Sylva first considered a proposal to address panhandling in November 2022 but ultimately decided against it after a majority of the board and several members of the public spoke out in opposition to the measure. 

Haywood County Schools’ stock just keep rising. This year the school system was ranked sixth out of 115 school districts in the state following the release of testing data. This is compared to its seventh place ranking the year prior and 10th place ranking just a few years ago. 

It makes potheads giggle and cops roll their eyes, and in Western North Carolina this year, the stoner holiday 4/20 became newsworthy.

An event to commemorate the special weekend was held Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20, at the Smoky Mountain Event Center in Haywood County, and it drew the scrutiny of some in the community. 

After Hurricane Helene rocked the eastern reaches of Western North Carolina, Crystal Cochran sprang into action.

A resident of Sylva, mother and Gold Star military wife, Cochran jumped at the opportunity to aid in efforts by Operation Airdrop to get supplies into Western North Carolina and distributed to the hardest hit areas in the region. 

This year both Jackson and Swain counties received state grants of $52 million to build new middle schools. For Jackson County, this will be the first traditional middle school the county has ever had and will serve middle grade students in place of the four K-8 schools that do so now.