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 […]
Whee Wagon program continues steady growth
February 22, 2017 by
An on-campus organization is continuing to take great strides to provide children in hospitals with a unique gift. Whee Wagon, a program started in 2015 through the WCU School of Nursing, is dedicated to supplying sick children wagons equipped with IV poles. The program has grown steadily since its inauguration and continues to donate to facilities […]
Area nonprofits look to provide oasis for ‘food desert’ inhabitants
February 22, 2017 by
Mountain organizations are raising awareness for an issue that plagues nearly every North Carolina community, yet often goes ignored. An open discussion in Asheville, entitled “WNC Food Deserts & Food Policy,” centered around the concept of “food deserts,” and how a growing tally of Tarheel families, particularly rural ones, are finding themselves isolated from a […]
