highlands…
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Citizens pack meeting to protest Sheriff’s treatment
 

Citizens pack meeting to protest Sheriff’s treatment

An uncharacteristically large crowd packed the Swain County commissioners meeting last week (Nov. 21) to oppose a move that will…
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Behind the lens: Turlington finds art in industry
 

Behind the lens: Turlington finds art in industry

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Images from Sylva-based photographer Matthew Turlington’s 1998 work “A Photographic Depiction of Jackson Paper…
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Up to par? Golfers look forward to local ownership of Smoky Mountain Golf Course
 

Up to par? Golfers look forward to local ownership of Smoky Mountain Golf Course

While most golfers are clearing space in the closet for their clubs this winter, Travis Stephenson is already thinking ahead…
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Local governments wade into Mediacom-Sinclair fray
 

Local governments wade into Mediacom-Sinclair fray

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Several area governments are taking steps to keep constituents who subscribe to Mediacom cable…
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Many Sylva building owners support downtown tax
 

Many Sylva building owners support downtown tax

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Most business and property owners have reacted positively to a Downtown Sylva Association proposal…
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Macon planners seek high-rise moratorium
 

Macon planners seek high-rise moratorium

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Macon County Planning Board wants county commissioners to enact a moratorium on any…
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Slope development ordinance: Key changes
 

Slope development ordinance: Key changes

Haywood County Commissioners made several changes to the slope development ordinance before passing it. The ordinance kicks in when a…
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Haywood waters down slope ordinance
 

Haywood waters down slope ordinance

Haywood County commissioners made significant changes to a slope development ordinance created by the county planning board before passing it…
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Group gathers to discuss growth in Jackson
 

Group gathers to discuss growth in Jackson

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About 80 area residents gathered at the Jackson County Recreation Center Thursday night to…
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Smoky Mountain Golf Course’s ordeal: Drawn-out legal saga nears possible resolution
 

Smoky Mountain Golf Course’s ordeal: Drawn-out legal saga nears possible resolution

A three-year legal saga between the owners of Smoky Mountain Golf Course and the developers of Smoky Mountain Country Club…
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Commissioners to send extra room tax to corridors
 

Commissioners to send extra room tax to corridors

Haywood County commissioners agreed on Monday (Nov. 20) to ask the General Assembly for an increase in the room tax…
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Ensley wants room tax money for recreation
 

Ensley wants room tax money for recreation

Recreation programs in Haywood County could get a huge boost from tourism dollars if commissioners follow through on a recommendation…
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Golf course on the rocks
 

Golf course on the rocks

An ongoing lawsuit against the owners of Smoky Mountain Golf Course alleges numerous problems with the course’s management under its…
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Entrepreneurs open wine stores in Bryson
 

Entrepreneurs open wine stores in Bryson

Swain County residents tired of the wine selection at the grocery store will soon have not one but two new…
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Tribe, area colleges collaborate on art degrees
 

Tribe, area colleges collaborate on art degrees

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Officials with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Monday unveiled plans for a…
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Slippery timing: Developers may try to rush plans to beat ordinance
 

Slippery timing: Developers may try to rush plans to beat ordinance

Haywood County commissioners are poised to pass a slope development ordinance at their meeting next week, but a big question…
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Haywood TDA challenged with windfall
 

Haywood TDA challenged with windfall

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has an extra $90,000 to spend and everyone seems to have an idea of…
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Film explores Cherokee cultural identity issues
 

Film explores Cherokee cultural identity issues

A documentary film on Cherokee aired nationwide on public television stations last week. The 90-minute documentary, produced by an all-Native…
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Farewell to familiar faces? Broadcast dispute could leave thousands without local TV news coverage
 

Farewell to familiar faces? Broadcast dispute could leave thousands without local TV news coverage

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Cable subscribers in Jackson and Macon counties are facing the possibility of losing local…
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Tourism task force makes final proposals
 

Tourism task force makes final proposals

The tug-of-war over how best to spend tourism promotion dollars in Haywood County continues, but this time it appears it…
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Upset in Swain sheriff race
 

Upset in Swain sheriff race

One of the biggest upsets in Tuesday’s election was the Swain County sheriff’s race, where Republican challenger Curtis Cochran beat…
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Snow easily defeats newcomer McKim
 

Snow easily defeats newcomer McKim

Sen. John Snow, D-Murphy, handily won his second term in the North Carolina Senate, beating challenger Ken McKim 38,537 to…
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Shuler triumphs in upset over Taylor
 

Shuler triumphs in upset over Taylor

By Michael Beadle Call it a fourth-quarter, game-winning touchdown. A stunning upset over the perennial powerhouse. Pick your sports metaphor.
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