Archives for May 2022

Lavender Lynn Design is turning Franklin’s gems into jewelry

From resin coasters and art palettes to wired-wrapped jewelry, 20-year-old Franklin local Avery Mcgaha handcrafts these creations using locally sourced gems and butterfly wings. The young entrepreneur is a jack of all trades and has been self-employed since May 2021. She is also a pet sitter and student. Mcgaha is expected to graduate in December […]

Dead whales and Vikings

Vicki Szabo simply couldn’t resist when she was asked to harvest the bones of a beached, 13-foot long, pilot whale that had been dead for two months. Szabo, WCU history professor, studies Norse Vikings in the sub-Arctic from the year 800 to 1300. Vikings would make tools and weapons out of whale bones. Her mission […]

Jackson County Special Olympics is back

The story was originally published in The Sylva Herald edition on May 4. Following a two-year hiatus, about 100 athletes will take to the track and field for friendly competition at the Special Olympics spring games at 10 a.m. Friday at Smoky Mountain high School. “The games will feature traditional and modified track and field […]

Mountain Heritage Center: A regional heart of Appalachian traditions

Story co-written/produced with Charles Gadie Walking through the door, visitors are greeted with a smile from the student workers at the front desk and a sense of curiosity. Many wondering ‘what is this hidden place’. The Mountain Heritage Center is Western Carolina University’s museum of southern Appalachian history and culture.  Currently in their gallery exhibit, the […]

Innovations to help with self care

For many people, blow drying your hair is a small task overlooked by many. But for a person with disabilities blow drying your hair can be a necessary but almost impossible task. In January Allison Royer, a mechanical engineering student, submitted a project idea for an oscillating hair dryer holder as part of an assignment. […]

Canes and confidence from a chronically ill and queer WCU student

Co-written with Jessica Stephens At first glance, Lennox Shuttleworth (they/he/she) may seem like the average college student, but their life story will tell you much more. They have their good and bad days, but unlike most students, it is because of the torturous pain and fear of being a queer, disabled person. Shuttleworth lays huddled […]