To help create a pipeline of future health care workers for the region, Dogwood Health Trust has awarded a $500,000 grant to Southwestern Community College’s Health Sciences Division.

After pressing the brakes on Sylva’s municipal grant application, county commissioners have decided to approve a portion of the grant, none of which will go toward a public mural that had been cause for concern among commissioners.

Two weeks after it was pulled from the consent agenda to allow more time for research and discussion, a $75,735 grant reimbursing Haywood County for money it had already spent on vaccination services was approved unanimously by Haywood County commissioners despite objections from more than 25 people who spoke out against it for nearly two hours — many of whom peddled vaccine misinformation similar to that heard at the previous meeting.

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), along with regional partners — including the Asheville Area Arts Council, Transylvania Community Arts Council, the Tryon Fine Arts Center, and the Arts Council of Henderson County — recently announced the 2022-2023 Artist Support Grant awardees. 

The choice by Jackson County Commissioners not to move forward with a municipal grant application from the Town of Sylva has led to discussion among residents, town and county government about the value of public art, as well as how it should be funded.

Without additional funding from the Rural Transformation Grant offered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Town of Sylva plans to put the Bridge Park project temporarily on hold until it can apply for a grant through the Tourism Capital Project Fund.

Growing up in Franklin, Katie Peek never dreamed she would one day be living in the mountains and working as a coastal scientist in Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines.

Jackson County is considering the latest round of municipal grant applications that arrived on commissioners desks this week. Among applications from Sylva, Webster, Dillsboro and Village of Forest Hills, municipalities are looking to improve residents’ experience through art, aesthetics and greater accessibility.

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority will reopen a cycle for tourism capital projects at the start of the new year. Local businesses, nonprofits and governments can apply for funds for projects that will benefit visitors and residents alike.

With the help of the Jackson County Municipal Grant, Sylva may soon be able to implement a Sylva Art Walk.