Election Day – Decision time

Finally the Election Day is here! That doesn’t mean that we will know the results who won by the end of the night. The Western Carolina Journalist election team will have updates during the election day so make sure to follow us on Twitter at @theWCJournalist and read our updates on the site. North Carolina […]

Early voting at WCU is off to a good start

On Thursday, Oct. 15, early voting opened up across the state of North Carolina. In Jackson County, over 4,000 votes have been cast at the county’s five polling locations, as of Oct. 19, according to BPR. At the time of publishing, approximately 900 votes have been cast at the Cullowhee location on WCU’s campus. Poll workers at […]

COVID-19 cases see new jump across Jackson County

By Dave Russell Story published in The Sylva Herald in Oct. 15 edition.  Western Carolina University reported 30 new cases of COVID-19 over the last week. The bump contributed to a 7.6 % increase in Jackson County from last week. The county currently has 66 people isolating due to COVID-19 infection. That’s up from 50 […]

The advancement of voting machines in America

Originally published in The Western Carolinian on Sept. 30, 2020. With the 2020 election soon upon us, some people are already filling out their absentee ballot or simply waiting until election day. What most people don’t know is the progress that these voting machines have made over the years. The first lever-operated voting machine was created […]

COVID-19 cases here sail past the 370 mark

By Dave Russell Originally published in The Sylva Herald on July 30, 2020.  Jackson County COVID-19 cases rose by 22.1 percent over the last week. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Jackson County Department of Public Health reported 376 cases of full-time residents and 8,203 tests reported to the agency. The county has had three […]

Coronavirus cases mount in Jackson County

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on June 18, 2020.  Jackson County COVID-19 cases have more than doubled in the last month. On Tuesday, May 19, health officials reported 25 cases. As of Tuesday of this week (June 16), 61 cases were reported. That includes six more cases of COVID-19 in full-time residents of Jackson […]