Even ahead of calculating the budget, Swain County’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 costs are likely to be higher, said County Manager Lottie Barker. 

“It’s across the board, different depending on what the department has asked for, as well as special appropriations.

A prominent Western North Carolina legislator may be gone, but his legacy of commitment to public safety and first responders will live on thanks to a bill filed in the General Assembly a month after his passing. 

House Bill 1019, titled the “Mike Clampitt 1st Responder Tax Fairness Act,” proposes a targeted change to North Carolina’s tax code aimed at reducing financial burdens on certain volunteer emergency service organizations. 

The Republican parties of Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties, during a joint meeting, selected a replacement for Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain), who passed away March 18 at age 71 following a prolonged battle with cancer.

A March 31 Swain County public hearing for a data center moratorium drew a crowd of around 140 people, a turnout proportionate to 12,900 residents in Wake County, confronting commissioners to plead their case. 

Attendees filled the six rows facing commissioners, leaving a couple dozen straining to watch the event behind the open double-doors. All had shown up to be part of the conversation about hyper-scale data centers and out of concern for about how these facilities could impact every aspect of their livelihoods. 

In October 2018, Raleigh lobbyist Fred Bone was traveling in Western North Carolina and decided to go for an overnight backpacking trip in Swain County, leaving his car at Fontana Lake. From there, he caught a ride to the Road to Nowhere, from which he embarked. 

After setting up camp in a rainstorm and suffering a rough night, Bone broke camp early the next morning and headed out, but he needed a ride from the trailhead back to his car. He found a cell signal near a mountaintop and called the only person he could think of in the area that he thought might be up for a quick favor — Mike Clampitt. It was 9:30 a.m. on the first day of early voting for a host of elections, including Clampitt’s.   

Mike Clampitt, the Republican State House representative for Swain, Jackson and Transylvania counties, has passed away at the age of 71.

The conservative legislator was particularly dedicated to wildlife conservation issues, as well as combatting impaired driving.

The palpable undertones of tension felt at the last several Fontana Regional Library board meetings seemed to have subsided at last week’s trustees meeting, but the system’s challenges continue to mount. 

To the Editor:

In a current notice, the Swain County Commissioners have asked for public input on March 17 at 5:30 p.m. concerning a moratorium on permitting of high-impact facilities, including but not limited to data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations, server farms and similar uses within the unincorporated areas of Swain County.

A turbulent primary season has already reshaped Western North Carolina’s political landscape, toppling incumbents, elevating new contenders and setting the stage for a consequential General Election. 

Across the region, voters delivered decisive verdicts in races for Congress, the General Assembly and key county offices, while several high-profile contests reflected deeper tensions over taxes, disaster recovery and divisive social issues.

On Feb. 16, one teacher and three teacher’s assistants were transferred from the Exceptional Children’s program at Swain West Elementary to the exceptional children program at Swain East following authorization by the county school board. By the end of the second day there, two of these TAs had already allegedly witnessed multiple instances of non-sexual child abuse of several East students.