Poverty in Western North Carolina is high and Jackson County resembles that picture, even though it’s not so obvious. According to the US Census Bureau, more than 20 percent, or around 8,000 people are poverty stricken. To combat the poverty, local community is helping and Jackson Neighbors in Need (JNIN), for the past nine years, has been […]
Park announces solar eclipse event
February 28, 2017 by
News release from Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is offering an opportunity to experience the Great American Total Eclipse through a ticketed event at Clingmans Dome as well as informal eclipse viewing sites at Cades Cove and Oconaluftee. The total eclipse will take place Monday, Aug. 21. The park is […]
University police: “Community relations a two-way street”
February 26, 2017 by
University police departments from Cullowhee to Wilmington came together Wednesday evening, Feb. 22, for a town hall meeting aimed at improving officer-student relations. The meeting, hosted by the North Carolina Central University School of Law via conference software, invited officers and students from all 17 UNC System schools to discuss evolving issues in law enforcement. […]
County landslide maps near completion
February 24, 2017 by
This story was written by Tanner Hall, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Geologists over the next few months will finish mapping all previous, current and potential landslides in Jackson County. The information should be available by June, according to Jennifer Bauer of Appalachian Landslide Consultants, an Asheville-based firm. County officials hired the company for $143,000 in […]
Residents protest student apartments on Speedwell
February 24, 2017 by
This story was written by Tanner Hall, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Longtime residents in a small Cullowhee neighborhood next to Western Carolina University worry that additional student housing in the Speedwell area could lead to tragedy. A developer wants to build apartments near Speedwell Acres. Residents say two-lane Speedwell Road cannot handle additional traffic. The […]
Trails at Pinnacle Park deliberately spiked
February 24, 2017 by
This story was written by Quintin Ellison, originally published in The Sylva Herald. Police and volunteers used leaf blowers and metal detectors to sweep Pinnacle Park’s entire 18-mile trail system, uncovering and removing 50 or more booby-trap spikes forged from 16-penny nails. Someone hammered the nails into roots. The nails’ heads were clipped or cut off, leaving […]
