Following a two-and-a-half hour meeting on Monday, Swain County commissioners voted to lift their countywide COVID-19 restrictions with the understanding that residents and businesses still must adhere to Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order. 

County governments are in the midst of planning for their 2020-21 fiscal budgets that have to be approved by the end of June, but the COVID-19 Pandemic is going to throw a wrench in their ability to project revenues for the remainder of the year.

Proactive testing by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has revealed community transmission of COVID-19 in Jackson County.

Heavy rains and high winds associated with strong storms last Sunday night led to plenty of headaches Monday morning, as downed limbs cut power and closed roads while swollen streams slipped their banks, flooding businesses and residences across Western North Carolina.

Swain County commissioners amended the county’s State of Emergency again Tuesday morning to include a curfew for all residents. 

During an emergency meeting held Monday, March 30, the Swain County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a third amendment to its State of Emergency declaration. 

Democratic candidates Roger Parsons and Phil Carson will move on to the November election after being the top two vote-getters in the Swain County commissioner race.

No one is thrilled about the idea of having Swain County’s only public library located in a strip mall, but it may come down to that unless residents want to pay higher taxes. 

Even though the committee for a new Marianna Black Library has been working toward its plan to construct a brand-new facility on a piece of land donated specifically for the library, the county commissioners have made it clear the $7 million price tag is an issue. 

Three Democrats running for county commissioner will appear on the primary election ballot in Swain County this year, and voters will determine which two will move on to the general election in November. 

Are there boardinghouses still operating here in the Smokies region? There are, of course, hotels, inns, bed-and-breakfasts, and motels galore. But I'm wondering about the true, old-fashioned boardinghouse, which flourished throughout the region until the middle of the 20th century.