Proposal would give Qualla area 24-hour ambulance

Harris Regional Hospital Emergency Medical Services is asking the Jackson County Commissioners to make changes to its service that would cost about $200,000 to implement.

Grants could offset cost of river park project

Jackson County is hoping that grants will offset the $847,000 cost of extending water and sewer connections to a piece of land being eyed for a new outdoor adventure park in Dillsboro, and last week commissioners gave the county the go-ahead to apply for just such a grant — $50,000 from the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Increased need prompts change in shelter management

Correction: In the March 1 issue, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported that Jackson Neighbors in Need requested funding from the Jackson County Commissioners. The Southwestern Child Development Commission is the entity that requested the funding, as management of Jackson’s homeless shelter has transitioned from Neighbors in Need to the SWCDC. SMN regrets the error.

Increased need prompts change in shelter management

Correction: In the March 1 issue, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported that Jackson Neighbors in Need requested funding from the Jackson County Commissioners. The Southwestern Child Development Commission is the entity that requested the funding, as management of Jackson’s homeless shelter has transitioned from Neighbors in Need to the SWCDC. SMN regrets the error.

Over and out: a Southern Loop retrospective

With a redesign of N.C. 107 officially in the works, the controversial Southern Loop appears to be toast.

A windshield tour of the new 107

Years in the making, design options for a new N.C. 107 in Sylva were recently unveiled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The weight of desire: David Joy releases second book

What would you do?

A pile of drugs. A stack of cash. More money than you’ve ever seen in your life, and more illegal fun and chaos than you ever thought possible. And yet, while standing at this crossroads there’s a dead body on the floor, bullet hole through the head, blood spilling across the floor, ever closer to your shoes, and also your link to the situation.

Jackson leaders debate whether utility hookup fees are too high

An unusual number of building vacancies has peppered downtown Sylva this winter, and as town leaders have scratched their heads to figure out why, the fee structure of the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority has come under fire as a possible culprit. And that’s led to a larger discussion about whether that fee structure is inhibiting the area’s overall economic development. 

A new day for N.C. 107

The congested, five-lane drag through Sylva will soon meet its maker.

A $36 million project to re-do the commercial thoroughfare of N.C. 107 is officially in the planning stages, and last week the N.C. Department of Transportation unveiled the long-awaited schematic designs of what the new road might look like.

Jackson homeless shelter receives $23,400 in emergency funding

The population of folks in need of overnight housing has been increasing in Jackson County, prompting Jackson Neighbors in Need to ask commissioners for $23,400 to help them shelter higher-than-expected numbers of people through the end of March. 

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