Smoky Mountain News

12/28/2025

COLUMN: "Recent events make it clear why senators warning military personnel about the dangers of following illegal orders was so very important. The warning was that the Department of Defense Law of War Manual clearly states that military personnel should not follow illegal orders. Following such orders may make the person following the orders guilty of a war crime."

Recent events make it clear why senators warning military personnel about the dangers of following illegal orders was so very important. The warning was that the Department of Defense Law of War Manual clearly states that military personnel should not follow illegal orders. Following such orders may...

12/27/2025

"Truth be told, I can’t really remember the last time I was home for Christmas. I think it was 2020, right in the midst of the shutdown? Who knows? I just miss being back at the old farmhouse, sitting next to the living room fireplace and catching up with my mother about nothing and everything over a glass of wine, or doing the same with my father over a cold beer in the back den."

It’s Thursday. Early afternoon. In the original plan for this week, I would, in my mind’s eye, be cruising along right now somewhere in southcentral Upstate New York, probably just east of Binghamton on Interstate 88, onward to I-87 North to my parents’ farmhouse on the outskirts of Plattsburg...

12/27/2025

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: "I’m disappointed with the Jackson County Board of Elections’ decision to eliminate the convenient and accessible WCU University Center polling location for the primaries next spring. WCU provides the site and parking for free; the county pays the poll workers. The volunteers there have always created a welcoming environment and encouraged young people who are voting for the first time."

To the Editor: I’m disappointed  with the Jackson County Board of Elections’ decision to eliminate the convenient and accessible WCU University Center polling location for the primaries next spring. WCU provides the site and parking for free; the county pays the poll workers. The ...

12/26/2025

Haywood County singer-songwriter Ginny McAfee will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27, Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill in Maggie Valley.

Haywood County singer-songwriter Ginny McAfee will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27, Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill in Maggie Valley. For McAfee, the stage is not just a place to showcase her talent, it’s a platform to share her own unique musical expression with attentive audiences wh...

12/26/2025

Regional Americana act Somebody’s Child will perform at 6 p.m. tonight at Mountain Layers Brewing Company in Bryson City.

For more than a decade, Ashley Claxton and Cola Williamson have been filling the venues of Western North Carolina with their intrepid sounds. While minimalistic, these Smoky Mountain troubadours seamlessly blend both acoustic and electric melodies with renowned vocal harmonies.

Regional Americana act Somebody’s Child will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 26, at Mountain Layers Brewing Company in Bryson City. For more than a decade, Ashley Claxton and Cola Williamson have been filling the venues of Western North Carolina with their intrepid sounds. While minimalistic, these...

12/25/2025

Recently, my mother gifted me “A Christmas Carol and Other Holiday Treasures” (Canterbury Classics, 2013, 540 pages). While I’ve read “A Christmas Carol” many times, I was pleasantly surprised to find Dickens had written plenty more festive tales just like it.

Recently, my mother gifted me “A Christmas Carol and Other Holiday Treasures” (Canterbury Classics, 2013, 540 pages). While I’ve read “A Christmas Carol” many times, I was pleasantly surprised to find Dickens had written plenty more festive tales just like it.  This collection of nove...

12/24/2025

Popular jazz/swing act Blue Ridge Big Band will perform a special “Swinging in the New Year” show at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

The Blue Ridge Big Band is a high-energy Haywood County ensemble performing classic and modern swing tunes. There will also be a free dance class at 6 p.m.

Popular jazz/swing act Blue Ridge Big Band will perform a special “Swinging in the New Year” show at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. The Blue Ridge Big Band is a high-energy Haywood County ensemble performing classic and modern swing tunes. There will...

12/24/2025

“The Polar Express” train ride will roll down the tracks on select dates from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot in downtown Bryson City.

Climb aboard one of the powerful locomotives and historic train cars as it departs the Bryson City Depot for the North Pole to pick up Santa Claus himself.

“The Polar Express” train ride will roll down the tracks on select dates from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot in downtown Bryson City.   Climb aboard one of the powerful locomotives and historic train cars as it departs the Bryson City Depot for the North Pole to pick up Santa...

12/23/2025

All along, a similar effort has been playing out in Yancey County, which began its exodus from the Avery, Mitchell, Yancey regional library system exactly one year before Jackson County did — offering what may be a glimpse of things to come for Jackson County.

While some originally hoped — and continue to hope — that a series of amendments to the Fontana Regional Library System proposed by Jackson County commissioners might ameliorate enough of their concerns to allow them to remain in the decades-long partnership with the FRL system, a questiona...

12/23/2025

Western North Carolina’s next election cycle is already shaping up amid a volatile mix of entrenched incumbents, disaster recovery fallout and deepening national divides, with competitive races stretching from the U.S. Senate on down to county-level offices.

While marquee statewide contests appear to be headed toward familiar General Election matchups, cracks are emerging down the ballot, where public trust and institutional legitimacy are demanding attention from voters now more than any other time in recent memory.

Western North Carolina’s next election cycle is already shaping up amid a volatile mix of entrenched incumbents, disaster recovery fallout and deepening national divides, with competitive races stretching from the U.S. Senate on down to county-level offices.  While marquee statewide contests ...

12/23/2025

Renowned jam-grass act The Infamous Stringdusters will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30, at The Orange Peel in Asheville. Ahead of the show, Smoky Mountain News A&E Editor spoke with members of the band.

It’s been 20 years since the inception of The Infamous Stringdusters, the Grammy-winning string act whose tone and swagger encompasses an acoustic majesty coupled with a full-blown rock show attitude.  “When you’ve been a band for 20 years, a lot of things change, including your perspecti...

12/22/2025

Due to Christmas Eve landing on a Wednesday, this week's edition of The Smoky Mountain News is coming to you a day early. Check it out on newsstands and online tomorrow!