Mainspring Conservation Trust has received $175,000 to clean up and restore a brownfield site near Nikwasi Mound in Franklin. The money will help Mainspring remediate petroleum-contaminated soils on a vacant gravel lot in downtown Franklin.

Residents in the furthest west counties may see smoke over the coming months as the Cherokee National Forest carries out prescribed burns on an estimated 18,500 acres in Monroe and Polk counties, Tennessee, which abut Graham and Cherokee counties in North Carolina.

A former Haywood Country resident who now lives in Virginia was arrested after she allegedly kidnapped three of her children on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 6.

Haywood County’s three Rotary Clubs collected non-perishable food on Sept. 30 at the Canton and Waynesville Ingles locations.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program identified the seven western counties as a pilot region to test new strategies to curb drunk driving.

The Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation has awarded 14 grants totaling over $1.4 million in the 2023 grant cycle.

Vaya Health unveiled the latest addition to its “Pathways to Permanency” program.

Through Nov. 18, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is accepting comments on a proposal to add 9 new miles to the Foothills Parkway, extending it from Wears Valley to the spur near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

Crews are now working to reconstruct the viewing platform atop Mount Pisgah in the Pisgah National Forest, a project that is expected to take about two weeks to finish.

A 4-mile hike exploring the Waynesville Watershed will embark at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7.

The Panther Top Tower in the Nantahala National Forest near Murphy will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 28-29 and Nov. 4-5, offering spectacular views of fall colors in the surrounding mountains.

Spend November exploring some of the region’s most beautiful hikes with a slate of excursions offered through Haywood County Recreation and Parks.

Experience the hemlock trees growing at the historic Cradle of Forestry in America during a hike starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 4.

Help shape a strategic action plan for the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor during the Blue Ridge Rising Two-State Summit Dec. 5-6 at Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock.

Learn about the historic threats facing the French Broad River and an ongoing effort to secure the designation of Wild and Scenic River for the North Fork during the next meeting of the WNC Sierra Club at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the University of North Carolina Asheville’s Reuter Center.

Members of the Western Carolina University family will come together to recognize three prominent alumni for their career accomplishments and to honor a longtime proponent of economic development across Western North Carolina as part of the university’s celebration of Homecoming 2023.

Join Haywood Regional Medical Center for a Lunch and Learn this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation began a project to repair the left lane of I-40 West between the I-26/I-240 interchange and Smoky Park Highway (Exit 44) with a full-time lane closure now in effect.

The Board of Directors of the Great Smokies Health Foundation has awarded $539,235 to 24 organizations for a variety of health, wellness and prevention initiatives across Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.

The first snow of the season has fallen in the Southern Appalachians.

About 185 people attended a Sept. 26 public input session to chart the future of Pisgah View State Park, and an online survey remains open through Oct. 20.

Drought is strengthening in southwestern North Carolina, with 14 counties now in moderate drought and an additional 58 labeled abnormally dry.

The seventh annual North Carolina Native Plants Week is underway, running Oct. 16-22, and Audubon North Carolina is encouraging people to celebrate by planting native species in their own yards or gardens. Plants require less water this time of year, but they also still have enough time to establish before colder winter weather.  

Friends of Panthertown will celebrate the grand opening of its first ever official headquarters and office space during a drop-in event noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 116 Central St. in Sylva.

Funding is available to help homeowners fix failing septic systems, preventing both financial and environmental hardship.

Macon County residents will not have to travel far to attend Pisgah Legal Services’ 13th Annual Justice Forum. A special Watch Party for the Oct. 17 event will be held at Macon County Public Library.

The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina has named Waynesville resident Kathleen “Merritt” Tongen of L.N. Davis Insurance Agency in Waynesville as its 2023 Young Agent of the Year for the state of North Carolina.

More than half a million low-income, uninured North Carolinians will gain access to comprehensive health coverage when Medicaid expansion launches on Dec. 1, 2023.

A new invasive species has been found in North Carolina.

Drought has re-entered the western region, with the most recent drought conditions map labeling Transylvania and Henderson counties as experiencing moderate drought.

A free youth fishing clinic will coincide with an Old Time Music Jam 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee.

Learn the art of Southern Appalachian fly tying with an eight-week course taught by local expert Tommy Thomas.

Tickets are now on sale for Winter Lights, an open-air walk-through light show of more than 1 million lights running Nov. 17-Dec. 31 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Jim Avett will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at The Blue Stage in Andrews.

For anyone looking to get into the field of nursing, Southwestern Community College will offer a Practical Nursing program starting in the spring semester.

Missing in action for more than 54 years, Air Force Capt. Frederick Mervyn Hall of Waynesville will return home for a memorial service and burial next week.

A feature documentary exploring the release of the Pisgah-Nantahala Forest Plan, “The River Runs On,” is now available digitally.

The recently adopted 2023-2025 state budget includes $2.5 million for trail construction in the Pisgah National Forest surrounding Old Fort. The allocation represents a portion of the $24.9 million total set aside for specific trail and greenway projects statewide.

An island campsite in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closed following a wildfire reported around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26.

Applications are open through Thursday, Oct. 12, for participants in the fifth cohort of the Waypoint Accelerator, which is the first outdoor business accelerator east of the Rockies.

Plott hound enthusiasts and their pups from across the United States will assemble to compete in bear bay and coon treeing contests, as well as a sanctioned UKC bench show as part of Plott-tober Fest in Canton from Oct. 5-8.

Hear the spectacular story of a Haywood County native’s expeditions to the world’s highest mountain peaks at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

Waynesville’s Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center celebrated the International Day of Peace last week by installing a peace pole.

The zebra mussel, a harmful invasive aquatic species, has been confirmed in the wild for the first time in North Carolina.

Starlight Night, the annual fundraiser for Full Spectrum Farms, will take place 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, on the farm.

Canton native Betty Y. Henderson earned a bronze medal at the National Senior Games held this summer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A South Carolina woman fell to her death from a steep cliff along the Blue Ridge Parkway Saturday, Sept. 23.

Delayed Harvest Trout Waters regulations will go into effect in Western North Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 1.

Registration for youth basketball with the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department is open through Saturday, Sept. 30.