Drought disaster funding available for farmers

Family farms across the region are eligible for emergency loan assistance from the Farm Service Agency due to damage or losses from drought occurring this fall. 

Drought arrives in the mountains

Drought has re-entered the western region, with the most recent drought conditions map labeling Transylvania and Henderson counties as experiencing moderate drought.

WNC courts receive much-needed help

Western North Carolina courts are about to get a leg up, but it isn’t all that everyone hoped for. 

Graham Board of Elections dismisses one registration challenge, but the fight’s not over

Voters in Graham County can now establish legal residency simply by declaring their “intent” to reside in a particular place, despite overwhelming evidence that they do not actually reside in that place, after a Sept. 28 ruling by the Graham County Board of Elections.

Big money coming for rural broadband

More than a hundred economic development professionals, elected officials, internet service providers and interested parties from across North Carolina’s seven westernmost counties met March 21 in Franklin to acquaint themselves with the ways in which unprecedented amounts of state and federal broadband monies will be used to close the digital divide in rural Appalachia.

Consortium formed to address affordable housing in WNC

Seven counties in Western North Carolina have the opportunity to band together and receive money for affordable housing through the Southwestern Commission. As of June 15, several counties have signed on to make up the Southwestern NC HOME Consortium. 

Overnight storms bring flooding to WNC

Heavy rains and high winds associated with strong storms last Sunday night led to plenty of headaches Monday morning, as downed limbs cut power and closed roads while swollen streams slipped their banks, flooding businesses and residences across Western North Carolina.

Swain officials discuss houseboats with TVA

Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors recently requested a meeting with Swain and Graham County officials to discuss the TVA’s recent decision to remove all 1,800 houseboats from its 49 lakes within the next 30 years.

Corridor K: Beyond the road

Though the Corridor K debate was the impetus for the Opportunity Initiative Study, Opt-In wasn’t all about transportation. The results of the year-long regional visioning study has been enlightening, unifying and awash with great ideas to improve the area’s economic and cultural landscape, said Ryan Sherby, executive director of the Southwestern Commission Council of Governments. 

Corridor K: Dueling studies

A stalemate in the debate over Corridor K boils down to a central issue: can upgrades to the existing two-lane road do the job, or is a new four-lane highway the only solution?

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