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Sylva faces tough budget choices

Sylva town officials are staring down three unsightly options to balance the upcoming year’s budget: tax increases, budget cuts or both.

 

None of the choices have much appeal to board members, but it’s understood that something must be done to alleviate the town’s budget woes. Sylva’s government is carrying a $193,000 budget deficit going into the next fiscal year.

Long-awaited whitewater runs to debut on the upper Tuckasegee

Paddlers are salivating over the first-ever whitewater releases offered on the west fork of the Tuckasegee from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 13 and 14.

Jackson towns tout new ‘trout city’ status

out frMore than a third of the tourists who come knocking at the Jackson County visitor center these days have trout fishing on their mind.

A push in recent years to market the county as trout paradise is clearly paying off, and now the string of towns in Jackson County that claim the Tuckasegee River as their backyard have yet another tool to lure fishing aficionados.

Jackson County ponders tobacco ban in public parks

Don’t light, chew, smoke or spit that tobacco in Jackson County parks, and if you do, you could be slapped with a $50 fine. That is the gist of a proposed law that will soon be voted on by county commissioners.

Critics try to derail train stimulus in Jackson

The great Dillsboro train debate rolled on in Jackson County Monday with a public hearing this week on whether the county should give the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad $700,000 in exchange for the promise of more riders and tourists.

Jackson planning board wants to toss out part of steep slope rule

The Jackson County Planning Board voted last Thursday to eliminate a pivotal component of the county’s steep slope building rules.

The planning board wants to do away with a controversial limits on how many homes can be built on steep slopes. It is one of the most stringent parts of Jackson’s steep slope rules, and the most stringent of its kind in the region.

SCC wants money for building plan

fr sccA contingent of administrators from Southwestern Community College made a pitch to Jackson County commissioners Monday to help pay for a campus building plan.

Will Jackson ante up to bring tourist train back to Dillsboro?

Jackson County is one step closer to giving money to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad to outfit the scenic rail line with a refurbished steam engine in hopes of getting a tourist boost in return.

Mountain anglers gain toehold in national fly fishing scene

coverLike New York is known for its basketball legends, and Texas is known for its football stars, Western North Carolina has become one the big names in a slightly less conspicuous sport: competitive fly fishing.

Fly fishing was long dominated by the western territory of the Rockies and Sierras. But the sport has seen a shift in both interest and talent to the Southeast — and specifically the Smokies.

Walmart to Sylva: No scrimping on our sign size

Walmart has asked Sylva leaders for a pass on local sign regulations as it prepares to replace its older signs with a new design and logo.

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