Haire, Carpenter a contrast in philosophies
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer In the race for the 119th District seat, candidates Marge Carpenter and Rep. Phil…
Read More
Debate plan could die due to demands
Voters who got excited at early reports that Congresman Charles Taylor and challenger Heath Shuler had agreed to a debate…
Read More
Cherokee marketing efforts get $500,000 from foundation
The Cherokee Preservation Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to the Travel and Promotion program of the Eastern Band of…
Read More
Planning issues dominate Macon election
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Macon County commissioner candidates fielded several questions about growth and the county’s future during…
Read More
Haywood proposal would regulate slope construction
Slope proposal • Cut-and-fill slopes taller than 40 feet are not allowed.
Read More
How do you feel about America’s current energy policy? Do you think drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a good idea?
Taylor: Each time we visit the gasoline pump, it is clear that the U.S. has become overly dependent on foreign…
Read More
Jackson Green Energy Park opens
The Jackson County Green Energy Park will celebrate the opening of Phase 1 of the park with an open house…
Read More
The energy debate: Taylor pushes increased drilling, while Shuler looks to alternative fuels
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Prices at the gas pump began falling last month with the announcement that a…
Read More
Commissioners weigh in on Bethel sewer debate
A survey conducted by the Bethel Community Club asked candidates for the Haywood County Board of Commissioners to weigh in…
Read More
Stance of Bethel sewer separates Cathey, Holbrook
A long-standing controversy over extending water and sewer lines to the semi-rural community of Bethel could be a defining issue…
Read More
Beale resigns from planning board
Citing his candidacy for county commissioner, Macon County planning board chairman Ronnie Beale announced his resignation last Wednesday (Sept. 27)…
Read More
About the candidates
Bob Cathey Cathey worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 34 years in timber inventory and currently serves on the…
Read More
Bonfoey discusses shelter safety issues
Following the brutal shooting death of a Jackson County woman staying at a local shelter for battered women, District Attorney…
Read More
One board seat up for grabs in Jackson
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County commission candidate Mark Jones, a Democrat, will face Republican Geoff Higginbotham this…
Read More
Upping the ante on the values debate: Life’s struggles leave little time for voting for some
Richard Morrison wiled away the hours last Thursday in front of Pop’s Mini Mart in Clyde in hopes of hitching…
Read More
Silent Segways lead to noisy debate
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Reviews on the on the Zerve.com Web site all rave about Mountain Glides’ Segway…
Read More
What is your position on raising the minimum wage?
Charles Taylor: My opponent has made numerous allegations about my record on the federal minimum wage, but the fact is…
Read More
Minimum wage battle in Congress marked by politics
When Congress proposed raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour this summer, the resulting vote epitomized the…
Read More
Cherokee goes green with new biodiesel pump
By Michael Beadle Cherokee now has a biodiesel gas pump at its filling station to fuel up Tribal transit and…
Read More
Results of zip code study revealed Sept. 28
Results of a much anticipated zip code study conducted in Waynesville will be shared at a public meeting at 7…
Read More
Swain sheriff challenger wants a turn at the helm
When word of a shooting in Whittier roused Swain County Sheriff Bob Ogle from his house last Thursday night, he…
Read More
Archeologist to visit proposed quarry site
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Tuckasegee residents are hoping that the proximity of an ancient Cherokee village to the…
Read More
Candidates share similar views on immigration
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series on campaign issues in the…
Read More
Duke convinces Dillsboro to ‘retract’ letter
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Dillsboro Mayor Jean Hartbarger has retracted a letter that could have led to a…
Read More
Taylor vs. Shuler: In the hot seat
By Michael Beadle Editor’s note: From today until the election on Nov. 7, The Smoky Mountain News will run a…
Read More
The war in Iraq: local residents speak out
By Michael Beadle When it comes to the war in Iraq, Americans are divided on what should be done, but…
Read More
Slate of events focuses on Hispanic Heritage
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The third annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties…
Read More
Haywood School Board voices support for flood rebuilding decisions
Controversy over the handling of flood repairs by Haywood County Schools two years ago have been the subject of media…
Read More
Town quells Allens Creek ‘jake’ brake problem
Residents along Allens Creek in Waynesville are cheering a long-sought ban on the use of “jake” brakes by gravel trucks…
Read More
Camp’s name officially attached to WCU building
A Western Carolina University building now bears the name of a beloved community leader in public education as the WCU…
Read More
Residents warned to limit contact with contaminated soil
Recent soil and water testing in the former Francis Orchard in Haywood County have not revealed levels of contamination high…
Read More
A flood of accusations: Former maintenance director claims his career was cut short because he criticized school system’s flood-related spending practices
Ted Norman, former maintenance director of Haywood County Schools, claims he was the target of whistle-blower retaliation by the school…
Read More
Kudzu players to build theater
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer On a conference table covered with blueprints perches a small paper model of a…
Read More
Quarry opponents urge state to deny permit
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About 200 concerned citizens packed into a Jackson County courtroom to show their opposition…
Read More
Reclaiming a piece of history: Dillsboro leaders work toward making renovations to the historic Monteith farmstead, building a new park and community theater
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Shoes stained with red clay mud and covered with sweat and bits of hay…
Read More
Scams targeting elderly a growing problem
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Assistant Attorney General David Kirkman hits the play button on a small stereo and…
Read More
Study credits park for tourist spending
According to a recently-released National Park Service study, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not only the nation’s most visited…
Read More
Former employee questions school spending in the aftermath of ‘04 floods
Haywood County schools must pay back more than $300,000 in state flood repair grants after double-billing both the state and…
Read More
Franklin VA clinic to open in April 2007
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A new outpatient clinic designed to serve 3,200 area veterans will open in Franklin…
Read More
Quarry opponents speak out at public hearing
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer About two hundred concerned citizens packed into a Jackson County courtroom Tuesday night…
Read More
SCC students help with Parkway film
When Bentley Robison enrolled in the Surveying Technology program at Southwestern Community College, he never imagined he would become an…
Read More
Sylva set to extend planning jurisdiction to Allen’s Branch
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Town aldermen are moving ahead with plans to vote the Allen’s Branch community into…
Read More
Rutherford Trace: Local historians examine the legacy of a shock-and-awe Revolutionary War campaign against the Cherokee
By Michael Beadle To some, it was a crucial military campaign early in the Revolutionary War, an unprecedented patriot force…
Read More
Reunion emotional for many former Ghost Town workers
When Todd Berrong, a former gun fighter at Ghost Town amusement park, walked through the gate of his old stomping…
Read More
Quarry opponents get county support
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The grassroots group United Neighbors of Tuckasegee celebrated another victory in the battle to…
Read More
From military campaign to political campaign
If politics makes strange bedfellows, then surely Rutherford Trace offers some curious pillow talk in the legislative halls of Raleigh…
Read More
Grant allows Sylva to conserve Fisher Creek
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Clean…
Read More
Cotton selected as Haywood manager
David B. Cotton of Seven Lakes has been named Haywood County manager
Read More
$5 million upgrade planned prior to May 2007 opening
As the new owners of Ghost Town in the Sky pondered whether the dated mountaintop amusement park was a good…
Read More
Sylva set to expand planning district
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Sylva Town Board members are expected to move forward with plans to make the…
Read More
