Jessi Stone
Residents and visitors may soon be able to enjoy a mimosa or bloody Mary during their Sunday morning brunch.
A new law passed in the North Carolina Legislature will give restaurants and distilleries an economic boost by allowing them to sell more of their own product.
Court-appointed lawyers are the crux of the U.S justice system because it is their duty to ensure every U.S. citizen is granted their constitutional right to a fair trial, but many lawyers in Western North Carolina are concerned a new pilot program implemented by the state could threaten that right.
Macon is one of six counties across the state that is being included in a pilot program in which court-appointed lawyers are compensated using a flat-fee schedule instead of an hourly rate. According to data from the Indigent Defense Office of North Carolina, indigent defense costs increased 168 percent between 1989 and 1999 while caseloads increased by 90 percent. Capital defense costs rose 338 percent during the same time period.
Macon County Commissioners hope a newly established Fire Task Force will be able to create more consistency among the county’s 11 fire districts.
A legislative majority of House and Senate members have reached a state budget agreement, one that is providing nearly $700 million more in public education spending over the next two years — but not everyone is happy with where that funding is going.
Richard Miller may have received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce for 2017, but he’s been a driving force behind economic development in Waynesville for more than 30 years.
While Swain County pushes forward with a lawsuit against the federal government to collect $38.2 million it’s owed in settlement money, U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, said he’s still pursuing the money on his end as well.
Swain County didn’t include any funding for capital projects in the 2017-18 budget, but commissioners are hopeful their state representative might be able to find some available funding.
Swain County commissioners will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 22, to hear feedback from the community prior to passing a proposed $15.6 million budget for 2017-18.
Mission Health leaders finally agreed to hold a meeting in Franklin to discuss their controversial decision to close the labor and delivery unit at Angel Medical Center, but the public and the media were not allowed to attend.
The town of Franklin is considering how to become more environmentally friendly after being presented with a climate solutions resolution from The Canary Coalition.
Franklin Mayor Bob Scott was recently awoken at midnight on a Friday by a phone call from Franklin resident Janet Watson.
Some institutions are meant to last forever, while others have their place in time and then they’re gone.
After Tuesday, June 13, Joey’s Pancake House in Maggie Valley will be gone.
To combat the rising cost of feeding inmates, Macon County commissioners chose to ditch a $360,000 food contract with Mission Health and Angel Medical Center for a less expensive option.
The Macon County commissioners have some challenges in balancing the proposed 2017-18 budget, but County Manager Derek Roland said those challenges are the same ones every local government is facing right now.
Some institutions are meant to last forever, while others have their place in time and then they’re gone.
After Tuesday, June 13, Joey’s Pancake House in Maggie Valley will be gone.
They say “Ask and thou shalt receive,” but Nancy Bolding of Otto probably received way more than she bargained for when she reached out for help to plan her husband’s 94th birthday party.
With an annual budget of only about $2.9 million, the town of Bryson City doesn’t have much wiggle room when it comes to cutting expenses or allocating funds for major projects.
In an effort to consolidate women’s and children’s services in Franklin, Mission Health has announced it will be closing those practices in Sylva.
The town of Franklin Board of Aldermen will now officially be referred to as the Franklin Town Council after the board voted 3-2 to change its charter.
From a geographical prospective, Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva is strategically located to serve as a health care hub for the most western counties in the region, but hospital leaders know it will take more than a convenient location for patients to consider it their go-to resource for services.
A federal judge has dismissed Swain County’s breach of contract lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior to collect $39.2 million owed to the county from the 2010 North Shore Road settlement agreement.
Karen Williams only had a handful of students in her beginner class when she first took the band director position for Swain County Schools 14 years ago, but today she has an average of 50 beginner students a year and the program continues to grow.
Local school districts will have one more year before they have to abide by much stricter classroom size requirements thanks to a legislative compromise, but even the compromised deal for the 2017-18 school year will force some schools to hire more teachers immediately.
With nearly two years of prep work already under their belts, developers have cleared the first major hurdle for bringing a $20 million, 56,000-square-foot retail project that will include a Publix to Waynesville.
It’s been more than two weeks since Mission Health announced Angel Medical Center would stop delivering babies as of July 14, but the Franklin community still has many unanswered questions and concerns.
Susan Boyette and her mother Martha Drew drove down from Tennessee early Friday morning to Rose Creek Mine outside of Franklin in search of rare treasures.
They spent hours digging through 12 buckets of native dirt and sifting through unknown rocks not knowing what they might unearth.
“For me it’s the thrill of the hunt,” Boyette said about why she enjoys gem mining. “Knowing that God made this little jewel and I’m the first person on earth to touch it — to me, that is simply amazing.”
At first glance, the Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum may seem like a hokey tourist attraction, but visitors willing to give it a closer look will discover the largest inventory of gems in the Southeast.
When Macon County residents joined together in 1971 to raise money to buy Angel Hospital and make it a community hospital, the effort was dubbed Operation Heartbeat.
A recent debacle between the town of Bryson City and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad has been a wake-up call for the local business community.
Bryson City aldermen are quite aware of the rift created in the community over the Fry Street closure issue, but say they welcome residents and businesses alike to participate in the local government process.
On Wednesday, May 3, a male student assaulted another student at approximately 9:30 a.m. at Tuscola High School. The assault lasted about 20 seconds according to a press release from Haywood County Schools, and law enforcement and the parents of the injured student were promptly notified. The victim of the assault sustained serious physical injuries.
The N.C. Department of Transportation wants your feedback on its Draft 10-Year State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which identifies the construction funding and scheduling for transportation projects.
A difficult decision for Mission Health will now present a difficult decision for expecting mothers in Macon County.
With Mission’s announcement that labor and deliveries at Angel Medical Center in Franklin will cease by July 14, pregnant women will have to decide whether they want to deliver at Harris Regional Hospital — a Duke LifePoint hospital — 25 minutes away in Sylva or travel an hour and a half to deliver at Mission Hospital in Asheville.
Along with the announcement to stop labor and delivery services at Angel Medical Center, Mission Health also announced plans to build a new, state-of-the-art $43 million hospital for the Franklin community.
Macon County residents have made a clear statement that they oppose Mission Health’s decision to discontinue labor and delivery services at Angel Medical Center in Franklin.
A large-scale rescue effort involving multiple animal welfare agencies resulted in the removal of more than 400 animals from a puppy mill in Clarkesville, Georgia, last week.
Justin Scott Fuller, of Waynesville was arrested Saturday, April 22, and charged with murder following a dispute with Christopher Phillips.
It only took about two weeks for the Bryson City Board of Aldermen to change its mind regarding a request from Great Smoky Mountains Railroad to close Fry Street during the Polar Express rides this winter.
Still struggling to make people understand that Swain Community Hospital’s emergency room is still open 24 hours, seven days a week, administrators recently paid a visit to county commissioners.
Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland said he’s been trying for years to get commissioners to change the county’s personnel policy to allow him and the register of deeds to accrue personal time off hours like every other county employee.
While rumors are flying around town about the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad looking to move its Polar Express event from Bryson City to Dillsboro, nothing has been confirmed.
The Swain County Board of Commissioners now has a vacancy after the sudden and saddening loss of longtime Commissioner David Monteith.
Mainspring Conservation Trust has several cleanup projects in the works that once completed will transform East Franklin for the better.
Much of Western North Carolina’s native history is hidden in plain sight along the Tennessee River Valley from Otto to Bryson City.
“What’s an alderman?” is a common question town officials hear when trying to explain what they do to members of the public.
Kim Albritton was visibly shaken up when she walked out of Bryson City Town Hall on Monday night.
School systems in Western North Carolina were hoping a proposed piece of legislation regarding class size requirements would make it through the General Assembly this session to take some pressure off their 2017-18 budgets, but now it seems unlikely the bill will pass.
Women have a lot of internal dialogue when considering a run for public office — I don’t have time. I have a full-time job and a family to take care of at home. I don’t know enough about the issues. I don’t have the name recognition. I don’t have a college degree. Who would vote for me? I’m a woman.
Much can be learned through the process of training for a 5K race — physical strength, mental health, focus, determination, self-confidence and perseverance.
Girls at Junaluska Elementary School seem to have a renewed sense of pride in themselves and their peers after sharing a memorable experience during a recent Girls Empowerment Night.
