SMN staff
Haywood County Public Schools has implemented a new COVID-19 quarantine policy change. In certain cases, students will be required to complete a 10-day quarantine, instead of the previous 14-day quarantine period (from most recent exposure) for students and staff who are considered close contacts.
• The Jackson County Veterans Day Parade will be held on Thursday, Nov. 11, on Main Street in Sylva. Line up will begin at 2 p.m. at Mark Watson Park and the parade will begin at 3 p.m. 828.631.2231.
Twelve counties in Western North Carolina have received disaster declarations from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack due to flooding from Tropical Storm Fred.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is increasing its monitoring efforts for chronic wasting disease this deer season after a deer harvested this summer just 30 miles over the border in Virginia tested positive for the deadly disease.
A new wheelchair-accessible trail in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers a half-mile pathway at the John Oliver Cabin with a unique pastoral view.
New interactive exhibits are now up at Waterrock Knob Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway, highlighting elements of the high-elevation ecosystem ranging from bears to bugs.
Nashville country/indie act Karly Driftwood will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.
There will be a special stage production of “The Little Mermaid Jr.” by Kids at HART at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and 20, and at 2 p.m. Nov. 14 and 21 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
To the Editor:
My name is Carrie McBane and I was a candidate for Town of Sylva Council 2021 in the election held just this week. I just read the letter to the editor from former candidate Luther Jones and have a couple of things I’d like to address that are of utter import to the validity of his claims and for the sake of the readership.
To the Editor:
A recent letter purports to represent conservatives but contains mostly platitudes and hardly anything substantive. The writer’s mention of “questionable votes” of the 2020 election is amusing.
Dogwood Health Trust recently awarded more than $1 million over three years to the Center for Native Health to further strengthen and expand The Medical Careers and Technology Pipeline (MedCaT) for Indigenous and rural Appalachian students.
By Peter H. Lewis • Asheville Watchdog | Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, which operates Asheville’s Mission Hospital and five other hospitals in Western North Carolina, reported Friday that it made $2.27 billion in profits in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, triple the amount in the same period last year.
North Carolina Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr are among the 28 cosponsors on a bill that the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is calling “the most significant wildlife conservation bill in nearly half a century.”
Highlands recently became the first recognized BearWise Town in the U.S., with the honor officially bestowed on Oct. 5.
Following the curtain call for the opening night performance of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre’s current production of “Harvey,” the show’s director Wanda Taylor got a major surprise.
To the Editor:
I was once a candidate for the Sylva Town Council but withdrew when I realized that I did not have the time, because of personal matters, to do the position justice if elected. That does not mean that I have lost my interest in what is happening in the town of Sylva. For that reason, I attended the forum of the candidates for Sylva Town Commissioner that was held at the Old Courthouse.
During an Oct. 25 meeting, Macon County Board of Education unanimously approved to allow students and staff to have the option of wearing a face covering.
Monoclonal Antibody Treatment (mAb treatment) is available to Macon County residents through local hospitals (Angel Medical Center and Highlands-Cashiers Hospital).
When Dylan Brooks first started his college education, he began in a business program. It didn’t take long to figure out that sitting in a classroom or eventually in an office was not what he wanted to do.
Haywood Community College recently hosted the 30th John G. Palmer Woodsmen’s Meet, usually held at the Cradle of Forestry, In addition to HCC’s Lumberjack Team, North Carolina State University, Western Carolina University, Montgomery Community College, and West Virginia University also competed.
To the Editor:
My first impression was that the letter writer’s claim (SMN, Oct. 6) was just the latest bit of alarmist fake news spinning off the internet: that the National Archives was now attaching a “warning” to our treasured foundational documents that are entrusted to their care. As it turns out, even though the letter writer got almost nothing right, my favorite go-to debunking source snopes.com, labels the basic story as “Mostly true.” The problem is (as usual) that this item bounced around as a meme on social media, in the process getting twisted, almost beyond recognition, into some nefarious attack on our basic freedoms.
To the Editor:
The Macon County Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police had Rep. Madison Cawthorn as the guest speaker Friday for the Law Enforcement Memorial Service on Franklin’s Town Square. It was a bit ironic.
To the Editor:
This past year plus has been challenging for us all due to a nasty global virus. It has caused multiple catastrophic problems affecting our personal life along with the global economy. While we are far from a full recovery yet, many of our businesses have successfully reinvented themselves and others sadly have not. Hundreds of new businesses are thriving the old-fashioned way due to innovation and new ideas.
During COVID-19, Haywood County Schools’ employees have gone above and beyond to support the community and encourage learning during the Coronavirus Pandemic. This began with meal deliveries to students and the community. When the state allowed students to return to in-person schooling, Haywood County Schools opened its doors five days a week for rotational or daily attendance. Haywood County Schools have been very safe with limited clusters, strong academic and extra-curricular performance.
Help determine the future of a unique and precious cultural resource in downtown Franklin by taking an online survey hosted by the Nikwasi Initiative.
Allison Richmond • Guest Columnist | Haywood County is struggling to cope with a very unusual situation, two separate states of emergency happening at the same time. A month and a half ago, historic flooding brought loss and anguish to our community, and while that is devastation enough, for nearly two years now COVID-19 has threatened the health of every one of us.
To the Editor:
Right now, politicians in the North Carolina General Assembly are dividing North Carolina into new legislative and congressional districts that could determine who represents us for the next decade.
To the Editor:
Promoting and voting our true family interests can unify and rejuvenate this country. But we have become mired in media-driven divisiveness.
To the Editor:
He, or they, all seem to be confused about facts, or what they believe to be true. They get their information from ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, The New York Times and the Washington Post. All are liberal, biased and should be taken with a grain of salt. Meaning there are some truths, and some twisted facts.
In the last week, Haywood County Public Health has received notice of 176 new cases of COVID-19, which is down from previous weeks.
By Tom Fiedler • Asheville Watchdog | For the second time in as many months, Rep. Madison Cawthorn faces a potential criminal complaint for carrying a weapon — in the latest incident, a “combat” automatic knife similar to a switchblade — in a public school building.
Steve Heatherly left his position as CEO of Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital on Oct. 7 to pursue another opportunity.
This year’s Big Sweep event in Haywood County removed a whopping 3,100 pounds of trash from county streams with the help of a record 62 volunteers.
Fossilized footprints found in New Mexico’ White Sands National Park have revealed evidence of human occupation there beginning 23,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought.
Marshall native and country music performer Ricky Gunter walked away from the Country Tonite Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, on Sept. 17, with two big awards.
When the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (HART) in Waynesville needed a custom-painted portrait of an actor with his six-foot invisible rabbit friend, local painter Barbara Brook hopped to the task.
To the Editor:
One can find treasures in the most improbable places. For me, the Letters to the Editor captures the flavor, thought, and concern of local residents. Whatever the tenor, whether amusing, strident, or irreverent, the letters offer the spectrum of current concerns. There is seldom universal agreement, but the crux of the matter is that opinions are not just possible, they are encouraged.
To the Editor:
Republicans keep claiming that Democrats are destroying the country. They use emotionally laden words like “socialism” and “communism” in ways that are ridiculous and silly.
To the Editor:
The anti-abortion law enacted by Texas appears strong and worrisome. But, is it really strong? This major question lingers: where will the “bounty money” come from?
Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital are taking a stand against breast cancer. All women — mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and friends — should know their risk, recognize the signs and symptoms and understand the importance of self-checks and early detection.
By Allison Johnson • MD, Surgeon, Haywood Breast Center | According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the U.S., behind only skin cancers. In fact, the ACS puts the average risk as a one in eight chance that a woman will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
Municipal elections in Western North Carolina will be held in some jurisdictions on Tuesday, November 2, but in-person early voting will take place beginning Thursday, Oct. 14.
Macon County Public Health will delay plans to begin giving COVID-19 boosters to eligible persons due to a number of COVID-19 positive staff.
Fall is an exciting, beautiful season in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Below is a roundup of some of the big events going on in the region.
Two Haywood County water treatment plants were among the 13 North Carolina facilities recognized with the Gold Star honor for systems that have surpassed federal and state drinking water standards for 10 consecutive years.
Help celebrate the grand re-opening of the Haywood Community College disc golf course with a two-round tournament starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, in Clyde.
To the Editor:
I fear for my country. The cause of my anxiety is the judgment that our nation has regressed beyond the point of no return. A number of events has led to that conclusion, and chief among them is America’s acceptance of Donald Trump’s neutralizing our collective ability to determine right from wrong.
To the Editor:
In November 2020, millions of voters like me went to the polls and cast a ballot for Joe Biden.
