WCU employees, students protest ban

This story was written by Quintin Ellison, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Faculty and student leaders at Western Carolina University condemned President Donald Trump’s immigration order as “fundamentally antithetical to the values and goals of higher education and to American values as a whole.” Meeting Feb. 3, Faculty Senate members voted to approve a resolution opposing […]

Trump order strikes home: Foreign-born WCU faculty wonder ‘who is next?’

This story was written by Quintin Ellison, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Farzaneh Razzaghi returned last week from visiting her mother in Iran. Soon after, President Donald Trump issued his immigration ban on Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. Though she holds U.S. citizenship, Razzaghi, dean of library services for Western Carolina University, said […]

All politics is local: Jackson County residents march on D.C., Asheville

This story was written by Quintin Ellison, originally published in The Sylva Herald. As upwards of 500,000 protesters descended Saturday on the nation’s capitol, thousands more streamed into Asheville to show solidarity. Jackson County residents marched in both cities. “I went for all people in the name of human rights. We marched to the White House – […]

Democrat loses TWSA seat

This story was written by Haley Smith and Quintin Ellison, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Republican Commissioner Mickey Luker denied party politics were involved in Monday’s successful ouster of a prominent local Democrat from the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority. “There isn’t a bit of it politically motivated,” Luker said during the Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting. […]

Firefighters tame 15 fires in Cherokee; arson blamed

This story was written by Quintin Ellison, originally published in The Sylva Herald on Nov. 17. In 26 years as the Nantahala District ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, Mike Wilkins has fought a lot of wildfires in Western North Carolina. The veteran firefighter has never seen anything quite like this, however, at least not in […]

Ledbetter Road: fix or folly?

This story was written by Tanner Hall, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Four months after a father of four died in a hit and run in Cullowhee, there’s new action to protect other pedestrians who use overcrowded, unsafe Ledbetter Road. Transportation officials hope to link Ledbetter and Monteith Gap roads. The connector near Western Carolina […]