Smoky Mountain News

It’s 11 p.m. – do you know where your wood thrush is? “Hello, Ms. Stutchbury, this is OnStar. Your wood thrush that is supposed to be on its way to Mexico is actually in New Orleans.” Full Story »

Mast General Store is again collecting packages for U.S. soldiers in combat zones. The deadline for packages is Dec. 8. Customers can cover their own boxes or bring items to Mast and employees will package them. Full Story »

Balsam Mountain Preserve has been stripped of control and custody of its development as lenders continue their march toward foreclosure. The 4,400-acre development in Jackson County owes nearly $21 million to its lender, a private equity investment firm called TriLyn. Full Story »

The National Park Service and Swain County appear locked in a stalemate over how much the federal government should pay up for breaking its long-standing contract to replace a road flooded by the creation of Lake Fontana in the 1940s. Full Story »

A bill is moving through Congress that could help boost the local economy and create jobs by drawing international tourists to Western North Carolina. Full Story »

An overwhelming majority of citizens who showed up at a public hearing in Robbinsville spoke out against the Corridor K road project last Thursday (Oct. 29). Full Story »

The main message that local and state authorities are frenetically broadcasting to the world is that Western North Carolina is still open for business even though a major rockslide will likely shut down a portion of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee border for at least four months. Full Story »

After a feel-good race lacking much controversy, Maggie Valley voters have re-elected Saralyn Price to her second term on the town board, sending with her a fresh face, motel owner Scott Pauley. Full Story »

As with the election two years ago, Canton will once again see three new faces on the board. Voters had a deep bench of candidates to chose from: 10 running for four seats on the board. The only two returning board members are Alderman Eric Dills and Mayor Pat Smathers. Full Story »

In an unusual election storyline, voters in Webster cast ballots for a total of 21 write-in candidates because too few candidates signed up to run for the five available seats on the town council. Full Story »

Faced with a collapsing tourism marketplace caused by a national recession and the pullout of its featured attraction — the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad –– Dillsboro’s voters elected a new leadership team to steer the town towards an uncertain future. Full Story »

Not one face is changing in Franklin’s local government despite close contests for mayor and aldermen. In a neck-and-neck race, Franklin Mayor Joe Collins beat out Alderman Bob Scott by only 14 votes to reclaim the office for another two years. Full Story »

Western North Carolina has so embraced mountain vernacular architecture that local planning boards across the area are prodding developers into adopting the style. Full Story »

Love it or hate it, mountain vernacular architecture has stubbornly planted its roots in Western North Carolina and shows no signs of abandoning the area. Full Story »