Dec 17, 2024 · T he bitter battle between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Lumbee as the Lumbee seek federal recognition has grown even more contentious over the last few months. And now, following the announcement from Attorney General and Governor-elect Josh Stein that EBCI Principal Chief Michell Hicks — who has long called into question the Lumbees’ identification as a tribe — will be ...

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Jan 7, 2025 · After a request for an assistant JV volleyball coach prompted a review of coaching supplements in the school system, the Macon County Board of Education is considering funding several additional assistant coaching positions.   In his review of athletic teams in Macon County Schools, Athlet...

Jan 2, 2025 · Newly elected Gov. Josh Stein wasted no time addressing some of the state’s biggest challenges after being sworn in on Jan. 1, traveling to Buncombe County today to announce immediate action on Hurricane Helene recovery. “Martin Luther King, Jr, who we will all be celebrating later this month, said...

Oct 2, 2024 · While Macon County may have been spared the catastrophic flooding experienced by so many of its Western North Carolina neighbors following Hurricane Helene, it was not spared the most serious and devastating effects of the storm — loss of life.  On Sunday, Sept. 29, the Macon County Sherif...

Dec 3, 2024 · Editor’s note: this story contains strong language. S ince his election in 2022, Haywood County Commissioner Terry Ramey has been known for lying — about his delinquent taxes, about his votes, about being assaulted — but this time, his acquiescent appearance in a YouTube video that spread misinformation about the county’s powers to circumvent state law has Ramey’s fellow ...

6 days ago · “Those gauges were integral in helping us monitor the river levels,” said Chair Kevin Ensley during a Feb. 3 meeting. Since Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, the county has embarked on a campaign to bolster its early warning capacity for extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene, during which the existing gauges provided data to the North Carolina Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network.

6 days ago · Missing hiker Ann Houghton, 73, was found deceased in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Feb. 2 at approximately 1:53 p.m. She was found roughly a quarter mile off of Enloe Creek Trail. Houghton was reported missing to the park on Feb. 1. She had planned to hike in the park Jan. 28-29. Her ...

Sep 26, 2024 · 11:48 a.m., Sept. 27 — Kyle Perrotti. Gov. Roy Cooper offered a brief address and answered a few questions at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 27. Cooper began the press conference with some information everyone in Western North Carolina already knows.

Dec 31, 2024 · In listening to the tributes regarding the death of President Jimmy Carter, a phrase from his inauguration speech struck a chord: “…. individual sacrifice for the common good.”  Having spent nearly all my career working in community journalism, I’ve been fortunate enough to have some part in pr...