The loud pounding echoed from the end of the empty corridor.

Crossing the threshold of the last classroom on the left at Smokey Mountain Elementary School in Whittier, one could see — and hear — that the source of the sound came from the feverish hands of students during their afternoon art class. Like an army of woodpeckers, the pupils each hammered away at copper sheet metal in an effort to make their designs a physical reality.

A club for non-religious students is being formed at Pisgah High School after a freshman enlisted the help of a national group to go to bat for her.

It’s been six months since the N.C. General Assembly passed a budget earmarking $10 million for school vouchers to low-income students, but the issue is just heating up in Western North Carolina. On Jan. 9, Macon County became the first school district in the four-county region to add its name to a lawsuit decrying the program as unconstitutional, but they’re not the only ones talking about it. 

In a unanimous vote at the Jan. 28 school board meeting, Jackson County also added its name to the litigation, and Haywood County discussed the issue at its Jan. 13 meeting when chairman Chuck Francis made an impassioned request that the board vote to join the lawsuit. However, the vote died on the floor without a motion to carry it forward. Swain County’s school board has not discussed the issue, and its next meeting is not until Feb. 10.  

Jacob Flannick & Holly Kays • Correspondent/Staff writer

When Scott Cline graduated from Swain High School in the mid-1990s, the community had barely begun talking about forming a school soccer team. And while the sport is gaining popularity in Swain County, football is still the highest platform available to student athletes.

Southwestern Community College leaders unveiled a master plan last month outlining a major expansion of its campus in Macon County. 

The campus would double in size from 20 to 40 acres. The master plan has several phases, but the first phase calls for a 38,000-square-foot science building with 15 classrooms and a lab. The first phase also calls for a new law enforcement training center and indoor firing range.

The fall semester came to a close at Western Carolina University on Dec. 14 as commencement exercises were held in Ramsey Regional Activity Center to recognize the university’s newest graduating class and a group of WCU alumni who were awarded degrees in August.

Faculty and student representatives at Western Carolina University expressed concern last week over recent legislative actions in Raleigh. 

Jacob Flannick • SMN Correspondent

Hundreds of high school students from across the state and beyond toured the campus of Western Carolina University last Saturday morning, trying to envision whether their next step might lead to Cullowhee in what has emerged as a crucial part of the university’s recruiting efforts.

People who live and work in Cullowhee are being invited to share their opinions on growth and planning with a task force that is trying to crystallize a collective vision for the college-centric community.

Pisgah High School in Canton finally has the money for some much-needed renovations, which have been years in the making.  

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution allowing the county finance officer to borrow up to $1.7 million for the high school project.