On the morning of April 8, county employees removed commemorative plaques from the Confederate statue outside the Jackson County Library and placed them in the county’s storage facility. Few in the county, save the board of commissioners, knew the possibility of removal was even on the table. 

The Jackson County Commission invited Library Director Tracy Fitzmaurice to come before the board and give a report on the state of libraries in the county after concerns were raised over library security last month. 

After a surprise move by Commissioner John Smith at a meeting on Feb. 18, Jackson County is one step closer to partisan school board elections. 

But the move, which was approved unanimously by the commission, was not on the agenda, which means the public, and members of the Board of Education, were left in the dark on the issue and the fact that commissioners were even considering the move. 

Jackson County commissioners chose to delay an appointment to the county’s Tourism Development Authority Board for the third month in a row, leaving a board that has had difficulty filling seats in the past one member down when there are multiple applicants that have been vetted and are ready to serve. 

Residents of Jackson County have long voiced their support, organized and fundraised for a skatepark with little to show other than a temporary half-pipe that stood behind Motion Makers in Sylva for just over one year. 

For the second meeting in a row, Jackson County Commissioners chose to table a routine appointment to the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority Board, leaving a board that has had difficulty filling seats in the past one member down with an applicant willing, ready and waiting in the wings. 

When a routine appointment to the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority came up last week, commissioners decided to table the issue claiming there was a conflict of interest. 

The Jackson County Commission, with two new commissioners seated this month, chose to appoint two new members to the public library board, despite requests from two incumbent board members for reappointment and comments in support of them from the public. 

With the General Election over and two new members set to join the Jackson County Commission in December, the board is going to consider an increase to commissioner pay during its last meeting with the current board makeup. 

With all precincts reporting, Republican candidates appear to have secured two more seats in the Jackson county commission, creating a fully Republican board.