When Shining Rock Classical Academy opened in 2015, the public charter school was hailed as a victory for local proponents of school choice and promised to provide an academically rigorous, comprehensive college preparatory curriculum.

Haywood County native Joel R. Mashburn has been selected to serve as interim county manager following the recent and unexpected departure of former County Manager Ira Dove on Oct. 3.

Its no surprise that The Smoky Mountain News’ annual Women in Business issue highlights women who are in business, but this year, we decided to focus on something a bit more meta: the daughter of a woman in business who is a woman in the business of getting women into business.

It’s a sunny Friday morning on the Pigeon River when the bucket brigade assembles, five-gallon containers in hand. The stock truck has just arrived, making its way up windy U.S. 276 and down the equally squirrely N.C. 215, tanks loaded with fish and water.

A pair of fish culturists from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stands atop the truck as a line of bucket-bearers forms leading up to it, and the work begins. Each bucket received a splash of water and a dollop of flipping, fighting trout — rainbow, brown and brook all mixed together in one writhing mass.

Several well-known Haywood County employees in high-ranking positions have terminated their own employment over the past few months, leading to wild conjecture that the resignations are unusual, related or nefarious in nature.

Although Ira Dove’s tenure as Haywood County manager was relatively short, his long service to the county and the contributions he made as manager will ultimately leave him remembered as an integral piece of a rural government working to address larger issues.

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is considering a number of major changes to increase its efficiency in collecting and allocating tourism revenue dollars.

Charges of “political party disloyalty” first leveled by the Haywood County Republican Party this past May against a group of local Republican dissidents known as the “Haywood Five” will move forward to the state level, The Smoky Mountain News has confirmed.

What if you could see sounds and hear pictures?

About 4 percent of people across the world possess a rare ability that allows them to do just that. It’s called synesthesia, which Dr. Michael Vavra insists isn’t a disorder or even a medical condition.

To date, most area governments that have heard a brunch bill ordinance have passed one. In other areas like Canton and Sylva, the ordinances still have a fighting chance.