Ron Rash has never been to an opera. But later this month, he’ll sit down to enjoy an opus based on stories and poems he wrote about the Southern Appalachian mountains he calls home. 

“Shelton Laurel: An Appalachian Opera” takes place over a few years around the Civil War. The opera, which will see its world premiere later this month, tells the tale of farmers in Madison County’s Shelton Laurel, not far from Western Carolina University’s Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee where the work will be performed. 

To the Editor:

Partisan actions to create electoral advantages have likely always been rampant for both factions in the U.S. The fact that social media permits virtually instant communication to huge populations has added to the perception that such manipulations are much worse now than in the past. 

Jackson County’s various governing boards spent much of the year demonstrating that governing does not require attendance, consistency, basic curiosity about consequences, respect for the law or for the feelings of taxpayers, voters and young people. 

Three former members of the Western Carolina University women’s basketball team stepped up to the line to tip off the process of raising enough philanthropic support to name the current Catamount squad’s locker room after the founder of the program. 

That opening shot has resulted in a resounding “swish,” as that locker room now bears the name of the individual who launched the program during an era when women’s intercollegiate athletics was primarily an afterthought. 

To the Editor:

I’m disappointed  with the Jackson County Board of Elections’ decision to eliminate the convenient and accessible WCU University Center polling location for the primaries next spring. WCU provides the site and parking for free; the county pays the poll workers. The volunteers there have always created a welcoming environment and encouraged young people who are voting for the first time. 

Martin Tanaka, a professor of engineering and technology at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, has a knack for creating innovative gadgets as a biomedical engineer. He has two patents for medical devices: one to help with rotator cuff surgery and another for a surgical tool for nasal surgery. 

Now, thanks to funding from NCInnovation, Tanaka is going for his third. 

Western Carolina University Athletics welcomed more than 1,000 Jackson County Public Schools students to campus for its annual “Education Days” basketball games — bringing early holiday cheer and an unforgettable afternoon of hoops.

Over two days, elementary and middle school students filled the Liston B. Ramsey Center to cheer on the Catamounts during men’s and women’s basketball matchups. 

The utter guile of this state’s GOP leaders to rig elections in their favor should cause a hue and cry from honorable, ordinary taxpaying citizens of all political stripes. But when it comes to partisanship, these are not ordinary times, which is an understatement of almost comical proportions. 

For decades, college athletes generated millions of dollars in revenue for universities in exchange for a full tuition scholarship, at best. But a series of lawsuits beginning in the late 2000s — and a cultural shift toward athlete equity — paved the way for a monumental National Collegiate Athletic Association decision. The policy change, effective July 1, 2021, allowed these players to profit from any promotional use of their name, image and likeness, known as NIL, in company marketing. 

Six months after the North Carolina General Assembly’s deadline to produce an annual budget, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee is left weathering the effects of this stalemate — and preparing for an uncertain future.