Sylva Mayor Maurice Moody has announced he will retire from town government and not seek reelection in the upcoming election. His departure, after 16 years on the Town Board of Commissioners, will leave a void of experience in local government and force Sylva voters to choose a new leader.

Sylva town leaders have chosen not to raise taxes next year and instead delay town expenditures, save money where they can and dip into reserve funds to shore up the budget.

A church is looking to bring a little more religion to downtown Sylva, but some local business owners, as well as elected officials, are skeptical of the move.

A Sylva gun storeowner was given special permission to fire weapons in the town limits by town leaders this month.

Walmart in Sylva was asking for the town board to grant them an exemption for a larger storefront sign. But instead of getting a pass on the existing ordinance, the town board decided to change the sign law as it applies to everyone.

Sylva town leaders once again have a public hearing on the docket to decide the fate of oversized Walmart signs, but are once again wondering whether representatives of Walmart will stand them up.

Dr. Janine Keever still remembers that do-or-die moment in her undergrad chemistry class like it was yesterday. The grades just came back on her first exam of the year, and it wasn’t pretty. Her dream of medical school seemed to vanish on the spot.

When finding your artistic voice, it’s about moving forward and not looking back, being true to yourself and refusing to run around in well-worn circles of creativity.

The 16th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival takes place Saturday, April 27, on Main and Mill streets in historic downtown Sylva.

This free festival celebrates spring in the mountains, when the greening leaves work their way up the Great Smoky Mountains. It also celebrates the greening of the environment, with info about sustainable living and presentations by environmental groups.

SEE ALSO: Aiming for the soul, one note at a time

As the manhunt ends, the nation begins to cope and the primary suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing either lay dead or in custody, Dr. Allan Panter, a Sylva emergency room doctor who visited Boston for the race, is still reliving — in vivid detail — the brutal events of that day.