Smoky Mountain News

Smoky Mountain News is a complimentary weekly publication located in Waynesville, North Carolina. It is available for readers in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties in the state.

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Joint meeting tonight to probe Jackson’s library concerns - but without public comment

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Cory Vaillancourt

Latest Joint meeting tonight to probe Jackson’s library concerns — but without public comment When Jackson County commissioners and the Fontana Regional Library Board sit down together this evening for a rare joint meeting, there won’t be any public comment, any official votes or even a clearly defined agenda. In an interview just hours before the June 19 meeting, acting FRL Board Chair Cynthia Mason Womble told The Smoky Mountain News that although the library system’s own bylaws mandate...
Jackson commissioners delay budget adoption

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Cory Vaillancourt

After more than an hour of contentious public comment on possible FRL withdrawal, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners reviewed a proposed $107 million general fund budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, presented by County Manager Kevin King. The proposed budget includes a substantial tax hike. Commissioners already held a public hearing for the proposed budget and ware expected to adopt the budget ordinance at the June 17 meeting — but that’s not what happened.
One more show: Ric Savage’s last pinfall

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Kyle Perrotti

He secured the three-count on the pin and won the day. But he wasn’t done. He had to get pinned one last time. After all, this was Heavy Metal Ric Savage’s last match, and a professional wrestler must go out on their back. Savage’s final bout was the main event after several other matches Saturday at The Maggie Valley Fairgrounds during a count GOP event billed as a “Spirit of America” celebration, which Savage also emceed once he was done with his fight.
Spirit of America celebration brings Republican senate candidates to Haywood

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Kyle Perrotti

Latest Spirit of America celebration brings Republican senate candidates to Haywood Last weekend, Haywood County’s Republican Party hosted a fundraiser at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds that featured music, professional wrestling, a car show and a hearty helping of conservative politics.
Sylva Town Council rejects resolution of support for Fontana Library system

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Cory Vaillancourt

“This resolution, I just kinda learned about, and I don’t think it’s the job of this board to present a public statement on an issue going on in our community that is very polarizing right now,” Brown said. “We have not vetted this statement as a committee, as a board. We have not discussed it. I didn’t have a hand in crafting it.
WCU breaks ground on massive stadium project

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Kyle Perrotti

The project is just one part of a larger campaign to upgrade facilities funded partially by $30 million raised from student athletics fees, which were increased following approval from student government in 2021. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Student Government Association President Grady Jones spoke about the fee increase and why it is important to make these renovations a reality.
Word from the Smokies: Bryson City painter reflects on a lifetime of art inspired by nature

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Holly Kays

Outdoors Latest Word from the Smokies: Bryson City painter reflects on a lifetime of art inspired by nature Elizabeth Ellison was dealing almost strictly in watercolors when a logistical challenge transformed her painting career.
A note about numbers

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Cory Vaillancourt

Sure, numbers don’t mean everything, but to some, they’re important. Organizers hope for solid attendance that can testify to an event’s popularity, which is precisely why such self-interested analysis can be unreliable. But with some quick geometry and simple long division, one thing that can be definitively stated is how many people can fit on Haywood County’s most popular protest ground, the Historic Haywood County Courthouse.
‘No Kings’ movement sweeps through Appalachia

1 week ago | smokymountainnews.com | Cory Vaillancourt

A diverse crowd of perhaps 1,500 showed up under sunny skies with temperatures in the 80s to protest what they see as an accelerating slide into authoritarianism. They came not just to protest a man, but a mindset. They came to say, “No Kings.” The mountains of Western North Carolina have always bred a certain kind of independence, a wary relationship with power that long predates the United States itself.
Pless TDA, deannexation bills advance

2 weeks ago | smokymountainnews.com | Cory Vaillancourt

The first, H169, would authorize the Haywood County Board of Commissioners to raise the room occupancy tax from 4% to 6%, but at a cost. All official municipal representation on the TDA’s board would be eliminated, including spending requirements delineated by zip code, and the board’s size would shrink by about half.