Weekend Drowning Claims Life of Jackson County Child
Authorities say a 6-year-old Jackson County boy died in a hotel pool in Morganton over the weekend. The death has been determined as an accidental drowning. The Morganton Department of Public Safety said that the child drowned Saturday night in an indoor pool at a Comfort Inn & Suites. The boy was...
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WCU’s Mountain Heritage Day set for 43rd year Saturday, Sept. 30
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day, a free family oriented festival that celebrates Southern Appalachian culture through concerts, living-history demonstrations, competitions and awards programs, will be held Saturday, Sept. 30, on the WCU campus from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Named one of the...
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Fall Color Predictions
It’s September in the hills when Western Carolina University’s fall foliage forecaster Beverly Collins attempts to quantify the quality of the annual color show in Western North Carolina through a scientific-based prediction. And, Collins is anticipating a good display across the mountains this year. Ea...
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Carolina Panthers Announce Swain County High School’s Neil Blankenship as Coach of the Week
The Carolina Panthers and Toshiba are proud to announce the selection of Coach Neil Blankenship of Swain County High School (Bryson City, NC) as a recipient of the team’s High School Coach of the Week honor for the 2017 season. Coach Neil Blankenship is in his fifth season as the Maroon Devil’s head foo...
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Experiencing the eclipse without sight
Safe solar-viewing glasses were of no use to Clayton Ammons on Aug. 21. Neither were telescopes, cameras or any of the other devices most folks used to enhance their eclipse-viewing experience in Western North Carolina. Struck by retinitis pigmentosa in his early teenage years, Ammons’ vision went perma...
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Enrollment agreement with local schools and Job Corps reached
A new agreement will allow students from three area schools to co-enroll at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, giving them training and certifications in high-demand vocational jobs. Cherokee Central School, Swain County Schools and Haywood Community Learning Center signed the agree...
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Conservation Purchase Could End Controversy Over Fires Creek Property
A conservation solution to private property surrounded by U.S. Forest Service in Clay County could lead to a happy ending for everyone. Mainspring Conservation Trust, a regional land trust serving the six western-most counties in North Carolina, has entered into a contract with four landowners to purcha...
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Franklin Rotary Club donates $5,000 to SCC’s scholarship campaign
Almost every day, Southwestern Community College inches closer to its goal of marching to a million. On Sept. 6, the Franklin Rotary Club gave SCC’s Foundation a boost in that direction by giving $5,000 to the Student Success Campaign – the most-ambitious fundraising effort in Southwestern’s history. Th...
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WCU ranked among best in South by US News & World Report
Western Carolina University once again is ranked as a top university in the South in two categories in the 2018 edition of the U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” guidebook. The recently-released guidebook lists WCU as 13th among “top public regional universities” in the South, the university’s...
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NCDA&CS activates hotline to help farmers impacted by Hurricane Irma
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has activated its hotline to connect farmers with resources that can assist with agricultural emergencies. The toll-free number is 1-866-645-9403. The hotline operates 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. “There is still uncertainty about how Hurricane Irma will affe...
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