Archived (29806)
Children categories
Foundering developers create vested rights dilemma
As developers grapple with financial woes forcing them to sell off holdings or succumb to foreclosure, environmental groups in Jackson…
Read More
Consensus unlikely in Sylva board appointment
The moment of truth arrives for Sylva’s new town board on the day it starts work. When board members convene…
Read More
Macon wrestles with impact of subdivision ordinance
Although Macon County passed its first subdivision ordinance more than a year ago, Commissioner Chairman Ronnie Beale wonders whether enough…
Read More
Legal wrangling heats up in Jackson’s bid to wrest Dillsboro dam away from Duke
Jackson County and Duke Energy squared off this week over the Dillsboro dam, marking the first major head-to-head courtroom battle…
Read More
Compromise ends tug-of-war over who will be Harrah’s liquor distributor
While the addition of alcohol sales at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel will undoubtedly be lucrative for the Eastern Band…
Read More
Tiger hurts himself with silence
Poor Tiger Woods. He is not only the greatest golfer of all time, but also perhaps the world’s most popular…
Read More
Satire hits hard, but it works
Satire is one of language’s most powerful weapons, and when used effectively, it can foster meaningful dialogue on important topics.…
Read More
Lighting the way Dillsboro celebrates illuminating festival in December
Every year for more than a quarter century, the village of Dillsboro transforms itself into a quintessential Christmas scene, warm…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
The omnibus stops here Reliable, undisclosed anonymous sources tell this reporter that the Fiscal year 2010 Omnibus Bill expected to…
Read More
UNC students conduct research while in Highlands
University students conducting environmental fieldwork and research at the Highlands Biological Station have spent the past semester delving into the…
Read More
Memories from ‘up at the barn’
You’ve noticed how old barns are recognized as special places? When a person says, “I’m going down to the barn,”…
Read More
Loophole in video poker ban makes way for cyber sweepstakes
Sweepstakes have never before been so controversial — or so complicated. Far removed from the days of dropping an entry…
Read More
An unstable past
Located atop a nearly 3,000-foot mountain in Cullowhee, the Jackson County Airport was built to avoid the low-lying fog that…
Read More
With real estate market still in flux, Macon postpones property reappraisal
Macon County has joined a growing trend in deciding to postpone its property revaluation process for two years. The county…
Read More
WCU hosts January dulcimer weekend at Lake Junaluska
Western Carolina University will sponsor its fifth annual Mountain Dulcimer Winter Weekend beginning Thursday, Jan. 7, and continuing through Sunday,…
Read More
Judgment day arrives
The Cleansing by Ben Eller. Fireside Publications, 2009. 292 pages In Ben Eller’s science fiction novel, The Cleansing, (2020), progress…
Read More
Master plan underway for Sylva’s Pinnacle Park
Pinnacle Park, a favorite recreational haunt in Sylva that was once home to the town’s watershed, will benefit from a…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
The hunter is back Orion the hunter, one of the most noted and most recognizable constellations in the heavens is…
Read More
Nantahala headwaters tract protected
A 248-acre tract known as Rainbow Springs at the headwaters of the Nantahala River in Macon County has been protected…
Read More
Suspects nabbed in Macon church break-in spree
A string of church break-ins that had captured widespread attention in Macon County came to an end last week when…
Read More
Macon tax hike in store to pay for new elementary school
Macon County’s schools will get a long-awaited upgrade, but its taxpayers are going to have to pay extra for it.…
Read More
Franklin students’ hard work helps greenway
Franklin High students became active volunteers in a service-learning program this fall to improve the ecosystem along the Franklin Greenway.…
Read More
Future of Jackson airport up in the air
The Jackson County airport has reached a crossroads. For years the little aviation field above the clouds has been a…
Read More
The life and times of Cataloochee Ranch
Tom Alexander, a famed mountain man, forester and founder of Cataloochee Ranch, chronicled his adventures over the course of his…
Read More
As rockslide cleanup trudges on, misleading detour signs plague tourism industry
The cost of repairing Interstate 40 after a massive rockslide in late October will now be borne by the federal…
Read More
Shuler collects baggage, but he’ll likely survive this one
Now that it’s clear that Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, did indeed mislead everyone about his involvement in a land deal…
Read More
Legacy of a mountain family
For 75 years, Cataloochee Ranch has been serving up a taste of the Wild West in the Smokies. From its…
Read More
Rutabagas and history of Hemphill Bald
Let us consider the relationship between grassy balds, Tom Alexander and the self-proclaimed “Potato and Rutabaga King of Haywood County.”…
Read More
At free clinics survival trumps politics
Dr. David Trigg, medical director at the Good Samaritan Clinic of Jackson County, doesn’t know if he should do more…
Read More
Parkway right-of-way battle hard-fought through Cherokee
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians played an integral role in the creation of the Parkway. The Parkway was envisioned…
Read More
Past illness leaves woman ‘uninsurable’
Though Sylva resident Marsha Crites had no risk factors, she suffered a major cerebellum stroke at the age of 49.…
Read More
While politics reign in Washington, real people struggle with health care costs
It was late September, and Travis George, a 27-year-old Waynesville resident, was almost done mowing his grandmother’s yard. With just…
Read More
Haywood library to accept canned food in lieu of fines
Haywood County library is experimenting with novel methods for wiping out some of the $250,000 in late fees it is…
Read More
Flirting with my own mortality
I felt something clutch, almost seize up, and then a shooting pain in my chest, and my first thought was,…
Read More
Thanksgiving in the mountains: Memories and food from the past
By Karen Dill • Special to the Smoky Mountain News My memories of Thanksgiving in the mountains are of simple…
Read More
Tickets soon available for Garrison Keillor appearance at WCU
Tickets go on sale Monday, Nov. 30, for an appearance at Western Carolina University by Garrison Keillor, host of the…
Read More
Shooting bear on Parkway nets prison time
Two Jackson County men were sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for shooting a bear on the Blue Ridge…
Read More
Grant to restore migration in Little T tributaries
The Little Tennessee Watershed Association has received a $75,000 grant to help restore migration for aquatic species. Two years ago,…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
I wanna go home with the armadillo When you’re stuck in one place for 12 hours at a time, a…
Read More
Commissioners perplexed by white paint samples
Jackson County Commissioners pondered paint samples at their meeting this week in an attempt to pick an exterior color for…
Read More
Jackson commissioners faced with resigning EDC members
Four of the nine members on the Jackson County Economic Development Commission have resigned in the past month, signaling growing…
Read More
When insurance falls short, out-of-pocket costs become rapidly out-of-reach
As if dealing with the trauma of breast cancer wasn’t enough, Martha Yonce, 62, was also hit with a devastating…
Read More
When the health care crisis hits home: Three sisters share stories of insurance illusions
Nothing could have prepared Franklin sisters Suzanne Thomas and Karen Rice for the total financial ruin that followed their injuries.…
Read More
Macon County asks for public input, take three
After two unsuccessful attempts at creating a comprehensive land-use plan, Macon County’s commissioners have directed staff to take another bite…
Read More
Developers have plans for sites near Wal-Mart
A local developer has purchased a key parcel alongside Super Wal-Mart in Waynesville, potentially kick-starting long-awaited commercial redevelopment along the…
Read More
Eli Book takes us back to a nostalgic time
Eli the Good by Silas House. Candlewick Press, 2009. 295 pages Eli Book, the 10-year-old narrator/protagonist of Silas House’s new…
Read More
Smokies elk shot down in Cataloochee Valley
A man has been arrested for shooting an elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last Friday. The elk…
Read More
Ghost Town’s spotty financial disclosure frustrates creditors
As Ghost Town heads toward its first big showdown in bankruptcy court next week, objections from those owed money are…
Read More
WCU rides wave of new applicants
Over the past three years the applicant pool at Western Carolina University has nearly tripled. The increase in prospective students…
Read More
