Jackson announces new coronavirus case
An additional case of COVID-19 has been announced for Jackson County, putting the total number of residents diagnosed with the…
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$5M TDA relief bill for small businesses helps hotels
By Mark Barrett • AVL Watchdog | When the Rev. Tami Forte Logan learned that the Buncombe County Tourist Development Authority and…
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Haywood reaches 24 COVID-19 cases
Haywood County Public Health received notice May 15, that a 24th Haywood County resident has tested positive for the novel coronavirus,…
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Mast General Store plans phased re-openings
Mast General Store, based in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, announced on Wednesday, May 13, that its stores will re-open in…
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Franklin names Harrell as new police chief
The Town of Franklin recently announced that it has hired Franklin resident Bill Harrell to be its next police…
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‘Hair-iffic’ discovery at Waynesville sewer plant
Contractors performing work at Waynesville’s wastewater treatment plant last week were surprised to make a revolting discovery that highlights the…
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Repairs begin on U.S. 74 in Swain County
A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation recently started construction to address slide and drainage issues in a problematic…
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Drive-thru testing to open in Sylva
Drive-thru testing for COVID-19 will be available at the Walmart parking lot in Sylva beginning Friday, May 15.
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Smokies reopens: DOI Secretary makes visit; Tribe, Parkway also increase public access
Visitors from 26 different states and Washington, D.C., traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last weekend after it…
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Haywood County government, schools scale back budget proposals
Every year around this time, local governments, community colleges and public schools are busy crafting budgets for the upcoming fiscal…
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Second primary, voting in the pandemic
In an executive order on March 20, Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Elections moved…
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Jackson loosens COVID-19 restrictions
Jackson County has lifted some local regulations aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 with a Superseding Declaration of a…
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Jackson County unveils new local funding resource
Jackson County has allocated $324,000 for a new program that will provide short-term, low-interest loans to small businesses that have…
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Cherokee lifts border closure; casino announces gradual reopening
Almost 60 days after closing their doors to help slow the spread of COVID-19, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos will begin a gradual…
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Dealing with addiction during pandemic
Addiction is a disease of isolation. This is a common truth in the culture of recovery. So it is understandable…
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Mental health agencies still providing resources
While some medical professionals warn of a second wave of COVID-19 cases across the nation, behavioral health experts say communities…
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Haywood businesses, leaders react to reopening
The debate across the state still simmers — too soon, too late, or, like Goldilocks’ porridge, just right?
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Rod Harkleroad to step down as leader of HRMC
Haywood Regional Medical Center (HRMC) today announced that Rod Harkleroad, CEO of HRMC, will step down from his role, effective…
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Blood Connection offers free COVID-19 testing for donors
The Blood Connection, a local nonprofit, community blood center is offering COVID-19 antibody testing to all donors at no cost.…
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Macon County Sheriff releases Smartphone app
The Macon County Sheriff’s Office has released a free mobile smartphone app allowing the public access to a multitude of…
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Three more COVID-19 cases in Haywood
Haywood County Public Health received notice May 11 that three more Haywood County residents have tested positive for COVID-19. The…
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Food donation chain in near gridlock, Manna chief says
By Nick Peters AVL Watchdog The main floor of Manna FoodBank’s warehouse in Asheville is a beehive of activity as…
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License, registration expiration dates extended 5 months
To assist N.C. Division of Motor Vehicle customers and partners in dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a provision…
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Haywood County Cares — Adam Perry
Adam Perry has worked for Haywood County Schools since 1996. Currently, he is the Job Coach at Tuscola High School…
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Franklin business manufacturing health care equipment
“We will be closing until further notice. God bless us all.” This is but one of many messages posted to…
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WCU to hold postponed graduation in December
It will be May in December for members of Western Carolina University’s spring graduating class of 2020 who were originally…
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Jackson to lift lodging restrictions
Jackson County will update its Declaration of a State of Emergency this week to lift the ban currently in place…
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Lynda Bennett calls for reopening state’s economy
By Tom Fielder, AVL Watchdog Republican congressional-candidate Lynda Bennett, who hopes to win the District 11 seat recently vacated by…
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One additional COVID-19 case in Jackson
One additional COVID-19 case has been confirmed in Jackson County today.
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19 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Haywood
Haywood County Public Health received notice May 6 that a 19th Haywood County resident has tested positive for the novel…
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City Lights alters business model to weather dine-in closure
City Lights Café has been a fixture in Sylva since first opening its doors in 2011. Those doors are now…
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Body recovered from Whitewater Falls
Two people are dead following an emergency situation at Whitewater Falls in Jackson County this week — a 24-year-old man…
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Haywood County Cares — Gene Williamson
After a 30-year career with the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Sgt. Gene Williamson retired in 2014, but he didn’t stay…
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Jackson's coronavirus count holds steady
For the second day in a row, there has been no increase in the tally of COVID-19 cases in Jackson…
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Rescue crew member dies during Whitewater Falls search
Eldon Jamison, longtime member of the Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad died in the line of duty on Tuesday, May 5, while…
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Hard-hit small businesses grapple with ‘new normal’
The nation’s annual Small Business Appreciation Week is held around this time each year and, coincidentally, couldn’t have come at…
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Cosmetologists ready to get back to work
Melissa Walker opened her salon in Sylva in 2006, which means she’s been able to build a thriving business in…
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Hope remains at Lake Junaluska amid pandemic challenges
The cross situated over Lake Junaluska has been lit at night for years to give railroad workers some guiding light…
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Rebuilding, brick by brick: MGC of WNC
Though most of us have acclimated to the idea and implementation of silence in this era of the Coronavirus Pandemic,…
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Galleries adapt to the struggle of pandemic shutdown
Like much of the economy in Western North Carolina, art galleries in the region depend on tourism for survival. Just…
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Keeping the wheels in motion: Waynesville Tire
Though the front door is locked, the large garage and repair bays of Waynesville Tire are wide open and ready…
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Haywood commissioners push to reopen after terminating ‘stay home’ order
Less than five weeks after issuing a “stay home” order and barely three weeks after extending it, Haywood County commissioners…
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Haywood TDA will be ready to call tourists back
Over the past year Haywood County’s tourism industry had been cruising along well above historical averages — until the Coronavirus…
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Haywood County Schools administration finds new home
A decision has finally been made on where to put Haywood County Schools’ central administration office before their lease at…
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NC legislators pass $1.6 billion in COVID-19 relief measures
Workers, businesses, schools and local governments impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic will benefit from a comprehensive, bi-partisan relief plan that…
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Jackson reports first coronavirus death
Jackson County reported its first coronavirus death on Monday, May 4.
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Play trivia with The Smoky Mountain News
Bar trivia is a cherished tradition for many in Western North Carolina, but such quiz nights are one of the…
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Cherokee plans for budget shortfall; no casino reopening date yet announced
As Harrah’s Cherokee Casino marks its seventh week of closure due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, leadership for the Eastern Band…
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Swain County’s COVID-19 restrictions terminated
Following a two-and-a-half hour meeting on Monday, Swain County commissioners voted to lift their countywide COVID-19 restrictions with the understanding…
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Grocery workers step up to meet high demand
People stocking shelves and working behind a register never thought they’d find themselves on the frontlines of a global pandemic…
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