The business end of Jackson County Planner Gerald Green’s departure — who will be in charge of finding a replacement, what the timeline might be — was a necessary topic of discussion at last week’s county commissioner meeting, but commissioners prefaced the logistics with a unified lament over his leaving.

A stalemate over whether to raise property taxes in Sylva ended last week with the majority of town board members opting to take money out of the town’s reserve fund to cover a $140,000 projected shortfall in next year’s budget.

A bigger number of Jackson County students could be subject to random drug testing if a proposed policy change being considered by the school board gets approved.

In a mere four years, Jackson County Planner Gerald Green has wrestled with just about every controversial land-use issue you could possibly come across in the mountains.

Leaking roofs, technology needs and impending state cuts prompted Jackson County Schools to put out a hefty ask to the county at the beginning of its budget talks, but it’s looking like the school system will wind up with only about half of the original $4.8 million in new funding it asked for.

Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital have embarked on exciting futures for our hospitals and communities.  

Early this month, we unveiled new names and logos for our hospitals that highlight our connection to Duke LifePoint Healthcare. While this was the first visual representation of our relationship with Duke LifePoint, the benefits of our becoming part of its system began several months ago.

Cullowhee residents crowded the basketball court at the Cullowhee Recreation Center last week for a chance to sound off during the last public hearing before Jackson County Commissioners take a final vote on whether to adopt the Cullowhee Community Planning Standards.

Earlier this year, it looked like Monarch Ventures, a Charlotte-based company that’s been trying for years to build a high-density 500-bed student housing complex in Cullowhee, could be history.

Discussion about a new industrial development ordinance is just getting going in the Jackson County Planning Board, but the board didn’t waste any time in taking a unanimous vote asserting that fracking — a controversial form of fossil fuel extraction recently legalized in North Carolina — falls under county regulations for mining.

A state investigation into jail conditions in Jackson County turned up a passel of compliance issues and a mandate that Sheriff Chip Hall submit a plan of correction by the end of the month.