School board to consider additional coaching supplements

After a request for an assistant JV volleyball coach prompted a review of coaching supplements in the school system, the…
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Helene assistance deadline extended

At the request of Gov. Josh Stein, FEMA has granted North Carolina an extension for local governments and certain types…
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Practical Nursing class celebrates pinning ceremony

On Dec. 10, the Burrell conference room on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus was packed full of friends and family…
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The essence of power is a towel

There, in Sumter County, Georgia, not far from the Alabama line lies the tiny town of Plains (pop. 784), a…
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Stein moves quickly on Hurricane Helene relief

Newly elected Gov. Josh Stein wasted no time addressing some of the state’s biggest challenges after being sworn in on…
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2024 A Look Back: Continuous groan award

The fallout immediately following the disaster wrought by Hurricane Helene was tragic and traumatizing, but as time has gone on…
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2024 A Look Back: Least influential YouTube influencer award

The last few years have been a helluva ride for Haywood County Commissioner Terry “double down” Ramey. Prior to his…
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2024 A Look Back: Trailblazer award

By the end of the 1900s, groups of marginalized Americans like women, Blacks, Hispanics and others had made great strides…
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2024 A Look Back: Hometown pride award

Evy Leibfarth was welcomed home in style this summer after her medal-winning performance at the Olympics. In her second Olympic…
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2024 A Look Back: Hometown hero award

When Tropical Storm Fred cut a half billion-dollar swath of destruction through the eastern part of Haywood County and killed…
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2024 A Look Back: Big Brother award

In May, Payton McNabb shrouded herself in the cloak of Big Brother when she took to a Western Carolina University…
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2024 A Look Back: Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree award

This one goes out to the North Carolina General Assembly and Congress, but it will take a little explaining. 
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2024 A Look Back: Ready to throw down award

It’s nice to have an elected board of representatives who care about their county and are willing to fight for…
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2024 A Look Back: Keep quiet award

Rep. Chuck Edwards has refused to speak to The Smoky Mountain News since shortly after he was elected in 2022.…
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2024 A Look Back: Public engagement award

You might think people don’t care about local government, but sometimes you’re reminded that they absolutely do. Bryson City’s town…
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2024 A Look Back: The steamroller award

We hate to belabor one topic, but we have more than one marijuana-related award to hand out this year.   The…
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2024 A Look Back: If at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again award

Sylva first considered a proposal to address panhandling in November 2022 but ultimately decided against it after a majority of the board…
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2024 A Look Back: On the up and up award

Haywood County Schools’ stock just keep rising. This year the school system was ranked sixth out of 115 school districts…
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2024 A Look Back: Audacity award

It makes potheads giggle and cops roll their eyes, and in Western North Carolina this year, the stoner holiday 4/20…
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2024 A Look Back: First in flight award

After Hurricane Helene rocked the eastern reaches of Western North Carolina, Crystal Cochran sprang into action. A resident of Sylva,…
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2024 A Look Back: If it ain’t broke award

Following this year’s budget season, Macon County maintains its position with the lowest property tax of any county in the…
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2024 A Look Back: Building the future award

This year both Jackson and Swain counties received state grants of $52 million to build new middle schools. For Jackson County, this…
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2024 A Look Back: Maconians united award

Maconians are known among the citizens of Western North Carolina for robust and regular public input at local government meetings…
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Fake News Freakout: Episode 9

I started this annual feature nearly a decade ago to poke fun at the emerging scourge of fake news — lies, really…
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A moment to celebrate: Haywood’s Recovery Court graduates second participant

Last Friday wasn’t Mark Beam’s first time facing a judge at the defendant’s table in Haywood County District Court, but…
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After fiasco, Congress fails to meet North Carolina’s hurricane recovery needs

Hurricane Helene victims in Western North Carolina have eagerly been awaiting an expected holiday gift in the form of federal…
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School board considers options for Jackson Community School

Jackson Community School — Jackson County’s alternative learning center — is the most expensive school in the district per pupil,…
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Macon animal control in need of staff

After a team of volunteers converged on a Macon County Board of Health meeting to express concerns about the state…
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Macon County couple endows fund to diversify WCU Fine Art Museum collections

The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center will be broadening…
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Additional Slide Delays I-40 Reopening

An additional chunk of asphalt fell away from an eastbound lane of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge this…
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Board approves athlete transfer policy without path for implementation

Despite having no recommendation to do so from its policy committee, legal advice outlining the complications of such a move,…
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Haywood Commissioners press on against misinformation

Two weeks after an unusual meeting where Commissioner Terry Ramey was told to resign over lies he helped spread about…
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Attorney General Stein recognizes heroism in Canton

A couple of people from Canton were recognized by Attorney General and incoming governor Josh Stein for their actions during the…
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WCU’s GivingTuesday nets $6 million

Friends and alumni contributed more than $6 million to Western Carolina University during the 2024 GivingTuesday initiative, nearly quadrupling the…
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Methodist Church donates to Mountain Projects

The North Carolina Conference of the Global Methodist Church has made a transformative donation of $150,000 to Mountain Projects, demonstrating…
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Lumbees double down against EBCI: Incoming governor faces tough political decision amid federal recognition fight

The bitter battle between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Lumbee as the Lumbee seek federal recognition has…
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General Assembly overrides governor’s veto of controversial flood relief bill

After decades of paying for hurricane recovery operations along the North Carolina coast, Western North Carolina taxpayers finally had a…
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The exit interview: Roy Cooper looks back, looks forward

On Jan. 11, 2025 at 10 a.m., North Carolina will have a new governor for the first time in eight…
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Saving the storm's silent victims: Helene stressed animal care infrastructure to its limits

Mary Garrison and her husband, Fairview Fire Department Battalion Chief Tony Garrison, awoke around 4 a.m. on Sept. 27 to…
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Pactiv merger leaves questions about Canton mill site

According to a press release issued Dec. 9, a merger between Pactiv Evergreen and Charlotte-based Novolex will provide better customer…
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Maggie Valley responds to former chief's lawsuit

Two months after former Maggie Valley Police Chief Russ Gilliland filed a lawsuit against the town for wrongful termination, the…
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Commissioners claim conflict of interest in TDA board appointment

When a routine appointment to the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority came up last week, commissioners decided to table the…
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SCC Executive VP Thom Brooks announces retirement

As a young boy, maybe 10 or 11 years old, Thom Brooks set foot onto Southwestern Community College’s campus in…
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Jackson appoints two new members to library board

The Jackson County Commission, with two new commissioners seated this month, chose to appoint two new members to the public…
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Jackson considers investments in walkability

Two projects underway in Jackson County are set to expand walkability and access to green spaces for residents.  “The park…
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New Century Scholars inducted at SCC

Walking across the same stage on which they’ll one day receive their college degrees, seventh graders from Jackson, Macon and…
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Pactiv merger leaves questions about Canton mill site

According to a press release issued Dec. 9, a merger between Pactiv Evergreen and Charlotte-based Novolex will provide better customer…
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Group discusses hazards of drunk driving, potential new laws

The day before Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as “Blackout Wednesday,” a nod to the fact that it is one…
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HCS considers change to student athlete transfer policy

The Haywood County Board of Education is considering a change to its policy that governs transfers by student athletes between…
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Breeden sworn in, Young appointed chairman

The first commission meeting of December after an election usually comes with a change in leadership, and such was the…
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